European Power Rankings: Ranking the Top 25 Clubs in Europe

This week's power rankings will gratefully take inspiration from OutKast, whose Andre 3000 would suggest in a moment of indecision to "shake it like a Polaroid."

You got it, Andre. And while you may or may not have been talking about something else entirely, you can consider the rankings shaken up.

Basel lost, badly. Napoli lost badly as well.

Bayern won and won some more, scoring lots of goals in the process. Chelsea won and won some more, scoring lots of goals as well.

And Holland? Well, that's another story for another day.

Ready? OK, neither am I, but here goes. Direct all complaints, hate mail and indignant inquiries to the comments below.

25. Basel

Last week: Lost 7-0 at Bayern Munich (UCL)

This week: Home to Servette, Saturday (league)

Basel's season, as a whole, has been great, and they're still the class of the Swiss league. But wow. What a spectacular failure against Bayern.

In fairness, a bunch of teams are losing to Bayern by similar scores right now. But still. Wow.

24. Napoli

Last week: Lost 4-1 (a.e.t, lost 5-4 on aggregate) at Chelsea (UCL); drew 2-2 at Udinese (league)

This week: Home to Siena, Wednesday (Coppa Italia); home to Catania, Sunday (league)

Umm, again. Napoli's season, as a whole, has been great, and they're still in the running for Champions League qualification. But wow. What a choke job.

23. Galatasaray

Last week: Drew 2-2 at Fenerbahce (league)

This week: Home to Trabzonspor, Sunday (league)

Saturday's exciting 2-2 draw at rival Fenerbahce all but assured Galatasaray would win the Turkish Super Lig. A return to Europe beckons next season.

22. Ajax

Last week: Won 2-0 at Den Haag (league)

This week: Home to PSV, Sunday (league)

That makes six straight league wins for Ajax, who now trail AZ Alkmaar by one point atop the Eredivisie table. This team is young, exciting and full of potential.

21. Athletic Bilbao

Last week: Won 2-1 at home (won 5-3 on aggregate) to Manchester United (Europa); lost 3-0 at home to Valencia (league)

This week: At Atletico Madrid, Wednesday (league); home to Sporting Gijon, Sunday (league) 

Athletic Bilbao? Well, they're the anti-Manchester United. They play above their heads in Europe, but they're absolute crap in their domestic league.

How much crap? They're now seventh in La Liga.

20. Schalke 04

Last week: Won 4-1 (won 4-2 on aggregate) at home to Twente (Europa); won 4-1 at Kaiserslautern (league)

This week: Home to Bayer Leverkusen, Saturday (league)

Klass-Jan Huntelaar continued his strong form, firing a hat-trick in the win over Twente and adding another against Kaiserslautern. Schalke, meanwhile, remain 10 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen for the Bundesliga's final Champions League qualifying spot.

19. Zenit St. Petersburg

Last week: Won 5-1 at Dinamo Moscow (league)

This week: Home to Rubin Kazan, Sunday (league)

I still haven't forgiven Zenit entirely for their poor showing against Benfica in the Champions League Round of 16, but they do have a pretty nice lead in the Russian Premier League.

18. Valencia

Last week: Drew 1-1 (won 5-3 on aggregate) at PSV (Europa); won 3-0 at Athletic Bilbao (league)

This week: Home to Real Zaragoza, Wednesday (league); at Getafe, Sunday (league)

Valencia finished off PSV in the Europa League and embarrassed Athletic Bilbao back in Spain. La Liga's third-best club keeps chugging along.

17. Borussia Monchengladbach

Last week: Won 2-1 at Bayern Leverkusen (league)

This week: Home to Bayern Munich, Wednesday (DFB-Pokal semis); home to Hoffenheim, Saturday (league)

This is a crucial week for Gladbach, who host Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal semifinals. In the league, they're in third place, just one point ahead of Schalke, and must remain there to ensure automatic qualification for next season's Champions League group stage.

16. AZ Alkmaar

Last week: Lost 2-1 (won 3-2 on aggregate) at Udinese (Europa); drew 0-0 at home to NAC Breda (league)

This week: Home to SC Heracles Almelo, Thursday (Dutch Cup semis); home to RKC Waalwijk, Sunday (league)

The Dutch leaders dumped Udinese out of Europe but then stumbled domestically. Redemption could come quickly, though, with the Dutch Cup semifinal against SC Heracles Almelo this week.

15. Montpellier

Last week: Lost 1-0 at Nancy (league)

This week: At Ajaccio, Wednesday (Coupe de France quarters); home to St. Etienne, Saturday (league)

Montpellier fell 1-0 at Nancy but only lost one point on PSG, who drew at Caen. The league-and-cup double is still possible.

14. Chelsea

Last week: Won 4-1 (won 5-4 on aggregate) at home to Napoli (UCL); won 5-2 at home to Leicester City (FA Cup quarters)

This week: At Manchester City, Wednesday (league); home to Tottenham Hotspur, Saturday (league)

It has been an incredible stretch for Chelsea, who seemed dead and buried after sacking Andre Villas-Boas. Since then, though, the Blues have won four straight—once in the league, twice in the FA Cup and once, in memorable fashion, in the Champions League.

And Fernando Torres even scored (twice!) against Leicester City. What's gotten into this team?

13. Tottenham Hotpsur

Last week: Home to Bolton, suspended (FA Cup)

This week: Home to Stoke, Wednesday (league); at Chelsea, Saturday (league)

Spurs's FA Cup match against Bolton on Saturday was suspended when Bolton's Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch. Muamba remained in critical condition at last report.

12. Arsenal

Last week: Won 2-1 at home to Newcastle United (league)

This week: At Everton, Wednesday (league); home to Aston Villa, Saturday (league)

Arsenal's turnaround continues. The Gunners came from behind to beat Newcastle with a stoppage-time goal on Monday. Next up is a tricky trip to Everton.

11. Porto

Last week: Won 2-0 at Nacional de Madeira (league)

This week: At Paços de Ferreira, Sunday (league)

Porto remain atop the league with Benfica and Braga one point behind. That makes their double European failure all the more difficult to understand.

10. Benfica

Last week: Won 3-1 at home to Beira Mar (league)

This week: At Olhanense, Friday (league)

Benfica still trail Porto by one point, but unlike Porto, they're still alive in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. That's why they get the slight edge, for now.

9. Paris Saint Germain

Last week: Drew 2-2 at Caen (league)

This week: Home to Lyon, Wednesday (Coupe de France quarters); home to Bordeaux, Sunday (league)

PSG dropped points at Caen, but Montpellier lost. That means PSG stayed atop the Ligue 1 table and actually stretched their lead to two points. A home match against Lyon in the French Cup is next.

8. Juventus

Last week: Won 5-0 at Fiorentina (league)

This week: Home to AC Milan, Tuesday (Coppa Italia semis); home to Inter Milan, Sunday (league)

Juventus kept pace with AC Milan thanks to their 5-0 win at Fiorentina on Saturday. The gap between the teams remains at four points, and they'll square off Tuesday in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals. Juventus won the first leg 2-1 at the San Siro.

7. Manchester City

Last week: Won 3-2 (lost 3-3 on away goals) at home to Sporting Lisbon (Europa)

This week: Home to Chelsea, Wednesday (league); at Stoke, Saturday (league)

It was a tough week for Manchester City. First, they crashed out of Europe. Then, after taking the weekend off in the league, City suddenly found themselves four points behind Manchester United (with a game in hand). A home date with red-hot Chelsea is next.

6. Manchester United

Last week: Lost 2-1 (lost 5-3 on aggregate) at Athletic Bilbao (Europa); won 5-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers (league)

This week: None

Manchester United? Well, they're the anti-Athletic Bilbao. They're unstoppable in the league, but they're crap in Europe. Bilbao outclassed United midweek in the Europa League, but then United whipped Wolves in the league. Now another title is looking likelier by the day. Go figure.

5. Bayern Munich

Last week: Won 7-0 (won 7-1 on aggregate) at home to Basel (UCL); won 6-0 at Hertha Berlin (league)

This week: At Borussia Monchengladbach, Wednesday (DFB-Pokal semis); home to Hannover 96, Saturday (league)

Bayern Munich might be the hottest club in Europe. They've won their last three games by a combined score of 20-1. Could they be a Champions League dark horse?

4. Borussia Dortmund

Last week: Won 1-0 at home to Werder Bremen (league)

This week: At SpVgg Greuther Fürth, Tuesday (DFB-Pokal semis); at Cologne, Sunday (league)

And yet, for all of Bayern's success lately, they're still five points behind league leaders Borussia Dortmund. That's because Dortmund hasn't lost any of their last 20 league matches dating back to Sept. 18 of last year. A showdown could come in the DFB-Pokal final, if both teams win their semifinals this week.

3. AC Milan

Last week: Won 2-0 at Parma (league)

This week: At Juventus, Tuesday (Coppa Italia semis, second leg); home to AS Roma, Saturday (league)

The Rossoneri keep rolling, apart from that pesky loss to Arsenal a few weeks back. The four-point lead is still intact atop Serie A, and they get another shot at Juventus on Tuesday.

2. Real Madrid

Last week: Won 4-1 (won 5-2 on aggregate) at home to CSKA Moscow (UCL); drew 1-1 at home to Málaga (league)

This week: At Villarreal, Wednesday (league); home to Real Sociedad, Saturday (league)

Real finally slipped up in the league, drawing 1-1 at home to Málaga. But they should be able to turn it around quickly. Relegation-threatened Villarreal is next.

1. Barcelona

Last week: Won 2-0 at Sevilla (league)

This week: Home to Granada, Tuesday (league); at Mallorca, Saturday (league)

Barca cut Real Madrid's lead atop the La Liga table to eight points with a 2-0 win at Sevilla. Lionel Messi scored another world-class goal. Yawn. Just another week.

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