Steaua power past National

By Paul-Daniel Zaharia

After leading the Romanian top flight for nine of the 12 rounds so far this season, FC National Bucuresti were toppled after a 5-1 defeat against FC Steaua Bucuresti on Sunday.

Emphatic win
Walter Zenga's side are now top of the table on goal difference and, ominously for their opponents, Steaua still have a game in hand on National. The 21-times Romanian champions are chasing their first crown since 2001, and their prospects are helped by having the best defensive record in the league, with just eight goals conceded. However, as they demonstrated with a 1-0 home defeat against CS Politehnica Iasi on 2 October, they are not invincible.

Inconsistent National
That will be little consolation for National as they lick their wounds, but it could be a timely wake-up call for Cosmin Olaroiu's side. They boast some of the best midfield players in the league in Gabi Popescu, Gabriel Caramarin and Gigel Coman but are wildly inconsistent. Tellingly, the weekend before their mauling at the hands of Steaua, National won 6-0 against Iasi and beat FCM Bacau 5-1 in the Romanian Cup.

Rapid response
If National are too unpredictable, then it may be AFC Rapid Bucuresti that emerge as Steaua's main challengers as the season goes on. Coach Razvan Lucescu is Bucharest's derby king at the moment, having led his side to wins against National, Steaua and FC Dinamo Bucuresti already this season. Rapid entered November four points adrift of the top two but need to improve their away record if they are to make further progress. They have won all of their home games this season, but only one away – a 2-1 victory at Iasi on the opening day.

Dinamo dreams
FC Gloria 1922 Bistrita and CFR Cluj currently occupy the fifth and sixth places in the league, albeit having played a game more than sixth-placed Dinamo. Although Dinamo have lost to all three of their major Bucharest rivals this season, a win in their rescheduled game against Iasi on 3 November may reignite their title hopes.

Apulum misery
At the bottom of the table, FC Politehnica AEK Timisoara, FC Apulum Alba Iulia, FC Brasov and Iasi look like relegation candidates. Apulum in particular are going through a bad spell, having lost their main financial backer. They went down 4-2 against Dinamo at the weekend having lost coach Alexandru Pelici, and his assistant, Cristian Pojar.