A Look Around the Leagues of Europe

Most leagues by this time have gotten past their 8th round of games now and things are starting to shape up quite nicely, or not, as the case may be. I would actually like to begin in the Turkish Super League where Galatasaray have gotten off to an uninspiring but good-enough start with 15 points in their first 8 games. Similarly, Antalyaspor have managed to keep up with the pace-setters making it 15 out of 8 as well. Meanwhile, Orduspor are somehow the team in 3rd despite having just 14 points from their first 8 games. Genclerbirligi, Kasimpasa, Fenerbahce, Eskisehirspor, and Trabzonspor each have 13 points to their name. Other big names? Well, Sivasspor, Bursaspor, and Besiktas occupy 9th - 11th places respectively. While Sivasspor have 12 points, Bursaspor and Besiktas have 10 and 9 points each. Thus, while things are still in the mix, the leaders thus far are rather surprising so we'll have to see how things shape up from here. Meanwhile, in Greece, Olympiacos have carved out 21 points for themselves from 7 games played to the 16 by 2nd position PAOK from the same number of games. Panionios are a surprise in 3rd position with 15 points as are Asteras Tripolis in 4th position with 13. Platanias are 5th with 11 points to their name from just 6 games. Where are Panathinaikos? They have dropped to 8th with 8 points after having 2 points deducted for some kind of infraction. Aris Thessaloniki are 12th with 6 points from 7 games while AEK Athens are bottom of the barrel 16th with a mere 2 points from 7! How are things in Russia you may ask? Well, Anji Makhachkala are the surprise leaders after 12 games with 29 points. 2nd position is held by a familiar face: CSKA Moskva who have amassed 27 points from 12 games. Terek Grozny are another new-comer to this side of the table, though they are relatively safe from falling out of the top five for at least a game if not more: they have 25 points in 3rd place. Zenit St. Petersburg are 4th with 24 points while Lokomotiv Moskva have a loose grip on 5th with 21. What of the big names of Spartak Moskva and fiery Rubin Kazan? Well, they sit 7th and 8th respectively with 19 points to the former and 18 to the latter. How about neighboring Ukraine now where we finally have a familiar face on the top of the table! Shakhtar Donetsk have captured 36 points to their name from 12 games played while virtually unknown Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk have managed to build a campaign of 24 points from 12 games just as Dynamo Kyiv! Meanwhile, Metalist Kharkiv hold 4th with 21 as Arsenal Kyiv have managed to snag a hold of 5th with 19 points to their name. Over to the west now, to the Netherlands where Twente continue their dominance, though not nearly as completely as they would like. With 22 points, they just barely edge PSV who have cobbled together 21 from 9 games. Vitesse are interestingly in 3rd, even in contention for 2nd as they lose out to PSV on goal difference alone. Meanwhile, Ajax have allowed Champions League glory to cloud their senses domestically, falling to 4th with just 17 points. Feyenoord round out the top five, losing to Ajax solely on goal difference. I will just briefly run through Portugal since their league is still really in its developmental stages: Porto are top with Benfica at 14 each though the northerners lead on goal difference. Braga have a hold on 3rd with 11 though Gil Vicente are surprisingly close with 9 from 6 games. Rio Ave currently a sizable pack with 8 points in 5th though I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see things change. Where are Sporting Lisbon I can hear you ask. Well, they are actually in 12th position with 6 from 6. Not nearly the bright start they were hoping for; but not deadly just yet! Meanwhile, in France, PSG have actually managed to turn around their less than impressive early performances to take the top of the French table with 19 points from 9 games. Equal with Marseille and a point over the team that were dominant a couple seasons ago: Olympique Lyon. Toulouse have 4th with 16, just over the likes of Valenciennes and Bordeaux. Worth mentioning: Ajaccio who would be in 10th at least have been dropped to 13th after getting 2 points deducted for some sort of infraction or another. Also, just a shout out to Sochaux-Montbeliard who find themselves in the fight to avoid relegation if their form continues in this manner! They currently sit at 18th position out of 20 with a mere 7 points from 9 games played. Moving on now, to Italy where the Old Ladies of Juventus have a decent hold on 1st with 22 points from 8 matches. Napoli are probably happy in 2nd with 19 points though will surely be hoping to increase their pillow between themselves and 3rd place Lazio who have 18 points to their name. Inter Milan also have 18 while 5th place Roma have managed 14 from 8. I would just like to say that AC Milan are presently wallowing in 15th position with a meager 7 points from 8 games. Onwards and upwards to Germany now where Bayern seem to have reclaimed their historic dominance with 24 points from 8 games. Eintracht Frankfurt are the surprise faces in 2nd with 18 points while Schalke hold 3rd with 17 points. Dortmund and Leverkusen are the disappointed parties in 4th and 5th with 12 points each. Quality teams need to be able to challenge internationally while not falling apart domestically and that is something that Dortmund don't appear to have mastered just yet. Hand it to the Bavarians though, they have! I would just like to drop back down to Spain now where Barcelona and Atletico Madrid hold 1st and 2nd with 22 points each from 8 games played. Malaga are actually in 3rd with 17 while Real Madrid look weak on their feet in 4th with 14 points to their name. Last but not least, Real Betis Balompie have made quite a run for themselves culminating in 13 points and a better goal difference than Levante who are thus bumped to 6th. Now for the island portions of Europe: I would like to begin with Scotland where Celtic have yet to be truly challenged with 20 points from 9 games while 2nd place Saint Johnstone have 17 from 10. Aberdeen have 15 from 10 in 3rd while Hibernian are in a similar position though with an inferior goal difference. Last but certainly not least, Inverness are 5th with 14 from 10. Only Motherwell have also not played a 10th game yet though they sit in 6th. Should they collect full points, they will look far better with 16 putting them into 3rd! A tie or a loss though, will drop them into the rat-pack. Over to England now where Chelsea have maintained themselves with 22 points to 2nd position Manchester United's 18. Manchester City have a similar set-up though an inferior goal difference to their arguably more successful counter-parts. Everton are adrift in 4th with 15 while Tottenham and several others hold 14. Currently, Spurs have the best goal difference. Liverpool's chances are looking up with a move to 12th while Newcastle appear to have lost their magic, falling to 11th. Arsenal are in 9th. Make sure to keep coming by! More coverage as always. Enjoy.