Each season brings winners and losers across soccer’s major leagues and this campaign has been no different in Europe with a number of teams on the verge of pulling off impressive feats. Napoli have won their first Scudetto since 1990 in Italy while Arsenal are going toe-to-toe with Manchester City at the English summit. There is also a surprise name doing very well in France and Bayer Leverkusen could yet end their trophy jinx in the UEFA Europa League.
Here are our top five most surprising European teams of 2022-23:
Honorable mentions: Brighton, Lazio and Villa
Brighton and Hove Albion’s impressive recovery and further rise under Roberto de Zerbi after the loss of Graham Potter to Chelsea has only been bettered in the Premier League this term by Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. The Spaniard replaced Steven Gerrard at Villa Park with the Birmingham outfit battling relegation and he now has them knocking on the door of Europe after working his magic with Villarreal. Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio also deserve major praise for their Serie A campaign which currently has them in second behind runaway leaders Napoli but above the likes of Juventus, Inter, Milan and Roma.
5. Newcastle United
Eddie Howe has built upon what was already an impressive finish to the 2021-22 season when he lifted the Magpies from a relegation battle to midtable safety similar to Emery’s Villa feats albeit slightly less impressive. However, Newcastle’s 2022-23 performances have been nothing short of excellent and the Saudi-backed club are now on the verge of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League. Should the Geordies get their current top-four finish over the line, we could be witnessing the…
