European Club Rankings: Chelsea Rise, PSG Fall, New No. 1 Is Crowned Again
Double gameweeks in the Premier League and La Liga, Coupe de France semi-final action and, of course, a full slate of weekend action across Europe gave us a tremendous amount of football to sink our teeth into.
Titles were sealed, fierce derbies were won, and as always, at least one of our top-ranked teams dropped points where you wouldn't expect them to. It makes for a busy, heavily changed set of European Club Rankings.
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.
25-21
1 of 13
25. Villarreal (New!)
A good spell of form has enhanced Villarreal's chances of finishing fifth. Their victory over Atletico Madrid in midweek was a very impressive, 90-minute lesson in how to deal with Diego Simeone's men.
24. Atalanta (Stay)
Outplayed Juventus for long periods on Friday evening and stole a deserved equaliser late on to make it 2-2. There's a five-point gap between Atalanta, who sit in the final Europa League qualifying spot, and Milan now.
23. Arsenal (-2)
Every two weeks, a new nadir is reached. Losing the north London derby guaranteed Tottenham will finish above them this season.
22. Hoffenheim (+1)
A 1-0 victory earned in the 89th minute over Frankfurt on Sunday confirmed Champions League football next season as a certainty.
21. OGC Nice (+1)
OGC Nice's win over Paris Saint-Germain was, quietly, arguably the biggest result of the weekend. It could be the hiccup that AS Monaco have been waiting for to see out this title race.
20-16
2 of 13
20. FC Porto (Stay)
Beat Chaves 2-0 despite having a man sent off. January signing Tiquinho Soares has 12 goals from 12 starts in Liga NOS.
19. Manchester City (-2)
A draw at Middlesbrough is difficult to stomach for City fans. Sure, David Silva (the team's best player this season) was missing, but few expected this.
18. Liverpool (Stay)
Liverpool play Watford later on Monday evening. A win could be huge in shaping how this season's top-four fight shapes out.
17. Manchester United (-2)
Draws, draws and more draws. A 0-0 in the Manchester derby, at the Etihad Stadium, after being reduced to 10 men, is fine; but the 1-1 with Swansea City only served to drudge up the simmering irritation fans have had all season for the home results.
16. Roma (Stay)
Roma lost the Derby della Capitale on Sunday and are fortunate not to move down. United and City's failure to win is a key part of that, as is Liverpool's later fixture.
15-11
3 of 13
15. Lazio (+4)
Lazio may not be in with a shot of qualifying for the Champions League, but they've had a good season. Under Simone Inzaghi, they've controlled games well, they have a Coppa Italia final to look forward to, and they beat Rome 3-1 in the Derby della Capitale this weekend.
14. Sevilla (Stay)
Slump over? Ten points from a possible 12 in La Liga has seen Sevilla recover and begin to distance themselves from fifth place again. They have a game in hand on Villarreal; if they win it, they'll go eight clear of them.
13. RB Leipzig (Stay)
A second straight draw, but it doesn't matter. One more win out of their last three games will secure second place in the Bundesliga—a stunning achievement.
12. Benfica (-1)
Unfortunate to move down having beaten Estoril, but the reality is that the teams around them played important, impactful games.
11. Tottenham Hotspur (+1)
Victory over Arsenal ensured that, for the first time in 22 years, Spurs will finish above their bitter rivals in the Premier League table. It also opened up a sizeable gap ahead of third.
10. Napoli
4 of 13
Last Week: 10th
Movement: Stay
Napoli produced a fine result on Sunday, beating Inter Milan 1-0 at the San Siro to close the gap on Roma in second place.
The crowd were treated to a whopping 30 shots, but only seven found the target. Inter's slightly limp performance was symptomatic of their recent form: They haven't won a game since March 12 and have slipped away alarmingly in the table.
But for Napoli, it's another win and another three-point haul, taking them to 74. They need eight to equal last season's total (82) and nine to beat it—that's all they're playing for now.
9. Paris Saint-Germain
5 of 13
Last Week: 7th
Movement: -2
We've known for weeks that at some point, in April or May, either Paris Saint-Germain or Monaco would blink in the Ligue 1 title race. Sunday brought that moment.
All the elation of reaching the Coupe de France final days before evaporated as PSG fell to OGC Nice. The players, panicked and frustrated, acted out: Edinson Cavani shoved Lucien Favre, Blaise Matuidi bodied Mario Balotelli for doing stepovers, and Angel Di Maria produced a horror tackle that saw him sent off.
PSG will likely end the season with two domestic cup wins, but in the French capital, that does not constitute success.
8. Borussia Dortmund
6 of 13
Last Week: 9th
Movement: +1
Borussia Dortmund have a fight on their hands to secure automatic Champions League football for next season. Their draw at the weekend, combined with Hoffenheim's late victory, keeps them in fourth place (the qualifying spot).
But midweek brought remarkable cup success, as Thomas Tuchel and Co. defeated Bayern Munich 3-2 at the Allianz Arena in the DFB-Pokal semi-final. It gives these young stars a chance to win silverware at season's end, and given the final is against Eintracht Frankfurt, they'll be favoured to do so.
7. Bayern Munich
7 of 13
Last Week: 7th
Movement: -2
This is the lowest Bayern Munich have been in the European Club Rankings all season. It's all sort of unravelled at the wrong time.
Midweek saw them lose to Borussia Dortmund at home in the DFB-Pokal semi-final, meaning the only major piece of silverware headed to the Allianz Arena this term is the Bundesliga title. They secured that with a thumping 6-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg at the weekend, but that feels like the minimum expectation nowadays.
6. Atletico Madrid
8 of 13
Last Week: 6th
Movement: None
Atletico Madrid smashed Las Palmas 6-2 at the weekend, returning to the sort of performance they were putting in pre-Christmas. By the 20th minute, it was 3-0 and the end result never in doubt.
But days before, they were turned over at home by a resolute Villarreal side. Manager Fran Escriba relied a little on standout goalkeeper Andres Fernandez but also played the game perfectly, staying compact before bringing Cedric Bakambu on to stretch the pitch and break the game.
5. Chelsea
9 of 13
Last Week: 8th
Movement: +3
Chelsea have returned to their former, imperious selves; they're winning games with an unerring ease and dismissing opponents at will.
Following their FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham, they've beaten Southampton 4-2 and Everton 3-0. The latter result was incredibly impressive as it was at Goodison Park—a venue few away teams enjoy success at—and Romelu Lukaku was kept quiet (just about).
The Premier League title is in sight, and an FA Cup final bout with Arsenal is set. Times are good for Chelsea right now.
4. Barcelona
10 of 13
Last Week: 4th
Movement: None
You can't really fault what Barcelona have done since being knocked out of the Champions League by Juventus: They've won a Clasico at the Bernabeu, put seven past Osasuna and beaten neighbours Espanyol 3-0 in a derby.
It's 13 goals in three games, and if that's the sort of form the Blaugrana will produce in every game now they have just one focus remaining for the season, Real Madrid might well be in trouble. The problem is that Barca have flashed this sort of form before and fallen flat soon after.
3. Monaco
11 of 13
Last Week: 3rd
Movement: None
Leonardo Jardim made a big call in midweek: He essentially threw the Coupe de France, giving up on it as a competition, as he felt the need to rest his players ahead of bigger, more important games.
The result was a team consisting of kids few have ever heard of losing 5-0 to a full-strength Paris Saint-Germain side. That loss counts for little in these rankings as it really wasn't Monaco who played.
The first-teamers came back for the weekend clash with Toulouse and won 3-1; that victory, in conjunction with PSG's loss to OGC Nice, sharpens the image of the Ligue finish line ahead.
2. Juventus
12 of 13
Last Week: 1st
Movement: -1
Juventus' stay atop the European Club Rankings lasted precisely one week.
Having clambered to the summit on the back of a brilliant two-legged display against Barcelona and a thumping 4-0 win over Genoa, they slipped up immediately, only mustering a draw with Atalanta.
There's no shame in only claiming a point in Bergamo, but the nature of the performance disappointed: The Old Lady struggled for long periods, were outplayed in the first half and conceded a late equaliser in the most unlike-Juventus fashion.
1. Real Madrid
13 of 13
Last Week: 2nd
Movement: +1
Real Madrid's Clasico loss was a painful one, but they've wasted no time in righting the ship and getting back on track. They've lost the joint-fewest games of any European side this term, giving them undoubted season-long pedigree, and have scored eight goals in their last two games, taking their frustrations out on poor, powerless victims.
The six plundered against Deportivo La Coruna sent out a message, then they squeaked past Valencia 2-1 at the weekend thanks to yet more Marcelo brilliance. Their position in La Liga remains the same: Win the game in hand (against Celta Vigo) and they go top of the pile by three.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
