25 May Soccer Insights- May Vol. 1
Soccer Insights is back and with some of the top tournaments coming to an end, including the upcoming finale of the Champions league and the beginning of one of the biggest summers of soccer, you will definitely want to stay tuned to the latest news in the soccer world.
UEFA Champions League
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will face off in the 2016 UEFA Champions League final on Saturday, May 28th in Milan, Italy. These two teams competed against each other in the 2014 final in which Real Madrid defeated Athletico 4-1. Three of Reals four goals came after the match was sent into extra time following Sergio Ramos 93rd minute header.
UEFA Europa League
Sevilla defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the 2016 UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday May, 18th in Base, Switzerland. Sevilla was looking to defend its back to back titles after defeating FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3-2 in the 2015 final and Benfica 4-2 on penalties in 2014. After a strong first half, Liverpool went into the locker room up 1-0 after a Daniel Sturridge goal in the 35th minute. The second half was a different story. Sevilla found the back of the net three times, with two goals from Jorge “Coke” Moreno and one goal Kevin Gameiro. Sevilla will now face the winner of the Champions League final in the UEFA Super Cup on August 9th in Trondheim, Norway.
FA Cup Final
Manchester United defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 after extra time in the FA Cup final on Saturday, May 21 at Wembley Stadium. Jason Puncheon recorded the lone goal for Crystal Palace and Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard recorded goals for Manchester United. Lingard’s 110th minute extra time goal sealed the championship for The Red Devils as Wayne Rooney took home the man of the match honor. According to many sources, this looks as if it might be the last match for Louis van Gaal as manager for the Manchester United squad.
DFB-Pokal Final
Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund 0-0 (4-3 on extra time penalties) in the DFB-Pokal Final on Saturday, May 21 in Berlin, Germany. This was rematch of the 2014 final where Bayern Munich took home the title after a 2-0 extra time victory. Bayern Munich dominated possession 70%-30% in a very lopsided game but could not seem find the back of the net in regular time. Sven Bender and Sokratis Papastathopoulos both missed the penalties for Dortmund allowing the lefty, Douglas Costa, to seal the victory the penalty mark.
Premier League
After an unbelievable and unforeseen season, Leicester City wrapped up the Premier League title marking their first ever top tier title.
- Leicester finished 10 points ahead of second place Liverpool and finished the season with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea.
- The Manchester United vs Bournemouth match was postponed after a suspicious package was found in Old Trafford 30 minutes prior to kickoff. The game was pushed to Tuesday, May 17 where Manchester United recorded a 3-1 victory.
Results
| Arsenal | 4-1 | Aston Villa |
| Chelsea | 1-1 | Leicester City |
| Everton | 3-0 | Norwich |
| New Castle | 5-1 | Tottenham |
| Southampton | 4-1 | Crystal Palace |
| Stoke City | 2-1 | West Ham |
| Swansea | 1-1 | Manchester City |
| Watford | 2-2 | Sunderland |
| West Brom | 1-1 | Liverpool |
Table
| 1 | Leicester City | 81pts |
| 2 | Arsenal | 71pts |
| 3 | Tottenham | 70pts |
| 4 | Manchester City | 66pts |
| 5 | Southampton | 63pts |
Premier League Player of the Season
Leicester City’s, Jamie Vardy, adds another accolade to his already outstanding year by being named Premier League Player of the Season. Vardy netted 24 goals with 6 assists, but still trailed Tottenhams Harry Kane, who recorded 25 total goals. Out of the 10 nominees for the Premier League Player of the Season, five were from the Leicester City squad, including Vardy.
La Liga
- After defeating Granada 3-0 Saturday on a hat-trick performance from Luis Saurez, Barcelona captures its 24th La Liga title.
- Suarez’s 40 goal season helps him win La Liga’s golden boot
- Real Madrid comes up short after a spectacular season by Cristiano Ronaldo
Results
| Barcelona | 3-0 | Granada |
| Real Madrid | 2-0 | Deportivo Coruna |
| Atlético Madrid | 2-0 | Celta Vigo |
| Athletic Club | 3-1 | Sevilla |
| Sporting de Gijón | 2-0 | Villareal |
| Real Betis | 2-1 | Getafe |
| Espanyol | 4-2 | Eibar |
| Roya Vallecano | 3-1 | Levante |
| Malaga | 4-1 | Las Palmas |
Final Table
| 1 | Barcelona | 91pts |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 90pts |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 88pts |
| 4 | Villareal | 64pts |
| 5 | Athletic Bilboa | 62pts |
Bundesliga
- Bayern Munich captures their fourth straight Bundesliga title in Pep Guardiola’s last season as head coach
- Bayer Leverkusen wins seven out of their last eight league matches to directly qualify for next year’s Champions League group stage
- Thomas Tuchel reiterated he was not satisfied with Borussia Dortmund’s season after finishing 10 points behind front runner, Bayern Munich
Results
| Hoffenheim | 1-4 | Schalke 04 |
| Werder Bremen | 1-0 | Frankfurt |
| SV Darmstadt 98 | 0-2 | B. Mönchengladbach |
| Bayern Munich | 3-1 | Hannover 96 |
| Wolfsburg | 3-1 | Stuttgart |
| B. Dortmund | 2-2 | Cologne |
| B. Leverkusen | 3-2 | Ingolstadt 04 |
| Mainz | 0-0 | Hertha Berlin |
| FC Augsburg | 1-3 | Hamburg |
Final Table
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 88pts |
| 2 | Dortmund | 78pts |
| 3 | Bayern Leverkussen | 60pts |
| 4 | B. Mönchengladbach | 55pts |
| 5 | Schalke 04 | 52pts |
Serie A
- Juventus wins five of its last six league matches to win its 32nd Serie A title
- Juventus posted an impressive mid-season campaign winning 15 matches in a row and, in all, posting a winning streak 26 out of 28 matches.
- Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain had an outstanding season, scoring 36 times in 36 games
Results
| Chievo Verona | 0-0 | Bologna |
| Empoli | 2-1 | Torino |
| Genoa | 1-2 | Atalanta |
| Lazio | 2-4 | Fiorentina |
| Palermo | 3-2 | Verona |
| Udinese | 1-2 | Carpi |
| Juventus | 5-0 | Sampdoria |
| Milan | 1-3 | Roma |
| Napoli | 4-0 | Frosinone |
| Sassuolo | 3-1 | Inter Milan |
Final Table
| 1 | Juventus | 91pts |
| 2 | Napoli | 81pts |
| 3 | Roma | 80pts |
| 4 | Inter Milan | 67pts |
| 5 | Fiorentina | 64pts |
Ligue 1
- PSG wins its 6th overall title with ease, posting 31 more points than second place Lyonnais
- Zlatan Ibrahimović’s scored 38 goals in just 31 games in his farewell season with PSG
- Angel Di Maria returned to his winning ways, scoring 10 goals with 18 assists in his first season with PSG
Results
| Rennais | 1-2 | Bastia |
| Troyes | 1-1 | Marseille |
| Caen | 1-0 | Bourdeaux |
| Monaco | 2-0 | Montpellier |
| Guingamp | 2-3 | Nice |
| St. Etienne | 0-1 | LOSC |
| PSG | 4-0 | Nantes |
| Lorient | 1-0 | Ajaccio |
| Angers | 2-3 | Toulouse |
| Reims | 4-1 | Lyonnais |
Final Table
| 1 | PSG | 96pts |
| 2 | Lyonnais | 65pts |
| 3 | Monaco | 65pts |
| 4 | Nice | 63pts |
| 5 | LOSC | 60pts |
MLS
- The New York Red Bulls defeated New York City FC by an astonishing 7-0 margin at Yankee Stadium. This ties the record for the worst defeat in MLS history.
- Sebastian Giovinco, Fanendo Adi and David Villa all lead the league with 8 goals so far this season.
- The Western Conference still looks like the stronger of the two as we head into late May.
Results
| Philadelphia | 1-0 | D.C. United |
| NYCFC | 0-7 | NY Red Bulls |
| Toronto | 0-0 | Columbus |
| Chicago | 1-0 | Houston |
| New England | 2-4 | FC Dallas |
| Orlando | 2-1 | Montreal |
| Sporting KC | 1-3 | Real Salt Lake |
| Seattle | 0-1 | Colorado |
| Portland | 4-2 | Vancouver |
| LA Galaxy | 1-1 | San Jose |
Eastern Conference Table
| 1 | Philadelphia | 18pts |
| 2 | NYCFC | 17pts |
| 3 | NY Red Bulls | 16pts |
| 4 | Toronta FC | 16pts |
| 5 | Montreal | 16pts |
Western Conference Table
| 1 | Colorado | 27pts |
| 2 | FC Dallas | 26pts |
| 3 | Real Salt Lake | 20pts |
| 4 | Vancouver | 20pts |
| 5 | LA Galaxy | 20pts |
What to look out for this weekend:
Liga MX Final:
Game One: Pachuca vs Monterrey – Thursday, May 26 at 9:06 PM ET on NBC Universo
Game Two:Monterrey vs Pachuca – Saturday May 28 at 9:36 PM ET on NBC Universo
Champions League Final: Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid – Saturday, May 28 at 2:45 PM ET on FOX.
