Target On: European Football 08.05

Mondays are when we focus on, target on, the most important stories in the leagues we cover, That's why we have a target on our site and we promise you that we will give you the best of what come whether we talk about Spain or Italy, or England.

England:  Manchester City have stormed back and taken over the pole position for the Premier League title. While the majority wisdom said that Sir Alex Ferguson and his famous mind-games would take their toll on a fragile and inexperienced City side, most in the know have waved that sort of rhetoric off as hyperbole. When Manchester United had a squad that could compete with the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle United until the very end, and when they had players who could will their best perfomances until the very end, like Keane and Neville and the like, then the legend of the Vulcan-like Fergie mind meld took hold. Whether we like it or not, Manchester City are a hair's breadth from taking the title because they have the better squad. Period.

Spain: First and second are determined, Real Madrid are winners with Barcelona right behind, and the rest of the European places are up for grabs, but the real stories are in the relegation slots. Racing Santander have already been dropped, but Granada, Sporting de Gijon, Real Zaragoza, Rayo Vallecano and even Villarreal are fighting for their existence in this the last round of the "greatest league on Earth." Who do I think will descend? Sporting have little chance, they need help from everyone else, so they are likely to go down, and the last one I think is poor Rayito. They play great football but they have few patrons and in Spain you can't exist without them.

Italy: Juve are champions. This isn't your father's Vecchia Signora, they play good football and they have a stadium in Turin that is state of the art and ready to host the highest championships in Europe. With Financial Fair-Play and with former club-legend and UEFA President Michel Platini waving that flag across all of Europe, Juventus are poised to return to their rightful place as the darlings of the Continent. Milan are second by a hair, but the drama comes in finding a third place winner. Inter maybe? Napoli or Lazio per chance? Udinese have a realistic shot, but AS Roma's Spanish serenade with former FC Barcelona and Real Madrid forward Luis Enrique at the helm are in a bind. Do they give his Spanish project in Serie A another year or do they cut and run to someone more familiar with Italy and Serie A.