21 Oct Soccer Insights – October Vol. 3
League football made a welcome return this week following the international break, and brought with it plenty of exciting games and great goals. Here is a round-up from the biggest leagues around the world and the major stories from the weekend.
Premier League
Results
Arsenal 2-2 Hull
Burnley 1-3 West Ham
Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea
Everton 3-0 Aston Villa
Manchester City 4-1 Tottenham
Newcastle 1-0 Leicester
QPR 2-3 Liverpool
Southampton 8-0 Sunderland
Stoke 2-1 Swansea
West Brom 2-2 Manchester United
Table
1. Chelsea 22pts
2. Man City 17pts
3. Southampton 16pts
4. West Ham 13pts
5. Liverpool 13pts
Talking points
• Sergio Aguero scored all four goals in Man City’s win over Spurs and he is tied with Diego Costa at the top of the scoring charts with nine goals.
• QPR and Liverpool saw four goals scored after the 86th minute, including a 95th minute own goal to give Liverpool all three points. Richard Dunne had already scored an own goal for QPR, making him the first Premier League player to score 10 own goals in total.
• Talking of own goals, Sunderland defender Santiago Vergini scored one of the great own goals as he volleyed into his own net from the edge of the penalty area. It was the first of eight goals that Sunderland would concede in the game.
• Man United scored late to rescue a point at West Brom, but are now six away league games without a win, their worst run since the 1996/97 season.
La Liga
Results
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Celta Vigo
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Espanyol
Barcelona 3-0 Eibar
Cordoba 1-2 Malaga
Deportivo 3-0 Valencia
Elche 0-2 Sevilla
Granada 0-1 Rayo Vallecano
Levante 0-5 Real Madrid
Real Sociedad 1-2 Getafe
Villarreal 2-0 Almeria
Table
1. Barcelona 22pts
2. Sevilla 19pts
3. Real Madrid 18pts
4. Valencia 17pts
5. Atletico Madrid 17pts
Talking points
• With two goals against Levante, Cristiano Ronaldo has taken his tally to 15 in eight games, another La Liga record.
• Meanwhile, Barcelona have yet to concede a league goal with Claudio Bravo extending his record for longest time without conceding from the start of the season. On Saturday, the irresistible force meets the immovable object as the Bernabeu hosts the first Clasico of the season.
• The shock result of the weekend was Deportivo, who began the day joint bottom, hammering high-flying Valencia.
Bundesliga
Results
Bayern Munich 6-0 Werder Bremen
Freiburg 1-2 Wolfsburg
Hamburg 1-1 Hoffenheim
Hannover 0-3 Borussia Monchengladbach
Koln 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Mainz 2-1 Augsburg
Paderborn 3-1 Frankfurt
Schalke 2-0 Hertha Berlin
Stuttgart 3-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Table
1. Bayern Munich 20pts
2. Monchengladbach 16pts
3. Hoffenheim 14pts
4. Mainz 14pts
5. Wolfsburg 14pts
Talking points
• Bayern crushed bottom club Bremen 6-0, with Bremen becoming the first team since records began in 1993 not to register a single shot in a Bundesliga game. It was also the first time that neither goalkeeper registered a single save.
• The nightmare start continues for Dortmund. They fell to a fifth defeat in eight games, and sit 14th in the table.
• Struggling Stuttgart staged a remarkable comeback against Leverkusen, rallying from 3-0 down at half-time to salvage a draw, the equaliser coming four minutes from time.
Serie A
Results
Atalanta 1-0 Parma
Cagliari 2-2 Sampdoria
Fiorentina 0-2 Lazio
Genoa 1-1 Empoli
Inter Milan 2-2 Napoli
Palermo 2-1 Cesena
Roma 3-0 Chievo
Sassuolo 1-1 Juventus
Torino 1-0 Udinese
Verona 1-3 AC Milan
Table
1. Juventus 19pts
2. Roma 18pts
3. Sampdoria 15pts
4. Milan 14pts
5. Udinese 13pts
Talking points
• Juventus dropped points for the first time this season in a surprise draw with Sassuolo, who remain the only club still without a win.
• Four goals in the last 11 minutes provided a spectacular end to the Inter v Napoli game, with Jose Callejon twice giving Napoli the lead only to be denied by a stoppage time equaliser.
• Rafael Marquez had a day to forget for Verona. His own goal gave Milan the lead, before he received his marching orders in second half stoppage time.
Ligue 1
Results
Bordeaux 1-1 Caen
Lens 1-3 PSG
Lorient 0-1 St Etienne
Lille 1-2 Guingamp
Lyon 5-1 Montpellier
Marseille 2-0 Toulouse
Metz 0-0 Rennes
Monaco 2-0 Evian
Nantes 1-1 Reims
Nice 0-1 Bastia
Table
1. Marseille 25pts
2. PSG 18pts
3. Bordeaux 18pts
4. Lyon 17pts
5. St Etienne 17pts
Talking points
• Marcelo Bielsa’s Marseille bandwagon rolls on, an eighth straight win taking them seven points clear of second place PSG.
• After scoring a penalty in PSG’s win over Lens, Edinson Cavani pulled out his trademark ‘sniper’ celebration. The referee didn’t seem to like it and promptly booked the striker, who then put his hand on the referee to argue. This resulted in another yellow card and the disbelieving Uruguayan was sent off.
Liga MX
Results
America 2-0 Monterrey
Atlas 0-2 Toluca
Chiapas 2-0 Santos
Leon 2-1 Guadalajara
Morelia 0-1 Veracruz
Puebla 1-1 U. de G
Pumas 1-1 Pachuca
Tigres 1-0 Cruz Azul
Tijuana 2-1 Queretaro
Table
1. America 29pts
2. Toluca 25pts
3. Atlas 24pts
4. Tigres 23pts
5. Monterrey 23pts
Talking points
• The honeymoon period is well and truly over for Ronaldinho and Queretaro. Defeat on Friday leaves them 12th in the table and closer to the bottom of the league than the top.
• An impressive away win for Toluca lifts them above Atlas and into second place.
• Yet another defeat for Gaudalajara means they remain second from bottom.
MLS
Results
Colorado Rapids 0-1 Dallas
DC United 2-1 Chicago Fire
Houston Dynamo 1-2 New England Revolution
LA Galaxy 2-2 Seattle Sounders
NY Red Bulls 1-3 Columbus Crew
Philadelphia Union 2-1 Sporting Kansas City
Portland Timbers 0-0 Real Salt Lake
San Jose Earthquakes 0-0 Vancouver Whitecaps
Toronto 1-1 Montreal Impact
Table
In the Eastern Conference, the five play-off places have been secured by DC, New England, Kansas City, Columbus and the Red Bulls. In the Western Conference, Seattle, LA, Dallas and Salt Lake have all guaranteed a play-off place. Vancouver and Portland will fight for the remaining spot.
Talking points
• LA and Seattle are battling for the Western Conference title, and Seattle remain top after coming from 2-0 down to draw in California. The two meet again this weekend in Seattle.
• Portland and Vancouver are fighting for the final Western Conference play-off place, but both played scoreless draws.
What to look out for this week
Premier League – Manchester United host Chelsea on Sunday in Louis van Gaal’s biggest test yet
La Liga – It’s all about El Clasico! Madrid host Barcelona on Saturday, when Luis Suarez could make his debut
Ligue 1 – The top four all face each other as PSG host Bordeaux and Marseille travel to Lyon
Bundesliga – The top two clash on Saturday when Bayern travel to Monchengladbach
Serie A – Roma face a tough test when they visit third place Sampdoria
Liga MX – On Friday Ronaldinho’s Queretaro host league leaders America
MLS – Seattle v LA part 2 takes place at the home of the Sounders
