You have to break the soccer season into chunks. It's so long, and you don't want to be stuck saying, "Is this the week Liverpool lock up the Premier League title yet?" for months on end. (They haven't locked up the title yet, but it's going to happen.) Even if the big picture doesn't change all that much, it's worth it to occasionally step back, survey the landscape and see what's changed.
We're two months into 2025, in the process of completing what is essentially the third quarter of the season. The rubber is hitting the road in the Champions League, where the first leg of the round of 16 was completed on Wednesday. That indeed signifies the homestretch of the season, but we should indeed step back for a moment and take stock.
Which teams and players have owned 2025? Who has cooled off down the stretch? Who's hot, and who's not?
