Ranking the Top 25 European Clubs After Weekend of May 2-3
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 are gearing up for the UEFA Champions League and Europa League semi-finals, so let's take stock of where the top clubs are leading into the matches. We have a pair of new entries, as two clubs with inexcusable losing streaks have dropped out.
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!
Note: Rankings consider results completed prior to May 5.
Dropouts
1 of 26
Manchester United: Three losses in a row hurt, but losing 1-0 at home to West Bromwich Albion is so bad it drops United from the top 25.
Fiorentina: Despite securing a spot in the Europa League semi-finals, Fiorentina are all at sea in the league. If United drop out due to three losses, Viola's four consecutive Serie A defeats must see them fall, too.
25. Zenit St. Petersburg
2 of 26
Last Week: 25
Differential: None
Clinging on to the very bottom of the rankings, akin to a piece of chewing gum on the bottom of your shoe, is Zenit St. Petersburg. They retain their place in the top 25, once again, due to those around them failing.
They remain six points clear at the top of the Russian Premier League and stand champions-elect, but three draws from their last four games—including one this weekend at Spartak Moscow—keeps them at the bottom of these rankings.
24. Roma
3 of 26
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Two wins to nil on the bounce for Roma see them re-enter our rankings. They're turning into something of a yo-yo club within the context of our top 25.
Both the 3-0 victory over Sassuolo and the 2-0 win over Genoa saw Alessandro Florenzi and Seydou Doumbia (finally) thriving. The former was particularly impressive across multiple positions.
23. Saint-Etienne
4 of 26
Last Week: 21
Differential: -2
Over to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"Just as it looked as if Saint-Etienne might be challenging AS Monaco for the third and final UEFA Champions League qualification spot in Ligue 1, Christophe Galtier's men suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat away at SC Bastia and are now down to fifth and level on points with Olympique de Marseille.
Five points behind Monaco with just three games left to play, Les Verts' chances of snatching third place are now complicated. Saint-Etienne need to see off OGC Nice and hope that OM beat Les Monegasques when they meet this weekend, but even then, Marcelo Bielsa's men would remain ahead of Galtier's on goal difference.
A draw would keep Monaco at least three points clear of ASSE, so the chances are that at this late stage of the season, that loss in Corsica has cost Les Verts their shot at the Champions League.
"
22. Manchester City
5 of 26
Last Week: Unranked
Differential: New!
Welcome back to the top order, Manchester City!
After falling right out of form, the Citizens have won three games in a row (not all convincingly, but three points are three points at this stage of the season) and have reclaimed second place in the Premier League.
Their 1-0 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur this weekend was an encouraging performance, with Sergio Aguero and Joe Hart shining at opposite ends of the pitch.
21. Sporting
6 of 26
Last Week: 22
Differential: +1
Sporting managed their fourth domestic win in succession, beating Nacional 2-0 thanks to another two-goal haul from in-form striker Fredy Montero.
A top-two finish is firmly beyond them—they are six points off FC Porto and nine off Benfica—but they stand a whopping 14 clear of Braga. The gap between the top and the rest in the Liga NOS is unbelievable at times.
20. Dynamo Kiev
7 of 26
Last Week: 24
Differential: +4
Dynamo Kiev followed up last week's 0-0 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk with a mightily impressive 6-0 victory over minnows Hoverla.
They sit six points clear of Dnipro and seven clear of Shakhtar as the season winds to a close, and it is now unfathomable that anyone other than Dynamo will secure the Ukrainian Premier League title this season.
19. Wolfsburg
8 of 26
Last Week: 16
Differential: -3
Wolfsburg failed to win a league match for the third week running, further jeopardising their expected second-placed finish in the Bundesliga this season.
On paper, the situation is good—the 2-2 draw with Hannover saw Bas Dost finally break his monster drought in front of goal, and in midweek, Die Wolfe beat Arminia Bielefeld to advance to the DFB-Pokal final—but in reality they're bang out of form. A win against a lower-league team doesn't save them from sliding again.
18. Napoli
9 of 26
Last Week: 18
Differential: None
Napoli lost to Empoli last week but recovered with a brilliant 3-0 victory over Milan. Gonzalo Higuain missed a penalty, so it could have been four—that's how low the famous Rossoneri have sunk in 2015.
The defeat has weakened Rafa Benitez's position in the table, with Roma and Lazio sitting as firm favourites for the second and third Champions League spots. It could take a Europa League victory to haul the Partenopei back into the big time.
17. Monaco
10 of 26
Last Week: 19
Differential: +2
Over to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"Following their 4-1 home win over Toulouse, Monaco are now well in control of the race for third place. Five points ahead of Marseille and Saint-Etienne, a win over OM at Stade Velodrome this weekend would all but confirm an impressive top-three finish.
Leonardo Jardim did not even feature on the shortlist for Coach of the Year in the UNFP Ligue 1 end of season awards, but the Portuguese will complete a remarkable turnaround if he can steer the principality outfit to a Champions league return after such a poor start to the campaign.
"
16. Borussia Monchengladbach
11 of 26
Last Week: 17
Differential: +1
Borussia Monchengladbach will have been dismayed to see Bayer Leverkusen beat Bayern Munich, but nevertheless, they must focus on their own results in the race for a Champions League spot.
Gladbach are currently third, two points clear of Leverkusen and two points shy of Wolfsburg—the team they beat last week. It's really tight, and only two teams can qualify.
15. Benfica
12 of 26
Last Week: 15
Differential: None
Another week, another win for Benfica. They keep FC Porto firmly at bay with a three-point lead at the top.
The 5-0 victory away to Gil Vicente also gave the Eagles a massive goal-difference advantage to play with over their arch-rivals. Luisao, Jonas, Lima, Maxi Pereira (two goals) all netted.
14. Paris Saint-Germain
13 of 26
Last Week: 14
Differential: None
Over to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"A 2-0 win away at FC Nantes followed a 3-1 home win over FC Metz and keeps Paris Saint-Germain three points clear at the top of Ligue 1. Laurent Blanc's men are on an impressive run of six consecutive victories in Le Championnat and need to beat EA Guingamp, Montpellier HSC and Stade de Reims if they are to ensure that Olympique Lyonnais do not pip them to the title at the last moment.
The three-point lead over OL gives PSG a cushion, meaning that a draw in one of these games will not prove fatal. However, if Les Parisiens were to lose one of those games and Les Gones pulled level on points with them, Hubert Fournier's men would lead PSG on goal difference.
The margin for error remains small, despite the three-point advantage.
"
13. Sevilla
14 of 26
Last Week: 10
Differential: -3
Sevilla lost their impressive unbeaten streak at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan this weekend, losing 3-2 to Real Madrid in a tough, tight encounter.
Carlos Bacca and Vicente Iborra scored the goals to cap an excellent team performance, but they fell to the magisterial brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick.
12. FC Porto
15 of 26
Last Week: 12
Differential: None
With three games to go, FC Porto are boiling over with frustration. They keep winning, but Benfica aren't dropping points.
The Dragons are unlikely to overcome the minus-six swing in goal difference, so they need Benfica to drop points in two of their last three games—in addition to winning all three of their own—if they are to claim the Liga NOS title.
11. Bayer Leverkusen
16 of 26
Last Week: 13
Differential: +2
So what if it was a "reserve" Bayern Munich side? Bayer Leverkusen deserve immense credit for achieving a vital 2-0 victory over the Bundesliga champions.
Goals from Hakan Calhanoglu and wonderkid Julian Brandt sealed the win and kept Roger Schmidt's men firmly in the chase for third place in the league. They're two off Borussia Monchengladbach and four off Wolfsburg.
10. Lyon
17 of 26
Last Week: 11
Differential: +1
Over to B/R's Jonathan Johnson for the Ligue 1 lowdown:
"A 2-0 home win over Evian Thonon Gaillard, despite a below-par performance, keeps Lyon in the hunt for the Ligue 1 title. With games against Stade Malherbe Caen, Girondins de Bordeaux and Stade Rennais coming up, though, there are opportunities for Hubert Fournier's men to drop points. They cannot afford to.
Even three wins from their final three games might not be enough, assuming PSG win their remaining trio of matches, while a draw in one could also prove fatal for OL.
"
9. Lazio
18 of 26
Last Week: 9
Differential: None
Lazio's draw with Atalanta this weekend allowed Roma to leapfrog them back into second place in the Serie A table. With four games to play, the Biancocelesti are one point behind their fierce inner-city rivals.
The 4-0 destruction of Parma midweek is par for the current course, with the 20th-placed side relegated and embroiled in financial issues no one would wish upon their own club.
8. Valencia
19 of 26
Last Week: 8
Differential: None
Valencia could only match Atletico Madrid's tally of four points from two games, meaning they remain in fourth place in the Liga table.
A 3-1 victory over Eibar was impressive but also expected, given the spending gap between the two sides, and the draw against Rayo Vallecano saw Los Che funk the chance to catch Atleti and close the gap to just two points.
7. Atletico Madrid
20 of 26
Last Week: 7
Differential: None
Atletico Madrid picked up a win and a draw in two games last week but can rightly feel aggrieved to have not picked up all six points. The tie with Athletic Bilbao saw two goals wrongly disallowed by the referee that would have lifted Los Colchoneros to victory.
The 1-0 win over Villarreal poured more misery over The Yellow Submarine, who are now without a win in nine matches. But the victory maintained the four-point gap over fourth-placed Valencia.
6. Bayern Munich
21 of 26
Last Week: 3
Differential: -3
Bayern Munich likely busted millions of betting coupons this week as they went down meekly to Bayer Leverkusen. It's a game that reinforces the punter's timeless fear of teams with nothing to play for.
Pep Guardiola's men are top dogs in the Bundesliga and gearing up for a Champions League semi-final with Barcelona. Injuries have taken their toll, and this game, frankly, was a nothing encounter for Die Roten.
Still, a 2-0 loss is a 2-0 loss, and Bayern move down. Midweek, they lost to Borussia Dortmund on penalties in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals.
5. Chelsea
22 of 26
Last Week: 5
Differential: None
Chelsea are officially Premier League champions, and they've done it with three games to spare. It's an impressive feat, and they are worthy winners, but their performance against Crystal Palace on Sunday was underwhelming.
Eden Hazard won a contentious penalty and converted it on the rebound for the only goal of the game, while Palace enjoyed long spells in the final third and should have had a penalty themselves for a John Terry handball.
4. Juventus
23 of 26
Last Week: 6
Differential: +2
Juventus picked up two wins inside a week and officially secured the Scudetto four games before the end of the Serie A season. What an achievement.
They defeated Fiorentina 3-2 in midweek and penned their name in the record books for a fourth successive time with a 1-0 victory away to Sampdoria. As B/R's Adam Digby writes, Arturo Vidal was the "perfect" player to score the goal that sealed the trophy.
3. Arsenal
24 of 26
Last Week: 4
Differential: +1
Arsenal wiped the floor with Hull City on Monday night, firing three past a beleaguered Steve Harper in the first half alone. The Tigers bit back and nabbed a consolation strike, but it was never going to be enough.
The Gunners also welcomed back Jack Wilshere from a long injury lay-off. He's been fit for a few weeks, but this team's been clicking so impressively, the Englishman has failed to find a way in.
2. Real Madrid
25 of 26
Last Week: 2
Differential: None
Real Madrid became the first (and likely only) side this season to beat Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. The hard-fought 3-2 victory followed a 3-0 triumph over Almeria midweek, keeping the pressure on Barcelona at the top.
Impressively, they've kept up a head of steam and continued to score goals despite losing star striker Karim Benzema to injury. Javier Hernandez has been more than serviceable when given a chance.
1. Barcelona
26 of 26
Last Week: 1
Differential: None
In two games last week, Barcelona ensured that if Real Madrid are going to beat them to this year's Liga title, it sure as hell won't be on goal difference.
They scored a remarkable 14 goals over two games, beating Getafe 6-0 and Cordoba 8-0 to cement their superiority. The lead at the top is just two points, but they now lead Los Blancos by 13 goals—an unassailable number, given there's only three games left.
