Lens Lead Ligue 1

We have wide-open title races in La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1. We have a dominant Arsenal and behind them an amazingly competitive Premier League. Liverpool are still wobbling like a spinning-top, West Ham and Nottingham Forest might be on some kind of revival and an ex-Premier League star, Jamie Vardy, is having a party in Italy.

In the Champions League battle of two imperious forces, Arsenal beat Bayern Munich, a result that means absolutely nothing. Great work as always, UEFA. Liverpool lost to PSV (1-4), suffering their second defeat of the UCL group stage, but it doesn’t matter, they’ll still be qualifying too. Great work as always, UEFA. Liverpool were the second 2024-25 champion PSV have demolished so far this campaign, having already trounced Napoli 6-2.

Atalanta and Cremonese both appear to have put an end to recent nosedives, Fiorentina, Hellas Verona and Wolves all remain without a league win.

After starting the season with a draw and then back-to-back victories, St. Pauli are currently on a painful 9 game losing streak in the league.

Let’s jump in.

🥐 Lens are top of Ligue 1

(This story was better when I wrote it four days ago, before Lens actually ascended to top spot in Ligue 1. You won’t catch Armchair Ultra complaining though!)

Last month The Armchair Ultra highlighted the competitive issue at the top of Ligue 1. Far from being a lack of competition for perennial winners PSG as has been the case over recent years, it’s been a case of too much competition this season. Marseille, Lens, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Strasbourg and Monaco have all demonstrated their competitiveness so far this season, but they’re all taking points off one another, thus preventing any team from putting serious pressure on the stuttering PSG.

But now two front-runners that have emerged from the pack.

Lens have recently beaten both Monaco and Strasbourg to lay down their credentials, adding that to their victory over Marseille in October. Since losing to PSG on 14th September, they’ve dropped only 4 points from a possible 27. As of the conclusion of Matchweek 14, Lens now sit atop Ligue 1, 1 point ahead of PSG. 2 points behind are Marseille who also look good for a title challenge. We may just have a battle brewing in Ligue 1!

📈Borussia Mönchengladbach are on the ascent

If you haven’t looked at the Bundesliga table since October you’ll be surprised to discover Borussia Mönchengladbach sitting pretty comfortably in 12th.

Coming into November Mönch were mired at the bottom of the Bundesliga, with a measly 3 points from 8 games. They’d managed 3 draws and fallen to 5 defeats, scoring only 6 goals in the process. They failed to score in 5 of those 8 games.

But then November came around, and Mönch were suddenly a different team. They beat St. Pauli 4-0, beat FC Köln 3-1 and beat Heidenheim 3-0 for 3 straight victories and then earned an impressive draw against 2nd place RB Leipzig.

10 points, 10 goals, 3 clean sheets.

🐂Teams on a charge

Mönch aren’t the only team on a charge though.

Rennes, Hoffenheim, Villa and Brighton have all been charging up their respective league tables in November.

After only 2 wins from their first 10 league games Rennes won 4 of 4 through November, which included big victories against Monaco and Strasbourg (both 4-1). They’ve climbed from 10th into 5th position, jumping ahead of Lyon, Monaco and Strasbourg. Can they sustain their charge? Next up: PSG.

Hoffenheim too have climbed to 5th position. With 5 wins and a draw they’ve amassed 16 points from their last 6 games compared to only 7 points from their opening 6 games. They’re now only 3 points off 2nd place.

In the Premier League, Aston Villa and Brighton have both been in hot form, climbing from 8th to 4th and 13th to 5th respectively.

In addition to the title-race brewing in Ligue 1, Serie A and La Liga are promising fantastic title battles this season.

🍕It’s tight at the top of Serie A

Napoli’s 1-0 victory against Roma on 30th November leaves the top four separated by only a single point in Italy.

Milan & Napoli: 28 points.

Roma & Inter: 27 points.

Bologna - unbeaten since September, including a victory over Napoli - were destined to join the title race on 27 points with a victory over Cremonese - 3 straight losses - on Monday night, but Jamie Vardy had other ideas. His 2 goals helped dent Bologna’s charge, leaving them 4 points back in 6th.

Roma have Juventus and Como (just 4 points off top spot) to play in December, whilst Napoli and Milan face one another.

Top spot seems liable to continue changing on a weekly basis.

⚔️ A four-way battle in La Liga

3 straight draws has seen Real Madrid’s 5 point gap at the summit of La Liga eroded away, leaving them now 1 point behind new leaders Barcelona.

Behind them, Villarreal are only 2 points off top spot, and on a hot streak of 5 consecutive league wins, whilst Atletico Madrid are a further point behind, themselves riding a 6 game win streak in the league.

Barcelona play both Atletico Madrid (today) and Villarreal in December.

All to play for!