Europe's top five leagues have been suspended due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and there is widespread uncertainty over the future of the 2019-20 season.
Will tournaments be completed when conditions are suitable? Will things finish as they are? Will the campaign be declared null and void?
With the help of Opta, we look back over the previous 10 seasons to see who would have been crowned champions if the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga had stopped where they are now.
- Aguer-no! -
It was an iconic moment in Premier League history. Sergio Aguero scored Manchester City's second stoppage-time goal as it came from behind to defeat QPR 3-2 and clinch its first top-flight title in 44 years, beating crestfallen arch-rival Manchester United to the trophy on the final day of the season.
READ |
However, if the campaign had been stopped where it is now it would have been United which was celebrating due to a one-point advantage.
It is the only occasion since 2009-10 that the team on top after 29 matchdays has not won the Premier League.
- Atleti's title wiped out -
Atletico Madrid incredibly broke the Barcelona and Real Madrid duopoly in La Liga in 2013-14, with Diego Godin salvaging a draw at Camp Nou on the final day to ensure it finished top of the pile.
However, it was local rival Real Madrid, led by Carlo Ancelotti, which sat three points clear after 27 games of the season, meaning Diego Simeone's crowning achievement would not have occurred.
The only other instance of a team being displaced in the final 11 matches came in 2009-10, when Madrid sat ahead of Barca on goal difference but ended up seeing Pep Guardiola's men go on to win La Liga for a second straight season.
- Juventus dominance broken up -
Eight straight Serie A titles have seen Juventus create history in Italy, but it would have only managed five if the previous seasons stopped after 26 games – the total the majority of clubs have completed in 2019-20.
The Bianconeri went undefeated under Antonio Conte in 2011-12, although it was Milan which topped the table at this point in the campaign, meaning Massimiliano Allegri would have won successive Scudetti at San Siro.
Maurizio Sarri would also not have had to have waited until winning the Europa League with Chelsea last year for his first major title.
Sarri's Napoli only surrendered top spot to Juve on matchday 27 in 2017-18 and it failed to recover it, missing out on its best chance to finish top since the Diego Maradona era.
- QSI off to the perfect start -
The landscape of Ligue 1 changed dramatically when Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) bought Paris Saint-Germain in June 2011, although no silverware was added to the Parc des Princes trophy cabinet in the first season following the takeover.
However, it would have been crowned champion had the 2011-12 season finished after 28 games, denying a Montpellier side powered by the goals of Olivier Giroud an unlikely first Ligue 1 title.
ALSO READ |
There would have been bad news for PSG in 2014-15, though, as the trophy would have gone to Hubert Fournier's Lyon due to a one-point margin.
Bordeaux would have made it back-to-back titles in 2009-10, too, with Marseille having made the most of a collapse that saw Laurent Blanc's side slip from first to sixth over the final 10 matches.
- Bundesliga business as usual -
What changes with the Bundesliga title winners if you stop the previous 10 seasons after 25 games? Nothing.
Bayern Munich would have won eight championships to Borussia Dortmund's two.
Comments
SHARE