European Club Rankings: Good News for Real Madrid; Bad News for Barcelona
Welcome to the latest edition of the European Club Rankings, which is returning to written format for 2017. You can watch the video version here.
The top 20 has become a top 25 as B/R seeks to add more context to what's happening on the continent, and with the Bundesliga on a winter break, that task was rather difficult.
Fortunately for football fans, the English and Portuguese leagues went into overdrive over the festive period, giving us enough action to sate our appetites in place of our regular Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig doses.
The rankings are now season-long in their measurement of clubs. Previous editions of the European Club Rankings only took recent form into account (spanning four to six weeks), but this edition tracks teams throughout 2016-17.
Teams that have lost the fewest games in all competitions naturally rank higher, and UEFA Champions League form and presence is used as a tiebreaker for those with similar records.
25-21
1 of 17
25. Sporting CP
Bas Dost struck twice in 17 minutes to give Sporting CP victory over Feirense on Sunday. They're still fourth in Liga NOS, though.
24. Hertha Berlin
Hertha Berlin are on their winter break and return to action on January 22 against Bayer Leverkusen.
23. FC Porto
FC Porto had a rough festive period, drawing two games and losing one. They managed more red cards (two) than goals (one).
22. Lazio
Lazio shot lowly Crotone down in the 90th minute on Sunday, with Ciro Immobile firing his side to three points. After accruing 22 shots and 68 per cent possession, you'd say they deserved it.
21. AC Milan
AC Milan ground out a tense 1-0 victory over Cagliari on Sunday. Carlos Bacca played pretty badly but then scored the winner in the 88th minute. Funny how football works, isn't it?
20-16
2 of 17
20. Nice (-2)
They might be top of Ligue 1, but their cup form is weighing them down heavily in these rankings. Nice have lost seven games this season, but only one of those defeats has been in the league.
19. Tottenham Hotspur (new)
Tottenham Hotspur are in the midst of a remarkable run of form, and it's enough to lift them back into the top 20. The victory over Chelsea on Wednesday was season-changing.
18. Manchester United (+2)
Jose Mourinho's team is on its best winning streak (eight) since the Portuguese took the reins at Old Trafford in the summer. A 4-0 win over Reading on Saturday confirmed their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
17. Sevilla (-4)
Sevilla were torn apart by Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey in midweek, and although they responded with a victory over Real Sociedad, they were dominated in that game for long periods. What's going on?
16. Napoli (+3)
Napoli rescued a victory against Sampdoria courtesy of a last-gasp debut goal from Lorenzo Tonelli on Saturday. Ivan Strinic was the pick of the bunch, filling in for Faouzi Ghoulam well at left-back.
15. Borussia Dortmund
3 of 17
Last Week: 15th
Movement: None
Borussia Dortmund are on their winter break and return to action on January 21 against Werder Bremen.
14. Roma
4 of 17
Last Week: 17th
Movement: +3
In a week that's pretty barren with regard to big movements in the rankings, Roma's jump from 17th to 14th looks like a veritable leap.
They haven't exactly set the world alight this season but sit just four points off Juventus in Serie A, and against Genoa on Sunday, they showcased how their snappy midfield sets the tone for all that they do. Radja Nainggolan and Co. won almost every 50/50, and if the shooting had been just a little less wild, the 1-0 scoreline would have been more comfortable.
13. Manchester City
5 of 17
Last Week: 12th
Movement: -1
Manchester City's loss to Liverpool on New Year's Eve was alarming for multiple reasons, but one stuck out more than most: For the first time in a long time—perhaps ever—manager Pep Guardiola's attacking game plan looked aimless and absent of thought.
Fortunately, a convincing 5-0 victory over West Ham United on Friday night—in which the Citizens rediscovered their free-flowing, irresistible best—has half-banished memories of Anfield and eased concerns. They looked as good as they did when they were in the midst of a 10-game win streak at the start of the season.
12. Paris Saint-Germain
6 of 17
Last Week: 13th
Movement: +1
"New year, new you." That's the saying, and Unai Emery will be hoping it's particularly applicable for his Paris Saint-Germain side in 2017.
They started the year with a remarkable 7-0 victory over Bastia on Saturday, and they brought new signing Julian Draxler off the bench to net the final goal. Christopher Nkunku also scored, an act that rubber-stamped PSG's continued effort to integrate youth-team graduates into the side.
11. Monaco
7 of 17
Last Week: 12th
Movement: +1
Leonardo Jardim will be pleased with his work on Friday, as he was able to rotate his Monaco side heavily for a Coupe de France tie with Ajaccio and still emerge the victor.
Morgan De Sanctis, Abdou Diallo, Boschilia and Kylian Mbappe all came into the starting XI, and although it was familiar faces Radamel Falcao and Valere Germain who made the difference on the scoresheet, it represents great squad use by the manager.
10. Benfica
8 of 17
Last Week: 10th
Movement: None
Benfica were the only top Portuguese club to consistently claim victories over the festive period; where Sporting CP and FC Porto slipped at least once, Rui Vitoria's men plundered seven goals and kept three consecutive clean sheets.
The most pleasing thing for Benfica is that they've welcomed Jonas back after a long injury absence, and he's immediately returned to the scoring trail. He made his first start since August against Vitoria de Guimaraes on Saturday and managed a goal and an assist in the first half.
9. Atletico Madrid
9 of 17
Last Week: 9th
Movement: None
Atletico Madrid haven't looked too sturdy all season long, and even over the past week, in which they earned two 2-0 victories over Las Palmas and Eibar, they wobbled at the knees at times.
One thing that has improved is Antoine Griezmann's ability to score away from home, as he netted in both fixtures to take his road goals tally for the season to five. That's still not good enough—it means he only scored three outside the Vicente Calderon during the first half of the season in all competitions—but it's a start.
8. RB Leipzig
10 of 17
Last Week: 8th
Movement: None
RB Leipzig are on their winter break and return to action on January 21 against Eintracht Frankfurt.
7. Arsenal
11 of 17
Last Week: 7th
Movement: None
Arsenal's ability to dig themselves out of a hole is bordering on heroic—particularly when it comes to a certain French striker with a penchant for late action.
Olivier Giroud is bailing the Gunners out of almost every match, with his goals against Bournemouth and Preston North End rescuing a draw and a win respectively. Arsenal aren't playing well, but they're finding the answers late on to keep themselves afloat.
Giroud has four goals and two assists in his last four games in all competitions. You can't fault that.
6. Barcelona
12 of 17
Last Week: 5th
Movement: -1
Barcelona have endured a wretched start to 2017. Granted, there have been some officiating issues mixed in with that, but they don’t look themselves and things are beginning to boil over—Sunday night saw a significantly increased number of fans call for manager Luis Enrique’s head via Twitter.
The Copa del Rey loss to nine-man Athletic Bilbao on Thursday is a salvageable situation, as there’s a second leg to come. The 1-1 draw earned at Villarreal on Sunday came courtesy of a moment of magic from Lionel Messi in the last minute, with the Argentinian planting a beautiful free-kick as far into the corner of the net as possible.
The Blaugrana have played 28 matches in all competitions this season and have failed to win 10 of them. A 65 per cent win rate is not something Cules are used to.
5. Liverpool
13 of 17
Last Week: 5th
Movement: None
Jurgen Klopp's decision to field Liverpool's youngest-ever starting XI against Plymouth Argyle on Sunday backfired, as they couldn't break them down and must travel hundreds of miles south for a replay—and the game will slot in just ahead of the Premier League fixture against Chelsea on January 31.
It's been a pretty frustrating week for the German, as while the victory over Manchester City on New Year's Eve was fantastic, the draw with Sunderland that followed wasn't.
4. Chelsea
14 of 17
Last Week: 3rd
Movement: -1
Chelsea's loss to Tottenham Hotspur ensured they dropped down a spot in the rankings, but the result was sandwiched between two victories in which they scored four goals in each. It's not all bad for the Blues.
Antonio Conte might be a little concerned that Spurs matched his side one vs. one across the pitch, switching formations to mirror the Italian's system, and came out the convincing victor. Then again, few—if any—other Premier League teams have the resources and flexibility to do this, so perhaps it's more of a bump in the road than a long-term problem.
3. Juventus
15 of 17
Last Week: 6th
Movement: +3
Juventus’ convincing 3-0 victory over Bologna on Sunday made it 26 consecutive home victories for them in Serie A—a new Serie A record.
Gonzalo Higuain bagged two lovely goals to take his league tally to 12 in 13 starts, meaning he’s finding the back of the net an average of every 100 minutes or so. His opener against the Rossoblu was a beautiful, controlled volley that he powered through goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.
Having taken the lead inside the first 10 minutes, Juve were able to counter at speed for the rest of the game and produced some wonderfully slick attacks.
2. Bayern Munich
16 of 17
Last Week: 2nd
Movement: None
Bayern Munich are on their winter break and return to action on January 20 against Freiburg. The match will kickstart the Ruckrunde (the second half of the Bundesliga season).
1. Real Madrid
17 of 17
Last Week: 1st
Movement: None
When you compare Real Madrid’s first-week feats of 2017 to Barcelona's, it makes them glow even more. Where their rivals struggled and failed to win both games they played, Los Blancos dispensed with two opponents easily.
Beating Sevilla 3-0 is some feat—even if they were a shadow of their usual selves—and the 5-0 win over Granada on Saturday was relentless. Manager Zinedine Zidane was able to display the club’s great depth, changing his front three completely from one game to the next and still plundering eight combined goals.
Real Madrid remain unbeaten this season, their run of results formidable.
All statistics per WhoScored.com.
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