European Mid-season Review Pt. 1

Last weekend, soccer awakened from its midseason hibernation to reach the half waypoint in the big five (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France) leagues. The winter break gives football fans everywhere a chance to pause and reflect on the last five months of football.

Barclays Premier League: At the start of the campaign it was suspected the title would end up in London or Manchester, and at the half-way point of the season it is increasingly clear the champions will be from Manchester, but the real question still remains: Will it be City or United? Manchester City began their Premier League campaign like a team on a mission, starting the season 12-2-0 (win-draw-loss), including a mind boggling 6-0 win at Old Trafford, the home of the Champions. City hit a rough patch during the increased fixture congestion of the holiday period when they drew nil-nil away at West Brom followed by a 1-0 loss away to Sunderland. A last-minute winner over Tottenham last weekend by Mario Balotell kept the gap between City and United at three points, and all signs point to the Manchester Derby on April 28 having a major impact on the title race. United started even better than City, winning three tough matches in their first five including 3-0 against Tottenham, 8-2 against Arsenal and, 3-1 against Chelsea. The pressure of tough matches eventually took its toll on United as a 1-1 draw at Anfield, followed by an embarrassing 6-1 loss to Man City, which left United in crisis. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson placed added importance on the defense and, as a result, the squad rose to the manager's challenge, only allowing two goals in their next nine matches. Just like City, United struggled with the fixture congestion losing to foot of the table Blackburn Rovers at home 3-2 followed by a 3-0 loss away at Newcastle. A key win last weekend, away at Arsenal, allowed United to keep the pressure on City and leaving the title run in balanced on a knife-edge.

Liga BBVA: In Spain three time defending champions FC Barcelona find themselves in an odd position at the half way stage, second place. In keeping with the norm of the past few seasons Real Madrid and Barça have made Spain's top flight a two horse race, with a nine point gap separating second place Barça and third place Valencia. A revamped Madrid side may not have started like Champions going 2-1-1 and failing to score in two consecutive matches but since then have gone from strength to strength amassing a 13-0-1 record in their last 14. Despite a 3-1 loss to arch rivals Barça, Madrid are five points clear, a lead that is looking increasingly insurmountable. FC Barcelona's weakness this campaign has been an uncharacteristically high number of draws. Barça ,who utilize a much smaller squad than Madrid, have been forced on numerous occasions to chop and change their lineup, including a few times when they have used a 3-4-3 instead of the trademark 4-3-3. Center forward Lionel Messi is having another season with Playstation numbers with 22 goals in 19 matches. Barça now needs to rely on the rest of the league to take points off Madrid, to make the April 21st El Clásico against Madrid have any bearing on the title race.