A Glicko Sports Blog

A Glicko Sports Blog

Tue 04 Mar 2008

Inter the Abyss

Our period of waiting is over: after an unbeaten league run stretching back to 2006, Inter Milan has finally tasted defeat. It's the biggest result for Napoli since the days of Maradona. PSV and Tottenham both lost to unfancied opposition, while Barcelona's bid for the Primera title has been hindered by a defeat at Atlético Madrid. Elsewhere, just 13 goals in a complete French programme, with four games not troubling the scorers, and you'll be able to see highlights of all four on Jeu du Jour avec Des Lettres. Bayern took another giant step towards the 1. Bundesliga title, winning 1:0 at Schalke.

Upsets

48   Napoli - Inter   1:0
45   Utrecht - PSV 3:1
43   Birmingham City - Tottenham Hotspur   4:1
40   Atl.Madrid - Barcelona   4:2
37   D.La Coruna - Sevilla   2:1
37   Cagliari - Genoa   2:1
36   Bochum - Bayer Leverkusen   2:0
35   Queen's Park Rangers - Stoke City   3:0
35   Le Mans - Strasbourg   0:1
34   Levante - Zaragoza   2:1
33   Scunthorpe United - Coventry City   2:1
33   Kilmarnock - St Mirren 1:0
33   Cardiff City - Leicester City   0:1
32   Middlesbrough - Reading   0:1
32   Metz - Caen   2:1

Primera Division

BAR   1227   77.7  -15  -0.19
RMD   1150   79.4  -61  -0.77
SEV   1125   76.8   14   0.18
VIL   1121   76.3  -25  -0.33
SAN   1087   76.2  - 7  -0.09
AMD   1079   75.5  -68  -0.90
GET   1077   72.8   39   0.54
VAL   1067   74.8  - 1  -0.01
ESP   1066   80.5  -51  -0.63
ALM   1065   86.0   48   0.56
MAL   1056   77.9   23   0.30
HEU   1031   81.7  - 2  -0.02
DEP   1023   82.4   83   1.01
OSA   1021   81.6    2   0.02
BET   1013   81.6   40   0.49
ABL   1010   78.8   12   0.15
VDD    994   83.9  -50  -0.60
ZAR    982   80.7  -42  -0.52
LEV    922   84.2   70   0.83
RMC    905   86.1  -82  -0.95

MGA (II)  1014   120.0   22   0.18
SOC (II)  1009   119.5    0   0.00
CAD (II)   995   125.8   25   0.20
CVG (II)   934   115.3    0   0.00
TAR (II)   913   115.2  - 8  -0.07
ALA (II)   795   116.5  -33  -0.28

Though Real are the stronger side domestically, Barcelona's European form gives them a big leg-up. It's not been a good month for the Spanish sides, just Getafe making the Achtelfinalrund of the UEFA Cup. Note that 16 top-flight sides, plus two promotion-chasers from the Segunda, are over 1000 points.

Serie A

INT  1229   84.4  -85  -1.01
ROM  1187   78.3    7   0.09
ACM  1097   76.4    8   0.10
FIO  1095   76.6  -11  -0.14
JVE  1078   85.1  -25  -0.29
LAZ  1005   76.0   42   0.55
SAM  1001   80.1   45   0.56
UDI   976   78.6  -45  -0.57
GNA   968   85.1  - 8  -0.09
ATL   965   80.8   27   0.33
PAL   960   79.7    6   0.08
TOR   958   81.5   53   0.65
SIE   948   84.1   50   0.59
NAP   928   83.5  - 1  -0.01
LVO   913   83.2  -38  -0.46
REG   912   81.4  -39  -0.48
PAR   908   83.8   18   0.21
EMP   904   82.8   17   0.21
CAT   894   79.5  -55  -0.69
CAG   865   82.3   69   0.84

CHI (II)	977	133.9	0	0.00
ASC (II)	789	127.2	0	0.00
MES (II)	789	136.2	0	0.00

When two defeats and three wins leaves a side down by 1RD, they must have had a lot of points to lose. So it was for Inter, allowing a 43-point slip at Liverpool, and the 48-point loss to Napoli. Inter's success masks the mediocrity of the chasing pack, with Fiorentina the only side still in the UEFA Cup.

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