Ranking the Top 25 European Clubs After Weekend of March 7-8
Welcome to the latest edition of our European club rankings (previous edition here). Here, we'll rank the top teams on the continent based on seasonal form and squad strength.
Real Madrid, Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Liverpool and Wolfsburg all slipped up in a bad week for our top sides. How will that affect the order?
Remember: Form over the past six weeks or so is taken into account, with the most recent result being the biggest factor in changes 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
Roma: After five draws in six games, how they're still second in Serie A is beyond comprehension.
25. Southampton
2 of 26
Last Week: 25
Differential: None
Southampton have had a lovely week, trying their hand at ice hockey and skiing during an FA Cup break. They were knocked out of the competition early by Crystal Palace.
They resume action this weekend away against Chelsea.
24. Galatasaray
3 of 26
Last Week: 21
Differential: -3
Galatasaray's impressive Super Lig winning streak came to a disappointing, though hardly surprising, halt on Sunday.
Having not won away against archrivals Fenerbahce since 1999, Dirk Kuyt's late goal in a 1-0 win for the Canaries will have felt inevitable to many fans. Gala drop, but this is not a shameful loss.
23. Bayer Leverkusen
4 of 26
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: N/A
Bayer Leverkusen once frequented the middle range of our European club rankings, but dropped out after a poor run of form just after Christmas. Bu this side of January has seen Roger Schmidt's men come back with a bang.
Three victories in a row, including one special 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League's latter stages, see them re-enter our top 25. Their demolishing of Paderborn this weekend saw them rediscover their kill touch.
22. Tottenham Hotspur
5 of 26
Last Week: 24
Differential: +2
Queens Park Rangers vs. Tottenham Hotspur—or Charlie Austin vs. Harry Kane in a battle of two England hopefuls, if you prefer—ended in favour of the latter on both counts. It was a statement victory in a tough London game.
Since losing the Capital One Cup final, Spurs have won both of their games, and it's proof this team really is going places and its mentality has truly evolved under Mauricio Pochettino.
21. Marseille
6 of 26
Last Week: 22
Differential: +1
As ever, we go directly to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"After some disappointing away performances and an awful month of February, Marseille got their first win in five games and their first on the road since early October. They managed it in some style too, thrashing a dire Toulouse side 6-1.
"The result sets up Sunday's massive clash with Ligue 1 leaders Lyon at Stade Velodrome nicely. Win and Marcelo Bielsa's men are back in the title race, and the top three will tighten up once again."
20. Fiorentina
7 of 26
Last Week: 19
Differential: -1
Fiorentina come into this week's rankings thoroughly tough to gauge. A 4-0 loss to Lazio on Monday night is hard to believe, considering they beat Juventus in Turin during the midweek cup fixture.
Vincenzo Montella won't be too alarmed, as his side are ticking along superbly. But with a top-three place firmly in his side's sights, more slip-ups of this nature will damage their stock.
19. Zenit St. Petersburg
8 of 26
Last Week: 20
Differential: +1
Zenit St. Petersburg made light work of FC Ural as the Russian Premier League returned, with Salomon Rondon scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory.
It sparks a winning start to the second half of the domestic season and continues their excellent form of late, having already dumped PSV Eindhoven out of the UEFA Europa League in convincing fashion.
18. Napoli
9 of 26
Last Week: 17
Differential: -1
A late collapse at home to Internazionale—which squandered a two-goal lead, drew 2-2 and saw Henrique sent off—puts Napoli in our bad books. That's not a place any world football manager wants to be.
The Partenopei had gone ahead via a wonderful golazo from top-scorer Gonzalo Higuain and looked a good bet for three points, but once again, the team failed to take advantage of Roma's slip.
It's their own fault they're still only third in Serie A.
17. Villarreal
10 of 26
Last Week: 18
Differential: +1
Villarreal responded to news that Eric Bailly would miss the next few weeks after suffering a thigh strain, per Inside Spanish Football, by beating poor Celta Vigo 4-1.
It was easy work despite resting a number of key players, and Marcelino Toral is doing a good job of keeping Denis Cheryshev fresh.
The Yellow Submarine played well midweek in their Copa del Rey loss to Barcelona but ultimately succumbed, and we won't mark them down harshly for making a fist of it against a real world football juggernaut.
16. Manchester City
11 of 26
Last Week: 15
Differential: -1
Manchester City had a rest this weekend, having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Middlesbrough. They'll be preparing to turn over a first-leg loss to Barcelona.
15. Valencia
12 of 26
Last Week: 16
Differential: +1
Valencia missed the chance to leapfrog Atletico Madrid into third place in La Liga by drawing with them. That that's a disappointment shows how far Los Che have come this season.
They've still yet to show their absolute best away from home, but they should be commended for grinding out a draw at the Vicente Calderon.
14. Monaco
13 of 26
Last Week: 14
Differential: None
As ever, we go directly to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"Monaco bounced back from their Coupe de France quarter-final defeat away at PSG with a comfortable 3-1 win at Evian Thonon Gaillard. Leonardo Jardim's men managed three goals in one game for just the third time this year.
"With one game in hand, Les Monegasques can strengthen their grip on fourth place to four points if they can beat Montpellier HSC when the game is replayed. The principality outfit also have their Champions League second-leg clash with Arsenal coming up next week."
13. Liverpool
14 of 26Last Week: 10
Differential: -3
Liverpool have really struggled to get "up for the cup" this season, failing to replicate their electric showings in the Premier League when playing in knockout formats.
That continued this weekend against Championship side Blackburn Rovers, as they drew 0-0 at Anfield, forcing an unwanted replay into a congested fixture list and risking the stability of a late-season surge.
12. Paris Saint-Germain
15 of 26
Last Week: 13
Differential: +1
As ever, we go directly to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"PSG temporarily went top of Ligue 1 on Saturday with a straightforward 4-1 win over RC Lens at Parc des Princes. Although Lyon eventually re-took their place at the summit, Laurent Blanc's men have kept them under pressure and can do it again ahead of Sunday's clash between Marseille and Lyon at Stade Velodrome.
"Les Parisiens have the small task of seeing off Chelsea in the Champions League this week before travelling to Bordeaux at the weekend. Their last-16 second leg in Europe could define their season, while anything other than a win at Bordeaux would be a major setback and possibly passes up the chance to finally end a round of games on top of the table."
11. Benfica
16 of 26
Last Week: 11
Differential: None
Benfica dispensed with Arouca this week despite going behind...again. Jorge Jesus' men finish strong, but start remarkably weakly, given the prowess of their squad.
The Eagles remain four points clear at the top of Liga NOS, and despite FC Porto keeping up the pressure with wins, they aren't fazed.
10. Lyon
17 of 26
Last Week: 12
Differential: +2
As ever, we go directly to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"After being temporarily knocked off of the top spot by PSG on Saturday, Lyon hit back in style with a 5-1 win away at Montpellier on Sunday. More than that, Hubert Fournier's men were 1-0 down before they scored five unanswered goals to blow La Paillade away.
"Heading into their clash with Marseille, it is crucial that Lyon do not lose at Stade Velodrome. If they do, then it could allow PSG to finish the week top of the pile in France and Marseille would re-enter the title race."
9. FC Porto
18 of 26
Last Week: 9
Differential: None
FC Porto followed up their strong showing against Sporting last week with an excellent 1-0 victory over Braga away from home.
Cristian Tello's hat-trick clearly has the Spaniard in the mood for goalscoring, as he bagged the sole strike here to widen the gap between the top two challengers in Liga NOS and the rest.
8. Atletico Madrid
19 of 26
Last Week: 7
Differential: -1
Diego Simeone rested Mario Manduzkic ahead of the UEFA Champions League action and it backfired, with Atletico Madrid only mustering a draw at home to Valencia.
Granted, Los Che are a formidable outfit as their place in these rankings show, but it marks the second draw in a row for Atleti and the third time in six La Liga games they've failed to win.
Add it to their first-leg loss to Bayer Leverkusen a few weeks ago, and you've got the makings of some worrisome form.
7. Wolfsburg
20 of 26
Last Week: 5
Differential: -2
Wolfsburg's winning streak in the Bundesliga ended at four. A disappointing loss to Augsburg, courtesy of a Dominik Kohr strike, allowed Bayern Munich to pull 11 points clear at the top once again.
Borussia Monchengladbach drew, so the gap between second and third remains almost as vast at nine points, and there's no doubt who is finishing second in Germany this year.
6. Arsenal
21 of 26
Last Week: 8
Differential: +2
On Monday night, we saw a statement victory for Arsene Wenger at Old Trafford, beating Manchester United 2-1 to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals.
Nacho Monreal and Danny Welbeck, on his return to the North West, scored the goals to bury Louis van Gaal's side. After this excellent away performance, Monaco will be watching on fearfully.
5. Juventus
22 of 26
Last Week: 6
Differential: +1
An 82nd-minute winner from Paul Pogba allowed Juventus to topple a surprisingly stubborn Sassuolo side on Monday night and move his side 11 points clear at the top of Serie A. With 12 games to go, there can only be one Scudetto winner now.
Massimiliano Allegri can begin fielding slightly weakened sides in the league so he can focus on the Champions League, and the Bianconeri face Borussia Dortmund in Germany next week in a true test of their mettle.
4. Real Madrid
23 of 26
Last Week: 3
Differential: -1
The new San Mames Stadium roared its approval as Athletic Bilbao dispensed with Real Madrid 1-0 this weekend, knocking Los Blancos out of the top spot in La Liga and forcing their second loss in the last six league games.
The fabled BBC combo of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo again failed to click into gear, and the monstrous Aritz Aduriz punished their mistakes by converting the sole strike of the game.
3. Chelsea
24 of 26
Last Week: 4
Differential: +1
Chelsea took the weekend off after being knocked out of the FA Cup in a previous round by Bradford City. They face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League next.
Due to Real Madrid, Wolfsburg and Atletico Madrid failing to win, the Blues move up despite not playing.
2. Bayern Munich
25 of 26
Last Week: 2
Differential: None
Despite a sticky start to the second half of the Bundesliga season, Bayern Munich have made it five wins in a row after beating Hannover 3-1 at the HDI-Arena.
Thomas Muller was in excellent form, converting a penalty and leaping like a salmon to convert a super header, while Xabi Alonso grabbed himself a goal too.
The biggest talking point, perhaps, was Pep Guardiola's treatment of Dante. The centre-back was substituted off for 30 minutes for being absolutely awful.
1. Barcelona
26 of 26
Last Week: 1
Differential: None
Barcelona advanced to the final of the Copa del Rey midweek with a 3-1 victory over Villarreal. It wasn't perfect, they gave up plenty of chances, but they progressed all the same.
This weekend's win over Rayo Vallecano was absolutely dominant, though, and showed the incredible depth at Camp Nou. Neymar suspended, Sergio Busquets injured and Dani Alves red-carded? No problem, there's an answer to all of those problems.
Luis Suarez and Xavi were magnificent.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
