Ranking the Top 25 European Clubs After Weekend of April 18-19
Welcome to the latest edition of our European club rankings (previous edition here), where we rank the top teams on the continent based on seasonal form and squad strength.
We have a round of league action and the first legs of both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League quarter-finals to sink our teeth into. How does FC Porto's famous victory over Bayern Munich, or Atletico Madrid's draw with rivals Real Madrid 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 changes of placement. It's also cumulative, so 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 section below!
Dropouts
1 of 26
Marseille: Three consecutive defeats allowed Saint-Etienne to draw level with them in Ligue 1.
Southampton: A 2-1 loss to Stoke City ended any faint UEFA Champions League hopes.
Roma: Have gone back to drawing every game in sight.
25. Zenit Saint Petersburg
2 of 26
Last Week: 22
Differential: -3
Holiday mode?
Zenit Saint Petersburg all but have the Russian Premier League wrapped up and have drawn two straight games in the competition, registering a disappointing blank against Kuban Krasnodar last time out.
They lost 2-1 to Sevilla in the Europa League after taking the lead at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, but they possess a precious away goal heading back to eastern Europe and can still qualify for the semi-finals.
24. Dynamo Kiev
3 of 26
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Dynamo Kiev are five points clear of Shakhtar Donetsk at the top of the Ukrainian Premier League and are tussling with Fiorentina for a semi-final Europa League spot.
Having already dispensed with Everton and earned a draw with the Viola, it's about time the good work manager Serhiy Rebrov is doing is recognised here.
23. Liverpool
4 of 26
Last Week: 19
Differential: -4
Liverpool's late-season collapse continued as they lost 2-1 to Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals. The defeat ensures Brendan Rodgers will end a third season at the helm trophyless despite having spent more than £200 million on players, per the Daily Mail.
Manchester City's victory on Sunday also stretched the gap between the Reds and the Premier League top four to seven points. UEFA Champions League qualification now looks unlikely, to say the least.
22. Fiorentina
5 of 26
Last Week: 21
Differential: -1
A 1-1 draw away to Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League was a great result, and while the home loss to Verona in the league on Monday most certainly wasn't, the switch in focus is fairly evident.
The Viola cannot breach the top order of Serie A and therefore cannot achieve Champions League qualification in the traditional sense, but manager Vincenzo Montella is gunning to be the first to qualify for the competition by winning the Europa League.
Many of the team's stars, including loanee Mohamed Salah, were rested for the league match.
21. Saint-Etienne
6 of 26
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
As ever, we go directly to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"Out of almost nowhere, AS Saint-Etienne are now in the thick of the fight for UEFA Champions league football after capitalising on Olympique de Marseille and AS Monaco's slip-ups.
"Christophe Galtier's men are just two points behind Les Monegasques in third after picking up four wins in their last six games. Les Verts have a reasonably straightforward run-in, so a top-three finish is actually well within their reach."
Saint-Etienne are in fifth place with five games to go.
20. Napoli
7 of 26
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Welcome back, Napoli! After a short stint outside of the top 25, they rejoin us after rediscovering their form.
They've won three in a row in all competitions, and all three performances were fantastic. A 3-0 win over Fiorentina was followed up by a midweek crushing of Wolfsburg and another 3-0 victory, this time over Cagliari away from home.
Rafa Benitez wants a trophy, and the Europa League, feasibly, is theirs for the taking.
19. Monaco
8 of 26
Last Week: 16
Differential: -3
We go back to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"A few weeks ago, Monaco were legitimate dark horses for the Ligue 1 title. Now, Les Monegasques are fighting for third place at best after falling six points behind Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain thanks to three draws in their last four games.
"Leonardo Jardim's men could still prolong their European adventures, only trailing Juventus 1-0 on aggregate after the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals first leg. However, the principality outfit's priority must be the league, and they now lead Marseille in the fight for third place by two points."
Monaco sit in third on 59 points with five league games to go.
18. Borussia Monchengladbach
9 of 26
Last Week: 18
Differential: None
Borussia Monchengladbach failed to win for the first time in a month on Friday, drawing 0-0 with Eintracht Frankfurt at the Commerzbank-Arena.
Raffael, Patrick Herrmann, Granit Xhaka and Co., who have all been on fire of late, were blunted by a strong defensive effort led by Anderson and Alexander Madlung.
The result saw the Foals drop to fourth, a place below Bayer Leverkusen.
17. Sevilla
10 of 26
Last Week: 20
Differential: +3
Sevilla claimed a 2-1 home victory over Zenit Saint Petersburg in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, but will it be enough? Can they hold on in Russia?
A domestic draw away to Granada on Sunday—a crazy game in which Granada defender Diego Mainz scored at both ends—moved them a point closer to Valencia but left them six off Atletico Madrid in third.
16. Manchester United
11 of 26
Last Week: 13
Differential: -3
Manchester United's winning streak ended at four, as injuries decimated their chances of turning Chelsea over at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Marouane Fellaini was marked out of the game by Kurt Zouma, and the Red Devils missed Michael Carrick in midfield immensely. They were taken apart on the counter-attack as Ander Herrera struggled in an unfamiliar role.
15. Benfica
12 of 26
Last Week: 15
Differential: None
Benfica fans will have been feeling a little sick watching rivals FC Porto claim the column inches after a famous UEFA Champions League win, but a typical Jonas brace saw them to victory on Saturday and helped them forget all about it.
The lead at the top of the Liga NOS table remains a slender three points, but the Eagles have nothing else to worry about and can focus solely on piling up the wins.
14. Lyon
13 of 26
Last Week: 12
Differential: -2
Back to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"Despite their impressive 2-2 draw at home to AS Saint-Etienne putting them back on top of Ligue 1 on goal difference, the most recent Rhone-Alpes derby was a chance missed by Hubert Fournier's men. Had OL not been reduced to 10 men by the sending off of Lindsay Rose for handball, they would probably have gone on to win the game.
"However, they didn't, and that draw has now handed Paris Saint-Germain the chance to open up a three-point lead at the summit of Le Championnat with just five games to go. Lyon's tough remaining fixtures are now out of the way, so they will be hoping that Les Parisiens slip up somewhere along the way."
Next up for Lyon is a trip to face 14th-placed Stade de Reims on Sunday.
13. Bayer Leverkusen
14 of 26
Last Week: 17
Differential: +4
Seven in a row! Bayer Leverkusen have won seven Bundesliga games in a row.
Their latest victory, a 4-0 thrashing of Hannover, saw them finally leapfrog Borussia Monchengladbach and set up camp in third place in the table. Roger Schmidt will be desperate to win out to ensure Champions League football for next season.
Leverkusen are set to play back-to-back games against Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach in May. That run will almost certainly decide their fate.
12. Valencia
15 of 26
Last Week: 11
Differential: -1
Eight times out of 10, Valencia would win the game they played against Barcelona on Saturday. Bar first-minute and 94th-minute lapses, they were the better side on the day and should have claimed a famous victory.
They can only blame themselves after showing a remarkable penchant for missing chances, with Dani Parejo wasting a penalty and Paco Alcacer striking the woodwork in the first half alone. With Atletico winning, these were three points agonisingly dropped.
11. Paris Saint-Germain
16 of 26
Last Week: 8
Differential: -3
Over to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"Although knocked back off the top of the Ligue 1 table by Lyon 24 hours after they won 3-1 away at OGC Nice, Paris Saint-Germain are now in the driving seat in the title race. With one game in hand over OL, Monaco, Marseille and Saint-Etienne, Laurent Blanc's men must beat both Lille OSC and FC Metz to make the most of that and turn it into a three-point lead over Les Gones.
"Their Champions League campaign is almost certainly coming to an end after a 3-1 first-leg thumping at the hands of Barcelona, but Les Parisiens can still add the Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France to their domestic haul. If PSG were to do that, it would form an unprecedented domestic treble."
PSG sit second in Le Championnat and have six league games left to play.
10. Lazio
17 of 26
Last Week: 9
Differential: -1
Juventus gave Lazio all the respect they deserved, ending the capital club's eight-game winning streak with a 2-0 win in Turin.
The tried-and-trusted attacking quartet of Stefano Mauri, Felipe Anderson, Antonio Candreva and Miroslav Klose failed to breach the vaunted Juve back line, drawing their first blank since early February.
9. Wolfsburg
18 of 26
Last Week: 5
Differential: -4
Kevin De Bruyne, Wolfsburg's star of the season, struck late to earn a 1-1 draw with Schalke on Sunday. That wasn't a bad result, but it didn't make up for the abysmal performance in the Europa League on Thursday.
There are some sympathies regarding the opening goal in the heavy loss to Napoli, as Gonzalo Higuain clearly used his hand to control the ball before finishing, but the defending throughout was dreadful, and it's difficult to see Die Wolfe recovering.
They trail 4-1 heading into a match at the San Paolo. Ouch!
8. FC Porto
19 of 26
Last Week: 14
Differential: +6
FC Porto squeezed past Academica on Saturday thanks to an early Hernani goal, but the big story emanating from the Dragao is, of course, the Dragons' defeat of Bayern Munich.
Julen Lopetegui's men destroyed the German champions, utilising a high-press game to unsettle the defenders and force mistakes. Ricardo Quaresma played the game of his life, and he'll need to do it again in Munich to seal the result.
They get a big move upward, and they fully deserve it.
7. Bayern Munich
20 of 26
Last Week: 3
Differential: -4
Bayern Munich were only able to name four substitutes for the victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on April 11, and while Pep Guardiola had six at his disposal this week, the "returning stars" line is not the focus.
The spotlight fell very harshly on the German champions after their shock 3-1 defeat away to FC Porto in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. They need a 2-0 home win to progress on away goals against the perceived seventh-best side in the competition.
The 2-0 victory over Hoffenheim on Saturday helped build confidence, but to the wider world, that result is irrelevant. Roll on the second leg!
6. Atletico Madrid
21 of 26
Last Week: 10
Differential: +4
Atletico Madrid eased past Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday thanks to yet another brace from Antoine Griezmann. The Frenchman moved to 20 league goals for this season despite starting just 23 games.
In Europe, they held archrivals Real Madrid to a goalless draw in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final matchup, and they will be hoping to frustrate and upset once again at the Bernabeu in the second leg.
5. Chelsea
22 of 26
Last Week: 8
Differential: +3
Chelsea played a very defensive and cautious brand of football on Saturday, but it worked a treat, as they ended Manchester United's winning streak.
Once again, Eden Hazard was sublime, scoring the winning goal and striking the woodwork later on. Kurt Zouma deserves immense credit for nullifying Marouane Fellaini in the air.
4. Juventus
23 of 26
Last Week: 6
Differential: +2
Juventus effectively sealed the Scudetto by beating closest challengers Lazio 2-0 in Turin on Saturday. Any ideas of a dramatic overhaul at the top, given the challenger's great form, were laughed off by Massimiliano Allegri's men as they affirmed their domestic dominance.
They also gained a slender 1-0 lead over Monaco by netting one goal, a penalty, against Aymen Abdennour and Co. at the Juventus Stadium. The return leg in the principality should be a tense watch.
3. Real Madrid
24 of 26
Last Week: 4
Differential: +1
Real Madrid will have been left frustrated by their failure to score against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon, as they were by far the better side for much of the first half.
Luka Modric, James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos, reunited as a midfield trio, bossed the play and moved the ball quickly. Only the superlative Jan Oblak in goal stopped it from getting ugly.
Los Blancos' 3-1 win over Malaga in La Liga on Saturday, in which Cristiano Ronaldo was fantastic despite missing a penalty, made it four wins in a row domestically.
2. Arsenal
25 of 26
Last Week: 2
Differential: None
Arsenal made exceptionally tough work of it, but they eventually defeated Reading 2-1 after extra time to progress to the FA Cup final on May 30. A day later, Aston Villa were confirmed as their opponents.
Alexis Sanchez bagged a brace—although the second one had plenty of help from an unfortunate Adam Federici goalkeeping gaffe—to overcome a stubborn challenge.
Does another piece of silverware beckon for Arsene Wenger?
1. Barcelona
26 of 26
Last Week: 1
Differential: None
Barcelona secured two important victories in a matter of days, but they only impressed in one of those games and could easily have lost ground in the Liga title race.
The 3-1 defeat of Paris Saint-Germain was very impressive—particularly given it was at the Parc des Princes—but the 2-0 victory over Valencia on Saturday could have been very different had it not been for Los Che's incredible levels of profligacy.
At this stage of the season, though, points are points.
Quotes obtained firsthand.
