The Premier League isn't the only league worth getting excited about. At the end of each month, Zero Striker will give you a quick run down on what's happening in Europe's four other major leagues. Here we'll recap the months action in La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1. Lets get started shall we!
La Liga
The Spanish domestic season kicked off on the weekend of August 20 and so far it has gone to plan. Defending champions Barcelona recorded a thumping 6-1 win over Real Betis before overcoming Athletic Bilbao 1-0 to currently sit second. Not far behind are their archrivals, Real Madrid who have scored five and conceded just the one, recording wins inย both theirย games so far this season to sit third.
Surprisingly though itsย minnows Las Palmas who sit atop of the table with six points andย a goal difference of six.ย 2015-16 Europa Leagueย championsย Sevilla round out the top four with four points.
Other things to take notice of. Atletico sit 11th and are winless. Valencia sit bottom with two straight lossesย and Villarreal sit 12th with two draws.
The league returns on September 10 after the International break and Barcelona against Atletico Madrid will headline the month's action, with the two facing off on Sep. 22
Bundesliga
Just the one Matchday in the German top flight throughout August as theย start date of August 26 was a bit later than usual to make way for the first round of the DFB Cup the week before.
Last season's champions, Bayern Munich started where they left off, putting six past Werder Bremen. Star striker, Robert Lewandowski scoring a hat-trick.
Dortmund are not far behind. They also got a win on the opening weekend, defeating Mainz 2-1.
Wolfsburg and Borussia M'Gladbach proved they'll be thereabouts fighting for the top four places come the end of the season. However, the title is always going to be a two-horse race between Munich and Dortmund.
An International break before Schalke and Munich go toe-to-toe on September 10 should whet your appetite for what should be a great Bundesliga season.
Serie A
Two weeks of Serie A completed and Juventus look as strong as ever with Gonzalo Higuain leading the attack. They're equal first along with Genoa and Sampdoria.
Roma and Napoli will be hoping they can provide some sort of title challenge to Juventus but both have started behind the eight ball, already dropping their first points of the season. Both sit fourth and sixth respectively.
Any hope of revival at the San Siro - and that applies to both teams - has most likely been dashed. Inter are winless and Milan don't seem to have the firepower to qualify for the Champions League yet again.
Following the break, Inter host Juventus on September 19th. A win for Inter will close the gap and should give them hope for the rest of the season, but victory for the old lady will reassure football fans, that they are theย greatest team to come out of Italy in quite some time.
Ligue 1
Will PSG finally be dethroned after years of French domination? Its definitely a possibility if we go off the first month of action which has seen both Lyon and Monaco gain fast starts in the race for the title.
Alexandre Lacazette's Lyon sit fourth with six points from three and looked good until a recent slip up at Dijon bought them back to earth. The man in question, Lacazette, has scored five goals already this season and looks untouchable. Oh why didn't Arsenal pursue him more rigorously!
Monaco on the other hand, haveย seven points and are sitting in second just behind Guingamp. However, they just did a number onย the champions, downing themย 3-1 in the first big match of the season.
Games to look out for following theย International break are Lyon and Marseille on Sep. 19, a derby between Nice and Marseille on sep.12 that couldย featureย the maligned Mario Balotelli, who isย the subject of a rumoured move toย Nice. Also, keep an eye out for PSGย against St Etienne on Sep. 10 with the visitors strengthening in the off-seasonย in a bid to return to the top echelon of the division.
