The conclusion of the Bundesliga season wasn't much of a surprise. The Champions League places were already settled before the final round of play and so were the relegation places. Borussia Dortmund are dominant champions by Bundesliga standards and the runners-up Bayern Munich have that home date with Chelsea. All in all, last day intrigue was more than made up for by the broader message German clubs sent this season. If you're looking for the next candidate for toughest league in Europe, they're certainly one.
Spain's La Liga might want to argue that point. Two of the four Champions League semifinalists and three of the four Europa League semifinalists, with an all-Liga Europa final. That speaks highly of the top of the Liga table, something normally not associated with that league once you get past Real Madrid, Barcelona, and maybe the third-place finisher.
Then there's Serie A, almost intentionally forgotten after the last scandal reset the table. Yes, even with Inter Milan and AC Milan, this is the league of Juventus. When Juve underperform, so does the league as a whole. It's how we got away from Serie A at the top and then everyone else. Now Juventus are back, giving us a classic final day of an undefeated season. What this means in 2012-13 relies almost exclusively on how Juventus do in the Champions League. Remember, this is a team that spent 2011-12 relying on a team effort when it came to goals rather than the one dominant player model favored by their nearest rivals at home and in Europe. If that continues to work at Champions League level, it's a different way of winning.
With a week left to play, what does this mean for the Premier League? Should Chelsea win the Champions League, there will be easy arguments to make for putting the EPL at the top of the European leagues difficulty table. As it should be when a team out of the running for the domestic league title wins Europe. Then again, what does Chelsea really have to do with the performance of the Manchester title contenders? Not much, and that's likely to catch up quickly when comparing the league as a whole to what we've seen this season in Germany, Spain, and Italy.
Corner Rating: (where 1 means things stay the same and 11 means a reshuffle at the top of the table) 8.
Last Week's Corner: Maybe it's a mistake watching more than a couple of MLS games each weekend, because it's tough to make a case for across-the-board entertainment value. Corner rating stays 3.
