28 Oct Soccer Insights – Oct Vol. 4
The European leagues are starting to take shape as the MLS season reaches the play-off stage; plenty of interesting scorelines and stories in the latest edition of soccer insights.
Premier League
Results
Burnley 1-3 Everton
Liverpool 0-0 Hull
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea
QPR 2-0 Aston Villa
Southampton 1-0 Stoke
Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal
Swansea 2-0 Leicester
Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle
West Brom 2-2 Crystal Palace
West Ham 2-1 Manchester City
Table
1. Chelsea 23pts
2. Southampton 19pts
3. Man City 17pts
4. West Ham 16pts
5. Arsenal 14pts
Talking points
• Robin van Persie denied Chelsea with the last kick of the game as an improved Manchester United grabbed a draw against the league leaders
• West Ham continued their excellent start to the season with a surprise win against defending champions Manchester City
• Liverpool were frustrated with a goalless draw at home against Hull; striker Mario Balotelli is still searching for his first Premier League goal for the Reds.
La Liga
Results
Almeria 0-1 Athletic Bilbao
Celta Vigo 3-0 Levante
Cordoba 1-1 Real Sociedad
Eibar 1-1 Granada
Espanyol 0-0 Deportivo
Getafe 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Malaga 4-0 Rayo Vallecano
Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona
Sevilla 2-1 Villarreal
Valencia 3-1 Elche
Table
1. Barcelona 22pts
2. Sevilla 22pts
3. Real Madrid 21pts
4. Valencia 20pts
5. Atletico Madrid 20pts
Talking points
• Despite falling behind to a 3rd minute Neymar goal, Real Madrid emerged victorious from El Clasico as Ronaldo added another goal to his tally.
• Luis Suarez was a surprise starter for Barcelona and assisted Neymar’s opener, but all of Barca’s attack was fairly quiet after that and the Uruguayan was subbed in the second half.
• Sevilla scored twice in the last three minutes to comeback against Villarreal, and are sitting pretty tied with Barcelona at the top of the table.
Bundesliga
Results
Augsburg 2-0 Freiburg
Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Schalke
Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Hannover
Borussia Monchengladbach 0-0 Bayern Munich
Eintracht Frankfurt 4-5 Stuttgart
Hertha Berlin 3-0 Hamburg
Hoffenheim 1-0 Paderborn
Werder Bremen 0-1 Koln
Wolfsbug 3-0 Mainz
Table
1. Bayern Munich 21pts
2. B. M’gladbach 17pts
3. Wolfsburg 17pts
4. Hoffenheim 17pts
5. Leverkusen 16pts
Talking points
• A fourth consecutive league defeat for Dortmund leaves them 15th in the table with just two wins from their nine games. Conversely, they have won all three of their Champions League games this season.
• Perhaps the game of the weekend across Europe was in Frankurt, where the hosts recovered from 3-1 down to lead 4-3, only for Stuttgart to come back and win 5-4.
• Bayern had 72% of the possession against Monchengladbach but couldn’t find a breakthrough; both sides remain unbeaten.
Serie A
Results
AC Milan 1-1 Fiorentina
Cesena 0-1 Inter Milan
Chievo 1-2 Genoa
Empoli 0-4 Cagliari
Juventus 2-0 Palermo
Lazio 2-1 Torino
Napoli 6-2 Verona
Parma 1-3 Sassuolo
Sampdoria 0-0 Roma
Udinese 2-0 Atalanta
Table
1. Juventus 22pts
2. Roma 19pts
3. Udinese 16pts
4. Sampdoria 16pts
5. Lazio 15pts
Talking points
• Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain had not scored a league goal until the weekend, but scored a hattrick in the last 30 minutes as his team thrashed Verona.
• He may not have scored for Juventus in their home win, but Carlos Tevez has reason to celebrate after being recalled to the Argentina squad following a three year absence.
Ligue 1
Results
Bastia 1-3 Monaco
Caen 2-1 Lorient
Evian 0-2 Nantes
Guingamp 2-7 Nice
Lyon 1-0 Marseille
PSG 3-0 Bordeaux
Reims 1-0 Montpellier
Rennes 2-0 Lille
St Etienne 1-0 Metz
Toulouse 0-2 Lens
Table
1. Marseille 25pts
2. PSG 21pts
3. Lyon 20pts
4. St Etienne 20pts
5. Nantes 19pts
Talking points
• On loan striker Carlos Eduardo scored five goals for Nice as they netted seven away to bottom side Guingamp.
• PSG recovered from an early red card to record a comfortable win over Bordeaux, Lucas Moura scoring twice.
• Leaders Marseille saw their eight match winning run come to an end against Lyon, whose win moves them up to third.
Liga MX
Results
Atlas 2-1 Puebla
Cruz Azul 3-1 Morelia
Guadalajara 3-3 Tijuana
Monterrey 2-2 Tigres
Pachuca 0-0 U. de G
Queretaro 3-2 America
Santos 1-1 Pumas
Toluca 2-3 Leon
Veracruz 1-2 Chiapas
Table
1. America 29pts
2. Atlas 27pts
3. Toluca 25pts
4. Tigres 24pts
5. Monterrey 24pts
Talking points
• League leaders America suffered a surprise defeat to Ronaldinho’s Queretaro thanks to a stoppage time winner.
• Guadalajara scored a late equaliser to salvage a draw against Tijuana, but remain second from bottom in the table.
MLS
Results
Chicago 2-1 Houston
Chivas 1-0 San Jose
Columbus Crew 2-1 Philadelphia
Dallas 0-2 Portland
Kansas 0-2 NY Red Bulls
Montreal 1-1 DC United
NE Revolution 1-0 Toronto
Seattle 2-0 LA Galaxy
Vancouver 1-0 Colorado
Table
Eastern Conference
1. DC United 59pts
2. NE Revolution 55pts
3. Columbus 52pts
4. NY Red Bulls 50pts
5. Kansas 49pts
Western Conference
1. Seattle 64pts
2. LA Galaxy 61pts
3. Real Salt Lake 56pts
4. Dallas 54pts
5. Vancouver 50pts
Talking points
• Seattle Sounders won the Supports Shield for the first time in their history courtesy of a home win over second place LA Galaxy.
• Bradley Wright-Phillips scored twice to equal the MLS record for most goals in a season with 27.
What to look out for next week:
• Premier League – the Manchester derby is on Sunday morning
• La Liga – Barcelona look to bounce back from El Clasico loss at home to Celta Vigo
• Bundesliga – the last thing Dortmund wanted after four straight defeats was a trip to Bayern, but that’s what they face on Saturday
• Serie A – there is a full midweek fixture list, and in midweek the big game sees Napoli host Roma
• Ligue 1 – PSG will look to further close the gap on Marseille when they travel to Lorient
• Liga MX – struggling Guadalajara play away to leaders America in the Super Clasico
• MLS – the play-offs get underway on Thursday as Dallas play Vancouver in the first knock-out round
