Power Ranking the Top 20 European Clubs: Dortmund Soar, Man City Sink

Welcome to this week's pre-UEFA Champions League power rankings and with at least three games played by every team in Europe, we can begin to produce standings true to current form.

There are drastic, radical changes in this edition compared to the previous ones and this will serve as a basis for comparison going forward.

We've used a method that involves grading a team for their performances and results for the season so far.

Agree or disagree with our rankings? Post a comment below.

Honourable Mentions

Athletic Club

Los Leones have won three of their four fixtures so far, with their only loss coming at the Bernabeu.

Saint-Etienne

Saint Etienne have overtaken Marseille in the form standings in Ligue 1, with Christophe Galtier's side looking consistent and solid.

Sporting Club

Sporting are unfortunate to miss out, despite beating Olhanense comfortably this weekend.

Marseille

Poor form over the past two weeks has seen L'OM dumped from our top 20, dropping five points from the last six.

Real Sociedad

A very disappointing 0-0 draw with Levante means La Real have picked up just a single league three-point haul so far this season.

Metalist Kharkiv

Ukrainian Premier Liga fans need not worry about the fall of Shakhtar Donetsk as Metalist Kharkiv swoop in to take their place.

20. Fiorentina

Movement: Down One

Fiorentina have been rocked by the news that Mario Gomez will miss around two months of action due to an injury sustained in their 1-1 draw with Cagliari.

It had been a perfect season up to that point and the German is a big loss, but it does give summer signing Oleksandr Iakovinko a chance to prove his worth alongside Giuseppe Rossi.

Vincenzo Montella will be hoping for a better result against Atalanta next week.

19. Porto

Movement: Up One

Porto's victory over Gil Vicente has ensured they maintain their perfect start to the season, winning four games out of four and topping the Liga Sagres.

Jackson Martinez has now scored in every single game the Dragoes have played so far this season, putting in performances that suggest he may well be worth the mooted €30 million price tag.

Porto may not be far and away the best side in Portugal, but they've taken advantage of early slips from Sporting and Benfica.

18. Manchester City

Movement: Down 11

It's not easy this Premier League lark, is it?

Manuel Pellegrini suffered his second disappointment of the season so far as Manchester City were held at the Britannia Stadium by Stoke City.

The alarming thing is that the Potters bested them all ends up and when you add this to the scratchy win over Hull City and the shock loss to Cardiff City, it's clear why City are trending downwards.

17. Roma

Movement: New Entry

No Erik Lamela? No problem for Rudi Garcia.

Adem Ljajic has settled quite well, Alessandro Florenzi continues his exponential growth, Francesco Totti is...Totti and the midfield is clicking very well.

The Giallorossi have won all three of their opening fixtures and sit second in Serie A, but grade out lower than some of their rivals due to their easier schedule so far.

16. Chelsea

Movement: Down Seven

Jose Mourinho's side fell behind for the first time this season against Everton and failed to respond.

Gareth Barry and Ross Barkley played the part of superheroes for the home side, but it's clear the Blues are still experienced severe teething problems.

Samuel Eto'o can only improve after a rusty, snappy showing and the UEFA Champions League fixture will allow Mou to flex his options and test the rest of his squad.

15. Internazionale

Movement: New Entry

After last season's doom and gloom under Andrea Stramaccioni, Internazionale fans are starting to believe they're in for a fun ride this season.

Matching Juventus stride for stride at San Siro was the latest excellent result and although it halted their win streak, Walter Mazzarri will be quietly delighted with his much-improved charges.

Things looked a little suspect in preseason, but they've clicked at the right time.

14. Manchester United

Movement: Down Six

David Moyes claimed his first-ever win at Old Trafford by dispatching Crystal Palace 2-0—and football fans worldwide will be grateful they won't be hearing about that ridiculous statistic any longer.

Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie scored the goals, and although the three points are all that matter, it will concern the boss that his team hasn't scored in open play for more than 270 minutes.

Any concerns over Rooney's mentality, though, can be binned.

13. Tottenham Hotspur

Movement: New Entry

Tottenham murdered Norwich City on Saturday and were it not for Sebastian Bassong playing the part of spoiler, Andre Villas-Boas' side could have had six.

Despite a loss to Arsenal in their previous game in the North London derby, you have to feel good about Spurs' progress, with extreme squad depth already factoring in and three clean sheets for Hugo Lloris to boast.

Christian Eriksen debuted very well and there are goals all over this side.

12. Paris Saint-Germain

Movement: Up Four

Finally, Paris Saint-Germain are hitting form and B/R's Jonathan Johnson is liking what he sees (quotes obtained first-hand).

"

After a slow start to the campaign, PSG are starting to pick up points and are looking more convincing in every passing match: Dominant in possession and finally keeping clean sheets again, the side from the capital have won three consecutive games and know that they need to deliver another big performance on Sunday, against Monaco, to make a big statement to all of their rivals.

"

With a midweek UEFA Champions League tie set to stretch Laurent Blanc's resources to the limit, it's a fantastic early litmus test of les Parisiens' capabilities.

11. Bayer Leverkusen

Movement: Up Three

Bayer Leverkusen dispatched Wolfsburg 3-1 at the weekend, bouncing back from the previous week's loss in style.

It's the perfect tonic considering the upcoming game at Old Trafford, and Sami Hyypia's side are really starting to find their feet after the loss of Andre Schurrle.

Once again Stefan Kiessling found the back of the net and Sidney Sam continued his hot form—long may that continue for the Werkself.

10. Arsenal

Movement: Up Eight

The Mesut Ozil effect.

Suddenly, teams fear playing Arsenal—they look at their creative, talented midfield and in-form striker and immediately begin to worry about how many goals they'll concede.

The Gunners, on the whole, have recovered astonishingly well from their opening-day loss to Aston Villa, putting in sublime performances against Fulham, Fenerbahce, Tottenham Hotspur and now Sunderland.

Next up is Stoke and if they can make it four league wins on the bounce, people will be suggesting they're title contenders soon enough.

9. Liverpool

Movement: Up Eight

Liverpool scraped a 2-2 draw from the bottom of the barrel on Monday night against Swansea City, with growing pains in defence a clear factor in their wobble.

The winning streak is gone, but they're still unbeaten, and once Mamadou Sakho settles and Kolo Toure returns to full fitness, they'll look their usual solid selves once again.

Don't be too quick to suggest the Reds' run at the top is over.

8. Real Madrid

Movement: Down Two

Real Madrid dropped their first two points of the season on Gareth Bale's debut and, to be honest, los Merengues were outclassed by Villarreal for long periods.

Bale grabbed a goal and Cristiano Ronaldo scored a vital second, but they always looked more likely to lose at El Madrigal, not win.

A minor blip and nothing more, Carlo Ancelotti will hope, but it's a less-than-ideal start to the Mesut Ozil-less era at the Santiago Bernabeu.

7. Monaco

Movement: Up Three

Monaco won their fourth game of the season against Lorient this weekend and the principality side now sit a point clear at the top of Ligue 1.

Impressive on paper, certainly, but B/R's Jonathan Johnson is yet to be convinced (quotes obtained first-hand):

"

The 1-0 home win over Les Merlus was yet another example of the expensively assembled unit running out of steam, a 6th-minute Falcao penalty was all that separated the two sides at the end of the game.

Despite an impressive start to the season, Claudio Ranieri's side must improve if they are to pick up anything from Sunday's titanic tussle with Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital.

"

6. Napoli

Movement: Up Five

Napoli made it three wins from three by dispatching Atalanta 2-0 at the Stadio San Paolo this weekend.

The Partenopei have recorded two clean sheets and scored nine goals thus far, with the signing of Jose Callejon in particular looking inspired.

Such is the depth of talent and confidence coursing through the squad, player of the season (so far) Marek Hamsik started the game on the substitutes' bench.

5. Bayern Munich

Movement: Down Two

Bayern Munich recovered from last week's set-back to comfortably best Hannover 2-0 at the Allianz Arena.

Philipp Lahm played in midfield as Rafinha slotted in at right-back, with Franck Ribery again the saviour with a fantastic individual display.

Pep Guardiola's charges remain unbeaten in the league this season and sit two points adrift of Borussia Dortmund.

4. Juventus

Movement: Down Two

Juventus dropped their first points of the season on Saturday, drawing 1-1 with Walter Mazzarri's Internazionale after falling behind to a Mauro Icardi opener.

It was a close affair, perhaps pointing to the Nerazzurri's marked improvement more than anything else, but it's enough for the Old Lady to falter a little in our standings.

Arturo Vidal stepped forward and delivered the equaliser at San Siro, continuing his fantastic early form.

3. Barcelona

Movement: Down Two

Barcelona claimed yet another victory at the weekend, but delve beneath the surface and this is a team who are struggling to put away their opponents.

A glut of chances are being squandered and Gerard Pique is looking more suspect than ever before in defence. Alexis Sanchez scored a 94th-minute winner at Camp Nou on Saturday to beat off Sevilla's impressive resistance.

But whether it's a canter or a struggle, Gerardo Martino has won every league game he's played and secured the Supercopa de España trophy already and that's really all we can judge him on: victories.

2. Atletico Madrid

Movement: Up Four

Diego Simeone's comments on La Liga being "boring" may well have been the perfect motivator, with Atletico Madrid hitting some great early form.

They've won all their games so far, boast a plus-10 goal difference and claimed a precious away victory against Real Sociedad at the Anoeta.

There are goalscorers everywhere you look, great strength in depth and their late summer business was fantastic.

1. Borussia Dortmund

Movement: Up Four

Despite tying with Atletico Madrid for form in the league and, to be fair, looking a little less convincing than their Spanish counterparts at times, Borussia Dortmund appear the most formidable team in world football right now.

The 6-2 thrashing handed to Hamburg was a real eye-opener for the rest of Europe, with Marco Reus in particular hitting a wonderful vein of form.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has settled well, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gives them a different edge to their game and Juergen Klopp continues to find wins.

Ilkay Gundogan isn't even playing at the moment!

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