Lunch Break: leagues on pause, Liga and Ligue 1 take over tonight
The Big Five are in international-break mode: no league action last night, only the Coppa Italia to keep fans company. Today football flickers back to life in two isolated fixtures, Real Sociedad-Celta and Toulouse-Lille, while Europe trims its squad lists for the cups.
A quiet night for the five major leagues, all halted for the international break after the opening rounds. The only ball rolling in Italy was in the Coppa Italia, with the preliminary round wrapped up: among those into the last 16 were Udinese, who saw off Venezia (ANSA), Sassuolo, who knocked out Frosinone on penalties (ANSA), and Cremonese, winners away at Parma (Corriere dello Sport). Serie A, the Premier League, Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1, meanwhile, are all frozen until play resumes.
On the news front, the morning brings a couple of fitness worries and several official moves. Juventus lose Thuram, who has had knee surgery and is expected to be out for at least four months (Calciomercato.com): the Frenchman is missing from the Bianconeri's Europa League list, which also leaves out Zhegrova. Napoli, by contrast, are smiling after tying down captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo with an official renewal until 2030 (napolicalcionews.it, Di Marzio). At Inter, Piero Ausilio's departure makes waves: after 28 years he leaves the club by mutual contract termination (Di Marzio). On the disciplinary side, UEFA has opened proceedings against Guendouzi and Greenwood (Calciomercato.com); Lazio, meanwhile, have left Pellegrini and Patric off their Serie A list (Calciomercato.com). And the tail end of the transfer window delivered the final official deals: El Shaarawy back at Genoa (Di Marzio) and the hefty move of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City from Chelsea for 145 million (Calciomercato.com).
For those craving actual football, today's menu is small but tasty. In Liga it is Real Sociedad-Celta, kicking off at 21:00 Italian time: a delicate clash near the foot of the table, with the Basques 13th and the Galicians 16th. Earlier, at 20:45, Ligue 1 serves up Toulouse-Lille on matchday three: Les Dogues, third in the standings, look for consistency at a Toulouse side still chasing a first win.
A glance at the tables paints an intriguing start. In Serie A, Roma lead on goal difference within a cluster on maximum points: 6 points, 8 goals scored and none conceded in two games, ahead of Inter, Milan, Juventus and Atalanta, all also on 6. In the Premier League it is neck and neck between Manchester City and Arsenal, level on 6; in Liga the Barcelona-Real Madrid duopoly races clear on 9 after three rounds; in Ligue 1 Monaco sit alone on top with 6; and in a still-young Bundesliga, Bayern lead on maximum points after their opening outing.
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