5 European teams who are going through a mid-season slump

We are in February and the race for the title in the major leagues across Europe is heating up. In the Premier League, Leicester and Tottenham are defying the odds by occupying the first two places.The Serie A is becoming a two-way battle between Napoli and Juventus with the difference between them only being a point. Barcelona are slowly pulling away at the top of La Liga but the Madrid clubs aren’t too far behind. But there are several teams who were in a good position or even competing with teams at the top of the league but have lost some ground due to a bad start to the new year. Here are five teams who are currently facing a mid-season slump.

#1 Liverpool

Liverpool have been an inconsistent side over the last few years. They have made the top four only once in the last four years, a season where Luis Suarez was scoring for fun. But since losing him to Barcelona and with Sterling switching Merseyside for Manchester, they seem to lack players with genuine match-winning quality.

Their defense have also been leaking goals which has not helped their cause. In December though they had an upturn in form managing to win three out of their five league games. One of those wins came against current table toppers Leicester City.

But in January, they managed only a solitary win against Norwich, a game that ended with an astonishing scoreline of 4-5 to the Reds.

They started 2016 with a disappointing 2-0 loss to West Ham. After drawing at home to Arsenal, their final game in January was against eternal rivals Manchester United. Despite dominating the game United came away with a 1-0 victory thanks to the defensive fragility of Liverpool’s backline

The Merseysiders didn't start February well either losing their first game against Leicester and then giving up a 2-0 lead in the last quarter of the game against Sunderland to draw 2-2.

Liverpool currently sit in ninth position, twelve points behind Manchester City who occupy the last Champions league place. It looks like the Reds are set for another disappointing season in the Premier League.

#2 Inter Milan

Inter are a shadow of the side that conquered all of Europe when Jose Mourinho was in charge. But despite disappointments in recent seasons, they were on top of the league in December of 2015.

They picked up three wins in that month out of the five league games they played. The Nerazzurri scored a total of 10 goals averaging two goals a game and only conceded 4. Their only two losses came against current leaders Napoli who can’t stop winning at the moment, and at home to Lazio

But results have taken a turn for the worse in 2016. Inter have only picked up 9 points from a possible 21, a staggering dip in form. Their most notable loss was the 3-0 demolition by bitter rivals AC Milan. Frustrating draws against Atalanta, Carpi and most recently Verona only highlighted the slump they find themselves in.

January also marked the end of their cup run after they were handed a 3-0 thrashing by Juventus in the Coppa Italia. Inter’s decline has been an incredible one as they now sit fourth in the table eleven points of the top.

Their only hope now is to make the Champions League places currently sitting a point off Fiorentina. But they will have to start getting positive results if they're are to climb up the table again.

#3 Arsenal

At the end of December 2015 Arsenal were on top of the table. They were the in-form team in the Premier League and coping well without several key players who were injured. They started the month with a win over Sunderland and then pulled off the great escape in the Champions League by beating Olympiakos in Greece.

The highlight of the month was when they won against their title rivals Manchester City at the Emirates which everyone thought to be their statement of intent. Fast forward into February 2016 and Arsenal find themselves five points behind Leicester City, sitting in third.

The month of January was their undoing as they only picked up 5 out of a possible 12 points, a total that does not reflect the form of a title challenging team.

They started off the new year in shaky fashion, with a narrow and unconvincing win against Newcastle. Next they were involved in an incredible 3-3 draw against Liverpool where they held the lead until the 90th minute but came away with only one point after Joe Allen scored a late equalizer.

That result was followed up with a draw away to Stoke and then a defeat at home to struggling Chelsea.

February didn’t begin any better with Arsenal once again failing to find the back of the net against Southampton. It was the first time they had failed to score in three consecutive games, their worst run since 2009.

They recently stopped the rot with any away win against Bournemouth but will have to ensure they continue to win their next few games if they are to revive their title challenge.

#4 Fiorentina

Fiorentina found themselves second in the table at the start of the year after a good run of form towards the end of 2015. They remained undefeated throughout November and December winning four of their seven matches.

They started 2016 well with a win against Palermo, but since then have seen an inconsistent run that coincided with Juventus’ record-breaking streak of fourteen wins in a row, which saw them overtaking their rivals in the process.

In the seven games they played in January and February La Viola only managed three wins, losing twice and drawing the remaining two. Although its not a spectacular collapse it is one that has definitely been detrimental to the progress they were making earlier in the season.

Fiorentina had lost only three games in the first 15 but have lost the same number of games in the next 9 which shows their slight decline. Similarly they managed 10 wins in those 15 games but only 4 since.

The club were in a position to challenge for the title in December but are now eight points behind 2nd placed Juventus. With Inter also just a point below them, it looks like they are now in a battle to hold on to third spot in order to qualify for the Champions league.

#5 Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid might be a surprise entry in this list, but they have been underperforming considering the high standards they set themselves. With Real Madrid having an indifferent season it seemed like Atletico would be a bigger threat to Barcelona for the La Liga crown.

The Red and Whites are a well-coached side who are a defensively strong unit. Despite not having the same financial resources as Real Madrid and Barcelona they still manage to give them a run for their money.

Atletico were top of the table at the beginning of January after a run of three consecutive wins. But since then have slightly dropped off the pace. Their game against Sevilla ended in 0-0 draw which saw them slip to second in the table. They had a chance to regain top spot if they could manage a win against Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

But the result was a disappointing one as they lost 2-1 and also had two players sent off in the game.

January also saw the end to their cup ambitions after they were knocked out from the competition by Celta Vigo losing the second leg at home 2-3.

These are not satisfactory results for a team whose ambitions are to win the title but Atletico have the ability to bounce back and are still in the race, with only three points behind the Catalan giants.