Ranking the Top 25 European Clubs After Weekend of April 4-5
Welcome to the latest edition of our European club rankings (previous edition here). Here, we'll rank the top teams on the continent based on seasonal form and squad strength.
Real Madrid's barnstorming 9-1 victory over Granada has them soaring after a real slump, while Liverpool's big loss to Arsenal creates big changes at both ends of the ranking. We have one new entry after Manchester City's feeble loss to Crystal Palace sees them drop out.
Remember: Form over the past six weeks or so is taken into account, with the most recent result being the biggest factor in changes of placement. It's also cumulative, so some teams such as Marseille and Arsenal have been floating in reasonably stable positions due to up-and-down form.
Disagree with our order? Join the conversation in the comments below!
Dropping out
1 of 26
Manchester City: Losing to Crystal Palace on Monday night was truly a damaging blow. Their title challenge is done for a season.
25. Southampton
2 of 26
Last Week: 24
Differential: -1
Southampton are holding on by the skin of their teeth and, in truth, are lucky that Sampdoria, Napoli, Schalke and Villarreal all dropped points. Otherwise, they'd be out.
The 1-0 loss to Everton was very unfortunate in that Tim Howard had one of "those" days in goal to deny every Saints effort, but it was alarming how the threat tailed off after the initial splurge failed to bear fruit.
24. Roma
3 of 26
Last Week: Not Ranked
Differential: New!
Roma return to the top 25 after more than a month out of sorts.
Following a ridiculous run of only being able to draw games, they lost to Sampdoria 2-0 at home on March 16. That saw them drop from our rankings, but they've recovered with two wins: First, an away victory over Cesena, and then a 1-0 home triumph over Napoli.
The win over Napoli is particularly important, as it pretty much removes Rafa Benitez's men from the Champions League mix-up this year and thins the field of competition.
23. Marseille
4 of 26
Last Week: 18
Differential: -5
As ever, we go directly to Bleacher Report's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"Following Sunday's 3-2 home defeat in Le Classique to bitter rivals Paris Saint-Germain, it looks as if Marseille's title hopes are now over. Marcelo Bielsa's men find themselves five points behind PSG and four points behind Lyon with seven games to play. Although not impossible, overtaking both seems unlikely.
"Instead, Les Phoceens should now concentrate on securing second place and automatic UEFA Champions League football. To do that, OM will need to pick up more points on the road than at home, which has not been easy for them this season."
22. Sevilla
5 of 26
Last Week: 23
Differential: +1
Athletic Bilbao arrived at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan this weekend on a five-game win streak, so for Sevilla to turn Ernesto Valverde's men over by a 2-0 scoreline is some result. Sevilla striker Carlos Bacca was the difference on the day.
It marks the fourth game in a row Los Rojiblancos have won in La Liga, and after a mini-slump two months ago, they've returned to fine form.
21. Zenit St. Petersburg
6 of 26
Last Week: 22
Differential: +1
The win that seals the title? Zenit St. Petersburg beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 this weekend to open up a whopping 10-point gap between the two clubs at the top of the Russian Premier League.
It leaves Leonid Slutsky's men hoping for at least four Zenit slip-ups in the remaining nine games. Not going to happen.
20. Liverpool
7 of 26
Last Week: 14
Differential: -6
Three weeks ago, Liverpool were staring at two fixtures that could make or break their season. Unfortunately for those affiliated in red, that season is now broken.
Losses to Manchester United (2-0) and Arsenal (4-1) are so damaging that Brendan Rodgers' men are essentially done in the race for the top four this season. There's now a seven-point gap between themselves and Manchester City in fourth.
19. Borussia Monchengladbach
8 of 26
Last Week: 21
Differential: +2
Per Bundesliga.com, winger Patrick Herrmann has signed a new deal with Borussia Monchengladbach. He follows the suit of several other young stars who have recently committed to the club and manager Lucien Favre.
That contract was celebrated by the winger with a two-goal performance in Monchengladbach's 4-1 victory over Hoffenheim away from home on Saturday, putting pressure Wolfsburg and keeping Bayer Leverkusen at bay.
18. Manchester United
9 of 26
Last Week: 20
Differential: +2
Manchester United beat Aston Villa 3-1 at Old Trafford this weekend in the same fashion they do almost every year: As the better team, who play the better football, and by a convincing margin.
Louis van Gaal's men are really hitting their stride and stand a serious threat to second place in the Premier League. Given that many believed they would drop out of the top four not long ago, that's a real achievement.
17. Bayer Leverkusen
10 of 26
Last Week: 17
Differential: None
It's five wins in a row for Bayer Leverkusen. The 4-0 destruction of Hamburg at the weekend, in which Gonzalo Castro, Stefan Kiessling and Karim Bellarabi all shone, allowed them to keep pace with the top three and pull eight clear of Schalke in fifth place.
The Bundesliga table is rather segmented at the top, with Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach all at least seven points apart, but one slip from the latter and Roger Schmidt's men will be into third and gunning for a Champions League spot.
16. Monaco
11 of 26
Last Week: 13
Differential: -3
Let's go to B/R's Jonathan Johnson again for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"Monaco's 1-1 draw at home to AS Saint-Etienne last Friday has realistically ended any faint hopes Leonardo Jardim's men had of making a late Ligue 1 title dash. Even if they beat Montpellier HSC in Tuesday's rearranged game, they will only be level on points with a Marseille side that now appears to be out of the reckoning for the French crown.
"Les Monegasques are still in with a fair chance of qualifying for the Champions League again though and they still have a continental quarter-final against Juventus to look forward to. With Monaco scheduled to face Marseille in the third-to-last game of the season, it could be a battle between those two for third place come the end of this campaign."
15. Benfica
12 of 26
Last Week: 15
Differential: None
Benfica bounced back from their disappointing loss to Rio Ave before the international break by dispensing with Nacional by a 3-1 scoreline. The Jonas-Lima combination up front struck again to bag all three Benfica goals.
They still lead FC Porto by three points at the top of Liga NOS heading into the final stretch, and with no European distractions, Benfica will be favourites for the title.
14. Fiorentina
13 of 26
Last Week: 16
Differential: +2
Mohamed Salah's Fiorentina won a huge matchup in Serie A this week, beating Sampdoria 2-0 at home. It allowed the Viola to leapfrog Sinisa Mihajlovic's men into fourth place in the table.
They have a very, very busy schedule and the league form may suffer as a result. Leg two of the Coppa Italia looms against Juventus, and the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals start soon as well.
13. Lazio
14 of 26
Last Week: 19
Differential: +6
Make that seven Serie A wins in a row for Lazio; Stefano Pioli's men are in absolutely splendid form.
Felipe Anderson didn't score this time but still starred from the left, while Miroslav Klose netted another and recalled Italy international Marco Parolo impressed from midfield.
There's a six-point gap between Lazio and Fiorentina in fourth and an eight-point gap to Napoli in sixth.
12. FC Porto
15 of 26
Last Week: 7
Differential: -5
FC Porto have had a busy few days and crammed in a couple of games, but while the latter fixture ended in a 5-0 victory over Estoril, the former served up a real shock.
Everyone believed the Dragoes were destined to meet Benfica in the cup final in April, but Julen Lopetegui's men slipped up at the final hurdle. A 2-1 loss to lowly Maritimo dumps them out of contention for silverware.
11. Valencia
16 of 26
Last Week: 11
Differential: None
That Valencia failed to beat Villarreal at home will really disappoint Nuno Santo. The Yellow Submarine were not at full strength due to injuries, but no matter which attacker Los Che threw on—be it Rodrigo or Alvaro Negredo—they couldn't break through.
It means Valencia slip to fourth in La Liga after Atletico Madrid's fortunes fared differently, as they now stand a point behind Diego Simeone's side.
10. Lyon
17 of 26
Last Week: 12
Differential: +2
Once more, we go to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"Lyon remain second in Ligue 1 after PSG's win over Marseille, but Hubert Fournier's men managed to put the pressure on their title rivals by coming away from EA Guingamp's Stade du Roudourou with a valuable 3-1 win.
"Not many teams find it easy to come away from their trips to face the Breton side with good results, so Les Gones can feel pleased with their weekend, even if PSG remain top of the table."
9. Atletico Madrid
18 of 26
Last Week: 10
Differential: +1
Just as Valencia looked to be closing the gap, Atletico Madrid returned to form and won two on the bounce—and both were two-goal, clean-sheet victories to boot!
We saw some life (and a goal) from Saul Niguez and an immediate improvement in Antoine Griezmann's performances now he's back in a Colchoneros shirt.
8. Paris Saint-Germain
19 of 26
Last Week: 9
Differential: +1
As ever, we go directly to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"PSG remain on top of Ligue 1 for a second consecutive weekend thanks to their 3-2 win away at Marseille in Le Classique last Sunday. Laurent Blanc's men showed impressive character to recover from a 2-1 first-half deficit and the result keeps the defending French champions top by a single point as they enter what will be a gruelling month of April.
"To make matters worse for Le President, he saw David Luiz and Thiago Motta pick up muscular injuries in the win over Marseille. Those injuries may jeopardise PSG's fight for glory on four fronts. Both players will miss this week's Coupe de France semi-final against Saint-Etienne and Coupe de la Ligue final against SC Bastia, as well as next week's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Barcelona.
"Victory over Marseille was important, but what will its real cost be?"
7. Chelsea
20 of 26
Last Week: 6
Differential: -1
Chelsea can thank Eden Hazard for leading them past Stoke City at the weekend—a hard-fought victory in which they lost Diego Costa to another hamstring injury.
With just the Premier League to focus on and the Belgian in sparkling form, it seems inevitable that the Blues will lift the title before the final day of the season in May.
They move down solely due to a certain competitor winning 9-1.
6. Wolfsburg
21 of 26
Last Week: 5
Differential: -1
Wolfsburg bested Stuttgart in every area on Saturday. They had more shots, more possession and, crucially, scored more goals in the 3-1 victory.
Ricardo Rodriguez bagged a brace and Andre Schurrle picked up the third off the bench. The game was notable for Dieter Hecking's decision to move Vieirinha back into a winger's role and play Christian Trasch at right-back, outlining the impressive depth at his disposal.
Much like Chelsea, Wolfsburg only move down because of Real Madrid's 9-1 hammering of Granada.
5. Real Madrid
22 of 26
Last Week: 8
Differential: +3
Real Madrid's remarkable slide to eighth in our rankings stops abruptly following a 9-1 victory over Granada. It was a chance for media outlets everywhere to really rub salt in the wounds, busting out the "9-1 (nine)" headlines as if to hammer the point home.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals and Gareth Bale snared one, while Luka Modric ran the show from midfield and looks fully up to scratch again.
4. Bayern Munich
23 of 26
Last Week: 3
Differential: -1
It was always going to happen, wasn't it? Robert Lewandowski netted the only goal as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, and he refused to celebrate against his former club.
It pretty much kills off any epic, unbelievable BVB run toward European football once again, and it also affirms the fall from grace for Jurgen Klopp's men. They used to be able to challenge and win these games.
3. Juventus
24 of 26
Last Week: 2
Differential: -1
Juventus flexed their genuine strength in depth this weekend, fielding Angelo Ogbonna, Simone Padoin and Stefano Sturaro in a 2-0 win over Empoli.
Injuries to Claudio Marchisio and Paul Pogba have hurt the midfield, but they still possess the rampant Arturo Vidal. If he performs his old levels, they've nothing to worry about.
They move down in our rankings due to a certain team catching fire…
2. Arsenal
25 of 26
Last Week: 4
Differential: +2
Arsenal's 4-1 demolition of Liverpool should send shivers down the spines of the teams around them. A title challenge may be too far-fetched after such a poor start to the season, but Manchester United and Manchester City should be worried. Arsenal have won six on the trot in the league.
All of their attackers were brilliant, Francis Coquelin was excellent in holding midfield, and they even extracted a rare goal from right-back Hector Bellerin. They were at the Reds' throats from the first whistle and dominated all afternoon.
Such a seismic win lifts the Gunners to second place in the rankings.
1. Barcelona
26 of 26
Last Week: 1
Differential: None
Barcelona are somewhat fortunate to hold onto their No. 1 ranking this week. They had to rely upon Celta Vigo profligacy, a world-class performance from Gerard Pique and another goal from Jeremy Mathieu. If they're not careful, they'll use all their luck up at once!
Real Madrid's 9-1 victory earlier in the afternoon set the tone, but Barca only need 1-0 wins to keep the gap between the two clubs at four points. Can anyone see them slipping up?
All quotes obtained first-hand unless noted otherwise.
