European Club Rankings: PSG Claim Silverware, Barcelona Rise, Sevilla Fall
The agony of the international break finally came to an end this weekend as Europe's top clubs recommenced battle.
Paris Saint-Germain claimed the first piece of French silverware on offer this season, dismantling rivals Monaco in Lyon, and move up in our rankings. Also on the rise are Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur.
The rankings are 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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25. AC Milan (-1)
A draw with Pescara, who are bottom of the Serie A table and on a horrid run, is not a good result for a Milan side chasing Europa League football.
24. Inter Milan (-1)
A draw away to Torino isn't bad in isolation—Sinisa Mihajlovic's men have lost just once at home in the league this season—but it does put Inter even further behind third place.
23. Hoffenheim (New!)
Hoffenheim's win at Hertha Berlin on Friday put them on 48 points, one more than Borussia Dortmund with the same number of games played. That's probably going to be enough to secure Champions League football for next season—a remarkable achievement.
22. Arsenal (Stay)
A draw against Manchester City is a good result, but dig a little deeper, and the Gunners were fortunate to avoid their eighth Premier League loss of the season. The wait to move back into the top 20 continues.
21. OGC Nice (Stay)
A 2-1 victory moved Nice back to within a point of Paris Saint-Germain in the table (albeit with a game more played). They just continue to pick up results and keep things uncomfortably close.
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20. Manchester United (-3)
Jose Mourinho's fiery post-match press conference following Manchester United's home draw with West Bromwich Albion tells you one thing: He's just as irritated by his team's form at Old Trafford as the fans are.
19. FC Porto (-1)
FC Porto nabbed a point from O Classico on Saturday evening thanks to former Benfica stalwart Maxi Pereira's second-half strike. It keeps the Liga NOS race well and truly alive.
18. Lazio (+1)
No team can boast better form over their last six games in Serie A than Lazio, who have taken 16 of a possible 18 points.
17. Roma (+3)
Edin Dzeko scored his 22nd and 23rd Serie A goals of the season this weekend as Roma beat Empoli with ease. That, coupled with Napoli's draw with Juventus, keeps them firmly wedged in second.
16. Manchester City (-1)
City's draw at The Emirates Stadium would likely have been a win had the team been able to play consistently well for 90 minutes, but they kept dipping in and out of form throughout. To be fair, Kevin De Bruyne did hit the post twice.
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15. Sevilla (-4)
Sevilla are winless in their last five fixtures, with a 0-0 draw against Sporting Gijon enough to surrender third place in the table to Atletico Madrid. Ever since Jorge Sampaoli was linked to the Barcelona job, it's all fallen apart...
14. RB Leipzig (Stay)
Leipzig snapped their rotten streak of recent form with a 4-0 win over Darmstadt. No one's getting ahead of themselves—Darmstadt are bottom of the Bundesliga—but it's a big step back in the right direction, and Yussuf Poulsen returned from injury too.
13. Liverpool (Stay)
Everton's wait for a Merseyside derby win at Anfield goes on. Not since 1999 have the Toffees tasted success, and Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi ensured the misery will endure.
12. Tottenham Hotspur (+4)
Spurs negotiated a very difficult trip to Burnley, who boast one of the best home records in the Premier League, without Harry Kane. The 2-0 win closed the gap on Chelsea in the table ever so slightly.
11. Napoli (+1)
Getting points off Juventus is a tough ask, and while Napoli weren't able to secure all three Sunday, they should be commended for grabbing one. They laid siege on Gianluigi Buffon's goal for long periods and eventually got their reward.
10. Benfica
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Last Week: 10th
Movement: None
Benfica shared the spoils with FC Porto on Saturday in O Classico, a result that suits them far more than their rivals.
They played with a slightly depleted XI, with key midfield man Ljubomir Fejsa a particularly big miss in the centre, and will be happy to have attained a point and kept the Dragons at a finger's length in the table.
The gap between the two is only a point, but Rui Vitoria's men still hold the advantage...for now.
9. Borussia Dortmund
5 of 13
Last Week: 8th
Movement: -1
Borussia Dortmund can be reasonably happy with their weekend's work on the whole. A draw at Schalke in the fearsome Revierderby is always a good result.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, predictably, was the man who netted BVB's goal, opening the scoring after a smart pass from Shinji Kagawa. But Thomas Tuchel's men couldn't hold on, conceding a late equaliser and, as a result, dropping a spot in these rankings.
8. Atletico Madrid
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Last Week: 9th
Movement: +1
Atletico Madrid won their fourth straight Liga game Saturday, beating Malaga 2-0 in Andalucia.
It was a game notable for its statistical achievements: Fernando Torres bagged two assists, playing a key part in both goals, and Jan Oblak brought up 100 Atletico games by keeping his 58th clean sheet.
Given the unfamiliar nature of Diego Simeone's XI—Diego Godin and Kevin Gameiro were among a list of absentees—the slightly reductive performance offered can be forgiven.
7. Monaco
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Last Week: 6th
Movement: -1
Monaco's 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday saw their first chance of silverware this season go up in smoke. It also sees them drop down in our rankings. Which one will Leonardo Jardim be most upset about?
The tame performance from Les Monegasques is one that will need to be shifted from the system pretty quickly. The Champions League quarter-finals are on the horizon, and Nice's Ligue 1 win means things are still ludicrously tight at the top.
6. Paris Saint-Germain
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Last Week: 7th
Movement: +1
Paris Saint-Germain claimed their first piece of silverware under Unai Emery on Saturday evening, winning the Coupe de la Ligue final 4-1 against Monaco.
It was a blistering display in which Les Parisiens combined slick ball and tempo control with rapier-like attacks, and Edinson Cavani scored an absolute beauty of a half-volley from an acute angle (before missing an open goal from five yards just a few minutes later—classic Cavani!).
Monaco may have been missing Radamel Falcao and Fabinho—two hugely important players—but this win was convincing. Has Emery worked Leonardo Jardim out?
5. Chelsea
9 of 13
Last Week: 3rd
Movement: -2
Chelsea were on the wrong end of the Premier League's major shock of the weekend, losing 2-1 to Crystal Palace on home soil in a real coupon buster.
There wasn't that much to fault in their performance. They peppered the Eagles' goal with shots and fell foul of stunning, inspired performances from Mamadou Sakho and Wayne Hennessey. Chance creation was high, and on another day, they'd have scored five.
A fourth loss for the season is in no way damaging to their title tilt—those attempting to convince you the race has been busted wide open should be ignored—but it does see them move down in the rankings.
4. Juventus
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Last Week: 5th
Movement: +1
It will have bewildered more than a few to watch Sami Khedira dancing through challenges and finishing with aplomb at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday evening. Of all the attacking talents on the pitch, few would have wagered it would be the German who produced that piece of play.
It was a goal scored early enough to allow Juventus to set up camp and defend stoutly against Napoli, and while they did concede to Marek Hamsik in the second half, the point simply keeps them ticking over nicely.
Avoiding defeat Sunday, given the context and situation at the top of Serie A, was simply all Max Allegri needed to do.
3. Barcelona
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Last Week: 4th
Movement: +1
For long periods of Sunday's contest with Granada, Barcelona looked extremely frustrated.
The individual duel of Luis Suarez vs. Guillermo Ochoa was the dominant story of the first half, and when the former finally beat the latter with a spectacular lob, Jeremie Boga levelled the scores swiftly.
But quality eventually reigned supreme, with Barca taking advantage of a red card to fire three more home. It keeps them within a reasonable distance of Real Madrid in La Liga.
2. Real Madrid
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Last Week: 2nd
Movement: None
Real Madrid continued their charge toward a first La Liga title in far too long by beating Deportivo Alaves 3-0.
It was a game perhaps notable for individual achievement, as Karim Benzema's goal meant he has now scored against every current top-tier Spanish side at least once.
These are the types of games Zinedine Zidane's men have struggled with—those where they must summon the will to beat a lower side forcibly—so the Frenchman will be relieved to get through it with a convincing scoreline despite rotating the South Americans who were on international duty out of the side.
1. Bayern Munich
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Last Week: 1st
Movement: None
Bayern Munich aren't just winning; they're absolutely destroying teams and racking up huge scorelines in the process.
They've scored 43 goals this calendar year (in all competitions), netting six of those at the weekend against Augsburg. Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick, and Thomas Muller came oh-so-close to one of his own, scoring twice and hitting the woodwork twice more.
It's a good job they're in tremendous form and 13 points clear at the top as their run of games coming up is, quite frankly, horrible: Hoffenheim and Borussia Dortmund are on the agenda before Real Madrid visit, then it's Bayer Leverkusen away, and then Madrid again.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
