​At the end of the year, Betano analyzes the most important moments that marked the European football scene in 2023. From the title won by Manchester City in the Premier League and the double with the “citizens” receiving the Champions League for the first time and after Napoli’s historic victory in Serie A, 2023 has been a year to remember for European football.

Manchester City, Queen of the World

For the third year in a row, “Manchester City” became the champion of the Premier League, this time in a battle with “Arsenal”. After years of sliding towards the middle of the table, the Gunners have re-emerged in the top flight, challenging the dominance of Pep Guardiola’s side. “Arsenal” could not keep the pace until the end and thus “Manchester City” was crowned with the title of the champion of England for the ninth time in history. With 36 goals, Norwegian striker Erling Haaland broke new barriers to become the top scorer by six goals, ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane.

Manchester City have won a historic treble in 2023, adding the FA Cup and Champions League to the club’s display, the coveted trophy they won after the final with Inter Milan. At the end of the year, the “townsmen” completed a fabulous year by winning the title at the Club World Cup, where Erling Haaland was a luxury spectator.

Napoli, the first title after 33 years

Napoli have been waiting more than three decades for another title in Italy, a trophy they won in 2023 with a 16-point gap over next-placed Lazio. The team from Vesuvius won the Serie A championship twice, both with the legendary Diego Armando Maradona on the pitch, in 1987 and 1990. One of the architects of Napoli’s success was the Nigerian striker Victor Osimen, the best scorer of the Italian national team. championship with 26 goals. At the end of the year, Osimen extended his contract with Napoli until 2026 with a clause of 130 million euros.

Barcelona and Lewandowski, a success story in La Liga

Barcelona returned to the top step of the La Liga championship podium after a four-year wait, winning the title for the 27th time in the club’s history. Under the leadership of Xavi, the “Blaugrana” interrupted the fight for the title of Spain against the historical rival “Real”, the difference in the end was ten points. Pole Robert Lewandowski contributed to the success of Barcelona, ​​scoring 23 goals and becoming the top scorer in the first division of Spain.

Dramatism of German origin

Undoubtedly, the fiercest fight for the championship unfolded in the Bundesliga, where Bayern Munich blew the title, and Borussia Dortmund nearly overtook them at the last stage. In the last round of the season, Bayern needed success in Cologne, which the Bavarians achieved, and a miracle in Dortmund against Borussia Mainz. A miracle happened, resulting in a draw (2-2) leading to Munich. For the 33rd time in history, “Bavaria” became the champion of Germany. The best scorer in the German first league was Niklas Fulkrug from Werder Bremen, who scored 16 goals.

PSG, a record number of titles in the Hexagon

Last season, with Lionel Messi and Neymar in the squad, Paris Saint-Germain won Ligue 1, the 11th in the history of the club from the French capital. With this title, PSG became the French team with the most titles in history, ahead of Saint-Etienne (10 titles). PSG’s main rival was Lance, the difference at the end of the season was only one point. Kylian Mbappe scored the most goals in the first league of France (29), overtaking Alexandre Lacazette from “Lyon” (27).

The lighthouse is in power

In Liga 1, the battle for the championship title was between FCSB and Farul, in the end Gheorghe Hagi’s team won. The match that virtually decided the fate of the championship took place in Ovidio, in the second leg of the play-off, when FCSB were leading 2-0 and Farul made a spectacular comeback to win 3-2 in the end. A script worthy of publicity Advantage Betano, with a winning ticket for those who bet on the final result markets (1 or 2). The top scorer of League 1 was Croatian Marko Dugandzic from “Rapid” with 22 goals, ahead of Italian Andrea Compagno from FCSB (20 goals).