Ranking the Top 25 European Clubs After Weekend of Feb 28-March 1
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.
Real Madrid, Lyon, Manchester City, Arsenal and Napoli all slipped up either domestically or continentally; meanwhile, Wolfsburg, Liverpool and Valencia continue to soar. How does that affect the ranking?
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!
Honourable Mentions / Dropping Out
1 of 26
Dropping Out
PSV Eindhoven: We knew the Europa League would test their credentials. They failed. A loss to Ajax at the weekend confirms the drop.
Honourable Mention
Besiktas: Beating Liverpool in the UEFA Europa League is great, but one point from six domestically has allowed Galatasaray to pull partially clear.
25. Southampton
2 of 26
Last Week: 18
Differential: -7
Southampton cling to the bottom rung of our rankings with just a pinky and a third finger, and their grip is fading fast.
A 1-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns was entirely predictable given the Saints' horrendous issues with scoring goals, and even a change in formation—incorporating three at the back—couldn't help.
Graziano Pelle is knackered. He has to be rested.
24. Tottenham Hotspur
3 of 26
Last Week: 24
Differential: None
Despite losing the Capital One Cup final to Chelsea and losing to Fiorentina midweek, we're freezing Tottenham Hotspur at 24th in the ranking. Why? We take into account performances and results, and Mauricio Pochettino's young team did its level best and tested its opponents in both fixtures.
What Roberto Soldado did in Florence when one vs. one with the goalkeeper, ruining Spurs' golden chance to progress to the round of 16, is close to unforgivable. Losing 2-0 to a Jose Mourinho in a cup final is not a bad feat at all.
23. Roma
4 of 26
Last Week: 25
Differential: +2
Roma drew 1-1 with league leaders Juventus on Monday thanks to a late Seydou Keita equaliser. We've criticised the team for drawing so many games of late, but this share of the spoils is indisputably a positive one.
The midweek victory over Feyenoord allowed them to progress to the UEFA Europa League round of 16. It's a chance for silverware but also a distraction from the Serie A race.
22. Marseille
5 of 26
Last Week: 19
Differential: -3
We go directly to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
After three straight draws in Ligue 1, Marseille fans will have been expecting a victory at home to Caen last Friday to keep the Southerners in the thick of it at the top. Instead, Marcelo Bielsa's men suffered an almighty collapse and squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 in the final 23 minutes of the game.
Incredible stuff as the French title race took another twist, but Marseille is rapidly dropping out of title contention after another poor performance. Murmurs of off-field problems, as noted by Backpage Football's Brendan MacFarlane, continue to amplify as results build up against Bielsa.
21. Galatasaray
6 of 26
Last Week: 23
Differential: +2
Galatasaray take advantage of Besiktas' slips and pull three points ahead in the race for the Super Lig title. How very Galatasaray of them to do so at such a key time.
A 3-1 victory over Erciyesspor—a team featuring the much-travelled Royston Drenthe—did the trick, with Wesley Sneijder dominating and Umut Bulut netting.
20. Zenit St. Petersburg
7 of 26
Last Week: New!
Differential: New!
Zenit St. Petersburg resume their cruise toward the Russian Premier League title this weekend, and for a warm-up, they beat PSV Eindhoven over two legs in the UEFA Europa League with ease.
Russian clubs typically struggle coming out of a winter break and straight into a European fixture, but Zenit looked well prepared for the Dutch club's every move and dispensed them with relative ease.
19. Fiorentina
8 of 26
Last Week: 21
Differential: +2
Fiorentina progressed to the next round of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 (3-1) at the Artemio Franchi. Three days later, they beat Internazionale at San Siro 1-0.
A superb week for Vincenzo Montella.
The gap between the Viola and third-placed Napoli now stands at just three points, and Mario Gomez and Co. are hitting stride. Could a UEFA Champions League finish beckon?
18. Villarreal
9 of 26
Last Week: 20
Differential: +2
What a week for Villarreal!
They followed up a Thursday victory in Austria over Salzburg with an away point at Real Madrid. With all the travelling and the fact Denis Cheryshev couldn't play at the Bernabeu, it's one hell of a four-day span.
Unfortunately, that draw leaves them eight points off Valencia in fourth place in La Liga and unlikely to breach the top four. UEFA Europa League glory may be all they're playing for.
17. Napoli
10 of 26
Last Week: 14
Differential: -3
Napoli's 5-0 aggregate win over Trabzonspor was very impressive—particularly the initial 4-0 victory over in Turkey a few weeks ago.
But a 1-0 loss to Torino in Serie A meant the Partenopei were unable to take advantage of Roma's draw with Juventus. In fact, they lost a point on their rivals when they really should have gained two.
16. Valencia
11 of 26
Last Week: 17
Differential: +1
Valencia have played 13 games at Mestalla this season, winning 11 and dropping points in just two. It's close to an automatic victory nowadays.
A 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad—a team that has turned over some of La Liga's best this season in upset wins—was professionally done and allowed Los Che to open up a seven-point gap between themselves in fourth and everyone else below.
Catch them if you can.
15. Manchester City
12 of 26
Last Week: 9
Differential: -6
A grim, grim week for Manchester City. In the last round of rankings, we praised their resurgence in form; here, we take it all away and condemn them for a tactically naive seven-day stretch.
The loss to Barcelona—2-1, granted, but should have been far more—was embarrassing for Manuel Pellegrini. The subsequent defeat to Liverpool—2-1 again—breathed life into the Reds' title charge and removed City from their own.
Dropping like a stone.
14. Monaco
13 of 26
Last Week: 16
Differential: +2
B/R's Jonathan Johnson provides the Ligue 1 update:
After their Champions League heroics last week, Monaco followed up their impressive win away at Arsenal with a solid and unspectacular draw at home to Paris Saint-Germain. It might not have been the spectacle that neutrals were hoping for, but it gave Leonardo Jardim's men a 10th clean sheet in 11 Ligue 1 games.
If Les Monegasques can keep on picking up those clean sheets, even when tired after their European exertions, then their chances of finishing third by the end of the season will continue to grow.
13. Paris Saint-Germain
14 of 26
Last Week: 12
Differential: -1
Once again, B/R's Jonathan Johnson on Ligue 1:
Marseille and Lyon's results last weekend presented Paris Saint-Germain with a golden opportunity to go top of Ligue 1 with a win away at Monaco. However, Laurent Blanc's men were unable to take it, and their 0-0 draw with Les Monegasques meant they were only able to close the gap to a single point.
Although Monaco defended resolutely, PSG created more than enough chances to win the game, and Les Parisiens were let down by some poor finishing. How many more chances to seize control will the defending French champions be handed?
12. Lyon
15 of 26
Last Week: 11
Differential: -1
B/R's Jonathan Johnson gives the Ligue 1 lowdown:
Lyon's surprise defeat away at Lille on Saturday opened the door for Paris Saint-Germain to take control of the Ligue 1 title race. However, the capital outfit was unable to take it, and Hubert Fournier's side caught a lucky break.
Les Gones remain one point clear at the top of Le Championnat but travel to European hopefuls Montpellier this coming weekend. Lyon will be hoping to avoid a similar slip-up at Stade de la Mosson during this difficult run of away fixtures.
11. Benfica
16 of 26
Last Week: 13
Differential: +2
Benfica's 6-0 win over Estoril simply compounded two facts we already knew: Benfica are one of the strongest in Liga NOS by far, and Estoril (five losses in a row) never stood a chance of breaking their unwanted streak.
The most interesting talking point in Lisbon at the moment regards Anderson Talisca and how he can't crack the starting lineup following his return from injury. They seem to be performing better as a team without him.
10. Liverpool
17 of 26
Last Week: 15
Differential: +5
Liverpool's thrilling 2-1 victory over Manchester City was richly deserved; Brendan Rodgers' men are clicking at the right time, and the momentum boost gained from consecutive wins over Southampton and City cannot be underestimated.
Are they title challengers? No, not as it stands, but they're a genuine threat to second place in the Premier League, and should they continue to roll over teams, they can make it interesting at the end.
9. FC Porto
18 of 26
Last Week: 10
Differential: +1
Jackson Martinez entered his ballot for the most impressive assist of 2015 this weekend, overhead-kicking a sublime pass over the defence and into the grateful possession of Cristian Tello to slot home.
The Spaniard would go on to score a hat-trick in a thumping 3-0 win against Sporting CP, further underlining the chasm between Porto and Benfica...and the rest of Liga NOS' sides.
8. Arsenal
19 of 26
Last Week: 6
Differential: -2
Arsenal's 2-0 victory over Everton was ruthless and ground out. In effect, the Gunners reverted to the new-look model that's worked so well over the past month or so.
Unfortunately, their stock takes a big hit after losing to Monaco midweek in the UEFA Champions League. They lost 3-1 at home to arguably the weakest side left (bar perhaps Basel) in the competition, and it exposed all the old concerns of Arsene Wenger: tactical management and defensive holes.
7. Atletico Madrid
20 of 26
Last Week: 4
Differential: -3
This is one we did not see coming: Atletico Madrid lost 1-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League round-of-16 first leg. OK, it's not the most damaging of defeats, but they suddenly appear fallible for the first time in Europe this season.
They were outpressed and outplayed by a Roger Schmidt side many believed would cave when faced with Atleti's counter-attacks and counter-pressing. The weekend draw with Sevilla was a strong result in isolation but does nothing for their faint title hopes in reality.
6. Juventus
21 of 26
Last Week: 8
Differential: +2
Juventus are the masters of making things difficult for their opponent, and a 1-1 draw at the Olimpico in Rome on Monday evening was all they ever really needed to maintain the points gap at the top of Serie A.
Carlos Tevez gave the Bianconeri the lead in the second half, but Seydou Keita pegged them back. Ten yellow cards were shown during a bitty encounter, and this goes down as a good draw for Massimiliano Allegri.
A 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund midweek should have been more; they should progress to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
5. Wolfsburg
22 of 26
Last Week: 7
Differential: +2
Another week, another crazy game involving Wolfsburg. They really are an awful lot of fun.
A 5-3 victory away to Werder Bremen—who up until this match were unbeaten in five following the winter break—included two more Bas Dost goals and a hat-trick of assists for Kevin De Bruyne.
In midweek, they drew 0-0 in Portugal with Sporting to seal a 2-0 aggregate victory and advance to the UEFA Europa League round-of-16 stage.
It's all just going really, really well for Dieter Hecking.
4. Chelsea
23 of 26
Last Week: 5
Differential: +1
Congratulations Chelsea for lifting the first piece of silverware on offer in the English game. Some may sniff at the Capital One Cup, but these players clearly relished winning the first trophy of Jose Mourinho's second stint at the Blues.
The 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur was consummately professional, as uMAXit Football's Raj Bains expertly notes:
"Through a combination of tactical fouling, robust defending, supreme organisation and pragmatic management, Chelsea behaved much in the same manner that they would in a knockout European tie, the sort of match that is known to very much float Jose Mourinho's boat."
3. Real Madrid
24 of 26
Last Week: 1
Differential: -2
Real Madrid's reign at the top lasted just a week; a 1-1 draw with Villarreal—no matter how good a side Marcelino Toral manages—means they slip in La Liga and allow Barcelona to gain valuable ground.
Once again, we're left feeling that Los Blancos haven't been that convincing despite picking up so many wins, and at times, the tie with the Yellow Submarine felt like Isco plus 10 men—the fluency was absent.
2. Bayern Munich
25 of 26
Last Week: 2
Differential: None
So it wasn't quite your 8-0 or 6-0 victory, but a 4-1 win over Cologne was extremely impressive in its performance, and Arjen Robben looked brilliant once again.
Pep Guardiola played with his formation again and managed to get another 90 minutes out of Holger Badstuber—a welcome relief given the numerous injury set-backs he's received over the years.
Attentions will already be turning to Shakhtar Donetsk at home in the UEFA Champions League.
1. Barcelona
26 of 26
Last Week: 3
Differential: +2
Barcelona were dethroned last week, but it's taken them just seven days to reclaim top spot. A 3-1 win over Granada in La Liga, coupled with their beating of Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League midweek, is enough to see them back to where their fans will feel they belong.
The 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium was yet another lesson for Manuel Pellegrini; it showed him just how far his, and other English sides, still have to go until they compete against the top order.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were mesmeric on the night.
All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.
