Oh, yes, I myself was extremely amused by the situation when many automatically gave victory to Milan in the match with Bologna. It's time to get used to the fact that there are often surprises in football and none of the current leaders of the Italian championship this season can avoid unforeseen losses, so this result is even logical to some extent. As an ordinary spectator, I can only rejoice that thanks to such a result, the intrigue of the tournament is being unwound with renewed vigor, and such an outcome of the match leaves even Juventus in the fight for the title, despite the fact that Allegri, after the defeat to Inter, warned the opposite. By the way, Milan's head coach Stefano Pioli, who played 100 games in Serie A, said after the match that they had done everything, but could not find that last moment, a blow that could change everything.

What kind of rumors can we talk about when Mbappe himself says in an interview that he has not yet made a choice about his future? What surprises can we talk about when information pops up that Real Madrid is not completely sure about Mbappe's transfer, and Mbappe's mother is trying to bargain with Real Madrid for an even larger amount of lifting fees for the transfer. It's just that with this transfer, it turns out to be a rather ironic situation that the transfer of a player as a free agent can cost a similar amount if it were a deal between two clubs. I do not deny that Real Madrid is a big club, but I am not at all sure that moving to this club automatically means winning the Champions League title in the near future, because Real Madrid has won too much in this tournament recently for the situation to continue to develop favorably for this again.

Any team can misfire and I would not say yet that this misfire is fatal. On the contrary, it was even quite amazing to see how Arsenal consistently scored points in missed matches, not allowing serious losses, unlike, say, Tottenham, and already had a chance to get even to third place. The result is quite unexpected, because few people expected a 3-0 loss from a team that no longer solves serious problems in the championship, unlike Arsenal, but still not fatal and vice versa can play its positive role as a kind of cold shower in order to shake up the team and try not to lose the chances that it provides fate. This result is in favor not only of Tottenham, but also of clubs such as Manchester United and West Ham, intensifying the fight for a place in the Champions League next season.

Everything can still change and let's not forget that in addition to the powerful Barcelona spurt, Atletico Madrid showed something similar. Nevertheless, six consecutive wins in La Liga is a serious result that allowed Diego Simeone's wards to make a powerful breakthrough and catch up with Sevilla, so you should not talk about Barcelona's second place as a matter of course. Barcelona needs to think seriously about how to keep this second place, and not try to talk about hypothetical losses of Real Madrid, which will allow them to claim even the title. I perfectly understand the joy of the Barca fans and even some dizziness from the current success of the team, but do not discount Atletico Madrid.

Yes, Chelsea, with their unexpected loss, complicated their tournament positions regarding the retention of third place. And if Arsenal wins and Crystal Palace, then the gap will generally be only two points. But some time ago Chelsea was the leader and not unreasonably claimed the title of the winner of the Premier League, while Arsenal, on the contrary, were mercilessly criticized in the first part of the championship and Arteta was clearly on the verge of being dismissed from the post of head coach of the team. And now, given the not-so-healthy situation around Chelsea, I wouldn't be surprised if Tottenham can also get closer to their London neighbors.

Let's still not compare Real Madrid and Lorient, because these are completely incomparable levels to draw far-reaching conclusions on the playing form of the team leaders. Nevertheless, Real Madrid is the leader of the Spanish championship by a large margin, and Lorient is one point away from the transition matches for the right to remain in Ligue 1. Although of course the encouraging fact is the doubles of Neymar and Mbappe, the assistant hat trick of Mbappe and the fact that Mbappe, Neymar and Messi were able to score their goals in the same match for the first time. Another encouraging fact for Paris Saint-Germain fans is that Mbappe said after the match that he had not yet made a choice about the future and considered it possible that he could stay at PSG.

Oh, yes, the gap from the first place is still huge and Real Madrid can still look at their pursuers quite calmly. In addition, talking about the pursuit of the leader by Barcelona, do not forget that the second place is also by no means guaranteed and Atletico Madrid also has an equal number of points, and Seville should not be discounted either, even if the club lost, but still the three clubs have the same number of points. Of course, there are always chances, another question is that I don't think Real Madrid will look at it calmly and start losing all the matches in a row. With all due respect to the pursuers, Atletico Madrid and especially Barcelona lost too much in the beginning, while Sevilla, on the contrary, has begun to lose too much lately and the loss to Barcelona is another confirmation of that.

By the way, I do not quite understand the claims against Pochettino that he will not be able to cope with Neymar, Mbappe and Messi. If you think like that, then I'm not at all sure that Erik ten Hag would have succeeded in doing the same. The tragic loss in the match with Real Madrid hit Pochettino's position in the head coach market very hard and greatly complicated his transition to Manchester United, although a few months ago it was considered almost a fait accompli. How much accidents can mean in sports and how expensive Donnarumma's stupid mistake cost both the team itself and the fate of the team's head coach. In my opinion, the figures of Pochettino and ten Hag are more suitable for Manchester United in this situation than the figure of Zidane.

And what did you want from Inter? The team gained an advantage at the end of the first half and technically held the advantage in the second half. Juventus was losing and therefore willy-nilly had to attack in order to recoup. Although Massimiliano Allegri said after the game that at last people can say that Juventus has finally dropped out of the championship race and now the team just needs to score more points to take fourth place, I still think that he is being a little deceitful and in the depths of his heart he will continue to believe in something completely different. Of course, the loss to Inter made this fight for the Scudetto very difficult, but it seems that all is not lost yet and these chances may increase again if, say, Milan loses points against Bologna.

There is a big difference between must win and really win and this must win sometimes plays a bad joke with teams that face a similar situation Atletico Madrid should be more liberated psychologically in this situation and this can also play a role. In principle, the scenario of the game is quite clear, when Manchester City will attack and score goals to secure an advantage, and Atletico Madrid will try to play defensively and seek happiness in counterattacks, if possible. Both clubs should be in a great mood before the face-to-face meeting, because Manchester City held the lead in the Premier League, and Atletico Madrid equaled the clubs that occupy second place in La Liga.

Undoubtedly, Barcelona is out of the total number of teams that continue to fight in the Europa League and, in all totality, is the main contender for the title. Another question, I would still not translate these general chances into the results of a particular match, because anything can happen and the same Eintracht is quite able to cause problems to the Catalan club already at this stage. And Barcelona's potential rivals at the next stages in the face of West Ham, Atalanta and Leipzig look even more serious, at least on paper. And the cost of the club's roster will not be crucial at the same time, when the title and the opportunity to show their best for potential employers are at stake for the players of teams that have a much lower transfer cost of the roster.

I also think that Manchester City is now difficult to call the favorite in the fight against Liverpool if we take into account the matches that have been held recently. It was safe to talk about it a couple of months ago, but since then a lot of water has flowed away and Manchester City has missed its solid advantage in the Premier League, while Liverpool, on the contrary, was able to take advantage of the competitor's misfires and was able to revive the intrigue in the fight for the title. We can talk about Josep Guardiola's winning experience in similar situations, but we should not forget that Klopp has such experience, and therefore if we say that Manchester City has become stronger now than at the beginning of the season, then it should also be said about Liverpool.

I am not sure that Real Madrid can also constantly make heroic comebacks on order, so I still think that the club should not bring the situation to such a state For me personally, at this point in time, before the first match is held, both Chelsea and Real Madrid have the same chances of success following the results of two matches. In any case, despite the cancellation of the away goal advantage rule, there is still a home field factor, and it is desirable for Chelsea to make some margin of safety before the return match and try to win, because Real Madrid at their home stadium with the crazy support of their fans will in any case play to win and is really capable of transformation.

Oh, I wouldn't say that Juventus now has a privileged position compared to the rest of the contenders for the Scudetto. A lot will depend on the result of the full-time match with Inter, because winning this match will be a serious bid for concrete participation in the championship race. Accordingly, the victory of Inter, on the contrary, may put this participation in question and, on the contrary, give an extra impetus to Inter, which has frankly been stalling lately and has lost that advantage over competitors in the person of Milan and Napoli, which recently took place. Specifically about Milan, I would like to say that if the team gives up everything and just calmly holds its match, then there are good chances of winning.

In this situation, a lot depends on which person will lead Manchester United as head coach at the end of the season, as well as who will be the head coach at Paris Saint-Germain. Undoubtedly, participation in the Champions League is a priority for Ronaldo and therefore I can hardly imagine that the player will stay at the club if Manchester United cannot get into the Champions League for next season. Another question is that this does not mean a move to Paris Saint-Germain at all, although I think the club bosses also keep this option in mind, given Mbappe's likely departure from the club. As a result, my attitude to this option is such that I am not completely sure of the viability of the duo of Ronaldo and Messi, but I would still really like to see it

Some rotation will certainly not hurt and it is quite possible either not to put such players as Modric or Benzema on the match at all or just let them play only part of the match. On the other hand, everything is in the power of the head coach and his staff whether it is worth releasing players with the risk of injury or it still needs to be done to maintain the necessary tone. At the same time, it is also worth bearing in mind some of Benzema's injuries and what significance his presence or absence on the football field has now acquired for the game and the team's results. In any case, Real Madrid need to approach the match with Celta responsibly, especially since the match will be held at Celta's home stadium, because excessive relaxation can then be costly at the finish of the season.

Manchester City have not been in the greatest order lately and have missed out on a solid advantage in the Premier League over Liverpool, while Atletico Madrid, on the contrary, has greatly improved its standings in the national championship and seriously claims second place, so I don't think Manchester City will necessarily destroy Atletico Madrid in the first match. On the one hand, Atletico Madrid can hardly be called a favorite for the title of the winner of the Champions League, but thanks to the peculiarities of the cup system of the draw, the club has by no means zero chances to get to the next stage of the tournament, because everything will be decided in two matches and for Atletico Madrid you need to play well in the first match to keep your chances. As far as we know from the history of previous years, Atletico Madrid is able to ensure the desired result by building its game without being the favorite of the opposition.

It is not a fact at all, and even more so it is not a fact that this advantage materializes in a large number of goals. In order for Watford not to risk relegation, they must score points in the remaining matches and therefore must try to put up serious resistance even to clubs like Liverpool Exactly the same things can be said about Burnley, that the club will also try to put up a decent resistance to the favorite in the person of Manchester City. I am by no means saying that both clubs will definitely take away points from the leaders, but it is still rather hasty to say that the liedra will win easy victories. Manchester United is a rather unpredictable team this season, but it still seems that the club should secure at least a draw in the match with Leicester. Arsenal are playing better than Man UTD right now, but Crystal Palace are playing at home and showed themselves to be a serious opponent with the recent game against City.

I think that the determining factor will be who exactly will lead the club as the head coach, and based on his preferences, it will already be decided which of the players will remain at the club. Only after that it will be possible to talk about which players the bet will be placed on and around which players the game will be built. Also in this regard, the figure of the new sports director will be important, because apparently Leonardo's time in this post has come to an end, and a lot also depends on the figure of the sports director, because it is he who determines the transfer policy of the club. Therefore, I would still not rule out the option in which both Messi and Neymar will leave the club at the same time, but for now I think that this is unlikely.

Barcelona recently also had a match with Real Madrid and we remember very well how it ended I am not sure that both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will be able to avoid point losses in the remaining matches, so I do not think that the game with Real Madrid will be key for Atletico in this regard, although of course success in this match will be a serious trump card for raising the team's spirit and successfully completing the championship. If we talk specifically about this tour, then Alaves is a simpler opponent for Atletico Madrid, at least on paper, than Sevilla is for Barcelona, so Atletico has a good chance to break away from Barcelona a little.