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It was another busy weekend across Europe with intriguing plot twists across the top five leagues as we reach the business end of the season. Let’s take a look at some developing situations most worthy of attention including the messy situation at Tottenham Hotspur and Thomas Tuchel’s less than ideal start to life back in the Bundesliga.
Spurs in crisis
There is no hiding it — Tottenham Hotspur are in absolute disarray right now after their 6-1 thumping at the hands of Newcastle United this past weekend. With one win from their last five Premier League games which came via a controversial VAR error against Brighton and Hove Albion and no permanent manager in place, Harry Kane and teammates are in a fierce battle for even a top five spot.
The Londoners are in trouble and that could worsen this week ahead of a doubleheader against Manchester United and then Liverpool while Aston Villa are creeping up on fifth spot and are now just two points adrift ahead of Fulham at home on Tuesday. Daniel Levy is under fire more than ever before and there is no clarity over whether or not Julian Nagelsmann or Luis Enrique, both of whom recently dropped out of the Chelsea managerial chase might be Antonio Conte’s long-term replacement.
In fact, questions are rapidly emerging over Cristian Stellini staying on as interim boss after that chastening loss to Newcastle. Should Spurs’ wretched run continue against both United and Liverpool, convincing the German or the Spaniard to take over could become an even tougher task if European qualification is jeopardized, let alone keeping hold of Kane.
The England still leads the club for goals by a long way on 24 but the situation is starting to mirror that of Steven Gerrard at Liverpool who still won a UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, three League Cup and two FA Cup titles at Anfield. Kane would be lucky to get half of that with Spurs and cannot afford to wait and see what happens on the managerial front as he turns 30 this summer.
Tuchel’s Bayern are struggling
Which brings us nicely onto Bayern Munich. Bundesliga expert Ian Joy was derided on the House of Champions podcast earlier this season when he claimed that there was “something not quite right with Bayern.” Yet here we are in late April with Borussia Dortmund once again back atop the Bundesliga and the German champions now out of both Europe and the DFB Pokal.
To make matters worse, a 3-1 loss away at Mainz 05 this past weekend was Bayern’s fourth game without a win and their second loss in that run, which now puts Thomas Tuchel in the unenviable position of potentially steering Bayern away from three titles. The German tactician is already under pressure and part of the problems that he has inherited in Bavaria stem from the club’s failure to replace Robert Lewandowski which Kane could be the perfect solution for.
The Englishman could challenge for the titles that he craves while the German giants would have the prolific source of goals that they need. Manchester City tried to sign the 29-year-old in the past, but that avenue is surely blocked by Erling Haaland now which could make the Allianz Arena appealing to Kane.
Mourinho’s Roma revival
Few clubs and coaches have benefitted from Juventus’ reinstated 15 points penalty more than AS Roma and Jose Mourinho. It might seem strange saying that a Champions League qualification rival suddenly coming up on the rails is a good thing for the Giallorossi but the fact that the Roman outfit can move level on points with Juve this Monday if they beat Atalanta is testament to the great job that the Portuguese tactician has done.
Mourinho returned to Italy needing to rejuvenate his image after a damaging spell with Spurs and an underwhelming time with Manchester United as well. The 60-year-old has won the UEFA Europa Conference League, could add the UEFA Europa League to that and in doing so could restore Roma to the Champions League either via Serie A or the UEL.
Ending a wait since 2001 for a Scudetto was always going to be a tall order but Mourinho could yet set his sights on that if Roma continue to go from strength to strength under his leadership. The Portuguese’s success could also bring some of Europe’s giants calling once more to task him with another challenge worthy of his expertise.
You can catch Atalanta vs. Roma Monday at 2:45 p.m. ET on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network.
Sevilla’s salvation
On the topic of potential rescue acts, few have been as notable this season as the one currently underway in Andalusia where Sevilla have gone from fighting relegation from La Liga to midtable security while also reaching the semifinals of their beloved Europa League. Jose Luis Mendilibar suddenly has the six-time record winners believing again after they dumped Manchester United out of the quarterfinals and Juve await in the semis.
The continental berths in the Spanish topflight are probably still a stretch at this point, but finishing in the top half of the table and reaching the Champions League through Europa League success remains a possibility. Four wins from six unbeaten across all competitions is pretty good going considering the mess that Jorge Sampaoli left behind, and it could get better if Sevilla do the unthinkable and salvage significant European silverware from here.
Ligue 1 vultures?
France’s UEFA coefficient woes continue with Ligue 1 on the verge of being replaced in the top five by the Netherlands’ Eredivisie after OGC Nice crashed out of the Europa Conference League last week despite leading Basel with just minutes to go. The result was not only bad news for Les Aiglons but French soccer as a whole with Champions League qualification already tough to master for some talented squads.
Olympique Lyonnais, Stade Rennais, Lille OSC and Nice are some of the teams who could yet miss out on Europe altogether for next season which would create a feeding frenzy this summer with some excellent players in need of continental experience. OL have been out of the scene on and off for the past few years but the idea that Rennes, Lille and Nice could all miss out too is unthinkable given that they are some of the strongest Championnat sides.