I think it's not a surprise that Barcelona having big improvement lately. The drop in performances in the early season is proven by the injuries of their important players while they don't have a good quality of squad depth. Those injuries made Xavi has to put some players out of their original positions that hinder their tactical prowess. Having full team of regular starters makes Xavi easy to execute his tactical plan flawlessly.

The gap of 8-points may be a bit far to chase a strong Real Madrid side, but el clasico game can be a turnaround that can provide the chance to closing the gap. Both Barcelona and Madrid have UCL fixture to focus, but the pressure is more on Madrid because they have to face a really strong team, defending champion Manchester City,. Maybe this could be a slight advantage for Barcelona to keep pushing their chance to chase Madrid. I think Barcelona having less pressure because losing in R8 won't be a big blow for Barcelona for now.

This situation makes it safe to say money becoming a big factor in football. PSG is not only can recruit the best players who they won, but also can keep them staying in the club for a long time because they pay high wage for their players. On the other hand, 19 other teams would lose their best players if they perform impressively. Monaco and Lille are the examples for losing their best players after winning the league.

The fact that PSG could play with a relaxing mood against Clermont can be a sign that the title race is over. Maybe even if they don't win a single remining match, they will still win the league in the end, because their competitors below them will drop points eventually because their quality and the competitiveness between them make it difficult to win all the remaining matches to overtake PSG. this situation indirectly give advantage to PSG who already too strong to compete with.

Premier League is indeed the most competitive league in the world. Three horses race with tight points gap is something not often happens. As it stands, Arsenal is leading the standings with on point gap and Liverpool and Manchester City having the same points. Tomorrow Liverpool will have to play against their biggest rival, Manchester United, who will do everything to stop Liverpool back to the top of the table. It will be an very intensive game that will put big pressure on Liverpool side.

Honestly, I don't expect it will be an entertaining game, because Manchester United know their capacity compared to Liverpool. The game will likely be boring with both teams play with careful, because it is a must win game for Liverpool and must not lose game for Ten Hag who wants to reduce pressure on his position as the manager. Losing against Liverpool could mean his position will be reevaluated by the board and fans. He doesnt want to lose trust that can make his situation even more complicated.

That was a great game between two tough teams. The game has a high-stake of importance for both teams. But Fiorentina is currently not in a good form, they picked to many draws lately makes them drop to 10th position with a game in hand. They still have chance to finish in European competitions zone. If they can bounce back to their best form, they are more likely to finish in Europa League Zone.

Milan seem to be on-fire now, but it's too late already. This is a result of selling / letting go their important players every season. This could be the reason that hinder their consistency and ability to keep challenging for the title. Being slow burn form in the league is not ideal to challenge for the title, and it doesn't look like a kind of a big club policy. This needs to be changed if they want to stay competing at highest level of football.

Nowadays, people don't know the difference between facts and hypothetical. Hypothetical scenarios are often granted as facts just because  they are sure the scenario wouldn't fail, even though that did not happen already. Leverkusen being unbeaten in the league is something remarkable that hypothetical scenario is not easy to apply, because that kind of run in the league didnt often happen.

Tuchel is a good coach, but he is known to have his team drop in performances occasionally. This shouldnt happen when they have to face a team with unbeaten run in a competition. I believe if Tuchel gets sacked, it's not because they failed to win the league, but it's more to do with some dramas he created and the trust among the fans.  

The gap of 8-points with 8 remaining match provides possibility to be overtaken by Barcelona. The Champions League game may make them share focus for a while, but that's not the reason for them to throw the league game away. Madrid still need to win six games, mathematically to win the title. If the points gap get closer, the el clasico game can a turning point where Barcelona can open up their chance to chase the leading position.

I don't think it's time for Madrid to relax remembering el clasico game can create opportunity to turn things around. Barcelona having their full force has made them back in-form. Things can deliver more pressure if Madrid happens to drop points, and that's not ideal situation to have in the ending phase of the season.

Marseille seem struggle to handle pressure of situation when they need to win the match to stay close to Europa League zone. They seem to lose their determination when they are under pressure. They don't seem like a big club when they failed to bounce back after some setbacks. They need to solve their front line issue and adjust the tactics to strengthen the midfield.

The last fixture might not seem in their favor, facing PSG and Lille could be a difficult task considering the two teams are currently the better teams. But this shouldn't be an excuse for them to not show their determination as a big club. Lost three games in arrow makes situation harder for them to avoid pressure. It would be silly if they just give up the chance to finish in european competitions. The management and the board need to evaluate this situations and address the weak area for preparation of next season.

Crystal Palace is a bogey team for Manchester City, according to the fans. Manchester often struggle to get maximum result when the face them. But I think this doesn't apply in this circumstance when Manchester City will go well-prepared and well-aware of the importance to win each game due to the fierce of the title race. They can't afford to drop points when they are already three points behind the league leader. This is a pressure to stay close in the title race.

The circumstances surrounding this match forces Manchester City to approach it with a heightened sense of focus and determination. In such a high-stakes situation, City can't underestimate any opponent, including Crystal Palace, even though they have an eye on UCL game against Real Madrid. This situation shouldn't be a reason to expect the league game against Crystal Palace in a low intense. One mistake can cost the their efforts to achieve their glory.

Staying at Bayer Leverkusen implies that he has a big plan for his own career. He does want to rush his steps to have bigger challenge too early in his managerial career. This is a wise decision for a manager who have been starting his career with remarkable records on his early journey. He needs to test the team he has built in the Champions League next season.

If he keeps the success next season, his next club would probably be Real Madrid considering Ancelotti could be ending his career at Madrid after next season, and Liverpool have no habit to sack manager after one season managing the club. this is most possible scenario to happen that aligns with the path the managerial career of Alonso. I am very doubtful that he will accept the job at Bayern Munich, because it could be detrimental choice for his legacy at Leverkusen, because Bayern is their direct rival who is known to 'steal' the best from their rivals.

Real Madrid is lucky to have a great manager who knows how to utilize big resources in the club. Their lead in the league and their proven mentality to compete at high level makes them keep staying at the top while they also have injuries issue. Ancelotti is a typical coach who does not want to relax his team even though they have a comfortable lead on the table. It's notable that he keeps memorizing his failure in UCL final in 2005 against Liverpool.

Their rich history and winning culture makes them ready to compete in any circumstance. They face each game with the same mindset even when the opponents are much weaker teams. The fact that most of their players are young with great talent, they have already been showing their capability to compete at high level. This proves that they will stay strong in the future.

This situation is what hinder PSG to gain success in Champions League. Their routine games in Ligue 1 is quite low standard compared to the routine games of their competitor from other top leagues. They don't have high pressure games coupled with no high pressure competition in title race. This makes their mentality could be not ready to be under-pressure in a high stake of game in Champions League.

This correlates with the quality of Ligue with the teams competing in. Their dominance in Ligue 1 might not fully prepare them for the intensity of high-stakes Champions League matches. Competing in Champions League requires different mindset. Success in the Champions League is determined by the maintenance of mental resilience that only can be built by facing a routine fierce competition. Tactics and strategies can be maximalized by strong mentality to face any circumstance.

Leading with two points gap is always an advantage. This makes Manchester City and Arsenal must win all their remaining games. The fact that they could still have winning streak with some of their regular players injured, the coming back of those players from injuries will make Liverpool become stronger. Realistically they are able to win their remining games with their main starting eleven. They have done this winning streak in the ending phase of the season when in the last time they were in title race.

One thing that can be the struggle is the teams they will face in those remaining games are also have their own aspirations and ambitions on their games, like finishing in Champions League zone and fighting against relegation. They have more games with high stakes compared to the teams Manchester City and Arsenal have. But their experience in handling high-pressure situations makes them ready to face this situation again. Their ability to maintain consistency and perform under pressure makes football people put them the most favorite to win the league.

It was actually not surprising because they played at home and Aston Villa have some their regular players injured or suspended. It was good to watch that Villa was able to give a good fight in the first half and scored an equalizer goal. Pep's team have patience and strong character, and the manager knew they could maximize their capability in the second half when Villa's players being out of breath and concentration. This tactic was also what made them win the league last season through the last game against Aston Villa.

Emery could not do much for the game because he had limited options due to injuries and suspension. He also has another focus that needs him to manage the rhythm and intensity of the his team's display, because he can't afford to lose another player to injury while preparing their journey in the Conference League. Being chased by Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs while having to play in Conference League makes Emery really need to be smart at sharing focus without lowering ambitions.

Marseille is actually the only Ligue 1 team that had ever won Champions League, while PSG was just found in 1970, so historically, Marseille is a bigger club that PSG. Big investment at PSG is what makes them have all those qualities. Playing at home is still not able to give advantage for Marseille to win the game as prestige of Le Classique, that implies how bad Marseille is lately.

Sitting in 7th position should give them the reason to fight for european zone. But this still can't instill them extra motivation and determination to gain something at home while they have cance to capitalize the numerical advantage after the red card for PSG player. The game didnt seem to have a sense of rivalry between two successful clubs in France. PSG really have made Ligue 1 lost its sense of competitiveness with gap of quality between them and the rest.

This is the rooted problem in Chelsea right now. They fail to put trust on the right people in the right place. Hiring Cech is the prime example of this. When he was at the club, the Chelsea's goalkeeper at the time, Mendy, became one the best goalkeeper in the league. Soon after Cech left, Mendy's performance became so inconsistent and he even conceded many goals which were supposedly savable.

Boehly needs to assess individuals who he would put in the respective positions. He needs to find individuals who have good capabilities and understand the club and also are able to work on cohesive actions with each others and club culture. Spending big money on expensive players would only put pressures on the players themself and create a squad of just professionals who don't have culture and character. Having high wage players in the squad has potential of creating psochology gap to low wage players, especially young palyers from academy.

I think Atletico Madrid kept being under pressure. After failing to fight for title race, they now have to fight for the Champions League spot with being chased by Bilbao and Sociedad. This constant pressure put them having no time to take a breath. in this situation, any loss would out more pressure on them with no time to relax while still having to compete in Champions League.

Simeone has to find a solution for this situation. They will not able to afford another loss, because their chance to finish fourth on the standings could be slimmer and slimmer while they have to compete with two clubs, Bilbao and Sociedad. While the chance to finish fourth position is still on their hand, they have to capitalize maximum points in every remaining games. From now, they will be under pressure to win each remaining game, because of the slow start of the season. They have themself to blame for this situation.  

PSG seemed too strong for Marseille. Playing against 10-men, Marseille wasn't able to capitalize their numerical advantage. They struggled to assert themselves effectively, and credit has to be given to PSG for capitalizing on their opportunities and executing their chances efficiently, when Mbappe wasn't even directly involved in the counter-attacks. Enrique is able to adapt and find alternative strategies to succeed, even without relying on Mbappe. This adaptability is important to have in high-stakes matches where tactical flexibility is needed the most.

Perhaps with an eye on success in the Champions League, Enrique has the vision and plans of the team management by resting Mbappe in some matches in Ligue 1. This implies he has a clear focus on achieving success on Champions League target, while still maintaining consistency in the domestic league. PSG seem to always have the ability to win under challenging circumstances in Ligue 1 and their tactical flexibility in adapting to different game situations aligns with their ambition in Champions League.

In this situation, only Arsenal haven't proven to have winning streak in the ending phase of the season. Manchester City and Liverpool have done it. Manchester United having potential to challenge these top teams shouldn't be overstated solely based on their inconsistent form, because big club have mentality to give a tough game even though there are in a bad situation. Beside Manchester United, There will still be Tottenham and Aston Villa who can give a tough game for them. These two teams still have their own ambitions to finish at higher position for European competition spots.

Arsenal have to play against two of their biggest rivals, Manchester United and Tottenham. There will be emotional sense when they play against their historical rivals that can make the game feel tougher than play against another teams. Past results can provide insight, but they don't guarantee future outcomes. Manchester United has the quality and mentality to give a tough game, and Tottenham is provenly a very good team that had beaten the three teams in the past games. Upsets and surprises will always possible to happen in football, and it's still hard to predict who's gonna win the league.

Bayern is one of the teams that have strong mentality when they play in Champions League. That makes them capable of bouncing back strongly from defeats. Comparing Bayern and Arsenal in Champions League history would seem to have a big gap. But Arsenal which have historical struggles against Bayern will undoubtedly be motivated to overcome their past record and make a statement in the Champions League. On the other hand, Bayern will be keen to maintain their status as contenders and seize their opportunity to advance in the tournament.

Tuchel might represent their best chance to achieve a silverware this season. Bayern will be determined to capitalize on this opportunity and give their all to make up for their failure in Bundesliga. The clash between Bayern and Arsenal promises some dramas where two strong teams fighting with contrasting motivations. The game will provide whether Bayern continue their dominance over Arsenal or Arsenal make a their statement in Champions League which they had not been participated for so long.

Sevilla have seemed to be a scary giant if they play in Europa League, while they always struggle in Champions League. It feels so strange when they even failed UCL group stage, even finished at the bottom. It sounds like an anecdote to say Europa League contestants should be grateful because Sevilla did not appear. Their absence opens up opportunities for other teams to shine, even  though there are teams have past success in the tournament.

Liverpool and Leverkusen are the strong favorites, given their current form and performances, but, of course, Milan and Roma should not be overlooked. Both the latter have the capability to go far in the competition and could pose a significant challenge to the favorites. Europa League could be the most unpredictable competition where top clubs often play in it with different mindset compared to when they play in their league of Champions League. The road to the Europa League final is often fraught with surprises, and fans can expect twists and turns as the competition progresses.