Looking at Europe | The Englishman who delights Real Madrid

The European soccer season is in full swing. While we are almost halfway through the calendar in the biggest divisions, The Press takes its look at what has made headlines on the other side of the Atlantic in recent months.

Hey Jude…

Rarely have we seen a player take a club and a championship by storm like this. And in this case, the player is only 20 years old and is establishing himself in one of the clubs where the pressure is the most intense in the world.

We are talking here about Jude Bellingham within Real Madrid. Yes, Hey Jude is already part of the supporters’ chants for the young Englishman. Because Bellingham has only conquered the hearts of Madrilenians since his arrival in the off-season.

He has scored 16 goals in 18 La Liga and Champions League games. His first, on his debut, against Bilbao, even offering his celebration which would quickly become iconic. He did it again after his goal in Naples, in the Champions League.

But it was during the Clásico against FC Barcelona at the end of October that his legend was cemented early. He scored the equalizing goal in the 68th^e minute, but did not raise both arms in the air as he usually does. No not right now. We had to wait for the 92^e minute, when Bellingham was going to allow Real to take the lead, to celebrate as they should.

If Real Madrid are second in the championship after 16 games, it is partly thanks to him.

But it’s not the only great story of the season. Who do we see in first position? A Catalan club… but not the one you think. Girona, a member of the City Group which also includes NYCFC and Manchester City, is defying all odds in La Liga in 2023. It is the team with the most goals this season (38). It travels at approximately the same pace as Madrid, with two points (41) and one victory (13) more. The season is long, but if Girona can persevere, it would breathe new life into this championship caught in the hegemony of its greats.

Lyon, through the tumult and towards relegation

A look at the Ligue 1 standings, and it seems to be business as usual in France: Paris Saint-Germain is well on course for a sixth title in seven years. But it is the bottom of the ranking which arouses astonishment. But what are Olympique Lyonnais doing in very last position?

OL were at the center of an infamous episode reflecting the issues plaguing French football last October. Before a match against Marseille which was finally postponed, the bus transporting the Lyon players and staff was stoned. Coach Fabio Grosso, since abruptly dismissed, was seriously injured in the face. Some Lyon supporters were also accused of racist insults and Nazi salutes that evening.

Autumn is hot in this regard in France. On October 9, the Montpellier-Clermont match was interrupted due to violent events, notably a firecracker thrown near the Clermont goalkeeper. He was evacuated on a stretcher. At the end of November, another coach was attacked by opposition supporters. In early December, a Nantes supporter was killed during an altercation.

This latest event was the last straw: to calm things down, the French authorities asked the clubs to crack down and more widely block the sale of tickets to opposing supporters.

Thus, for the resumption of Marseille-Lyon last Wednesday, the Lyonnais were not able to witness yet another failure of their club (3-0), which has only obtained 10 points in 15 matches this season. OL were able to breathe a little with a 3-0 victory against Toulouse on Sunday. Alexandre Lacazette’s hat trick allowed the Lyonnais to sign only their second victory, and their first at home.

Has the recovery started?

Who will take over the Premier League?

What makes the Premier League great this season is also what makes it difficult to pinpoint a key story at the moment: an absence of a clear leader. Liverpool are first, but there are only four points separating them from fourth. Manchester City have the talent and depth in their lineup, but they too often drop valuable points, like against surprising Aston Villa last week. Manchester United remains too inconsistent, while Liverpool must juggle a staggering number of injuries to important players.

This is also the case for Tottenham, who caused a surprise at the start of the season. This year, Spurs had to rebuild after the eras of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. In 2023, the arrival of Ange Postecoglou at the helm changed everything. The Australian’s style of play, strong on pressing, positive attacking play and unwavering in his convictions, accelerated Tottenham’s rebuilding process by several years. But since then, James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, two of the big players in these successes, have suffered long-term injuries. Several other Spurs players are also missing. This reflects a strong trend in European soccer, where too many matches are detrimental to the health of players.

Xabi Alonso’s revolution

Will we finally be able to put away the nickname of Bayer Leverkusen, which is often referred to as the Bayer Neverkusenat the end of this season? Never, as in never, as in no title in its history in the German Bundesliga. Like no trophy since 1994, although he smelled of metal on a few occasions.

The Spaniard which does not include any defeats. His only draws? Against Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart.

In the Bundesliga, after 14 games, Leverkusen is first, 4 points behind Harry Kane’s Bayern. The club is still involved in the Europa League and the DFB-Pokal, the German cup equivalent to the FA Cup in England.

How can we explain these sudden successes? We could tell you about the 3-4-2-1 formation, the brilliance of players like Victor Boniface, Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong. But it is also the rigor of Alonso at the helm, he who won everything as a player with Spain and Real Madrid, which currently makes the difference.

So much so that it could spoil the eternal quest for trophies of Harry Kane (18 goals), who left Tottenham for Bavaria with this goal in mind.

Inter and Juventus on the hunt

A quick word on the Italian Serie A in closing. Inter Milan are currently flying high (38 points, 1^er), on the back of their emphatic 3-0 victory over defending champion Napoli last week. He also made short work of Udinese (4-0) this weekend. Inter can particularly say thank you to Marcus Thuram, replacement for Romelu Lukaku, who left to play under José Mourinho at AS Rome.

The Frenchman, who arrived on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer, registered 7 goals and 9 assists this season in Italy. But be careful, the first misstep will benefit Juventus (36 points, 2^e), back in the race for the Scudetta after three years of wandering.