European Club Power Rankings After November 3-5 Matches
As we head into the final international break of 2017, it's the ideal time to do a health check on Europe's top teams.
Are Manchester City still the finest in Europe? Where does a gutting loss in London leave Real Madrid? How many of Serie A's sides feature in our top 10 this time around?
The rankings are a season-long measurement of clubs. Just like last term, they track teams throughout 2017/18, taking into account results from all competitions.
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Sides that have lost the fewest games naturally rank higher—though the strength of opposition met in a loss is considered—and both Champions League form and presence are used as tiebreakers for those with similar records. Those who gather big wins against strong opposition get a natural boost.
20. Borussia Dortmund (-3)
A month ago Dortmund were flying high, top of the Bundesliga, and putting in sumptuous performances. How on earth has everything fallen to pieces so fast?
Losing to Bayern Munich is not a big problem, but when it comes as the latest in a series of winding blows, wiping out any seasonal optimism in the process, it becomes one.
19. Liverpool (New!)
A strong week sees Liverpool vault themselves back into the rankings, replacing RB Leipzig.
Their demolition of West Ham was fun to watch, with Mohamed Salah once again lighting up the pitch. With Sadio Mane back fit and in the side, that vicious front three with Roberto Firmino reunited, they're a force to be reckoned with.
18. Arsenal (-2)
You can forgive a loss at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City. A home draw against Red Star Belgrade is a different matter.
17. Monaco (+3)
We see you, Monaco.
A 6-0 win is always impressive no matter who it's against, and the fact Les Monegasques managed it without Thomas Lemar and Radamel Falcao is impressive. Their midweek draw away to Besiktas is also an excellent result, given how hard it is to attain any points from that particular location.
16. Lyon (+3)
You'll be hard-pressed to find a more impressive week than Lyon's most recent one.
Having beaten Everton (again) 3-0 and moving to within an inch of qualifying from their Europa League group, they then beat local rivals Saint-Etienne 5-0 on their own patch. Nabil Fekir literally started a riot on the terraces.
15. Atletico Madrid (Stay)
Atletico Madrid: Still mostly allergic to goals, still kind of addicted to drawing. They stay in 15th as another week goes by and we struggle to know what to make of them.
14. Chelsea (-2)
Sorry, Chelsea fans, but regardless of the impressive 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday, there's no escaping that shambolic performances against Roma in midweek. All the weekend victory does is temper the fall.
That David Luiz was dropped from the entire matchday squad on Sunday says it all: Chelsea were a defensive horror show in the Italian capital, and Antonio Conte expects much more from his players. They gave him that against United, but in the context of this ranking, the damage was already done.
13. Real Madrid (-6)
Real Madrid, the reigning European champions, in 13th. What is going on?
Their 3-1 loss to Tottenham at Wembley last week felt so disappointing; they were never really in the game, and it was strange to see such a talented side apply no pressure off the ball and threaten so infrequently.
Zinedine Zidane is now inevitably facing questions over his future. Was he just a "right place, right time" guy, or is he more than that? Will he be given the chance to prove it?
12. Valencia (+1)
Valencia's 3-0 win over Leganes on Saturday was more difficult than the scoreline suggests, but the fact Los Che were able to concentrate and crack a defensive team for the second week running is a great sign.
After years of mismanagement and poor results, it feels strange placing this club on the cusp of the top 10, but their results this season—nine wins, three draws, no losses—mean they fully deserve it.
11. Manchester United (-3)
Rather predictably, Manchester United failed to score in an away game against one of the Premier League's top six. Jose Mourinho's record in these scenarios is becoming rather laughable.
At least this time they gave it a go, with Marcus Rashford coming close on several occasions against Chelsea, but the end result was familiar: a 1-0 loss.
10. Roma (+4)
Roma are on a five-game win streak in all competitions, and this past week they put three past Chelsea and four past Fiorentina.
They were far from perfect performances—the Chelsea win looked comprehensive, but was not without scares; the Fiorentina victory was inclusive of some horrid defending—but the Giallorossi opening up a little and finding their attacking rhythm is no bad thing.
9. Juventus (+1)
Juventus came rather close to botching this past week.
Their draw in Lisbon on Wednesday came courtesy of a late Gonzalo Higuain equaliser, and the failure to win meant they were unable to ramp up the pressure on Barcelona in Group D.
Sunday saw them take to the pitch in a glorious throwback kit, but, going into half-time 1-0 down to arguably Serie A's worst-ever team in Benevento, any sentiment was put aside until they clawed their way back ahead.
And yet they move up in the rankings? Other sides' poor performances play a part in that, but football is, at the end of the day, a results business.
8. Inter (+1)
Inter sit a point shy of Juventus in the Serie A table, but, unlike their rivals, they can still claim to be unbeaten this season. There's a certain stubbornness and resilience to the Nerazzurri, a refusal to succumb to a bad result even when not playing too well.
They had to rely on Eder to nick them a point at home to Torino on Sunday, and while that's not a great result, the minor capitulations of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Co. allow them to move up yet another spot in the rankings.
7. Tottenham (+4)
It was perhaps understandable that Tottenham struggled past Crystal Palace on Sunday, as they'd poured all of their emotion and energy into beating Real Madrid three days previous.
That result against Zinedine Zidane's men, against Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos and Co., stands historic no matter how much disarray Los Blancos are in right now. It gifts Spurs a big boost in the rankings and places them just outside the top five—a position they held a few weeks ago, only to lose two games in a week and throw it all away.
Can they keep their momentum this time?
6. Napoli (-2)
It was not a good week for Napoli.
That they pushed Manchester City all the way and produced yet another spectacular display of football will be of small comfort to manager Maurizio Sarri as they lost the game and now look good bets to drop out of the Champions League.
The follow-up result, a 0-0 draw at Chievo, was far from ideal. They've also lost first-choice left-back Faouzi Ghoulam to an ACL rupture, likely ending his season.
5. Lazio (Stay)
Lazio's match against Udinese was postponed due to the weather. The pitch was inspected prior to kick-off, and given the ball wouldn't bounce on the turf at the Olimpico, only one choice was left.
That meant the Biancocelesti couldn't build on an impressive midweek victory over OGC Nice. They join cross-city rivals Roma in having a game in hand in Serie A, giving the table an odd look.
4. Bayern Munich (+2)
It's seven played, seven won for Jupp Heynckes as his honeymoon period at Bayern Munich rolls on and on.
OK, some of the performances have felt a little incomplete, but in that stretch Die Roten have triumphed over RB Leipzig (twice) and Borussia Dortmund. Two of those three matches have taken place away from the Allianz Arena, too.
Bayern are back.
3. Barcelona (-1)
On the face of it, a draw away in Europe and a win over Sevilla to follow it up is not a poor collection of results. It's enough to keep them top of their Champions League group and well clear in La Liga.
But a failure to beat a team like Olympiakos must be noted and punished in these rankings, where the stakes are so high. Even the win over Sevilla ended up being gritty—although with improved shooting on the night the Catalan side could well have been out of sight by the 20th minute.
2. Paris Saint-Germain (+1)
PSG take advantage of Barcelona's trying week to leap into second. They won their two games last week by an aggregate score of 10-0, netting five against Anderlecht and another five versus Angers.
The pick of all the goals was Edinson Cavani's first against Angers; the move saw Kylian Mbappe sear down the wing with jaw-dropping speed, before laying the ball inside for the Uruguayan to smash home.
Midweek saw them guarantee qualification to the Champions League round of 16 and only have to avoid a disaster at the Allianz Arena in December to secure top spot in the group.
1. Manchester City (Stay)
Last week showed why Manchester City are bossing Europe right now. A 4-2 win away at Napoli was an incredible result, and they followed it up with a 3-1 victory over visiting Arsenal in the Premier League.
It's only November, but Pep Guardiola's men have surpassed the 50-goal mark for the season in all competitions, with two players (Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling) into double digits already.
It's very difficult to see where their first loss of the season comes from at this point.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
