Montreal beat leaders Inter Miami; A look at the top of the MLS and the best leagues of Europe

Montreal continued their great start to the 2024 MLS season with a sensational win over Inter Miami on MatchDay 3 of the current campaign.

Miami was without Lionel Messi, who they chose to rest ahead of the team’s midweek CONCACAF Champions Cup fixture against Nashville. Nevertheless, it was still a great win for Laurent Courtois’ team and bodes well for the rest of the season for Montreal. 

Biggest weekend in the Premier League

Elsewhere around the soccer world, the biggest weekend of the 2023/24 Premier League season saw Liverpool and Manchester City play out a 1-1 draw at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp hasn't seen Manchester City struggle like that before…#BBCFootball #LIVMCI pic.twitter.com/SVi01u5SAG

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 10, 2024

Ahead of the weekend fixtures, Manchester City were the favorites to win the title at 11/10, with Liverpool second at 11/5 and Arsenal at 14/5. In the latest Premier League odds from Paddy Power, City are still 11/10, and Liverpool are still 11/5. Only Arsenal’s odds have changed. The Gunners are now 5/2. After the latest results, fans may be reassessing their Premier League tips to top the table at the end of the season.

Real Madrid closing in on La Liga title

Over in Spain, Real Madrid are closing in on yet another La Liga title. The Madridistas have a healthy lead over the chasing pack and look set to win their 36th league title.

Their closest rivals all season have been Girona. The lesser-known club from the city of Barcelona has been a bit of a thorn in the side of Madrid this season. But Carlo Ancelotti’s side thumped them 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium last month. The win saw Real Madrid extend their La Liga lead and to put the upstarts back in their place.

No title for Munich in Germany this season

Another surprise package in Europe this season is Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. Unlike Girona in Spain, Leverkusen is set to win the German Bundesliga, depriving Bayern Munich of a 12th successive title in the process.

The success of Xavi Alonso and his Leverkusen team has resulted in somewhat of an implosion in Bavaria. Back in February, Leverkusen crushed the defending champions 3-0 in a title showdown at the BayArena.

The match was Munich’s chance to close the gap on the league leaders and put pressure on them. Instead, a rampant Leverkusen put Munich to the sword and extended their lead at the top of the table.

🚨 OFFICIAL: Thomas Tuchel leaves FC Bayern at the end of the current season.

Decision made by both club and head coach, Tuchel leaves Bayern in June.

It’s over between Bayern and Tuchel. pic.twitter.com/4taueCsULg

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 21, 2024

The upshot of the result was the news that Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel is to leave the club at the end of the season. And his likely replacement is, yes, Xavi Alonso of Bayer Leverkusen.

No competition for the other Inter

In Italy, the season has been dominated by Inter Milan. The champions-elect have a huge double figures lead over city rivals AC Milan and the rest of the chasing pack. Last season’s runaway champions, Napoli, are currently nowhere to be seen and struggling to even gain a place in the Champions League for next season.

Unlike Germany and England, Italy has been very uneventful this season.

Can Montreal fans dare to dream?

Back to issues more local, and even without the great Lionel Messi, defeating Inter Miami is impressive. And Montreal’s impressive start to the season makes Messi and Inter’s visit to the Saputo Stadium in May all the more anticipated.

Le CFM still doesn’t top the MLS table, Miami does. But Montreal are in the mix with the teams at the top and they do look in the mood this season. And when they finally get playing matches on their home field, they could be in with a chance of making the postseason playoffs.

Is it time to start dreaming big?