11 Feb Soccer Insights Feb Vol. 2
Derby day humiliation for Real Madrid, a rare win for Borussia Dortmund and both Manchester clubs use their get-out-of-jail cards. It was another great weekend of football action across Europe!
Premier League
Results
Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea
Burnley 2-2 West Brom
Everton 0-0 Liverpool
Leicester 0-1 Crystal Palace
Manchester City 1-1 Hull
Newcastle 1-1 Stoke
QPR 0-1 Southampton
Swansea 1-1 Sunderland
Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal
West Ham 1-1 Manchester United
Table
1. Chelsea 56pts
2. Man City 49pts
3. Southampton 45pts
4. Arsenal 44pts
5. Man United 44pts
Talking points
• ‘Boring’ James Milner scored a last minute goal to salvage a draw for Man City, but with Chelsea winning the gap at the top has increased to seven points.
• The red half of Manchester was also grateful for a stoppage time goal to grab a draw, Daley Blind volleying home for the accused long-ball merchants.
• Harry Kane was the hero for Spurs as he scored two more goals in their come-from-behind win against rivals Arsenal.
La Liga
Results
Athletic Bilbao 2-5 Barcelona
Atletico Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid
Cordoba 1-2 Almeria
Deportivo 2-0 Eibar
Elche 2-0 Rayo Vallecano
Espanyol 1-2 Valencia
Getafe 2-1 Sevilla
Levante 4-1 Malaga
Real Sociedad 1-1 Celta Vigo
Villarreal 2-0 Granada
Table
1. Real Madrid 54pts
2. Barcelona 53pts
3. Atletico Madrid 50pts
4. Valencia 44pts
5 Sevilla 42pts
Talking points
• The undoubted story of the weekend was the thrashing handed out to Real Madrid by arch rivals Atletico. The return of Ronaldo did nothing for Los Blancos, who are now winless in six meetings between the sides this season.
• Barcelona took advantage to move within a point of the lead. Messi opened the scoring, and now has more goals AND assists than any other player in La Liga history.
• In the battle for the final Champions League qualifying spot, Valencia moved into 4th with a scrappy win at Espanyol in a game that saw nine yellow cards.
Bundesliga
Results
Augsburg 2-2 Frankfurt
Freiburg 0-3 Borussia Dortmund
Hamburg 2-1 Hannover
Koln 0-0 Paderborn
Mainz 0-2 Hertha Berlin
Schalke 1-0 Borussia Monchengladbach
Stuttgart 0-2 Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Wolfsburg 3-0 Hoffenheim
Table
1. Bayern Munich 49pts
2. Wolfsburg 41pts
3. Schalke 34pts
4. Augsburg 34pts
5. B. M’gladbach 33pts
Talking points
• Bayern Munich won their first game since the winter break at the third time of asking, Robben and Alaba both scoring stunning efforts.
• Dortmund won a game! A first win in six lifts them out of the bottom two, and more good news followed the game as Marco Reus signed a new contract until 2019.
• Werder Bremen picked up a fourth consecutive win, a run that has seen them rise from the bottom two to 8th in the table.
Serie A
Results
Cagliari 1-2 Roma
Empoli 2-0 Cesena
Fiorentina 3-2 Atalanta
Inter 3-0 Palermo
Juventus 3-1 Milan
Lazio 0-1 Genoa
Napoli 3-1 Udinese
Sampdoria 1-1 Sassuolo
Verona 1-3 Torino
Table
1. Juventus 53pts
2. Roma 46pts
3. Napoli 42pts
4. Fiorentina 35pts
5. Sampdoria 35pts
Talking points
• Juventus won the big game of the weekend against Milan, Carlos Tevez netting his 14th of the season to lead the scoring charts.
• Inter moved above their city rivals in the table courtesy of a comfortable home win in which Mauro Icardi continued his impressive season with another two goals.
• Bottom club Parma were sold over the weekend for the sum of €1. The new owners will take on the club debt, but with the team ten points adrift of safety they may have already accepted that they’ll be in Serie B next season.
Ligue 1
Results
Bastia 2-0 Metz
Caen 2-0 Toulouse
Evian 0-1 Bordeaux
Guingamp 1-0 Monaco
Lyon 1-1 PSG
Montpellier 1-2 Lille
Nice 0-0 Nantes
Reims 1-3 Lorient
Rennes 1-1 Marseille
St Etienne 3-3 Lens
Table
1. Lyon 50pts
2. Marseille 48pts
3. PSG 48pts
4. St Etienne 41pts
5. Monaco 40pts
Talking points
• The clash at the top of the table finished all square, with a controversial equaliser as Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a penalty, only for the referee to order a retake.
• Marseille failed to capitalise as they drew at Rennes in a continuation of their poor away form.
• Monaco suffered a first defeat in nine games, a surprising result considered they played against ten men from the 22nd minute onwards.
What to look out for next week
• FA Cup – the fifth round takes place this weekend, and on Monday evening Manchester United will look to avoid an upset against League 1 Preston.
• La Liga – Real Madrid will look for a response to their derby day humiliation in a home game against Deportivo.
• Bundesliga – Dortmund will look to make it consecutive wins when they play Mainz on Friday.
• Serie A – a home game against the bottom club Parma is a must-win for Roma if they are to maintain their challenge for the title.
• Ligue 1 – Marseille have a chance to take top spot (for a couple of days at least) as they play in the Friday game against Reims.
