The Euro Preview: Barcelona and Napoli look to dominate in the new year
Barcelona look to extend their undefeated streak in Spain, while Napoli hope to continue to pile on points in Italy as two of Europe’s biggest domestic leagues enter the second half of the season.
La Liga
After defeating rivals Real Madrid 3-0 in El Clasico before the Christmas break, Barcelona return to action Sunday when they host 16th-place Levante at the Camp Nou. Barca have dominated La Liga this season and hold a commanding nine-point lead in the standings over second-place Atletico Madrid.
While Barcelona remain undefeated at the midway point of the season, they haven’t been shy about their ambitions to sign more stars. Coach Ernesto Valverde said he wants the club to invest in reinforcements in the current transfer market. While the summer soap opera has spilled into January in regards to signing Philippe Coutinho, other targets include Yerry Mina of Brazilian club Palmeiras and Matthijs De Ligt of Ajax.
Atletico Madrid, the only team with any realistic chance of contesting the title against Barcelona, return from the winter break Saturday when they host eighth-place Getafe. The following day, Barcelona play 16th-place Levante at the Camp Nou. While the title race looks to effectively be over, Diego Simeone’s side are strong enough to stay the course over the next eight weeks ahead of their March 4 encounter with Barcelona. Atleti have only lost one game this season and possess the roster strength (now that Antonine Griezmann will not be leaving this winter) to keep Barca looking over their shoulder.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, are effectively out of the title race following their El Clasico loss. Real, in fourth place, trail Barca by 14 points, with a game in hand. Now fighting to stay in the top four (and grab a spot in next season’s Champions League), the club may need to focus on this year’s European tournament in order to salvage their season. The defending European and Spanish league champions, who have been the most disappointing team in the league this season, despite winning the Super Cup and Club World Cup, play Sunday at Celta Vigo, currently in 11th place.
Serie A
The title race remains a four-team fight (between Napoli, Juventus, Inter Milan and AS Roma, who have a game in hand) as the season officially enters its second half. After 19 matchdays, Napoli lead the table once again with a one-point lead over title-holders Juventus. Napoli’s 1-0 victory against Crotone last Friday and Juve’s 3-1 win at Verona the following day helped the Partenopei win the symbolic title of “winter champion” as the team with the most points midway through the season. Napoli, eliminated Tuesday by Atalanta in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia, take on Verona at home Saturday, while Juventus play at Cagliari the same day.
The one notable absentee near the top of the table is AC Milan. The storied club has fallen on hard times. This was supposed to be the season it would exorcise those demons. Instead, the team spent a lot of money only to find themselves in a precarious position in the table. The club canned Vincenzo Montella (who was hired to coach Sevilla in Spain last month) in November and replaced him with former player Gennaro Gattuso, but that’s done little to turn around the team’s fortunes. The one silver lining has been a 1-0 victory in overtime against rival Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia to advance to the semifinals.
Gattuso, always candid in front of the cameras when answering reporters’ questions, said last week: “Perhaps I am the worst coach in Serie A, but I always want to win.”
This comes as Italy’s top flight opted to play through what would have been its traditional Christmas break, with some mid-week Coppa Italia matches sprinkled in, as part of an effort to be more like the Premier League. Serie A’s winter break usually starts the weekend before Christmas and runs through Jan. 6, the annual feast of the Epiphany. This season, the Serie A break will run from Jan. 7-20.
Next: Bundesliga midseason report
Scottish Premiership
With the Bundesliga still on haitus for much of this month, we turn our attention to Scotland. The title race, which still held some intrigue up until Christmas, is no more. Celtic have opened up an eight-point lead over Aberdeen.
Despite Celtic’s scoreless draw against rivals Rangers last Saturday in the Old Firm derby, Aberdeen were unable to take advantage after being held to a 0-0 home draw by Hearts later the same day.
It was just the second time in 74 domestic matches Celtic failed to score during Brendan Rodgers’ tenure. The former Liverpool manager said the winter break is a much-needed respite for his side, adding that the 0-0 draw was “probably a fair result in the end.”
The 12-team Scottish Premiership will go on break for the next three weeks. Competitive soccer resumes Jan. 19 with the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. The league resumes on Jan. 23 with Celtic playing at 11th-place Patrick Thistle, while the following day Aberdeen will tangle with third-place Rangers, who are just three points behind them.