'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The 2018/19 season has started out very well and has already produced some scintillating games around the footballing world. While top clubs like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are struggling to get the right results, several other clubs have improved drastically and are playing some amazing and eye-catching football.
Let us take a look at 3 of such European clubs who have managed to increase their standards to be positioned well above what people expected.
3. Montpellier HSC
The Ligue 1 club is currently at the third position in the table, behind Lille and Paris Saint Germain, which is a great improvement for them considering their previous seasons' performances.
Montpellier are on a 10-game undefeated streak in the league which can be attributed to their solid back-line which has conceded only seven goals in 11 games, keeping six clean sheets in the process. They share the best defensive record with the table-toppers PSG who have also conceded the same amount of goals and kept a similar number of clean sheets so far.
Michel Der Zakarian's men will be facing their toughest task today as they are set to face Marseille in a match which their defensive abilities will be truly tested.
2. Alaves
Alaves find themselves at third in the LaLiga table, just four points behind leaders FC Barcelona who have played one additional game. The Spanish club has already produced some amazing results in the league including their wins against Real Madrid and Espanyol.
They have conceded only nine goals in this campaign so far which is significantly lesser than the 14 conceded by the Giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The club is currently managed by former Spanish defender Abelardo Fernandez who took over the club in December last year and managed to finish 14th in the league.
1. Bournemouth AFC
Unlike the other two aforementioned teams, Bournemouth's position in the table is due to their excellent attacking display so far. The Cherries have scored 20 goals in 11 games which is more than Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs' tally of 19.
Their forwards - Callum Wilson and Joshua King have put in a string of impressive performances and this duo share 10 goals between them. Their goals have further come from their influential midfielders Fraser and Brooks who are currently in a good goal-scoring form.
One of the major reasons for this significant improvement in their performance is the tactical brain of Eddie Howe, who is quite popular among the Bournemouth faithful. Howe, who has managed nearly 400 games for the Cherries, is also the recipient of the Football League Manager of the Decade award (2005-2015).
