The month of December has been outstanding for many European teams and has seen some incredible jump in the table from one English Premier League team. Others have been just phenomenal and unstoppable since the beginning of this month. The Champions League has entered the knockout stage, competition for first place in some leagues has been competitive and coaches have been eager for the January window to come in to commence the transfer talks and end all these rumors. As the year comes to and end, we look at the best of the best for the month of December.
10. Porto (Primeira Liga)
League record: (9-4-1) Next Match: Gil Vicente (Primeira Liga, Jan. 3)
After a phenomenal run in the Champions League, Porto finished first in their group table and will be facing Swiss team Basel for the first time in the knockout stage. They also sit 6 points behind their arch rivals, Benfica, who they lost to this month, but hope to continue their run in 2015 and crown themselves champions of the Primeira League.
9.Paris Saint-Germain
League Record: (10-8-1) Next Match: Montpellier (Coupe de France, Jan. 5)
PSG has won two out of their last six matches in all competitions and lost their first place standings in the Champions League to FC Barcelona when they lost 3-1 back in early December. They face Chelsea in the knockout stage as well and this will prove if PSG are actually capable of being Champions League material. They also hope to be active in the transfer window and hope players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic to pick up his run again along with Edison Cavani, Lucas and Ezequiel Lavezzi.
8. Manchester City
League Record: (13-4-2) Next Match: Sunderland (Premier League)
The only reason why Manchester City isn’t in the top five is due to their performance in the Champions League. With a win against Roma, City was lucky enough to advance to the knockout stage thanks to Bayern Munich taking the win against CSKA Moscow. They got unlucky though and will be facing Barcelona in the Round of 16. With 5 wins and an earlier tie against Burnley, City sit 3 points behind Chelsea and hope that once their strikers return, they will be able to take first place in the English Premier League.
7. Juventus F.C
League Record: (12-3-1) Next Match: Inter Milan (Serie A)
Losing to Napoli in the Supercoppa Italiana in a 5-6 score in penalties, Juventus sees that there is a lot of competition for the Italian giants. Giving away four points this month and only winning one against Cagliari, Juventus sits in first with Roma behind them with three points. They were also able to advance to the knockout stage in the Champions League and will face a struggling Borussia Dortmund.
- Atlético Madrid
League Record: (11-2-3) Next Match: Levante (La Liga)
With three wins, two ties and a loss, it seems like Atlético continues to struggle, but they are slowly picking up their game. They sit three points behind FC Barcelona in La Liga and face a tough Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. With speculations of Fernando Torres joining the team again, Atlético Madrid will get much stronger and hope to repeat history in La Liga and Champions League again.
- Manchester United
League Record: (10-6-3) Next Match: Stoke City (English Premier League)
With 7 wins of their last 9 games in the Premier League, Manchester United somehow found the chemistry, spark and connection that they needed. In the last month they went from 10th place to 3rd and sit 10 points behind Chelsea and seven points behind derby rivals, Manchester City. Skipper Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie both lead the team as well with most goals. Though the defense still seems to struggle, the Red Devils hope to be active in the transfer window this January and bring some defensive players and hope that injuries abandon the team and start the New Year strong.
- Chelsea F.C.
League Record: (14-4-1) Next Match: Tottenham Hotspur (English Premier League)
Chelsea gave away five points in the last six matches this month. Losing to Newcastle United and tying to Southampton couple days ago, Chelsea is now three points ahead of Manchester City and 10 points from Manchester United. Although they lost one match, Chelsea continues to be unstoppable and if they continue on the run they are, they might be crowned English Premier Champions. They will not be able to give away any points though for the rest of the Premier League season
- Bayern Munich
League Standing: (14-3-0) Next Match: VfL Wolfsburg (Bundesliga)
Bayern has maintained very quiet in the transfer window and who knows what they will do this transfer window. With a huge break, they will not have another match until January 30th, but continue in great form. With five wins this month, they sit alone in the Bundesliga table with 45 points, 11 points ahead of VfL Wolfsburg. If they continue in their great form, they just might repeat history by winning the Bundesliga title early before the season ends.
- FC Barcelona
League Standing: (12-2-2) Next Match: Real Sociedad (La Liga)
After losing to Real Madrid and Celta Vigo, Barcelona got on an impressive run, winning five out of the last six matches in the La Liga, two matches in the Copa del Rey and one match in the Champions League against PSG. They were able to sit first place after winning against PSG in the Champions League and will face Manchester City in the knockout stage. With Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez upfront, Barcelona hope to continue their run and make Real Madrid uncomfortable and give them competition for first place in La Liga. Their hopes: that Real Madrid gives up some points.
- Real Madrid
League Standing: (13-0-2) Next Match: Valencia (La Liga)
One word for this team: Unbelievable. Real Madrid has been unstoppable winning 22 games in a row since September and won 7 games this month. With the FIFA Club World Cup title, they have proven to be the best team in the world. No one can stop Real Madrid and might be able to make history this upcoming year with hopes of winning the Champions League, La Liga title and the Copa del Rey title as well. The big three, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale will bring a lot to this team along with James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos. Everyone, including FC Barcelona, better start stepping up their game if they want to stop Real Madrid.
Photo by: Getty Images
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