We enter the month of May and now is when the rush arrives, when you have to pull the dusty calculator to see if, finally, the goal set in August is reached. The final ‘sprint’ is here and the big leagues in Europe have not yet decided all the champions, not all the saved ones, not all those who are relegated or all those who will travel through Europe.
In the absence of a few games, in SPORT we break down how the five main leagues of the Old Continent are doing right now. What is at stake and how are the different fights.
Premier: Title, Europe, relegation… Here nobody gets out of the fight!
In England, perhaps the most exciting final stretch in all of Europe will take place. And it is that in the absence of four games, there is still absolutely nothing mathematically decided, except for Norwich’s relegation to the Championship. City and Liverpool have the Champions League assured and Arsenal and Tottenham know that they will play in Europe no matter what happens until the end of the season. Watford also knows that, barring a divine miracle, they will be in the Championship next season.
The fight for the title
Apart from Serie A, the Premier League is the only one of the five major leagues that still does not know its champion. Normal. Perhaps the two best teams in Europe are facing each other in a league where they do not lose steam. The City maintains the point of advantage on a Liverpool who does not intend to throw in the towel until the end. The ‘citizen’ team has duels against Newcastle, Wolverhampton, West Ham and Aston Villa. If all four win, Pep Guardiola’s men will lift the Premier League again. A single ‘prick’ will be synonymous with giving the title to Liverpool, who will not fail.
The fight for Europe
If being champion will be decided in the last minute of the last game, something similar will happen in the fight for Europe. The Champions League will be a matter of five teams if Manchester United does not say otherwise. Liverpool and City already have a ticket, while Chelsea have a cushion of five points over Tottenham (fifth-placed) that should be enough. Fourth place will be disputed between Tottenham and Arsenal, separated by only three points.
Farther away is United, with 58 points and two games more than Arsenal and Tottenham. If there is no catastrophe in the north of London, in principle the ‘red devils’ will stay out of the Champions League next season. They will accompany them, a priori, in the Europa League Tottenham or Arsenal. The place for the Conference League, which West Ham now has in their possession with 52 points, will also have a war until the end. The Wolves are on the prowl, while Brighton and Newcastle will be looking to fight it out until the last moment. The ‘hammers’, by the way, also still look at the Europa League positions, which are only three points away.
The descent, thing of three
With Norwich already relegated mathematically and with Watford practically a foot and a half in the Championship, up to three teams will fight to avoid third place that leads directly to Second. Everton is the team that would go down right now with 32 points, but they have both Leeds, with 34, and Burnley, with 34, within their reach. Among the three will be the third relegated.
Serie A: Only the Champions League is decided
In Italy there are only three days left and the only thing that has been decided is who will go to the Champions League. Milan, Inter, Napoli and Juventus know that they will be top continental competition teams next season. The Serie A champion, who will go to Europe and who will be relegated to Serie B, is still unknown.
The title is decided in Milan
Milan had not seen a final stretch of the season like this for a long time. The hegemony of Juventus in recent years had elevated Turin to the top of Italian football. Now it seems that the Lombard city regains prominence. With three games to go, Milan and Inter are only separated by two points from the nine that are still at stake.
The Europa League and the Conference, to be decided
With Milan, Inter, Napoli and Juventus as Champions teams, the great fight for Europe is in the Europa League, where Fiorentina continues to squeeze the two Roman teams from behind. Lazio and Roma, with 59 points, are the two teams that would go to the second highest European competition right now. Even so, those from Florence, who occupy Conference positions, squeeze with 56 points. Further back is Atalanta, who with one game less and 55 points have many numbers to finish in Europe. We’ll see where.
A descent more than open
If in Europe the fight is more than open, something similar happens in terms of relegation. Salernitana, Genoa and Venezia with 25, 25 and 22 points respectively, are the ones that would now be relegated to Serie B. Even so, Cagliari, with 28, is in the thick of it. Spezia and Sampdoria, with 33, look at it from a distance.
LaLiga: Nobody gives anything away to go to Europe
Real Madrid became the great champion of the League this weekend by defeating Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabéu. Even so, and despite the fact that the title is already decided, there is still a lot at stake in the Spanish league. From the teams that will go to the Champions League to who will finish in the Smartbank League and going through the teams that will fight for the Europa League. This is how the fight for the objectives is right now.
The fight for the Champions, red hot
Perhaps it is the most exciting fight for the Champions League in recent years. Barça (66 points), Sevilla (64), Atlético (61), Betis (58) and Real Sociedad (56) are fighting for the three places that are still available to attend the next edition of the Champions League. The five teams are separated by just ten points with twelve to play. Barça took a giant step by beating Mallorca and has many numbers to ensure its presence in the next day.
The Europa League, the consolation
The two teams that fall from the fight for the Champions League will have to settle for the Europa League. Right now, Betis and Real Sociedad are the two teams that would go to the second continental competition if the season ended like this. The fact that Betis, Cup champion, is in the Europa League right now does not change anything in the standings and it would be Villarreal (52 points), the seventh, the one that went to the Conference League. Athletic Club (51 points), yes, is hot on his heels and is only one point behind.
The descent, in a fist
If in Europe the fight is being exciting, in the descent they do not fall short. Granada (31), Alavés (28) and Levante (26) are the three teams that would be relegated to the Smartbank League with four games to go. Even so, they still have a lot to say. Cádiz (32), Mallorca (32) and Getafe (35) are still in the mix. Further away is an almost saved Espanyol (39). Three relegation places for six teams. A fight that will be until the end.
Bundesliga: With the title delivered and relegation almost closed
It is no longer surprising that Bayern won the Bundesliga title with a few games still to play. With this folder already closed, let’s see what is still to be decided in Germany. Champions, Europa League, Conference, relegation… In the Bundesliga nobody gets out of the car.
The Champions is worth gold
Bayern and Dortmund are the two teams that already have the ticket for the next Champions League, but there are still two places at stake. Bayer Leverkusen (58 points) and the surprising Freiburg (55) are the two teams that currently occupy places in the top European competition. But we will see how these last two days unfold. RB Leipzig is just one point behind (54) and Cologne is still in contention (52). Even Union Berlin (51) could still enter the Champions League.
Europe, three points away
In the Europa League and the Conference the thing will also go from very few points. Without taking into account the result of the final of the DFB Pokal that will face RB Leipzig and Freiburg on May 21, right now it would be the ‘bulls’ that will go to the Europa League next season, with Cologne in the Conference League. Even so, if the winner of the Cup qualified for Europe through the Bundesliga, sixth place would go to the Europa League and seventh place would go to the Conferencenow in possession of Union Berlin.
An almost doomed descent
Greuther Fürth (18 points) have known for weeks that they will be a Bundesliga II team, but it remains to be decided who will accompany them. Let us remember that in Germany two teams are relegated and the penultimate one must make a playoff to play for their place in first. Right now Arminia Bielefeld (27) would be the team that would go down while Stuttgart (29) would make the life or death playoff. It is not, yes, all the fish sold. Hertha is still in the ointment (33).
Ligue 1: Only PSG is allowed to breathe
With three games to go, there is still a lot at stake in Ligue 1 as well. In fact, everything except the champion. PSG lifted the title a few days ago and now it only remains to be seen who will enter the Champions League, who will enter the Europa League and the Conference and who will go straight to Ligue 2. Let’s see.
Nice and Monaco do not throw in the towel
PSG already has its Champions League place secured, while Marseille (65 points), Rennes (62), Monaco (62) and Nice (60) are fighting for the remaining two. The second goes directly into the group stage, while the third must go through the previous round. In the absence of three days, everything is open.
All pending Nice
Something similar happens in the Europa League. Right now the place is occupied by Monaco, which is the fourth classified. Of course, they only have a two-point advantage over Nice, which right now occupies a Conference League place but could be in the Europa League in two ways: through the League, going ahead of Monaco or winning the Coupe de France against Nantes. If this happens there will be two places in the Europa League and the sixth will go to Conference, a place that Strasbourg occupies right now (57). Stephan’s team, yes, can still get into Europe ‘on their own merits’ if he wins all three of his games and Monaco or Nice puncture.
Metz and Girondins, almost sentenced
There is still no relegation, but Metz and Girondins have bought many ballots to be two of the three that go down to Ligue 2. Metz is bottom with 25 points and only a miracle could save them. Bordeaux, meanwhile, is six points from salvation with nine at stake. an odyssey The third in discord will be decided between Saint-Étienne (current third from last with 31 points), Clermont (33), Lorient (34), Angers (35) and Troyes (36).