Premier League teams paid their respects to the Queen this last weekend while Bundesliga, LaLiga, Ligue 1, and Serie A played on.
Despite losing USMNT striker Jordan Pefok to injury, FC Union Berlin is surprisingly on top of the German table.
All is going according to plan in France and Spain, where PSG, Real Madrid, and Barcelona rule their respective leads without losses.
Here’s what we learned from a Premier League-less week of European football glory.
Bayern Munich is missing Lewy as FC Union Berlin takes the top spot.
Former Bayern man Robert Lewandowski can’t stop scoring in Spain, making Munich fans realize what they had only now that it’s too late. Though much is made of Liverpool missing Sadio Mane, he hasn’t put Bayern ahead in their last three Bundesliga matches, all of which have resulted in ties.
Bayern Munich still hasn’t lost this year, and as fate would have it, they face off against Lewy and Barcelona on Tuesday in the Champions League.
Real Madrid can’t lose in LaLiga, but Barcelona is hot on their heels.
Los Blancos silenced upstart Mallorca in Madrid despite resting probably Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema with a minor muscle injury. Los Reyes have won all five of their first five LaLiga games, extending a winning streak across all competitions that began in May. Real’s one loss in that span came in a club friendly against… Barcelona.
Xavi’s rejuvenated Blaugrana is scoring just as much as we all knew they would, with an ageless Robert Lewandowski leading the team with nine goals in six matches across all competitions. But it isn’t only Barca and Madrid at the top of LaLiga – Real Betis is just one point behind FCB in third.
Bad news for Ligue 1 and UCL teams – Messi is GOATing again.
After a rookie season full of disappointments, Messi is avoiding a sophomore slump at PSG. With tools like Neymar and Mbappe at the Maestro’s side, Messi looks back to his old ways, turning the pitch into his canvas. In seven games, Messi has three goals and seven assists. Paired with Neymar’s 10 goals and seven assists in just nine games, PSG looks damn near unstoppable.
Serie A is a red-card-filled soccer opera, with Napoli clawing to the top.
Italy’s Serie A has always had a reputation for being one of Europe’s toughest leagues. Ronaldo has gone on record saying it’s the toughest league to score in with physical defenses that lock out opposing offenses. Serie A has been as hard-nosed as ever this season, with red cards flying all over the place since week one. The end of this Juventus-Salernitana was wild, and pretty typical of what Italy’s top league has been like this season.
As Juventus underperforms, UCL dark horse Napoli has risen to the top of a contentious table with AC Milan and Atalanta equaling Naples in points. As Lazio, Udinese, and Inter sniff around the top five, Serie A looks like Europe’s most competitive league this season. If you’re not watching Serie A yet, maybe it’s time to start.
What did you learn from this past weekend of soccer action? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured Image: Pexels/ignacio sottano/1FCUnionBerlin/CFRealMadrid/Interbrand/Juventus/DM