There have been some good teams, some bad teams, and Everton. The European Football season has now reached its second international break. There have been at most nine league games in the top five European Football leagues (England, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy). Players and teams are now fully back in form after multiple summer competitions. I have some takeaways, hot takes, and curious observations that may or may not be true.
Napoli is Back!
After a summer that involved their best player (Victor Osimhen) leaving for Turkey and an opening-day loss, Napoli has won five and lost one since. Under Antonio Conte, who has won four Serie A titles, Napoli are humming.
Romelu Lukaku is starting up top under Conte for what seems like the twelfth time in his career. Lukaku has three goals and four assists in five matches. Star player Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is back to his 2022-2023 form which saw him terrorize European football’s full-backs.
Speaking of European football, Napoli isn’t in any European competition. This allows Conte and Napoli to only focus on the league season, while other challengers will be playing at least eight extra games.
Christian Pulisic is Putting it Together.
I thought that Christian Pulisic was having his breakout season last year. He scored 12 goals and laid on eight assists in Serie A. However, I spoke too soon, in the first seven games he has five goals and two assists. He’s scored in four straight games for the first time in his career.
Not only is Pulisic scoring, his coach is demanding more. After missing two penalties yesterday in a loss to Fiorentina, Milan’s head coach claimed Pulisic was the designated penalty taker and should’ve taken the two penalties.
Pulisic is not a key man for Milan this season, he is THE key man for Milan. Pulisic is not only doing it in Serie A he’s doing it in European competitions. He scored against Liverpool in Milan’s first Champions League game. He’s been creating chances and being a menace in every game this season.
Milan will need all their other star players to reach Pulisic’s level if they want to challenge in the league.
French Football is Interesting and Less Predictable
After the departure of Kylian Mbappe this summer, French Football was always going to lose some aura. However, what it lacks in star power it makes up for in competitiveness. Last year Ligue 1 went from 20 to 18 teams, and the competitive balance throughout the league was evident. Except for the top.
This season, AS Monaco is top after seven games. Behind them is PSG who only have a four-point gap between them and fifth.
What has benefited the league the most is the new managers coaching new sides. Marseille shocked the football world by hiring Roberton De Zerbi, who was linked with Manchester United in the summer. RC Lens got rid of Franck Haise after four seasons for 31-year-old wonder-boy manager Will Still. Still has started strong with Lens in sixth.
Lille hired former Stade Rennes manager Bruno Génésio and Lille finished fifth and beat Real Madrid in the Champions League.
French Football doesn’t always attract a lot of attention in the grand scheme of things in European Football, it lags in a lot of categories, mostly financial. However, this season it could prove to be the most compelling.
Bayern is back….Kind Of
European Football is predictable. Except last season it got weird in Germany. Bayern Munich didn’t win the league for the 12th straight season. Bayer Leverkusen went undefeated in the league to knock Bayern Munich off their perch. A manager change that raised a lot of eyebrows, and some solid signings in the summer to propel them to first after six games.
However, after winning their first five games in all competitions, they’ve drawn two and lost one since. They only have a three-point gap over the sixth-place team and it looks like they’ll be in a title fight to the end.
Bayern look great in attack with the emergence of new signing Michael Olise from Crystal Palace. Harry Kane is doing Harry Kane things. He has already reached ten goals this season.
The problem for Bayern Munich is that they lost their aura. No manager is afraid of going up against a team whose manager was relegated from the Premier League last season. They lost the league last season and the year prior they won the league on the last day.
Hansi Flick Has Given Barcelona an Identity
Barcelona didn’t feel like the whole last season. They fired their manager, searched for a manager, then re-hired the manager they fired, and then fired him again. That all happened in one season. Barcelona got Hansi Flick to give them an identity. Barcelona has scored 28 goals in nine games and has won eight. Flick has been able to revive Robert Lewandowski, and he has scored ten goals in La Liga.
The Barca attack is the most fun attack to watch in European Football. Lamine Yamal is becoming the superstar he showed he could be during the Euros. Yamal equaled his assist output in the league from last season.
Raphinha is recovering the form he showed two seasons ago at Leeds United. Despite many injuries, Barca has looked the best and played the best in La Liga.
Many experts, including me, thought La Liga would belong to Real Madrid. However, if Barcelona can continue to outscore teams, they’ll be a serious contender for everything in European Football.
Real Madrid Doesn’t Look Like It Will Destroy European Football.
Real Madrid signed Kylian Mbappe after winning the Champions League and great things were expected. Yet, the chemistry isn’t quite there…yet. Real Madrid have drawn three league games. They lost to Lille in the Champions League.
Kylian Mbappe is not a striker and has never once enjoyed playing there. Unfortunately, Vini Jr has occupied the left wing for Real Madrid for the last five seasons. Madrid needs to find a formation that can successfully accommodate Vini Jr and Mbappe.
Real Madrid could opt to put Jude Bellingham back into a center-forward role and have Vini Jr and Mbappe off of him. Whatever the solution is, it needs to come fast because although Madrid is only three points off the top, they don’t look like the dominant force we expected.
Liverpool Haven’t Missed a Beat
Despite losing beloved manager Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season, Liverpool Football Club find themselves top of the Premier League. Yes, they haven’t played a single side in the top half of the table. Yes, it has only been seven games. However, despite the two previous caveats Liverpool looks like title challengers and doesn’t seem to be suffering a post-Klopp hangover.
European Football is better when Liverpool are great. They are an iconic brand in not only England but the continent of Europe.
Liverpool dispatched AC Milan already 3-1 in the San Siro. In their nine wins to start the season, seven have been by more than a goal. Dutch bald man and manager of Liverpool Arne Slott has fit in just fine at Anfield.
Slott is detail-oriented and has a tremendous squad to work with…for now. Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Mo Salah are all free agents at the end of the season. On January 1 they can begin negotiating with other clubs. It is unlikely that all three will leave, but it wouldn’t surprise me if at least two left and Liverpool decided to head in a new direction.
Revised Title Predictions
Ligue 1 Champion: Monaco
Serie A Champion: Napoli
Bundesliga Champion: Bayer Leverkusen
Premier League Champion: Arsenal
La Liga Champion: Real Madrid
If you enjoyed, “Takeaways From The European Football Season So Far,” check out Belly Up Sports! Follow Me On Twitter/X @NikGable37
Featured Image: Adam Nurkiewicz/Getty Images
