It’s Halloween, and you know what that means: it’s that magical time between the first and second installments of the Champions League’s group stage double headers.Whilst Leicester City can seal qualification with yet another victory, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City will all be battling hard to make sure that qualification is in sight over the final two games of the groups.The Gunners are in the best position to qualify, but qualification isn’t the goal any more – the goal is now to finish top of the group. Spurs are in a similar position in that they are only one point behind Monaco, it’s all to play for there. Manchester City, meanwhile, will probably find it impossible to top their group – Barcelona will still be two points ahead even if Pep Guardiola can mastermind a victory over his club de coeur. Defeat, though,Âwould mean having to negotiate a couple of nervy, must-win fixtures against Celtic and Borussia Monchengladbach.Their opponents all played this weekend, and if the Premier League is to prove to us all why it really is the Best League in the World, then it’ll have to do its homework on the opposition – thankfully the Euro Roundup is back!
Germany
If you didn’t already know the answer, there are no prizes for guessing which team isÂtop of the Bundesliga table. Bayern Munich’s win over Augsburg mean it isÂthey whoÂstay top, getting back to winning convincingly after a wobble that saw them draw two on the spin in the league and lose to Atletico Madrid in Europe.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team are still unbeaten in the German league, but they’re not the only ones. There may be no prizes for guessing who’s top of the league, butÂif you predicted the other two teams who would still be unbeaten going into November then the Euro Roundup doffs its cap.
Those two teams are Most Hated Club in Germany RB Leipzig, the Frankenstein club brought from the depths of the German under-leagues by Red Bull’s mean marketing machine, and the other unholy corporate monster, founder of IT giants SAP Dietmar Hopp’s Hoffenheim. Both clubs won this weekend to go second and third in the league as their inexorable march of the undead continues. Happy Halloween!
Back to “traditional footballâ€, however, and the two biggest games in the Bundesliga this weekend saw Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04Âplay out a fairly drab 0-0 draw in the 149th Revierderby at the, er, “Signal Iduna Park†where Dortmund didn’t record a single shot in the first half. In the other big game, Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg lost 2-1 to Bayer’s Leverkusen at the “Volkswagen Arenaâ€.
Elsewhere, Hamburg – the grand old club now down on its luck – lost again to stay bottom of the league.ÂWhilst the victors were aÂgrand old club now riding its luck, FC Koln: the Billy Goats are fourth in the league and challenging for Europe as Anthony Modeste scored the first hat trick for the club since 1997. The last time they won a trophy was in 1983. Good times may very well be back at the “RheinEnergieStadionâ€.
Nope, you’re right, it’s just Red Bull who are ushering German football into a dystopian world of corporate sanitisation. As you were.
France
In France, money can’t buy you love, but it can buy you four league titles on the spin.
PSG’s dominance, however, is being tested this season. Plucky underdogs Nice were able to extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1 this weekend. They are unbeaten after nine wins from 11 games, and sit six points clear of Monaco – who could only draw with St Etienne thanks to heroics from Stephane Ruffier – and PSG, who beat Lille.ÂTheÂsouth coast clubÂare striking a blow against corporate meddling in our beautiful game, and that fight continues thanks to a victory over Nantes at the Allianz Riviera. Oh.
Elsewhere, Lyon finally managed a victory, beating Toulouse this weekend, but they sit 13 points off the top of the table, and they’ll probably be out of the Champions League in the not too distant future, too. See what happens when you don’t sell your club to billionaires?
Marseille, on the other hand, did recently sell their club to American billionaire Frank McCourt who swiftly installed Rudi Garcia as manager and Barcelona legend Andoni Zubizarreta as sporting director. They drew with 0-0 PSG last week, and backed it up with yet another 0-0 again this weekend. Passionate. See what happens when you sell your club to billionaires?
Italy
What would have happened had Gonzalo Higuain been on the opposite team?
This summer, the ever-competitive Serie A saw its biggest club strip the second-biggest of its most important asset, breeding competition and balance in its league.
This weekend, Juventus met Napoli for the first time since Higuain moved club in the summer, and in a tight 2-1 victory for the Bianconeri, it was the Argentinian’s goal that spelled victory. He didn’t really celebrate, though. Top bloke.
That victory, coupled with Roma’s disappointing 0-0 draw with Empoli puts Juventus an ominous four points clear at the top of Serie A, though in a turn of events to warm the cockles of traditionalists, the resurgence of AC Milan is back on track after their loss in Genoa last midweek. They beat Pescara 1-0, and teenagers Manuel Locatelli and Gianluigi Donnarumma started the game once again for grand old, Chinese billionaire-owned club. Oh.
Englishman abroad and man after our own Hart (he he, geddit…?), Charles Joseph, will look to bounce back from an error in midweek. His Torino side play on Monday night away to Udinese. That means Joe Hart will keep goal at Friuli in Udine, the birthplace of World Cup winning goalkeeper Dino Zoff and five time Serie A champion goalkeeper Lorenzo Buffon (yes, of *that* Buffon family). No pressure, then, Joe!
Spain
There were six goals in Atletico Madrid’s game this weekend (surely a Simeone record of some sort…) and five in Real Madrid’s, but the story of the weekend has to be Las Palmas, the team of Kevin Prince Boateng.
After his wonder goal last weekend, KPB was back at it again this weekend as the Canary Islanders were 3-0 down at home to Celta Vigo before pulling the game back and drawing 3-3. The equaliser could have been scored by no one other than Boateng himself (it’s probably in his contract).
Though there is probably a more surprising stat…
There were wins for Atleti and Real Madrid, as well as a 1-0 victory for Barcelona over Granada. The Catalans fielded a very strong side only days before their trip to Manchester to face old friend Pep Guardiola in his new pad.
Real Madrid remain top of the table, and maintain the only unbeaten run in La Liga this season.
