European Club Rankings: Arsenal and Liverpool Fall Dramatically
What a difference a week can make in football. Just take a look at Arsenal's last seven days: two losses, a minor fan revolt, national media attention drawn to said revolt and, perhaps most importantly, a big drop in the latest edition of the European Club Rankings.
The rankings are now season-long in their measurement of clubs. Previous editions only took recent form into account (spanning four to six weeks), but this version tracks teams throughout 2016-17.
Teams that have lost the fewest games in all competitions naturally rank higher, and Champions League form and presence is used as a tiebreaker for those with similar records.
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Dropping out: AC Milan
Vincenzo Montella broke a club record for the wrong reason on Sunday: the Rossoneri's defeat to Sampdoria was their fourth straight in all competitions.
25. Inter Milan (-3)
Two losses in five days hurts your stock. First, Inter Milan exited the Coppa Italia to Lazio in midweek, then they were firmly beaten by Juventus on Sunday.
24. Villarreal (stay)
Villarreal have been drawing a little too often recently, but grinding out a 0-0 with Sevilla on Sunday represented a good result.
23. OGC Nice (-2)
Nice's surprise Ligue 1 title challenge has probably just received its final blow. A 3-0 loss to AS Monaco on Saturday left them way off the pace.
22. Real Sociedad (+3)
A come-from-behind victory against Osasuna on Sunday reaffirmed the club's resilient nature. Mikel Oyarzabal is a name you need to know.
21. Lazio (+2)
A great week's work from Lazio. Beating Inter in the Coppa Italia was excellent, and putting six past Pescara on Sunday was arguably even better.
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20. FC Porto (stay)
A pivotal victory over Sporting CP on Saturday, courtesy of a debut brace from Tiquinho and a brilliant last-gasp save from Iker Casillas, kept the heat on Benfica at the top.
19. Manchester United (stay)
A confident 3-0 victory over Leicester City on Sunday closed the gap between Manchester United and the top four to just two points. It's amazing what happens when you just let Henrikh Mkhitaryan near the pitch.
18. Liverpool (-4)
Where will the next win come from? Most Liverpool supporters thought it would arrive on Saturday given the Reds played Hull City, but they fell to a gutting 2-0 loss.
17. Manchester City (+1)
The introduction of Gabriel Jesus has been overwhelmingly positive. Three goals in two games for him, and the zip is back in Manchester City's football.
16. Tottenham Hotspur (+1)
It was a bit of a barren week in front of goal for Spurs, who netted just once in a combined 180 minutes against Sunderland and Middlesbrough, but two clean sheets and four points will have satisfied manager Mauricio Pochettino.
15. Sevilla
3 of 17
Last Week: 16th
Movement: +1
Sevilla and Villarreal battled to a draw on Sunday—a result that saw the former leapfrogged by Barcelona in La Liga.
Jorge Sampaoli's men were given a golden chance to win the game in the form of a penalty, but Sergio Asenjo saved Samir Nasri's effort to keep the score locked at 0-0.
Teams wouldn't usually move up in the rankings after this kind of result, but Sevilla do because Liverpool have fallen so far.
14. Roma
4 of 17
Last Week: 15th
Movement: +1
Roma take on Fiorentina on Tuesday evening at the Stadio Olimpico. They'll need a win to leapfrog Napoli back into second place.
They moved up without playing for the same reason Sevilla did after drawing: Liverpool's fall.
13. Atletico Madrid
5 of 17
Last Week: 13th
Movement: None
In the previous edition, we discussed Atletico Madrid's silverware chances, concluding their poor form in La Liga meant cup competitions were their only hope. Well, seven days on, and that's hanging in the balance too.
A 2-1 home defeat to Barcelona might be reversible in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, but given Los Colchoneros' away form this season, it looks like a tough ask.
Should they fail to turn that around, they'll be left with just the Champions League, as even a fit-again Fernando Torres won't be able to help Atleti bridge the gap to the top of the league table.
12. Arsenal
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Last Week: 5th
Movement: -7
It's been an eventful week for Arsenal and their fans. To be frank, there is rarely a dull one, but this one felt particularly explosive.
Deadline day passed with the club making no signings, and on the same night, Arsene Wenger's defence caved in against a powerful Watford side. Hardly the ideal preparation for Chelsea away on the Saturday, you might argue, and they were beaten by an Eden Hazard-inspired performance.
Following that, pundit Gary Neville criticised Arsenal Fan TV on television and sparked an entirely new furore, compounding a rough five days.
They plummet in this edition of the rankings, not just because of two poor performances on the bounce, but also because these latest two losses took them to six in all competitions for the season. Every team above them from here on has recorded fewer.
11. Borussia Dortmund
7 of 17
Last Week: 12th
Movement: +1
Borussia Dortmund secured a big victory on Saturday, defeating RB Leipzig 1-0 at Signal Iduna Park. It was a statement result—a reminder that while the new kids on the block are rightly drawing plaudits, BVB have them in their sights.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the only goal of the game, and what a move it was. Ousmane Dembele's blend of precision control and eye-popping dribbling in the buildup stood out before the movement and headed finish from the Gabon international finished it off. It's one of the best goals you'll see all season.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel's side capped an extremely pleasing week by announcing that Omer Toprak will join in the summer, per the Bundesliga's official site.
10. Benfica
8 of 17
Last Week: 10th
Movement: None
Benfica made predictably light work of Nacional on Sunday evening. It was first vs. 18th in the Primeira Liga, and it showed.
Jonas netted twice in the first half to ensure the second period would be a foregone conclusion, and the Eagles racked up an astonishing 72 per cent possession despite playing with a two-man midfield.
A big positive for head coach Rui Vitoria was that Andrija Zivkovic started and bagged an assist; we haven't seen enough of the 20-year-old Serbian this season.
9. RB Leipzig
9 of 17
Last Week: 8th
Movement: -1
Poor afternoons haven't come around often for RB Leipzig this season, but Saturday brought one. Their 1-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund was disappointing for many reasons but chiefly because they managed just two shots on goal.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's men are the third-highest Bundesliga scorers so far this season, netting 36 in 18 games heading into Saturday's game, but they barely threatened Roman Burki in goal. It was a performance alien to those who have become used to watching them swagger their way to victory this term.
8. Napoli
10 of 17
Last Week: 11th
Movement: +3
Napoli's 7-1 victory over Bologna on Saturday was, in many ways, unsurprising. They play some of the best attacking football in the world and, on a day when everything simply clicked for them, a scoreline like this was bound to occur.
The game will be long remembered not just for the display, but also for the fact two of the Partenopei's players netted hat-tricks—Dries Mertens and Marek Hamsik. It will have been particularly pleasing for the latter, as it was his first following a number of braces down the years.
7. Paris Saint-Germain
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Last Week: 9th
Movement: +2
The gift that is Julian Draxler keeps on giving. Paris Saint-Germain have been re-energised in 2017, and that's partly thanks to the arrival of the Germany international.
He scored twice in midweek to help PSG progress in the Couple de France, then played again againt Dijon on Saturday in a 3-1 win. Unai Emery's men are far from perfect, but they've improved markedly since the turn of the year. Draxler's presence has lifted the club.
6. Monaco
12 of 17
Last Week: 7th
Movement: +1
It was a standard week for Monaco, who scored eight goals across two games—five against Chambly in the cup, then three against Nice in Ligue 1.
The latter fixture could prove to be an extremely important one in shaping the season, as Nice have been in and around the top spot all season, but on Saturday, they were firmly shown where they belong.
Radamel Falcao scored his 13th and 14th Ligue 1 goals of the season, while Valere Germain netted one against the club with whom he spent one fruitful campaign on loan in 2015-16.
5. Juventus
13 of 17
Last Week: 6th
Movement: +1
A stunning long-range strike from Juan Cuadrado was the difference in Sunday's biggest club game: Inter Milan vs. Juventus.
The match further strengthened Juve's position at the top, and in seeing off Serie A's most in-form side over the past two months, they reset the narrative with regard to which is the most dangerous team in the league.
It's four wins from four games since manager Max Allegri switched formations.
4. Barcelona
14 of 17
Last Week: 4th
Movement: None
Barcelona have been incredibly frustrating this season, as they continue to commit to such an inconsistent approach. They moved down in the previous edition after being dominated by Real Betis, but this time around, they were brilliant, reminding everyone how deadly they can be.
A superb 2-1 victory away to Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday set them up nicely for the second leg, and on Saturday, they beat Athletic Bilbao convincingly to hop above Sevilla in La Liga.
So what's the catalyst for change? Who is the key man? Against all odds, it might just be Samuel Umtiti; Barcelona have won every game he's started since he joined in the summer.
3. Bayern Munich
15 of 17
Last Week: 2nd
Movement: -1
Carlo Ancelotti will have been a mildly relieved man come Saturday evening, as after his Bayern Munich side dropped points at home to Schalke 04, RB Leipzig lost to Borussia Dortmund and failed to take advantage of the slip.
That failure to beat the Konigsblauen does hurt them here, though, dropping from third to second after a thoroughly unconvincing display. Robert Lewandowski's early goal was cancelled out almost immediately by Naldo, and Bayern even had to rely on some desperate defending by Juan Bernat to see out the draw.
2. Chelsea
16 of 17
Last Week: 3rd
Movement: +1
Antonio Conte will be delighted with his team's efforts during the past week; Chelsea did exactly what they needed to do.
The Blues went to Anfield and played for a draw, but that's fine, as they've opened up a gap at the top of the Premier League table that's so sizeable they don't require three-point hauls from such grounds.
They then turned Arsenal over in dominant fashion on Saturday, widening the points gap between the two sides to 12. They're also nine clear of second-place Tottenham Hotspur. Conte must be thinking this Premier League lark is easy.
1. Real Madrid
17 of 17
Last Week: 1st
Movement: None
Real Madrid's game with Celta Vigo on Sunday was postponed because of weather concerns. According to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC, Vigo mayor Abel Caballero felt lives would have been at risk if the game had gone ahead after gusts had dislodged parts of the club's stadium, Balaidos, on Friday.
It left Los Blancos without a result to speak of, and also means that by the time they take to the pitch to play Osasuna on Saturday, it will have been just shy of two weeks since their last fixture. Maybe that rest will be just what Zinedine Zidane's men need, though, given a Champions League date with a rampant Napoli side is on the horizon.
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
