European Club Rankings: New No. 1 as Bayern Fall, Monaco Soar Upward
As is often the case, the Champions League has played a big part in deciding the order of our European Club Rankings this week. Real Madrid's victory at the Allianz Arena, combined with Juventus beating Barcelona and both Monaco and Atletico Madrid winning, has created a tumult at the top.
The rankings are season-long in their measurement of clubs. Previous editions only took recent form into account (spanning four to six weeks), but this version tracks teams throughout 2016-17.
Teams that have lost the fewest games in all competitions naturally rank higher, and Champions League form and presence is used as a tiebreaker for those with similar records.
25-21
1 of 13
25. AC Milan (Stay)
A late, late show from AC Milan rescued a point from Italy's capital derby on Saturday. It keeps the Rossoneri inside the top 25...and keeps their bitter Nerazzurri rivals out.
24. Atalanta (Stay)
A draw away to Roma? You can be sure Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini will be happy with that.
23. Hoffenheim (Stay)
Hoffenheim beat Borussia Monchengladbach in an eight-goal thriller this weekend. Adam Szalai grabbed two, as did their rising star Kerem Demirbay.
22. Arsenal (Stay)
Arsenal play on Monday evening, taking on an all-but-relegated Middlesbrough side at the Riverside Stadium. Surely they can't mess that one up?
21. Lazio (-1)
Lazio have stuttered a little of late, securing just one point from a possible six and conceding five goals in their last two games. If they don't pick it back up soon, their Europa League berth will be in jeopardy.
20-16
2 of 13
20. OGC Nice (+1)
Nice have officially sealed a top-three finish in Ligue 1 with yet another victory. The focus is all on Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain, but Lucien Favre's men continue to churn out wins and keep the pressure up from below.
19. FC Porto (-1)
Was that the moment the Primeira Liga title slipped from Porto's grasp? A draw away to Braga—hardly a poor result in isolation—allowed Benfica to pull three clear at the top of the table.
18. Sevilla (-1)
Sevilla have won just once in eight games and failed to register a goal at the weekend against Valencia. Talk about falling off a cliff...
17. Manchester United (+2)
Manchester United are unbeaten in 22 games—the longest active streak in Europe's top five leagues—and their win over Chelsea on Sunday was the sort of gritty, stubborn performance you expect from a Jose Mourinho side.
16. Roma (-1)
Roma's draw with Atalanta is by no means a poor result, but the Giallorossi slip one spot in the rankings as a result.
11-15
3 of 13
15. Manchester City (+1)
Manchester City were at their brilliant, counter-attacking best on Saturday afternoon, slicing Southampton apart with ease. Kevin De Bruyne stepped up and played the role of chief creator to great effect.
14. Liverpool (Stay)
It's two away wins on the bounce for Liverpool despite the absence of Sadio Mane. Divock Origi has stepped into the void ably, and Roberto Firmino is scoring more consistently, too. Building blocks for Jurgen Klopp.
13. RB Leipzig (Stay)
RB Leipzig officially confirmed their place in next season's Champions League with a thumping 4-0 victory over Freiburg. They've won four in a row and have pulled well clear of third and fourth. What an achievement that is for a team who were promoted to the Bundesliga this season!
12. Benfica (Stay)
Benfica made light work of Maritimo on Friday then sat and watched FC Porto mess up on Saturday. With three points between the two at the top, the Eagles have just carved themselves out some breathing room.
11. Tottenham Hotspur (Stay)
A second consecutive 4-0 home win for Spurs, this time against AFC Bournemouth, struck a chord of fear through the rest of the Premier League. They look scintillating at present.
10. Napoli
4 of 13
Last Week: 10th
Movement: None
Napoli took advantage of Roma's draw to move within two points of them. Both sides are near-guaranteed to occupy second and third in the Serie A table when the season ends, but in which order?
Dries Mertens, Jose Callejon and Allan thumped home this weekend to down Udinese in predictably easy fashion. The result put them on 70 points, meaning they're 12 behind last season's total of 82. There are six games left in the Italian season—can they better last term's tally?
9. Borussia Dortmund
5 of 13
Last Week: 9th
Movement: None
Borussia Dortmund endured tragedy last Tuesday as their team bus was attacked on the way to Signal Iduna Park to play against Monaco. It was a day on which football was put to the side and human wellbeing and safety raised to the fore by all...except UEFA.
Forced to play the next day, they fell 3-2 to their French counterparts and now face a tough task in the second leg. There's the aggregate score to overcome, but there's also the emotional turbulence that still lingers.
8. Chelsea
6 of 13
Last Week: 5th
Movement: -3
All of a sudden, we might have a Premier League title race on our hands. Chelsea, once an imperious-looking outfit who churned out three-point hauls, have lost two of their last four and have allowed Tottenham to move within four points of them.
The performance against Manchester United at the weekend was disappointing. Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho played the part of spoiler and man-marked Eden Hazard and Pedro out of the game; in their stead, Diego Costa should have stepped up, but he was too busy trying to pick fights with Marcos Rojo.
7. Paris Saint-Germain
7 of 13
Last Week: 6th
Movement: -1
Paris Saint-Germain have won six straight in Ligue 1 and beat Angers 2-0 on Friday thanks to an Angel Di Maria brace, so why do they move down?
Well, it's the business end of the season, and there are teams out there executing in Champions League quarter-finals. The likes of Atletico Madrid and Monaco went out and secured first-leg leads last week and will be dreaming of the semis; PSG should have been one of those, but you know what happened there.
Additionally, no matter what they do in Ligue 1, they can't seem to gain ground on Monaco at the top, either. PSG manager Unai Emery's existence must be a frustrating one at the moment.
6. Atletico Madrid
8 of 13
Last Week: 7th
Movement: +1
Another week, another small step upward for Atletico Madrid. They don't do big leaps; they do steady progression.
Their victory over Leicester City last week could, and probably should, have been by a bigger margin than 1-0, but then again, the penalty they were awarded seemed contentious to say the least.
Ultimately, a one-goal aggregate lead against the Foxes isn't convincing, and after what happened to Sevilla, we're reluctant to move them too high right now in case it all comes crashing down.
Let's face it: It's not out of the realms of possibility.
5. Barcelona
9 of 13
Last Week: 4th
Movement: -1
Once again, Barcelona find themselves in a hole. Losing 3-0 in Turin was disastrous, and now they have to mount yet another incredible comeback to progress to the Champions League semi-finals.
The problem is, rather than meet PSG defenders Layvin Kurzawa and Presnel Kimpembe this week, they'll come up against Juve's Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini. They're seasoned veterans who won't wilt on the big stage under pressure; the comeback, despite it being from 3-0 down rather than four, is going to be twice as hard.
They beat Real Sociedad at the weekend—often a real bogey side for them—to keep the pressure on Real Madrid, but that will do little to still the restlessness among the fans.
4. Monaco
10 of 13
Last Week: 8th
Movement: +4
The Monaco train continues to roll on. Two crucial victories last week have set them up for an incredible end to the season.
They have one foot in the Champions League semifinals, having beaten Borussia Dortmund in the first leg and scoring three away goals in the process, and then slipped past Dijon at the weekend to maintain their three-point lead over Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1.
They've lost just seven games all season, in all competitions, despite having to qualify for the Champions League proper via the playoffs. Incredible.
3. Bayern Munich
11 of 13
Last Week: 1st
Movement: -2
The position Bayern Munich find themselves in—2-1 down in the Champions League quarter-finals, with a second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu to come—is a sticky one. Few believe they can recover from it, and many are already booking Real Madrid's spot in the semi-finals in their minds.
But Bayern boss Carlo Ancelotti would be wise to remember this situation is a prime example of the incredibly fine margins at play in football. Had Arturo Vidal buried his penalty to give Bayern a 2-0 lead, or had Javi Martinez not lunged in for a second yellow near the hour mark, this would have been an incredibly different story indeed.
It doesn't look good for Bayern, but things could begin to topple similarly for Los Blancos in the second leg. There's hope yet.
2. Juventus
12 of 13
Last Week: 3rd
Movement: +1
A magnificent 3-0 victory over Barcelona last week solidified Juventus' stock as genuine Champions League contenders. They've had to wait to join the conversation as FC Porto provided no test in the round of 16, but now people are talking about them.
Paulo Dybala's sensational double, in addition to Chiellini's forceful third, have put the Old Lady in a strong position, but they must be wary of Barca's historic comeback against Paris Saint-Germain last round. The Camp Nou bites hard when the home team are up for the fight.
The weekend saw Gonzalo Higuain breach the 200-league-goal mark in Europe's top five divisions. He joins some esteemed company.
1. Real Madrid
13 of 13
Last Week: 2nd
Movement: +1
Last week, we promised that whoever came out on top between Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena would be No. 1 come today. Consider that promise delivered upon.
Zinedine Zidane's men went one down and were counting their blessings when Arturo Vidal blazed a penalty well over the bar. To reach half-time with just a one-goal deficit seemed fortunate.
But things rapidly began working in their favour in the second period, with Javi Martinez sent off and Cristiano Ronaldo scoring two huge goals. A 2-1 lead to take back to the Bernabeu? That's a dream result.
Los Blancos further solidified their position at the head of the pack by beating Sporting Gijon 3-2 in La Liga at the weekend—despite none of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Marcelo or Dani Carvajal playing.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
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