Championship races in European leagues “boring”
The top 5 European football leagues (England, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy) are experiencing a disappointing trend: the championship races are not as exciting as expected.
The race in the Premier League
The 2021/22 Premier League season has witnessed a particularly exciting championship race between Manchester City and Liverpool. It was not until the final seconds of the season that the winner was determined.
In the final round, Manchester City trailed Aston Villa 2-0 until the 75th minute. However, in the final few minutes of the game, Pep Guardiola’s team scored three consecutive goals to win 3-2. As a result, “The Blues” successfully defended their title with 93 points, one more point than second-placed Liverpool.
But this season is at risk of becoming boring if Man City can’t turn the tide. Because Arsenal is showing amazing stability. The gap between the two teams is currently 8 points, but Man City has played one game less.
Especially, Man City will face Arsenal on April 26th. If they can’t win against this direct competitor, it will be difficult for Pep Guardiola’s team to defend their championship.
As for Arsenal, they still have 10 more matches. They are 9 wins away from the Premier League throne. This season, the “Gunners” have won the most matches with 22, while “the Citizens” have won 19 matches.
Coach Mikel Arteta’s team only has this arena left and of course, they will focus all their resources. Being 8 points ahead of Man City and playing one more game does not guarantee the championship, but it is still a big gap that Arsenal has created.
Boring tournaments
An 8-point gap between the top two teams in the English Premier League (with one team having played one game less) is actually small compared to other leagues. At this moment, the biggest gap that the top two teams in a league can create belongs to Serie A.
League leaders Napoli have 71 points after 27 games, with an impressive 23 wins. The team that recently climbed to second place, Lazio, has 52 points, meaning they are 19 points behind their southern Italian rivals.
It’s worth noting that both teams have played 27 games, unlike Arsenal which has played one game more than Manchester City. According to calculations, Napoli could clinch the Serie A title on April 30, making them one of the earliest champions in the history of this tournament.
In La Liga, Barcelona are 12 points ahead of Real Madrid after directly defeating their rivals in the recent El Clasico match at the Nou Camp. Essentially, the highest-level tournament in Spanish football has been decided, even though there are still 12 rounds of matches left.
In Ligue 1, PSG has been considered the champion of the league even before the start of the season. In reality, the rich team from Paris is superior to the rest of the league. From 2012 to now, PSG has won 8 out of 10 seasons. And it would not be surprising if the team with the trio of Neymar, Messi, and Mbappe continues to defend their Ligue 1 throne. Currently, PSG has 66 points, 7 more than second-placed Marseille.
The only other top 5 European league with an interesting title race is the Bundesliga. Surprisingly, Bayern Munich is experiencing a serious decline and is now 1 point behind Dortmund. However, the “Red Devils” have also won the German league title for 10 consecutive seasons, so their decline is only temporary.
Expanding further, even leagues such as the Dutch Eredivisie and the Portuguese Primeira Liga have seen the championship race become less dramatic. In the Eredivisie, Feyenoord is 6 points ahead of Ajax even though they have played the same number of matches. In the Primeira Liga, Benfica even leads Porto by 10 points.
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