Recent developments in European football

We’re slowly reaching the end of the summer, which for football fans means one thing, the return of European football. The clubs are almost ready for the start of the new season. Some of them are still looking for new players that will strengthen their squads even more.

In this article, we’ll cover the key recent developments in European football that fans should know about.

The top European Football Leagues are underway

The English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish LaLiga, and the French Ligue 1 are back on schedule for the new season. Fans were able to watch the first matches from August 16th to 19th. The Dutch Eredivisie, on the other hand, are one week ahead, as they’re currently awaiting the third match week.

English fans saw very few surprises in the first match week. Probably the most exciting match was the one between Chelsea and Manchester City, where the latter won 0-2.

In Italy, things started very slow, six out of the ten matches ended in a draw. Only Juventus, Atalanta, Verona, and Lazio managed to win the first match.

The same scenario occurred in LaLiga, where Barcelona, Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano, and Real Valladolid were the only ones to win. Real Madrid drew against Mallorca, which was Mbappe’s first LaLiga match.

In Ligue 1, fans saw some super entertaining matches that featured many goals. PSG beat Le Havre 4-1 while Marseille won against Brest 5-1. Lyon and Nice had a rough start as they lost their first matches.

The German Bundesliga is the only one of the top 5 European Leagues that’s yet to begin. This allows fans and punters to make predictions on the outright winner. They can also engage in predicting the outcome of the first matches. Punters can also use the Copybet offer for new customers for this activity.

European Clubs are almost ready for the New Champions League format

Around one month from now, or on 19th September, we’ll finally get to see the new UEFA Champions League format. But, before that, seven teams must qualify through the Champions League Qualification draw.

Young Boys, Galatasaray, Dinamo Zagreb, and Crvena Zvezda are all starting out in the final qualification matches. On the other hand, Qarabag, Midtjylland, Slovan Bratislava, Bodo/Glimt, Malmo FF, Sparta Prague, Lille, Slavia Prague, Dynamo Kyiev, and RB Salzburg fought their way to the final matches.

According to the European football statistics, Slovan Bratislava and Bodo/Glimt had never qualified for the group stage. This year, the final qualifiers will take place on August 20th, 21st, 26th, and 27th.

Just as a reminder, the new UEFA Champions League format will consist of 36 instead of 32 teams. Each team will get to play four home and four away matches. After that, the top eight teams will progress to the last-16. As for the teams that finish between the 9th and 24th position will enter the play-off rounds.

Clubs are still looking for reinforcements

Despite entering the last two weeks of the summer transfer period, European teams are still looking for new players to sign. This is especially true for some of the top teams that will compete in the UEFA Champions League.

Atletico Madrid and Chelsea are closing on deals that will see Connor Gallagher and Joao Felix switch clubs. Not long ago, Atletico signed Julain Alvarez from Manchester City.

David De Gea signed for Fiorentina on a one-year deal. This player was a free agent for a whole year after leaving Manchester United on a free transfer.

Marco Reus also left on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund. He decided to look for a new adventure overseas after joining LA Galaxy. Manchester United finalized the signings of Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.

AC Milan signed Youssouf Fofana after negotiating with AS Monaco for several weeks. PSG made a big purchase from Stade Rennes after finalizing the deal for Desire Doue. Kalvin Phillips went on another loan, this time in the new newly promoted Premier League club Ipswitch.

In recent news, Ilkay Gundogan and his agent are working on a return to Manchester City. He left the Citizens last summer for Barcelona and now it looks like he’s heading back home.

Ivan Toney is set to leave Brentford after four seasons with the club. Reports indicate that he is ready to join one of the Saudi Pro League clubs. Al-Ahli is reportedly willing to spend €50 million for his signature.

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