Ranking the Top 25 European Clubs After Weekend of February 21-22
Welcome to the latest edition of our European club rankings (previous edition here). We rank the top teams on the continent based on seasonal form and squad strength.
Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Liverpool all recorded big wins, while Chelsea and Barcelona slipped up. We also have Champions League and Europa League games affecting the rankings, which makes this edition particularly ruthless in its movers.
Remember: Form over the past six weeks or so is taken into account, with the most recent result being the biggest factor in a change 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
Dropping Out
Sevilla: With four losses in their last six La Liga games, a midweek win against Gladbach isn't enough.
Manchester United: After one week in the top 25, they lose to Swansea City for the second time this season.
Honourable Mention
Sporting: They are breathing down the necks of Porto and Benfica, but a Europa League loss stops them from entering.
25. Roma
2 of 26
Last Week: 21
Differential: -4
Last chance saloon for Roma. Will dropping them to 25th jump-start their form as it has done for Sevilla and Valencia in the past?
Two draws last week epitomised their unfortunate season; they're playing pretty well, but there's a mental barrier blocking their ability to get over the line. Feyenoord and Verona were very, very beatable.
The Giallorossi are fortunate to stay in the top 25 at all. Most contenders for the spot also dropped points one way or another this past week and therefore do not leapfrog.
24. Tottenham Hotspur
3 of 26
Last Week: 24
Differential: None
Tottenham Hotspur fans were filled with disappointment this past week. After losing to Liverpool in the league, they drew with Fiorentina in Europe and required a last-gasp equaliser from Harry Kane against West Ham United on Sunday.
They played superbly against the Viola for 60 minutes but failed to score the appropriate number of goals, and they played poorly against the Hammers for 80 minutes but somehow nicked a point.
The overall feeling at the club is rather tough to judge.
23. Galatasaray
4 of 26
Last Week: New!
Differential: New!
Galatasaray have quietly risen from the ashes of a burnt and broken season, moving into the top three in the Turkish Super Lig after winning their third consecutive league game.
They've won their last five in all competitions, are into the latter stages of the Turkish Cup and have no European distractions unlike fellow title challengers Besiktas.
Welcome back to the big time.
22. PSV Eindhoven
5 of 26
Last Week: 19
Differential: -3
PSV Eindhoven have been tough to gauge for months due to the fact they're absolutely walking the Eredivisie, and the UEFA Europa League round of 32 was always going to give us some context.
A 1-0 loss to Zenit St. Petersburg at home is a damaging results and verifies our hesitancy to take the Dutch club higher than 19th for so long; Andre Villas-Boas' men played without the ball and hit them on the counter with a Hulk strike.
21. Fiorentina
6 of 26
Last Week: New!
Differential: New!
Fiorentina are unbeaten in their last 10 games in all competitions and proved in the Europa League against Tottenham Hotspur they're worth a spot in our top 25.
After an awful 45 minutes, Vincenzo Montella switched from a back three to a back four, nullifying Andros Townsend and allowing his side to gain some control over the tie.
They'll be favourites against Spurs in Florence.
20. Villarreal
7 of 26
Last Week: 22
Differential: +2
Villarreal had a strong week. Manager Marcelino Garcia Toral will be very, very pleased.
Salzburg has lost some of their fear factor without Sadio Mane, but a 2-1 victory at home over the Austrian outfit can be considered a good first-leg result. Following that up was a 1-0 win over Eibar, with Eric Bailly coming into the side and keeping a clean sheet and Luciano Vietto bagging the winner from the bench.
19. Marseille
8 of 26
Last Week: 16
Differential: -3
Marseille's distinctly unimpressive away form continued with a 2-2 draw to Saint-Etienne. It's a tough game at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, granted, but the odds of L'OM winning Ligue 1 are spiralling fast.
Marcelo Bielsa made a triple substitution in the 63rd minute to signal his low satisfaction levels, and Michy Batshuayi came up with two goals in four minutes to change the compelxion of the match.
18. Southampton
9 of 26
Last Week: 14
Differential: -4
Southampton lost to Liverpool this weekend in very contentious circumstances, and while the nature of the defeat has raised big questions of referee Kevin Friend, the bigger picture is Saints' dipping form.
They've failed to score in three successive home games, drawing blanks against West Ham United, Swansea City and now the Reds. In between those disappointments, a scrappy 1-0 victory away to Queens Park Rangers failed to impress.
Ronald Koeman's men are trending the wrong way.
17. Valencia
10 of 26
Last Week: 20
Differential: +3
It's five wins from their last six La Liga games as far as Valencia are concerned, who put Cordoba away 2-1 this weekend thanks to a late Pablo Piatti strike.
Manager Nuno Santo was able to rest key players in Sofiane Feghouli and Alvaro Negredo while playing Rodrigo de Paul up front. Enzo Perez wasn't even in the squad; the depth of this new Los Che side is scary.
16. Monaco
11 of 26
Last Week: 17
Differential: +1
A 1-0 win for Monaco? Surely not?
Leonardo Jardim's men reverted back to their roots this weekend, grinding out a clean sheet victory to keep up their faint pressure on Ligue 1's top order.
Bernardo Silva came off the bench to score the winning goal despite Nice's late pressure and Aymen Abdennour's late red card.
15. Liverpool
12 of 26
Last Week: 18
Differential: +3
Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool have lost just once in their last 18 games and currently boast a win streak of four in all competitions. The 3-4-2-1 formation looks oh-so-good, and the confidence is back.
The 2-0 win away to Southampton was gritty, slightly fortuitous and very contentious, but a win is a win as far as the Reds are concerned. Midweek victory over Besiktas and Demba Ba sets them up for an inviting second leg in Turkey—score once and it's pretty much done.
14. Napoli
13 of 26
Last Week: 15
Differential: +1
Napoli's slip last week against Palermo proved just that: a slip. They got back to winning ways this weekend against Sassuolo, keeping a clean sheet and getting by without star goalscorer Gonzalo Higuain.
Duvan Zapata—once linked to Queens Park Rangers but whisked away to Naples instead—did the damage up front despite Dries Mertens making things difficult with a red card late on.
13. Benfica
14 of 26
Last Week: 9
Differential: -4
Despite beating Moreirense 3-1 this weekend, Benfica drop below their Liga NOS rivals FC Porto and several other teams in our top 25. The deciding factor? European form.
The Eagles are trundling along nicely from a domestic standpoint, but the other sides around them are beginning to heat up. It's a harsh drop considering they won, but Benfica aren't a top-10 team at the moment.
12. Paris Saint-Germain
15 of 26
Last Week: 12
Differential: None
A much-improved week for Paris Saint-Germain, it must be said. Adrien Rabiot took out his frustrations, sourced from missing out on the starting XI against Chelsea last Tuesday, by burying two goals against poor, unsuspecting Toulouse.
Thiago Silva capped an excellent individual week with a goal and helped PSG keep up the pressure on league leaders Lyon.
11. Lyon
16 of 26
Last Week: 11
Differential: None
Sometimes you need a little luck to go your way if you're to be crowned champions at the end of the season. Nabil Fekir's goal in a 1-0 victory over Nantes this weekend was more than a little fortuitous, but Hubert Fournier won't mind.
Bakary Kone impressed in defence alongside Samuel Umtiti, filling in for the injured and badly missed Milan Bisevac, and Maxime Gonalons missed a penalty in the final minute, squandering the chance to make this result look comfortable on paper.
10. FC Porto
17 of 26
Last Week: 10
Differential: None
FC Porto scored an away goal in Basel midweek to ease the pressure on themselves in the Champions League. A win at the Dragao of any kind will settle the two-legged tie in their favour.
On Monday night, they overcame a tough test away to Boavista, who gave them a real examination as expected. Jackson Martinez shone a lot brighter than he did in Switzerland, netting late on before Yacine Brahimi iced it.
9. Manchester City
18 of 26
Last Week: 13
Differential: +4
Manchester City are on the mend, and they've barely been allowed to play with new £25 million toy Wilfried Bony as yet!
A thumping 5-0 victory over Newcastle United scattered any lingering doubts over Manuel Pellegrini's men, and the fear factor the Etihad Stadium carries is most certainly back. Samir Nasri is excelling, David Silva has recaptured his form, and Edin Dzeko is responding to the pressure on his shoulders.
Look out Barcelona...
8. Juventus
19 of 26
Last Week: 8
Differential: None
Juventus' victory over Atalanta this weekend was a mere formality, with all the fans looking ahead to the huge game against Borussia Dortmund this week.
It's the Italian champions' chance to be taken seriously across Europe: In the past, they've dominated a weak Serie A but failed to impress when locking horns with some of the continent's biggest and best.
7. Wolfsburg
20 of 26
Last Week: 7
Differential: None
Bas Dost.
After initially struggling following his move to the Bundesliga, Dutch striker Bas Dost is absolutely on fire for Wolfsburg in 2015 (19 shots, 11 goals, one assist).
He's benefitting from immense service—who wouldn't score playing ahead of Kevin de Bruyne, Andre Schurrle and Max Arnold?—and leading Die Wolfe in their attempts to secure second place early and place pressure on Bayern Munich.
Midweek, they beat Sporting CP 2-0 to affirm their obvious strength.
6. Arsenal
21 of 26
Last Week: 6
Differential: None
Arsenal eked out a professional victory at Selhurst Park on Saturday. That Per Mertesacker was their star man said a lot about the nature of their win.
Still, it's three points gained in the tight, tight race for the Premier League top four. A Champions League bout with Monaco beckons, and that will be a true test of Arsene Wenger's supposedly electric attacking setup.
5. Chelsea
22 of 26
Last Week: 2
Differential: -3
Chelsea managed a very disappointing draw with Burnley at home this weekend, and their form at Stamford Bridge should be cause for some concern.
In their last four home ties, they've failed to score more than a single goal, and Nemanja Matic's red card following an incident with Ashley Barnes puts the team under stress in holding midfield.
Jose Mourinho, in response, opted to go nuclear with a full-blown rant on Sky Sports. The strong 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain midweek is largely forgotten.
4. Atletico Madrid
23 of 26
Last Week: 5
Differential: +1
Diego Simeone learned his lesson: Don't play Antoine Griezmann, Fernando Torres and Mario Mandzukic together!
Last week's loss has been forgotten, and in its place, a 3-0 win arrived. Almeria were crushed early, and key players were able to to come off for a rest ahead of a showdown with Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
3. Barcelona
24 of 26
Last Week: 1
Differential: -2
After spending much of the last 30 days or so looking utterly unbeatable, Barcelona came undone in front of their own fans against Malaga, losing 1-0 to the coastal side for the second time this season.
An underhit back pass from Dani Alves put Claudio Bravo in trouble, and Juanmi stole in to round the 'keeper and score. A defensive 4-4-2 shape stopped the vaunted Neymar-Luis Suarez-Lionel Messi combination from breaking through.
Damaging.
2. Bayern Munich
25 of 26
Last Week: 4
Differential: +2
Bayern Munich's last two Bundesliga results have been astonishing 8-0 and 6-0 wins against Hamburg and Paderborn, respectively.
The most recent win, against the latter, was full of positive stories: Arjen Robben excelling, Franck Ribery dominating, Holger Badstuber playing 90 minutes and Mitchell Weiser grabbing a goal off the bench.
The issue? That drab 0-0 draw in Donetsk midweek. Playing Thomas Muller as a No. 9 is perhaps not the strongest ploy in Europe.
1. Real Madrid
26 of 26
Last Week: 3
Differential: +2
A wonderful week for Real Madrid culminates in their retaking of top spot in our rankings. It's been more than a month (five editions) since anyone not named Barcelona sat at the summit.
A 2-0 victory at Schalke midweek essentially ended the Champions League round-of-16 tie at the halfway stage, and a professional victory over Elche by the same scoreline allowed Los Blancos to pull four points clear in La Liga following the Blaugrana's shock loss.
Better yet, Lucas Silva is getting game time and looking good.
