Domestic Leagues

This Week in European Football. – A rundown of the football week and what to look for this weekend.

Toud Lalker

Posted on

March 15, 2024

Another weekend is here, and fortunately, it comes with football. There is a trimmed schedule in the English Premier League as it is also the weekend of the quarterfinals of the English FA Cup. The other six leagues in Europe’s top seven leagues are on a full schedule.

HOW THINGS ENDED IN THE PREVIOUS WEEKEND (ROUND) IN EUROPE’S TOP 7 LEAGUES:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal rose two positions to the top of the league table with their win against Brentford, while Liverpool and Manchester City played out a draw. Newcastle United dropped two positions down to 10th in the league after losing to Chelsea in the final match of the round. Tottenham moved two points away from Aston Villa after beating them ‘4-0’.

🇪🇸 The top three teams in the La Liga standings won their games, while the 5th and 6th teams suffered defeat. The top three extended their lead further away from the rest of the league. Girona and Barcelona secured wins to cross the 60-point mark, joining Real Madrid, who are on the brink of hitting 70 points. Real Madrid has a 7-point lead. Girona held on to second place, and Barcelona obtained the result to keep up.

🇮🇹 Inter Milan maintains a commanding 16-point lead in the Serie A title race. The Milan clubs lead the standings, but there is no imminent threat to Inter Milan’s substantial lead. AC Milan climbed to second place with a win at home against Empoli, while Juventus dropped to third after dropping points in a 2-all draw with Atalanta.

🇩🇪 Bayern Munich secured a resounding win over Mainz to stay in the Bundesliga race for the title, but Leverkusen’s lead remains a healthy 10 points with nine more rounds to go. The top 7 maintained their positions, with the top six teams all securing victories.

🇫🇷 Paris St. Germain dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Reims in Ligue 1, but none of the teams in the league capitalized on the result. Brest had an opportunity to dent Paris St. Germain’s ambitions, but they lost to Lens, a result that propelled Lens up a position to 5th.

🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven remains unbeaten, boasting a 10-point lead and dominating the Dutch Eredivisie league with nine more rounds to go. They secured a ‘1-0’ away win against Go Ahead Eagles in the last round and are set to face FC Twente at home this weekend.

🇵🇹 Benfica is determined in their title defense season, but Sporting CP leads the title race by a point with a game in hand. Both clubs emerged victorious in the last round. Benfica will be away against Casa Pia, while Sporting CP will host Boavista.

THE FIXTURES INVOLVING THE LEAGUE LEADERS:

Mar 16.
🇪🇸 Osasuna vs. Real Madrid (spanish la liga)

Mar 17.
🇮🇹 Inter Milan vs. Napoli (italian serie a)
🇩🇪 Freiburg vs. Bayer Leverkusen (german bundesliga)
🇫🇷 Montpellier vs. Paris Saint-Germain (french ligue 1)
🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven vs. Twente (dutch eredivisie)
🇵🇹 Sporting CP vs. Boavista (portuguese primeira liga)

THE SHOTS WE TOOK THIS WEEK

Monday, March 11, 2024
🇨🇮 Didier Drogba turned 46, 🇪🇸 Pirri turned – 79, 🇩🇰 Thomas Gravesen turned 48, 🇫🇷 Axel Disasi turned 26, and 🇵🇹 Fábio Coentrão turned 36.

Chelsea secured a ‘3-2’ victory against Newcastle United to conclude the Premier League round. Almeria managed to avoid a home defeat to Sevilla with a late goal, resulting in a ‘2-2’ draw, although they continue to remain without a league win this season. In Serie A, Lazio suffered a 2-1 defeat at home against Udinese.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024
🇩🇪 Andreas Köpke turned 62 and 🇬🇷 Kostas Mitroglou turned 36.

Arsenal and Barcelona capitalized on home advantage to overcome a first-leg goal deficit and secure advancement into the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

🇪🇺 ARSENAL 1-0 PORTO
Arsenal rebounded from their first-leg defeat against Porto, taking the match into extra time and eventually a penalty shootout, which they won ‘4-1,’ with goalkeeper David Raya emerging as the hero.

🇪🇺 BARCELONA 3-1 NAPOLI
Barcelona scored two goals in the opening 20 minutes and added another in the 83rd minute to guarantee a victory within regulation time after Napoli got a goal in the 30th minute to make it 2-1 for the majority of the match. Barcelona won ‘3-1’ on the day and 4-2 on aggregate, advancing into the Champions League quarter finals for the first time since Lionel Messi left the club.

🇩🇪 SAARBRÜCKEN 2-1 MONCHENGLADBACH
Saarbrucken caused another major upset by knocking out Monchengladbach from the DFB-Pokal with a ‘2-1’ victory in the quarterfinals. Despite being in the third division of German football, Saarbrucken has advanced to the semifinals of the DFB-Pokal. They are set to face Kaiserslautern, a second-division team, in the next round. Saarbrucken had to overcome challenges from Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich before eliminating Monchengladbach.
(DFB-Pokal semi final fixtures: April 2: Saarbrucken vs. Kaiserslautern / April 3: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024
🇸🇻 Jorge Alberto González Barillas (El Mágico) turned 66, 🇨🇴 Andrés Escobar’s 57th birthday. 🇮🇹 Bruno Conti turned 69, 🇳🇱 Edgar Davids turned 51, 🇩🇪 Holger Badstuber turned 35, 🇮🇹 Luca Bucci turned 55, and 🇨🇮 Yaya Touré turned 41.

🇪🇺 ATLETICO MADRID 2-1 INTER MILAN
Atletico Madrid reached the quarterfinals at Inter Milan’s expense through a penalty shootout after 120 minutes. Inter Milan entered the game with a ‘1-0’ lead from the first leg and were up another goal when Federico Dimarco scored the match’s opening goal in the 33rd minute to double their advantage. However, Inter Milan’s lead didn’t last long, as Antoine Griezmann scored in the 35th minute to draw Atletico Madrid level on the day but trailing in the tie.

Memphis Depay entered the game in the 79th minute and scored the equalizing goal for Atletico Madrid in the 87th minute. Atletico Madrid won 3-2 in the penalty shootout. Lautaro Martinez missed Inter Milan’s fifth penalty when two other players, Alexis Sanchez and Davy Klaassen, had already missed theirs. The pressure was on Martinez to score and keep the shootout alive for Inter Milan, but he skied his effort.

🇪🇺 DORTMUND 2-0 PSV EINDHOVEN
Jadon Sancho scored an early goal in the third minute of the game to give Dortmund the lead after a ‘1-1’ tie from the first leg. Reus, who came on for Sancho in the 75th minute, ended up scoring the insurance goal in the 95th minute of added time (90+5’) to see Borussia Dortmund win 2-0 on the night and advance to the quarterfinals with a 3-1 aggregate win.

🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain beat Nice (3-1) to advance to the semifinals of the Coupe de France. They will face Rennes there, while Lyon will face Valenciennes in the other tie.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bournemouth came out on top against Luton Town in the English Premier League, coming from being ‘3-0’ down at the end of the first half to secure a ‘4-3’ win at the end of the game.

Thursday, March 14, 2024
🇫🇷 Bruno Bellone turned 62, 🇫🇷 Nicolas Anelka turned 45, and 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Joe Allen (Wales) – 34.

🇫🇷 Marseille 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Liverpool 🇮🇹 Roma 🇵🇹 Benfica 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 West Ham United 🇮🇹 Atalanta 🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen 🇮🇹 AC Milan booked their place in the quarter finals of the Europa League.

🇨🇿 Viktoria Plzen 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Aston Villa 🇧🇪 Club Brugge 🇹🇷 Fenerbahce 🇬🇷 PAOK 🇫🇷 Lille 🇮🇹 Fiorentina 🇬🇷 Olympiacos booked their place in the quarter finals of the Conference League.

TOURNAMENT SPOTLIGHT

The UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE after the conclusion of the Round of 16
Porto 1–1 (2–4 p) Arsenal
Napoli 2–4 Barcelona
Paris Saint-Germain 4–1 Real Sociedad
Inter Milan 2–2 (2–3 p) Atlético Madrid
PSV Eindhoven 1–3 Borussia Dortmund
Lazio 1–3 Bayern Munich
Copenhagen 2–6 Manchester City
RB Leipzig 1–2 Real Madrid

The defending champions are still alive, but last season’s runners-up are out. Manchester City picked up a comfortable win against Copenhagen to continue their quest to retain the title, while Inter Milan (arguably the better side in the tie) lost in penalty shootouts to Atletico Madrid.

Paris Saint-Germain was the only team to finish second in the group stage and reach the quarterfinals of this year’s Champions League, which is why only three of the four Spanish clubs made it to the quarterfinals.

Porto, Inter Milan, and Lazio all took a ‘1-0’ lead into the second leg but still came up short in the end. Both English clubs, Manchester City and Arsenal, advanced. However, all three Italian clubs were knocked out: Lazio, Napoli, and Inter Milan.

The two games that went into extra time were decided by a penalty shootout: Arsenal vs. Porto and Atletico Madrid vs. Inter Milan.

The quarter finalists: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal, 🇪🇸 Barcelona, 🇩🇪 Bayern Munich, 🇩🇪 Borussia Dortmund, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City, 🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain, and 🇪🇸 Real Madrid.

EUROPA LEAGUE after the conclusion of the Round of 16
Sparta Prague 2–11 Liverpool
Marseille 5–3 Villarreal
Roma 4–1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Benfica 3–2 Rangers
Freiburg 1–5 West Ham United
Sporting CP 2–3 Atalanta
AC Milan 7–3 Slavia Prague
Qarabağ 4–5 Bayer Leverkusen

Liverpool, Roma, and Marseille entered the second leg with a healthy 4-goal advantage. Marseille needed every bit of those four goals to get past Villarreal, while Roma was fortunate to maintain their lead against Brighton. Liverpool outdid themselves against Sparta Prague, following a ‘5-1’ win in the first leg with a ‘6-1’ victory in the second.

Just as in the first leg, AC Milan secured a win by a 2-goal margin against Slavia Prague, this time with a score of ‘3-1’.

Benfica narrowly advanced in Glasgow with a 1-0 win over Rangers.
Atalanta advanced with a ‘2-1’ win over Sporting CP, while Leverkusen secured their advancement with a ‘3-2’ victory over Qarabag.

Patrik Schick’s brace in the final added minutes (90+3’ and 90+8’) allowed Leverkusen to come from ‘2-0’ down at home to beat Qarabag 3-2, and advance with a 5-4 aggregate win.

West Ham overcame a 1-goal deficit against Freiburg to advance at home with a ‘5-1’ aggregate win.

The quarter finalists: 🇫🇷 Marseille 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Liverpool 🇮🇹 Roma 🇵🇹 Benfica 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 West Ham United 🇮🇹 Atalanta 🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen 🇮🇹 AC Milan

CONFERENCE LEAGUE after the conclusion of the Round of 16
Servette 0–0 (1–3 p) Viktoria Plzeň
Ajax 0–4 Aston Villa
Molde 2–4 Club Brugge
Union Saint-Gilloise 1–3 Fenerbahçe
Dinamo Zagreb 3–5 PAOK
Sturm Graz 1–4 Lille
Maccabi Haifa 4–5 Fiorentina
Olympiacos 7–5 Maccabi Tel Aviv

Aston Villa dominated Ajax in London with a resounding 4-0 victory, while the matchup between Severtte and Viktoria Plzen in Pilsen was ultimately decided by penalty shootouts.

Maccabi Tel Aviv, Lille, and Fenerbahce entered the round with comfortable 3-goal advantages and the luxury of playing at home. While Lille and Fenerbahce secured their advancement, Maccabi Tel Aviv couldn’t do the same, as they lost ‘6-1’ at home to Olympiacos after extra time, cancelling their ‘4-1’ lead from the first leg.

Dinamo Zagreb traveled to Thessaloniki with a 2-goal advantage against PAOK but lost ‘5-3’ on aggregate after PAOK secured a ‘5-1’ home win.

The quarter finalists: 🇨🇿 Viktoria Plzen 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Aston Villa 🇧🇪 Club Brugge 🇹🇷 Fenerbahce 🇬🇷 PAOK 🇫🇷 Lille 🇮🇹 Fiorentina 🇬🇷 Olympiacos

(STANDINGS) THE TITLE RACE IN THE TOP 7 LEAGUES:

🇮🇹 Serie A: Inter Milan with a 15-point lead.
🇳🇱 Eredivisie: PSV Eindhoven with a 10-point lead.
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen with an 10-point lead.
🇫🇷 Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain with a 9-point lead.
🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid with a 7-point lead.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League: Liverpool with a 1-point lead.
🇵🇹 Primeira Liga: Sporting CP with a 1-point lead and a game in hand.

🇪🇸📊 LA LIGA
1st | Real Madrid (28) – 69 points
2nd | Girona (28) – 62 points
3rd | Barcelona (28) – 61 points

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 📊 PREMIER LEAGUE
1st | Arsenal (28) – 64 points
2nd | Liverpool (28) – 64 points
3rd | Manchester City (28) – 63 points

🇩🇪📊 BUNDESLIGA
1st | Bayer Leverkusen (25) – 67 points
2nd | Bayern Munich (25) – 57 points
3rd | Stuttgart (25) – 53 points

🇮🇹 📊 SERIE A
1st | Inter Milan (28) – 75 points
2nd | AC Milan (28) – 59 points
3rd | Juventus (28) – 58 points

🇫🇷 📊 LIGUE 1
1st | Paris Saint-Germain (25) – 56 points
2nd | Brest (25) – 46 points
3rd | Monaco (25) – 45 points

🇳🇱 📊 EREDIVISIE
1st | PSV Eindhoven (25) – 69 points
2nd | Feyenoord (25) – 59 points
3rd | Twente (25) – 53 points

🇵🇹 📊 PRIMEIRA LIGA
1st | Sporting CP (24) – 62 points
2nd | Benfica (25) – 61 points
3rd | Porto (25) – 55 points

THE SHOTS TO TAKE THIS WEEKEND

Friday is here, and depending on your definition of the weekend, we may be in it.

Friday, March 15, 2024
🇫🇷 Paul Pogba turns 31.

The draw for the UEFA continental cup competitions – the Champions League, the Europa League, and the Conference League – will determine the matchups for the remainder of the competitions leading up to the finals. The Europa League final is scheduled on May 22, 2024 in Ireland, the Conference League final scheduled for May 29, 2024 in Greece, and the Champions League final will take place on June 1, 2024, in England.

Cadiz, in a relegation battle in La Liga, seeks crucial points away against Real Sociedad.

Bologna, coming off a defeat against Inter Milan, aims to secure a win against Empoli, who are fighting relegation. Avoiding defeat would guarantee Bologna a top-four position for another round, or Roma could pose a threat.

RB Leipzig, chasing a top-four finish, looks to boost its odds with a win against FC Koln, who is fighting relegation.

A midtable battle in Ligue 1 between Toulouse and Lyon.

Saturday, March 16, 2024
🇩🇰 Andreas Cornelius will be turning 31, and 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Theo Walcott turns 35.

Top two La Liga teams play away matches: Real Madrid against Osasuna, and Girona against Getafe.

A lighter schedule in the Premier League with three matches on the day.

Bayern Munich travels to Darmstadt for Bundesliga points.

Lens and Nice face off in Ligue 1 with just two points separating them.

Two FA Cup fixtures include the highlighted match between Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Sunday, March 17, 2024
🇮🇹 Giovanni Trapattoni will be 85, 🇧🇷 Leandro will be 65, 🇺🇾 Álvaro Recoba will turn 48, 🇧🇦 Edin Džeko turns 38, 🇦🇷 Federico Fazio turns 37, 🇷🇸 Ivan Ilić will turn 23, 🇵🇹 Raul Meireles will be 41, 🇯🇵 Shinji Kagawa will be turning 35, and 🇨🇷 Yeltsin Tejeda will be turning 32.

Atletico Madrid hosts Barcelona, with Barcelona aiming for points to participate in the league title race, while Atletico seeks points to stay clear of Athletic Club.

Almeria, still in search of their first league win, has an opportunity in an away game against Las Palmas.

League leaders Inter Milan host reigning champions Napoli in Serie A.

Leverkusen travels to Freiburg for Bundesliga points to move closer to the title.

Paris St. Germain heads to Montpellier in Ligue 1 to secure points and move closer to another title.

First vs. third: PSV Eindhoven hosts FC Twente in the Eredivisie.

Sporting CP and Benfica in a race for the Primeira Liga title: Sporting CP has home advantage against Boavista, while Benfica plays away against Casa Pia.

The FA Cup quarter-final features a highly anticipated match between Manchester United and Liverpool.

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce both play away from home on the same day, with Fenerbahce facing Trabzonspor and Galatasaray against Kasimpasa.

HIGHLIGHTED FIXTURES

Your football watchlist for this weekend:

Mar 15.
🇩🇪 FC Köln vs. RB Leipzig (german bundesliga)
🇫🇷 Toulouse vs. Lyon (french ligue 1)
🇵🇹 Estoril vs. Portimonense (portuguese primeira liga)

Mar 16.
🇪🇸 Osasuna vs. Real Madrid (spanish la liga)
🇪🇸 Athletic Club vs. Alavés (spanish la liga)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Luton Town vs. Nottingham Forest (english premier league)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fulham vs. Tottenham Hotspur (english premier league)
🇮🇹 Frosinone vs. Lazio (italian serie a)
🇩🇪 Darmstadt vs. Bayern Munich (german bundesliga)
🇩🇪 Mainz vs. Bochum (german bundesliga)
🇫🇷 Lens vs. Nice (french ligue 1)
🇳🇱 Excelsior vs. RKC Waalwijk (dutch eredivisie)
🇵🇹 Braga vs. Gil Vicente (portuguese primeira liga)
🇵🇹 Porto vs. Vizela (portuguese primeira liga)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Coventry City (fa cup – quarter finals)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City vs. Newcastle United (fa cup – quarter finals)

Mar 17.
🇪🇸 Sevilla vs. Celta Vigo (spanish la liga)
🇪🇸 Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona (spanish la liga)
🇮🇹 Juventus vs. Genoa (italian serie a)
🇮🇹 Hellas Verona vs. AC Milan (italian serie a)
🇮🇹 Roma vs. Sassuolo (italian serie a)
🇮🇹 Inter Milan vs. Napoli (italian serie a)
🇩🇪 Freiburg vs. Bayer Leverkusen (german bundesliga)
🇩🇪 Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (german bundesliga)
🇫🇷 Brest vs. Lille (french ligue 1)
🇫🇷 Monaco vs. Lorient (french ligue 1)
🇫🇷 Rennes vs. Marseille (french ligue 1)
🇫🇷 Montpellier vs. Paris Saint-Germain (french ligue 1)
🇳🇱 Volendam vs. AZ Alkmaar (dutch eredivisie)
🇳🇱 SC Heerenveen vs. Feyenoord (dutch eredivisie)
🇳🇱 Sparta Rotterdam vs. Ajax (dutch eredivisie)
🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven vs. Twente (dutch eredivisie)
🇵🇹 Casa Pia vs. Benfica (portuguese primeira liga)
🇵🇹 Sporting CP vs. Boavista (portuguese primeira liga)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Chelsea vs. Leicester City (fa cup – quarter final)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester United vs. Liverpool (fa cup – quarter final)
🇹🇷 Kasimpasa vs. Galatasaray (turkish super lig)
🇹🇷 Trabzonspor vs. Fenerbahce (turkish super lig)

OUR LATEST RANKING OF THE CLUBS IN EUROPE’S TOP 7 LEAGUES.

THE PODIUM
Bayer Leverkusen maintains its top spot in our ranking and continues to lead the German Bundesliga title race. They share the podium with Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
Bayern Munich leads the list of reigning champions, with Manchester City and Barcelona following closely. Despite ranking fourth among the reigning champions, Paris St. Germain is currently leading the domestic title race.

RECENTLY PROMOTED
While they climbed six positions from last weekend’s list, Estrela da Amadora (121st) remains the lowest-ranked among the recently promoted clubs.
Las Palmas stands out as the best-performing club among those promoted at the start of the season. They hold the 65th position, dropping two spots from last week’s ranking.

THE RESIDUE
The last seven positions in the ranking are filled by clubs from the Primeira Liga and the Eredivisie. Vitesse ranks as the worst club, occupying the 132nd position out of 132.

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
RANK| TEAM (LEAGUE) – POINTS
3rd | 🇩🇪 Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga) – 432.84 points
5th | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City (English Premier League) – 416.5 points
8th | 🇪🇸 Barcelona (Spanish La Liga) – 318.93 points
10th | 🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain (French Ligue 1) – 293.02 points
30th | 🇮🇹 Napoli (Italian Serie A) – 183.58 points
31st | 🇳🇱 Feyenoord (Dutch Eredivisie) – 179.5 points
41st | 🇵🇹 Benfica (Portuguese Primeira Liga) – 165.41 points

RECENTLY PROMOTED
POS.| RANK (TEAM) – LEAGUE
65th | 🇪🇸 Las Palmas (Spanish La Liga) – 88.93 points
70th | 🇩🇪 Heidenheim (German Bundesliga) – 84.6 points
72nd | 🇮🇹 Genoa (Italian Serie A) – 81.21 points
73rd | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Luton Town (English Premier League) – 80.79 points
77th | 🇮🇹 Frosinone (Italian Serie A) – 70.32 points
78th | 🇪🇸 Alavés (Spanish La Liga) – 68.71 points
87th | 🇮🇹 Cagliari (Italian Serie A) – 60.18 points
88th | 🇫🇷 Le Havre (French Ligue 1) – 60.16 points
97th | 🇵🇹 Moreirense (Portuguese Primeira Liga) – 50.5 points
100th | 🇫🇷 Metz (French Ligue 1) – 46.52 points
104th | 🇪🇸 Granada (Spanish La Liga) – 42.59 points
108th | 🇳🇱 PEC Zwolle (Dutch Eredivisie) – 40.96 points
111st | 🇵🇹 Farense (Portuguese Primeira Liga) – 38.8 points
112nd | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Burnley (English Premier League) – 36.04 points
114th | 🇳🇱 Almere City (Dutch Eredivisie) – 32.82 points
115th | 🇳🇱 Heracles Almelo (Dutch Eredivisie) – 32.8 points
116th | 🇩🇪 Darmstadt (German Bundesliga) – 31.8 points
117th | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Sheffield United (English Premier League) – 30.57 points
121st | 🇵🇹 Estrela da Amadora (Portuguese Primeira Liga) – 29.02 points

THE TOP TEN POSITIONS
POS.| RANK (TEAM) – LEAGUE
1st | 🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen (German Bundesliga) – 479.55 points
2nd | 🇮🇹 Inter Milan (Italian Serie A) – 437.53 points
3rd | 🇩🇪 Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga) – 432.84 points
4th | 🇪🇸 Real Madrid (Spanish La Liga) – 422.33 points
5th | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City (English Premier League) – 416.5 points
6th | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal (English Premier League) – 416.22 points
7th | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Liverpool (English Premier League) – 392.29 points
8th | 🇪🇸 Barcelona (Spanish La Liga) – 318.93 points
9th | 🇪🇸 Atlético Madrid (Spanish La Liga) – 313.91 points
10th | 🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain (French Ligue 1) – 293.02 points

THE BOTTOM TEN POSITIONS
POS.| RANK (TEAM) – LEAGUE
123rd | 🇩🇪 Mainz (German Bundesliga) – 28.24 points
124th | 🇮🇹 Salernitana (Italian Serie A) – 27.89 points
125th | 🇫🇷 Clermont (French Ligue 1) – 26.12 points
126th | 🇵🇹 Rio Ave (Portuguese Primeira Liga) – 26.02 points
127th | 🇵🇹 Portimonense (Portuguese Primeira Liga) – 25.1 points
128th | 🇵🇹 Vizela (Portuguese Primeira Liga) – 23.32 points
129th | 🇳🇱 RKC Waalwijk (Dutch Eredivisie) – 22.4 points
130th | 🇵🇹 Chaves (Portuguese Primeira Liga) – 20.74 points
131st | 🇳🇱 Volendam (Dutch Eredivisie) – 18.94 points
132nd | 🇳🇱 Vitesse (Dutch Eredivisie) – 15.12 points

PITCH REPORT CARDS

Inter Milan leads the way with the most league wins (24), accumulating the highest number of league points (75) in the process.

PSV Eindhoven tops the charts in Europe’s top seven leagues this season with 80 goals, boasting an impressive rate of 3.2 goals per game in Eredivisie. Following closely behind is Bayern Munich (73) with a rate of 2.92 goals per game in the Bundesliga.

PSV Eindhoven also holds the best win rate at 0.88, closely trailed by Inter Milan with 0.86 in Serie A.

Bayer Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven remain unbeaten in their domestic season, leading their league title race by 10 points with nine more rounds to go.

In terms of fewest league goals conceded, PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan share the spotlight, each conceding only 13 goals. However, Inter Milan boasts a better rate of 0.46 goals conceded per game compared to PSV Eindhoven’s 0.52.

Almería is yet to secure a league win, having dropped the most league points (74) as a result, with 10 more rounds to rectify the situation.

Clermont (17) holds the unfortunate record for the fewest goals scored, alongside FC Köln, with both clubs having scored under 20 league goals.

Burnley and Sheffield United have each suffered 20 league defeats in the English Premier League this season, the highest in the league. Almería and Salernitana follow closely with 18 defeats each.

Sheffield United stands out for conceding the most league goals (74), with 11 more than their closest rival on this list, at a rate of 2.64 goals conceded per game, the highest in their league.

SOME HIGHLIGHTED DOMESTIC LEAGUE STATS AND PERFORMANCE:

A SPOTLIGHT ON AN ELEVATED AMBITION:

🇪🇸 Girona – Not many would have expected Girona to be in a title race at this stage of the La Liga season, but they are holding onto second place with 10 more rounds left to play. If they don’t do the improbable and win the league, a ‘top four’ spot by the end of the season is most likely the worst they can do. Their best finish in the top flight was 10th, a record they are set to surpass this season.

This weekend, they will face Getafe, followed by an away game against Atletico Madrid and a home game against Barcelona in their remaining fixtures.

As things stand, only Real Madrid has had a better season than Girona.
Artem Dovbyk leads their scoring charts with 14 goals.

They rank 11th in our Performance Index Rating, narrowly missing out on a ‘top 10’ spot by 12.41 points.

CLASH OF THE DESPERATE:
Clubs at the bottom end of the league table face each other in crucial matches for valuable points.

March 15:
🇵🇹 Estoril vs. Portimonense (Portuguese Primeira Liga)

March 16:
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Luton Town vs. Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
🇩🇪 Mainz vs. Bochum (German Bundesliga)
🇳🇱 Excelsior vs. RKC Waalwijk (Dutch Eredivisie)

🔴 AS THE FINAL WHISTLE BLOWS ON THIS EDITION OF OUR FOOTBALL NEWSLETTER, WE HIGHLIGHT:

The English FA Cup

The final 8 in the FA Cup all have a history of winning the competition, with some more recent than others. Newcastle United holds the longest title drought, with their last FA Cup title dating back to 1955. Wolverhampton Wanderers follows, having won their last title in 1960.

Leicester City and Coventry City each have one title, the fewest among the quarterfinalists. They are also the only two clubs in the quarterfinals not currently in the Premier League.

Defending champions Manchester City aim to progress and move closer to defending their FA Cup title, potentially securing their eighth triumph.

Liverpool and Chelsea both boast 8 FA Cup titles, with Liverpool winning the most recent trophy in the 2022 final against Chelsea. Chelsea’s most recent FA Cup triumph was in 2018, defeating Manchester United for the title.

Manchester United stands as the most successful club remaining in the tournament, having secured 12 FA Cup titles, with the most recent one in 2016.

We eagerly await to see which four teams will make it to the semi-final of the FA Cup, with the Manchester United vs. Liverpool fixture being the marquee matchup for this round.

Scheduled for March 16:
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Coventry City
Manchester City vs. Newcastle United

Scheduled for March 17:
Chelsea vs. Leicester City
Manchester United vs. Liverpool

TEAM (TITLES) – RECENT SUCCESS
Manchester United (12) – 2016
Liverpool (8) – 2022
Chelsea (8) – 2018
Leicester City (1) – 2021
Manchester City (7) – 2023
Newcastle United (6) – 1955
Wolverhampton Wanderers (4) -1960
Coventry City (1) – 1987

MGSVfutbol