For all the die-hard football fans, there was an abundance of excitement in Europe over the weekend with action from all the major leagues keeping us hooked. Here we gloss over the main talking points dominating the Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and German Bundesliga.

Editor’s Note: Be sure to check out all of our articles, and read more about the EPL and Spanish La Liga at http://www.rotoballer.com/category/premier-league-bpl-epl-soccer

La Liga: Two Horse Race?

After a brief period away from the top of the table, Real Madrid and Barcelona are back where they belong. Some experts would be happy to say that they predicted this even before the season started, but, it was only two weeks ago when Celta Vigo and Villarreal threatened to lead the table.

Over the weekend, Real Madrid shrugged off the challenge of Las Palmas, leaving them as the only undefeated side in the league. Unfortunately for their competitors, Real Madrid are yet to hit top gear and with so much yet to come from their talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo, there are plenty of reasons to expect that Los Blancos can win the league.

However, Barcelona will have something to say about all of that. Whilst missing Lionel Messi, the Catalan outfit was expected to struggle for points, however the upswing in the form of Luis Suarez and Neymar is maintaining their strong challenge. Both were on target over the weekend and should carry the hopes of a side eagerly awaiting the return of Messi. It would take a brave man to write them off at this stage (or any stage) but if Messi misses the first El Clasico, the capital team may end up with a slight advantage over their arch rivals and it could be an advantage they refuse to relinquish.

Celta Vigo shrugged off their loss to Real Madrid in the last round to score a plucky 3-2 win over Real Sociedad, whilst their performances continue to endear them to neutral supporters. Nolito’s goals are the prime reason for their ascendancy and the former Barca striker is continuously linked with a return to Camp Nou.

La Liga could well turn out to be a two-horse race but there is an abundance of excitement and uncertainty to be provided by the likes of Celta Vigo and Villarreal. It's by no means over yet.

Serie A: Inter Soaring and Juventus Inconsistent 

Eleven games ago if someone had said that Inter Milan would be in reckoning for the title, there would have definitely been audible gasps and perhaps even laughter.

Roberto Mancini's men continue with their frugal ways by, last weekend, accruing yet another 1-0 win – this time against fellow contenders Roma. The Milan powerhouses are tied in points with table toppers Fiorentina, but we feel that critics will doubt if these two sides will stay in the reckoning from now until the end - but that is a discussion for another day.

Milan also continued their renaissance with a comfortable win away from home over Lazio and with just five points separating them from the toppers, watch out for Sinisa Mihajlovic men. The same cannot be said of Juventus, though, with any sort of conviction as the four-time defending champion continue to struggle. However, the weekend derby victory over Torino will surely have boosted their confidence as will their away draw against Monchengladbach, which keeps their Champions League aspirations  very much alive.

It will be a huge challenge for Inter, Fiorentina and Milan to continue their title run in the coming weeks while Juventus will look to revive their campaign.

Bundesliga: One Way Traffic

Last week, Eintracht Frankfurt proved to be a pesky opponent by keeping the Bayern Munich strikers at bay and coming out with a 0-0 draw. This halted Bayern's run of ten consecutive victories in the Bundesliga but with a comfortable lead, Pep Guardiola should have no worries in securing another league title.

Borussia Dortmund continued their revival under Thomas Tuchel with a comfortable win over Werder Bremen buy they still trail Bayern by five points and, at this stage, a realistic target for them would be to finish runners-up.

There are concerns on how long Dortmund can challenge the three-time defending champion Bayern but, for now, it’s one team that’s calling all the shots!

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