28 Apr Soccer Insights – April Vol. 3

Bayern Munich win their third consecutive Bundesliga title, Chelsea are two wins away from being champions, Torino defeats Juventus after 20 years and Chivas and America tie in Mexico. Let’s take a look on what happened in the soccer world this week.

Premier League

Results

Table

Talking points

• Chelsea and Arsenal went goalless at the Emirates Stadium. Chelsea just need to win two of their next games to win the Premier League tittle. Arsène Wenger, Arsenal coach, hasn’t been able to defeat Jose Mourinho.
• Manchester United suffered a huge defeat by losing 3-0 to Everton. Louis van Gaal’s side fell into the fourth spot, which qualifies them to the UEFA Champions League first stage.
• Manchester City jumped to the second spot after beating Aston Villa in an exciting game at the Etihad Stadium. Sergio Agüero scored and is now the only top goalscorer with 21 goals.
• Steven Gerrard played his 500th Premier League game with Liverpool in the 0-0 draw against West Brom.
• Eden Hazard was named ‘Player of the Year’ by the Professional Footballers’ Association. Harry Kane won the ‘Youth Player of the Year’ award.

La Liga

Results

Table

Talking points

• Chicharito Hernández keeps scoring after his decisive goal against Atlético Madrid that let Real Madrid go into the semifinals (where they’ll face Juventus). He scored another brace against Celta de Vigo, and is now the media spotlight around the world.
• Xavi Hernández reached 500 games played with Barcelona in their 0-2 win over Espanyol in the Catalan Derby.
• Antoine Griezmann seems to be unstoppable with Atlético Madrid, scoring twice against Elche and reaching 22 goals this season, a record number for any French player in Spain’s top division.

Bundesliga

Results

Table

Talking points

• Bayern Munich secured their third consecutive league title thanks to their win over Hertha Berlin and Wolfsburg’s defeat to Mönchengladbach. They aim to win three titles this season with the DFB Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
• Relegation is a forgotten subject for Borussia Dortmund, they will try to finish in the fifth or six place to qualify to the UEFA Europa League.
• Stuttgart, another traditional team in Germany, seems to be unable to avoid relegation. Their form hasn’t been the best and need to win the highest amount of points they can to keep their salvation hopes alive.

Serie A

Results

Table

Talking points

• Torino ended a 20 year spell without defeating Juventus. However, this result was overshadowed by crowd trouble.
• Juventus could win the title this Wednesday if they defeat Fiorentina and Lazio does not beat Parma.
• Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuaín scored twice for Napoli in their 4-2 win over Sampdoria. He’s scored a total of 15 goals this season, just three away from the league top scorer: Carlos Tévez with Juventus.

Ligue 1

Results

Table

Talking points

• Lyon and PSG won their games an continue to have the same amount of points. However, the Parisian club has one pending game against  Metz.
• PSG defeated Lille 6-1 with three goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi and two from Edison Cavani. The latter is said to make a move to the English Premier League or Italian Serie A this summer.
• Marseille kept their losing streak, now shocked at home by Lorient. Their UEFA Champions League hopes have almost faded away, and now seek to qualify to the UEFA Europa League.

MLS

Results

Tables

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Talking points

• This weekend recorded three games with four or more goals, something rather unusual in a top league. One of those games was Houston Dynamo vs Sporting Kansas, which was really crazy and dynamic, finishing 4-4.
• DC United went from behind to win their game at Vancouver, who were leading the Western Conference quite comfortably.
• New clubs Orlando and New York continue to get bad results, both losing their respective games. Orlando has yet to win at home, only scoring in their opener against New York.

Liga MX

Results

Table

Talking points

• Chivas and America tied 1-1, leaving Guadalajara on top of the league and sending Las Águilas down to the seventh spot.
• Puebla missed their chance to feed their salvation hopes after Leones Negros defeat against Santos. Pachuca defeated them and their chances of staying in the top flight are slowly getting away.
• Top goalscorer title will surely belong to a foreign player, with Argentinian striker Julio Furch from Veracruz leading the way with nine goals. He’s being closely followed by five players with seven goals scored: Matías Alustiza (Argentinian – Puebla), Rafael Sóbis (Brazilian – Tigres), Avilés Hurtado (Colombian – Chiapas), Ismael Sosa (Argentinian – Pumas) and Dorlan Pabón (Colombian – Monterrey).

What to look out for next week

• CONCACAF Champions League – The second leg of the final between América and Montreal Impact will be played tomorrow night at 8:00 PM. The first game ended 1-1.
• Premier League – Chelsea will play Leicester on Wedenesday and Crystal Palace on Sunday and could win the league at Stamford Bridge if they win in both games.
• La Liga – Real Madrid will play at Sevilla in a tough game that may weaken their rece behind Barcelona for the title.
• Bundesliga – Bayern Munich will play at Bayer Leverkusen as this season champions.
• Serie A – Juventus can secure the title on Wednesday if they defeat Fiorentina and Lazio does not beat Parma.
• MLS – Seattle Sounders will pay a visit to New York City with Clint Dempsey as their leader.
• Liga MX – Tigres versus Chivas and Pumas versus Cruz Azul are the most exciting games next weekend.
• DFB Cup – Borussia Dortmund is playing at Bayern Munich to get a place in the final. This is Jürgen Klopp’s last game against Bayern as Dortmund manager, as he’s set to leave the club at the end of this season.