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Bundesliga title race heats up, battle for third the thing to watch in Serie A and La Liga

By Clemente Lisi

MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY - MARCH 02: Serge Gnabry #22 of Bayern Munich celebrates with Thomas Mueller #25 of Bayern Munich after scoring his sides fourth goal during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and FC Bayern Muenchen at Borussia-Park on March 02, 2019 in Moenchengladbach, Germany. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Bongarts/Getty Images)
MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY - MARCH 02: Serge Gnabry #22 of Bayern Munich celebrates with Thomas Mueller #25 of Bayern Munich after scoring his sides fourth goal during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and FC Bayern Muenchen at Borussia-Park on March 02, 2019 in Moenchengladbach, Germany. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
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Dortmund and Bayern are tied for first in Germany, while the battle for third in Serie A and La Liga has become the race to keep an eye on.

Bundesliga

Following another midweek of Champions League action, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are officially competing in the tightest title race of Europe’s major domestic competitions with the clubs tied at 54 points heading into this weekend’s matchday 25.

BVB, defeated 2-1 by relegation-threatened Augsburg last weekend and eliminated from the Champions League by Tottenham on Tuesday, need to get back to their winning ways when they host VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.

“All in all, it was a very good match. There were a lot of positives in the first half,” Dortmund coach Lucien Favre told reporters after the defeat to Spurs. “I do not want to talk about the individual mistakes I will have to watch the game again. It was an unnecessary defeat.”

Bayern, meanwhile, will also hope to continue winning this weekend. The Bavarian giants, winners of 11 of their last 12 league matches, will be at home on Saturday to take on Wolfsburg.

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Robert Lewandowski scored twice in a 5-1 victory last weekend at Borussia Monchengladbach. In addition to moving into a tie with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Luka Jovic on the scoring charts with 15 goals this season, the Bayern striker is also tied with former teammate Claudio Pizarro as the Bundesliga’s top non-German scorer with195 goals.

Look for Lewandowski to be extra aggressive as he attempts to shatter the record against Wolfsburg, especially after talk of his contract renewal earlier this week became a major taking point.

Serie A

With Juventus seemingly running away with the title and Napoli’s lock on second place, the battle for who will finish third has taken on new meaning in Italy. Inter Milan have seemed like the country’s third-best club for much of the season, but the Nerazzurri have fallen on hard times. The ongoing Mauro Icardi soap opera and a dip in form hasn’t helped them.

At the same time, rivals AC Milan have surged up the table and have now taken over third. The Rossoneri, who have been steadily improving under Gannaro Gattuso, matter again and are trying to return to the Champions League in time for next season.

While AC Milan, with the best defense in Europe so far this year, hold a narrow one-point lead over their city rivals, the remainder of the season is sure to entice even the casual fan to take notice. On matchday 27, AC Milan, who have yet to lose in 2019, travel to Verona on Saturday to take on Chievo, while Inter host Spal the following day at the San Siro.

Juve, now with a 16-point edge over Napoli after last Sunday’s 2-1 road win against the Partenopei, play at home Friday against Udinese. Napoli play on Sunday at Sassuolo.

“We have a 16-point advantage and a superior head-to-head record,” Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri told reporters. “It’s undoubtedly a significant advantage, but we still have to wait to be mathematically certain. I think we still need five or six victories to win the title.”

La Liga

Like Italy, Spain’s top flight also looks to be on the verge of crowning a champion, although Barcelona’s lead over second-place Atletico Madrid (at eight points) isn’t unbridgeable.

As a result, Real Madrid, who have slipped back to third after losing to Barca in El Clasico, now have to contend with Getafe and Alaves for a spot in next season’s Champions League. While Real are at 48 points, Getafe are just six points behind them. Alaves are eight points adrift of the European champions.

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With the way Los Blancos have been playing this season (especially following their most-recent implosion after being eliminated from the Champions League), third-place could very well be up for grabs. Real Madrid play on Sunday on the road against Valladolid.

In other league action that could impact the battle for third place, Getafe are at home a day prior against Huesca. Alaves, one of the league’s surprise sides this season, are at home Saturday against Eibar.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have come off a busy week in nearly perfect shape. The club will spend matchday 27 at the Camp Nou Saturday against Rayo Vallecano, while Atleti are also at home the same day against Leganes.

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