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Football has always been unpredictable, and that is one of the few reasons we all love it. However, nobody would have expected some teams to be performing the way they currently are. With an overall bad run of form, some of the biggest teams are struggling to maintain their impeccable standards.
Some top European clubs have been below-par this season
Poor form cannot always be blamed on the bad performances of players. The modern-day game of football has many nuances to it, starting with the owners and the club management.
Enduring this as a fan can be taxing, especially when one’s team used to win week in and week out. A few names on this list have always been associated with success and dominance. For varied and complex reasons, however, they have been severely underperforming this season.
Here are five teams who have been playing well below everyone’s expectations this season.
#5 Lille
Few would have expected Lille to struggle in Ligue 1 this season. Lille have been quite impressive over the past few years. They have been a thorn in Paris Saint-Germain’s side and made life difficult for the Parisians in their pursuit of the title.
Having won the league title with an emphatic display last season, Lille are currently floundering in 11th place in the French top-flight division. Lille had a rock-solid defense last season and conceded just 23 goals. Their goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, kept 21 clean sheets which was the best in the league.
Lille have already conceded more goals at the halfway stage of the season compared to the previous one. However, their Champions League performances have been considerably better. Lille finished comfortably at the top of their group. They face title holders Chelsea in the Round of 16 in the Champions League.
#4 RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig are having a tough time in both domestic and European competitions. Having finished in the top three for the past three seasons, Leipzig have had a poor start to the Bundesliga this season.
Leipzig were in a formidable Champions League group that included Manchester City and PSG. However, they gave a good account of themselves, drawing against PSG and beating Man City.
RB Leipzig have struggled since Julian Nagelsmann’s departure and are currently 10th in the Bundesliga. Leipzig are a talent factory but have often lost promising players such as Ibrahima Konate to bigger clubs. Stars such as Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer followed their coach’s footsteps and joined giants Bayern Munich.
After getting knocked out of the Champions League, Leipzig will try to get their hands on the Europa League. They face Real Sociedad in the knockout round playoffs of the Europa League.
#3 Manchester United
With the level of signings made in the transfer window, one wouldn’t expect to see Manchester United on this list. They brought in Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho.
However, The Red Devils are struggling after a terrific start to the season and are in sixth place currently. They have not replicated last season’s form that saw them finish second in the league.
United seemed to have stagnated under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian was sacked following an embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Watford and was replaced by Ralf Rangnick.
There has been a slight improvement in their performance since the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager. The Old Trafford faithful will hope that this form continues for the remainder of the season.
Without the efforts of Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United would’ve probably not made it to the next phase of the Champions League. He scored six goals in five matches, most of them being winners or equalizers. The Portuguese superstar’s goals were vital in finishing at the top of the group. United will now face Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16, which is no easy task.
#2 Juventus
Juventus’ form seems to have disintegrated this season. The Bianconeri are having a woeful time in Serie A and are struggling to string together wins. They had to fight tooth and nail to beat teams that they would have breezed past normally.
Juve won the league title in the 2019-20 season and finished in fourth place in the subsequent one. This season, they have been outscored by 12 teams in the Serie A. Juventus are currently seventh in the league and are 12 points behind leaders Inter Milan.
This has been Juve’s worst start to a season in half a century. Juventus’ front men are also finding scoring difficult, especially with the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, their Champions League form is in stark contrast to their domestic one. They topped their group with ease and lost only to Chelsea. Fans will hope that the Bianconeri can end the season on a high.
#1 Barcelona
It has been an abysmal season so far for Barcelona. The Spanish behemoths have had a terrible time, especially after the inimitable Lionel Messi left for PSG. With issues on and off the pitch, these are some of Barcelona’s darkest days.
The Catalonians last won the league title in the 2018-19 season and are currently 8th in the league. They are a staggering 16 points behind leaders and rivals Real Madrid. There have been managerial issues at the club as well, with club legend Xavi being the latest appointment.
Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich. They have failed to make it past the Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2000-01 season. They are now in the Europa League and face Napoli in the next stage. This might be their only chance of achieving something in their turbulent season.
