Stock market: Barça and Chelsea rising, Monaco and troubled Real Madrid sink
The official season has just started but the first few games already provide enough for a few evaluations to be made. Just like the stock market, we're analysing the teams that are climbing and falling.
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POSITIVE
Barcelona: Luis Enrique's side are going at rapid pace, with three wins from three games. Two of them were difficult opponents, Villarreal and Athletic Club. Great vibes are coming from the club, with Messi wanting simply to be Messi and the rest playing well too.
Chelsea: Jose Mourinho knows his stuff. The Portuguese coach and his team are top of the Premier League with 12 points from 12 and Diego Costa in rambunctious form. He has seven goals in four games. The only downside for Chelsea is conceding six goals, something which Mourinho will want to fix.
Atletico: After drawing in Vallecas against Rayo, there were some negative comments, with Mandzukic not looking up to the task of fillign Diego Costa's boots. But since then, Atletico have shown, and especially at the Bernabeu on Saturday, that they are not a fad and are here to sray. Don't forget they are still in the process of adapting to the changes and they beat Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup as well.
Zenit: Andras Villas-Boas is doing well at the club, despite his poor record in recent years. They have seven from seven in the League and also beat two sides to get into the Champions League. The Hulk-Rondon duo is not the best in the world, but on its day can beat anyone.
ON STAND BY
Bayern Munich: The Bavarians are not shining so far. They lost the German Super Cup to Borussia Dortmund, but Pep Guardiola was without most of his starters. In the Bundesliga they are doing okay, with two wins and a draw in three games. Against Wolfsburg they could have done better and only secured three points with a late Robert Lewandowski winner against Stuttgart, before Franck Ribery struck another. It is early, yes, but more is expected from Bayern and Pep.
Arsenal: A squad with much talent but mediocre results. They have only won one Premier League game, in added time, and in the Champions League scraped past Besiktas. They did romp past Man City in the Community Shield.
Manchester United: The Red Devils won their first league game of the season, smashing a woeful QPR 4-0. Angel Di Maria has been a godsend and Radamel Falcao could also prove to be lethal. It has been a bad start though, seven points behind Chelsea already and they were humiliated by MK Dons 4-0 in the Capital One Cup.
PSG: The French side, Barca's Champions League group rivals, have drawn three times already in five games. They won the French Super Cup vs Guingamp, but seem distracted in the league.
DOWN
Real Madrid: After winning the much coveted La Decima, Real Madrid have been their own worst enemies. The transfer policy of Florentino Perez has seen Xabi Alonso and Di Maria leave, with Carlo Ancelotti unsure how to balance his team. James Rodriguez leaves many doubts and Iker Casillas was booed at the Bernabeu. There have also been bad results, just three points in the League and the Spanish Super Cup defeat. They are six points behind Barca...
Monaco: They have lost Falcao, James and Abidal, but that doesn't justify them being in the relegation zone. Players like Moutinho, Kondogbia and Dimitar Berbatov have plenty of quality, to score more than four points in five league games. The Champions League is just around the corner for Monaco and could bring some relief... or the opposite.
Feyenoord: They finished runners up in the Eredivisie last season and have only won one of their five games. They are struggling to fund the net. Besiktas ensured they won't play in the Champions League and Zorya, a modest team from Ukraine, did the same in the Europa.
