Football/Soccer Update #1 3/7

It is certainly the most wonderful time of the year for soccer fans. Between league races heating up and the Europe Competitions entering the last stretch, there is so much excitement surrounding the sport. This week, we get into the Premier League, the Bundesliga, and Real Madrid. Stay tuned to see what I have in store for next week.

1. Man City – The defending treble winners are picking up their world class form just in time for championship season. Manchester City have not lost a single game since the beginning of December and have gotten all their hurt stars back healthy. Young star, Phil Foden has come up huge for the World Class juggernauts with sixteen goals and ten assists in all competitions. There is currently a debate being had as to whether he is the best player in the Premier League.

Manchester City have advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, to the surprise of no one. In this month, they will play Arsenal and Liverpool in two games that will decide if City can win their fourth premier league title in a row.

2.  Bundesliga – The German football league will have a decision to make in the offseason; whether to let Bayern continue its dominance. It feels as if every time Bayern Munich falls and has a subpar year for their standards, they poach talent and managers from other teams in the Bundesliga. This season and last season they have faced stark competition for the German Domestic League. In two years, the German superpower will have won just one trophy despite having far and beyond the best team in German football. The Bundesliga can prevent them from sustaining their monopoly along with Bayer Leverkusen and if they do stick up to Bayern, German football will become a whole lot more entertaining.

3. Arsenal – Thirty-one goals in seven games. No team has ever scored this many goals in seven games in Premier League history. The wild thing is Arsenal is spreading wealth. The Gunnars have five players with at least six goals, three players with seven and one with thirteen. Some people say they need a true striker but with this much production it is safe to say they are doing simply fine. Currently Arsenal sits in third place, trailing Manchester City by just two points whom they will play at the end of the month in what looks to be the most important game of the season.

4. Real Madrid – Madrid owns La Liga this season despite suffering countless bad calls in league play. In the Champions League they have not dropped a game despite barely escaping the round of sixteen. This does not take away from the fact they still are one of the two favorites to retake the title of king of Europe. This is thanks to the power of young star Jude Bellingham who in his first year at Madrid is proving to be the best player in Europe. At Dortmund he got all the praise for what he did and rightfully so. He was the reason they almost took the league from Bayern Munich. This year Madrid could stop what looks to be the unstoppable force yet immovable object that is Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

Game of the week:

Liverpool vs. City 11:45 on USA on Sunday

Up until this point, no game in all of Europe has had the implications this match does. Liverpool has a chance to overthrow the three-time defending champions for their thrown atop English football. We are in the last months of the Klopp era in Liverpool, and he has a chance to go out with a bang. Liverpool is still in contention for all three trophies they opened the season competing for and have already won one.

Manchester City, the dominant power in Europe, has sustained their run atop World football through consistency and precision. This year though, they look vulnerable to not win the Premier League because of how good Liverpool and Arsenal are. The game is at Anfield which will prove to be a hell of a challenge, but if any team is up for it, it is Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.