I will leave out CSKA Moscow for the time being because their season runs from March to November to avoid the harsh Russian winters. As their season is only three weeks old they are not in the run-in!
Of the remaining teams, all are in the fight for their respective league titles. So what is the anomaly? Can the teams play the same level of footy in both their league and the Champions League?
The sides that really brought this to my attention were Inter Milan and Bordeaux. Bordeaux topped their group in the final CL stages (with 16 of 18 pts possible) and was playing terrific footy in the Ligue 1. Milan, on the other hand, was playing fantastic footy in the Serie-A but only qualified second in their group and with a paltry 9 points.
In recent seasons, Milan has dumped out of the Champions League while still retaining the coveted Scudetto in Italy's Serie-A. Immense pressure was then put on Milan manager, Jose Mourinho (the self-acclaimed "Special One"), to bring home the European booty or be gone.
This year Milan has upped their game in the CL and dumped out perennial semi-finalist Chelsea in the round of 16. But since then, Mourinho's team has dropped point after point in the Scudetto race, losing today to Roma. Their seemingly-invincible lead earlier in January and February has now been whittled down to nothing...with Roma and AC Milan nipping at their heels. Is Mourinho's job, which has been threatened, spurred the Portuguese manager to concentrate on the CL instead of on the Italian title?
Bordeaux were 10 points ahead in the Ligue 1 title chase, of which they are the defending champions after knocking off Lyon who have won seven consecutive titles. The Marine et Blanc were also pounding their opponents in the CL. But their league play has taken a downturn and are now sitting even on points with Montpellier with a game in hand. In yesterday's Coupe de la Ligue championship match between Bordeaux and Marseilles, Laurent Blanc's men looked good but couldn't make an impact on Marseille's goal. With a quarter-hour to go, Blanc took out his two best players, Yoann Gourcuff and Marouane Chamakh, to rest for Tuesday's CL match against Lyon. If they can't play well in both title races, will one suffer for the other?
As for Manchester United and Barcelona...both are used to playing multiple cup ties to augment their league schedules. Last year, United played for 5 cups, which amounted to 60 matches. That is 22 more matches than the majority of their opponents in the Prem League. That experience makes them very dangerous in cup play. Barcelona has made a resurgence as of late and took in a trophy haul last year that most would dream about.
Arsenal had a perfect season not so long ago, but want to make a mark in the CL. Losing to Prem League foe United in the semis last year, they are looking to move forward, but will face a determined Barca side. They were touted to have the easiest of run-ins but their tie with lowly Birmingham yesterday proved to be too much and they only managed a draw. Two points dropped. In the run-in, that can be the nail in the coffin.
With the shiniest of trophies up for grabs, it will be interesting to see who has enough moxie to raise their league trophy and the CL trophy. I think you know my choice!
I would like to see this with red ribbons around it!
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