Opinion

Next up in our season review to date for the Premier League is a look at three defenders who have helped shore up things at the back for their respective clubs.

The European football season still appears to be some way off from restarting. All of the major leagues have been shut down due to the spread of COVID-19 and although some tentative dates have been suggested for them to continue this currently seems unlikely.

Next up in our season review to date for the Championship is a look at three midfielders who have made a significant impact at some of the perhaps less fashionable clubs in the second tier, but whose contribution has nevertheless been outstanding.

World Football is facing a difficult time, especially the European leagues.

When Marcus Rashford suffered a fracture in his back against Wolverhampton Wanderers in an FA Cup third round reply on January 15, it was believed Manchester United’s season would collapse.

The decision on Tuesday the 17th of March made by UEFA will see the postponement of the 2020 European Championship. The tournament will now take place in the summer of 2021 following the completion of next season.

On Tuesday UEFA held a video conference meeting with the big wigs of the European game to decide many issues due to the endemic Coronavirus. Chief amongst them was what to do about Euro 2020 and the resumption of domestic leagues.

Little did we know at the time but Leicester City’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League on Monday the 9th of March is going to be the last game played at least until the 4th of April. The decision was made to postpone the games between these two dates due to the spread of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom.

It seems that the worldwide outbreak of the Coronavirus has decimated the world game. Most of the European leagues have decided to suspend their seasons.

At the time of writing Manchester United have 9 games remaining in the Premier League this season. They are 3 points behind Chelsea who currently occupy the 4th and final Champions League qualifying position and 8 points behind 3rd place Leicester City.

Tottenham will have to deal with yet another injury to an attacking player after the news broke that January signing Steven Bergwijn is likely to miss the rest of the season due to injury.

On Sunday afternoon, Everton suffered a nightmare visit to Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, suffering a 4-0 defeat against Frank Lampard’s team. The team from the capital were highly clinical in front of goal, while Everton’s whole defence and midfield seemed to be missing for much of the game.

Real Sociedad sealed their first Copa del Rey appearance since 1988 on Wednesday night by defeating Mirandes 1-0 in their semifinal second leg. The Royal have had a tremendous season in both La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

When Atalanta beat Lecce 7-2 last weekend, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was somewhat of a freak result.

It was an interesting week in the Premier League as two fixtures were postponed due to the League Cup final. Manchester City went on to lift the trophy at Wembley against Aston Villa and their absence from the Premier League fixtures meant Liverpool had the opportunity to extend the gap at the top of the table.

If you go back to the first few months of the 2019/20 season, it appeared as though Bayern Munich were in trouble. Following a 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, Niko Kovac left the club and Bayern Munich required a new manager. The German champions were 4th in the Bundesliga and turned to their assistant coach, Hans-Dieter Flick.

Forget the goals and assists that Mohamed Salah has scored this season. The Liverpool forward’s influence on the team has waned massively in 2019-20.

On Sunday, Lazio hosted Inter at the Stadio Olimpico, in what was undoubtedly the biggest of game of the weekend in Serie A.

Recent media reports suggest that Dortmund are ready to part company with highly-rated England winger Jadon Sancho this summer. However, the fact that the youngster is likely to cost upwards of £100million is unlikely to put suitors off attempting to sign him.

In Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi, Catalan giants Barcelona have one of the best players to ever grace a football pitch. No doubt the veteran star has and will win his team games with moments of individual brilliance.