The composition of the European football elite is changing.

On top of the main disappointments are expected Liverpool, Chelsea, Everton. These teams are performing far below their usual level this season (especially the Merseysiders).

And there are clubs that progress just as quickly. The results of some of them can really be considered a breakthrough. Let’s tell which teams and what they made a huge leap forward for.

6th place. “Benfica”

It is worth talking about the breakthrough of the Portuguese team, first of all, in the context of progress in the national championship – in the Champions League, the Eagles also performed well last season. Then they took the second line from Barcelona, ​​​​​​and now staged an enchanting race for the lead in the peloton with PSG and emerged victorious.

Roger Schmidt very quickly established himself as the head coach of Benfica: under the leadership of the German, the team finally overtook Porto and Sporting CP, winning the national championship. Think about it: the Eagles have suffered only one loss in regulation time since August!

Benfica’s positions have changed slightly, but this is progress on all fronts, both in the league and in the fight against the European tops.

5th place. “Union”

The leap forward of the Berlin team is more evident: in 4 years, Union has come a long way from the team of the 2nd Bundesliga to the pursuer of Bayern and strong participant in European competitions. A year earlier, the Irons passed an important milestone for a club of this caliber: they passed the distance of the group stage in the Conference League and managed not to lose positions in the Bundesliga. Even more – he climbed to 5th place.

Now “Union” has only strengthened this effect, instead of LK in which it plays THE (and will play in the playoffs), and in the championship instead of the top 5 butts in the top 3. For some time the Berliners were in first place, but now they are not giving up Borussia Dortmund and Bayern by more than 3 points.

4th place. Fulham

Fulham have not noticed the difference in class between the championship and the Premier League – even against strong clubs from the elite division, the Cottagers are able to offer an impressive game plan. Under the leadership of Marco Silva, Fulham actively use pressure and shackle their opponents. After pausing for a while world Cup-2022, the Londoners have 5 consecutive wins and, after two defeats in a row, they have not lost in 6 matches in a row.

Thanks to this integrity, the club, who have the second bottom team in the league in terms of overall value, are battling for the top 5 and are just 2 points behind wealthy Newcastle. Of course, the “dacha residents” played 2 more matches, and it’s hard to believe that they can get into the European cups (the difference in class is too big). But such a performance of yesterday’s championship participant is worth a lot.

3rd place. Naples

Luciano Spalletti has polished the style of the team, with which last year he was unable to maintain a similar pace throughout the season. Then the Neapolitans also started in Serie A with a long unbeaten streak, but then climbed up to third place. And not everything went smoothly in European competitions: the Italians lost to Spartak twice, qualified for the play-offs and turned out to be weaker than the crisis-stricken Barcelona.

And to compare these figures with the current ones – already in Champions League Napoli started with a defeat from Liverpool, suffered only one defeat in 6 rounds of the group stage (including from the Merseysiders) and has every chance of becoming the “dark horse” of the main European Cup. In the national championship, he only lost once in 24 rounds and had a whopping 18-point lead.

The Neapolitans had great success this summer. Kim Min-jae became the leader of the club’s defense, Frank Anguissa cemented the center of the field and formed a great connection with Zelinsky and Lobotka. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia simply silenced all skeptics and instantly became the leader of the club. Now it is thanks to these market actions that Napoli are a goal machine and a potential favorite Champions League.

2nd place. Manchester United

The successes of the Neapolitans are much more global than progress Manchester United, but it is worth considering one important detail. There were no signs of a bright future for the English giant last year. The Mancunians looked unattractive, the team was led by a coach to whom Cristiano Ronaldo did not put anything. Even their entry into the Europa League in such a match could be considered a sensation.

Erik ten Haga was called to address deep-rooted problems, and it was the most significant appointment in recent years. bosses Manchester United he listened to the Dutchman and did not offer Rangnik a place on the coaching staff. Then they approved the coach’s candidacies for strengthening: so Martinez, Tyrell Malasia, Casemiro appeared in the team, they even agreed to pay 95 million euros for Anthony.

Provisional results of the team (just compare with last year): victory in the League Cup, 3rd place in Premier League1/8 final THE (can go further). And that’s not to mention how individual players have grown under ten Hag’s guidance.

1st place. “Arsenal”

The Gunners are repeating Napoli’s history, only in a more competitive league with a tighter schedule. The Londoners have not yet reached the stage of dominance in which the Neapolitans currently find themselves. They have just begun to benefit from the changed vector of development. Now there are no extra players in the application, only those who can really strengthen the team are on the lists of breeders.

Mikel Arteta’s wards THE they were selected straight away for the round of 16, where they will play against Sporting. With regard to Premier League, the “gunners” surprisingly keep the lead. It looked (and still looks) that City would crush the Londoners in the long run due to the difference in class – but Arsenal maintain a 2-point lead (despite defeat in a head-to-head) and have a game in hand.

The result of the club’s work can be summed up next season, so the British will most likely be selected Champions League and will compete on equal terms with the “citizens”. Now this is a young and bold team that has decided to take away from the hegemon Premier League championship title.