Fansided

The Euro Preview: Atletico Madrid look to remain unbeaten, Serie A title race remains tight

By Clemente Lisi

Atletico Madrid's Spanish midfielder Saul Niguez celebrates after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between Real Betis and Atletico Madrid at the Benito Villamarin Stadium in Sevilla on December 10, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / CRISTINA QUICLER (Photo credit should read CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP/Getty Images)
Atletico Madrid's Spanish midfielder Saul Niguez celebrates after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between Real Betis and Atletico Madrid at the Benito Villamarin Stadium in Sevilla on December 10, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / CRISTINA QUICLER (Photo credit should read CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Atletico Madrid hope to maintain their unbeaten run and challenge Barcelona for the title, while Borussia Dortmund get a new coach and the title race in Serie A remains as close as ever.

La Liga

Atletico Madrid may have failed to reach the knockout round of the Champions League, but they have sent a message that they want to challenge for the Liga title until the very end and the Europa League after the winter break. Diego Simeone’s team haven’t lost a league match since the beginning of the season as they try to maintain pace with Barcelona and second-place Valencia.

While Atleti are in third place, they’re just six points behind Barca. Not only will the Madrid club need to keep getting points, the match against Valencia on Feb. 4 and Barcelona on March 4 could very well decide the title. Atletico Madrid are loaded with enthusiasm and momentum. What they lack in talent, they make up for with their manager. Simeone has turned Atletico into a contender the last few years, even breaking the Real-Barca hegemony by winning the league title in 2014.

Atletico’s 1-0 victory over Real Betis last Sunday marked the team’s 19th match without a defeat, setting a club record for the longest unbeaten streak in league play.  The league record for most consecutive games without a loss stands at 38, set by Real Sociedad between April 1979 and May 1980.

“We are playing well, and our results are even better,” Simeone told reporters after the win. “We have a very clear identity and way of thinking. We just go from game to game and that will not change.”

While Atleti’s city rivals Real Madrid are busy competing in the FIFA Club World Cup, the Rojiblanco will play 18th-place Alaves on Saturday, while 12th-place Eibar face Valencia. The following day, Barcelona play Deportivo La Coruna, currently in 17th place.

Next: Real Madrid fans named best in soccer

Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund are also out of the Champions League but have a tougher mountain to climb domestically. After firing coach Peter Bosz following the team’s 2-1 home defeat against Werder Bremen last Saturday, the club appointed former Cologne boss Peter Stoger to the job.

The team had not won a Bundesliga match since Sept. 30. The risky high-line defense is something the pragmatic Stoger abandoned following Bosz’s 15 games in charge. Dortmund ended their two-month winless streak Tuesday with a 2-0 win against Mainz for Stoger’s first win in charge of the club.

The Austrian-born Stoger must now turn to his younger players (like American star Christian Pulisic) who got off to a strong start this season, as they approach the winter break. They play Hoffenheim, aiming for a spot in Europe next season, on Saturday, and take on Bayern Munich, another key test, in the third round of the DFB-Pokal on Dec. 20.

League leaders Bayern Munich, meanwhile, play at 14th-place VfB Stuttgart on Saturday as they look to extend their lead atop the Bundesliga table.

Serie A

Inter Milan will put first place on the line Saturday when they host Udinese at the San Siro. The game comes four days after the Nerazzurri played third-division side Pordenone to a scoreless draw in the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia, needing a penalty shootout to advance to the next round.

“Getting through was very hard, Pordenone probably would have deserved to go through, but I still congratulate the lads … because it wasn’t easy to win on penalties after that match,” said Inter Milan coach Luciano Spalletti, who rested all but two starters that had tied Juventus 0-0 last Saturday.

The slate of Coppa Italia matches capped off a busy few days of midweek action. Atalanta, who have played well in the Europa League this season and recently advanced to the knockout stage, climbed to eighth after coming from behind to defeat Genoa 2-1 in Tuesday night’s rescheduled Serie A match. Following snow across most of northern Italy, the game was delayed 24 hours. As a result, the loss pushed Genoa, now fifth from bottom, closer to the relegation zone.

At the other end of the table, second-place Napoli play at Torino on Saturday, while third-place Juventus play at Bologna the following day. Both Napoli and Juve will look to win their games in hopes of surpassing Inter should the Nerazzurri fail to grab three points this weekend.

Home/La Liga