RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner, left, and Nice's French midfielder Wylan Cyprien make the cover of The National Sport on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 as Ian Hawkey takes a look at how Europe's top five leagues have new teams leading the hunt this season.
Look across the tops of the Premier League, the Bundesliga, Serie A, Spain’s Primer Liga and Ligue 1 of France and none of them have the same club in first place as the one that held that spot a year ago, at the equivalent stage of the season.
In another era, that might not be so remarkable. But in a period where champions of most of those leagues have enjoyed sustained, sometimes almost tedious monopolies, it is striking.
In France and Germany, where Nice and RB Leipzig have set the pace, the talk is of Leicester City-style coups. Leicester’s annexing of the English Premier League last May was an inspiration for also-rans abroad, and is regularly cited.
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