The Euro Preview: Schalke 04 and Inter Milan in panic mode
The domestic club season may have just gotten started, but teams like Schalke and Inter Milan desperately need points to salvage their seasons.
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich’s match against Schalke was supposed to have an impact on the title race. Not anymore.
After Schalke’s poor start (the team is in last place with no points after three games), the preseason title contenders risk falling way behind and having to deal with a relegation fight this season. This after the team overachieved last year and finished second in the league.
Bayern, on the other hand, are playing like the defending champions they are. They’re undefeated after three matchdays with nine points. The team enters this weekend after coming off a 2-0 win against Benfica in the Champions League as new coach Niko Kovac has slowly become a fan-favorite among the Bavarian faithful.
“You can see that every player at Bayern has incredible quality, and not only in attack,” said Bayer Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich, after his team lost 3-1 last Saturday at the Allianz Arena. “They’ve venomous when they lose the ball. They counter-press immediately and go for every one-on-one.”
Schalke, coming off a 1-1 draw against Porto in the Champions League, will have to deal with that sort of lethal game from Bayern. Given how badly Domenico Tedesco’s team has been playing this month, another defeat is a real possibility against Bayern.
In another key matchup this weekend, Borussia Dortmund, currently in second place on goal differential, play on Saturday away at 11th-place Hoffenheim. BVB are coming off a 1-0 win in the Champions League against Club Brugge.
Serie A
While Juventus remain in first place after Cristiano Ronaldo’s brace last Sunday against Sassuolo, things aren’t going so well for Inter Milan. The title contenders, rebuilt last season under manager Luciano Spalletti, were supposed to keep pace with Juve. Instead, they find themselves in 15th place with just four points after four games.
Inter play on the road Saturday against Sampdoria in a do-or-die match. Another loss could plunge them into the relegation zone. In the Champions League, Inter defeated Tottenham, another team that have struggled this season, and will need to do much of the same in Serie A going forward.
“We had a good game and pressed them high to make them suffer. We often complicated life for ourselves, however, giving them counter attacks which meant we had to chase the ball and recover,” Spalletti told reporters after the Tottenham win. “Sometimes we were a bit imprecise in the build-up phase too. It is clear that you have to have positioning spot on and we manned the posts that needed to be.”
In other key matchups, Juventus play Sunday at Frosinone without Douglas Costa (who has been banned for four games for spitting at a Sassuolo player), while third-place Napoli play at Torino the same day. Surprise side Spal, in second, hope to continue their remarkable run Saturday at Fiorentina.
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La Liga
Barcelona are arguably the most in-form club in Europe at the moment. First in the league, Barca blanked PSV Eindhoven 4-0 in the Champions League following a Lionel Messi hat-trick. Messi also leads the league with four goals and two assists. Barcelona host sixth-place Girona on Sunday at the Camp Nou.
The season has reached a critical juncture. Real Madrid have also kept pace with their rivals and are in second place with 10 points. Real, hoping for a Barca defeat this weekend, will host Espanyol on Saturday at the Estadio Bernabeu.
A Real Madrid defeat, coupled with a Barca win, would extend the Catalan’s lead atop the table. Real Madrid are also coming off a wonderful Champions League outing, defeating Roma 3-0 at home.
In another key game, Celta Viga, a surprise third, play on Saturday any home against Valladolid, who are second from the bottom.