European Club Power Rankings After January 12-14 Matches
Just as we thought we were getting all of Europe's top five leagues back in action, Serie A took a belated winter break having played through Christmas.
It's created a few kinks in our European Club Rankings this week, as teams have had to move up or down a spot despite not necessarily playing. Next week—when everyone's back—can't come soon enough.
The rankings are a season-long measurement of clubs, tracking teams throughout 2017/18 and 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 UEFA Champions League form and presence are used as tiebreakers for those with similar records. Teams that gather big wins against strong opposition get a boost.
20. Schalke 04 (-1)
It wasn't the best start to the Ruckrunde for Schalke. A 3-1 loss to RB Leipzig sees them slip in the Bundesliga table, and it could—and possibly should—have been by a bigger margin.
19. AS Monaco (New!)
Taking Arsenal's spot in the top 20 is Monaco, who failed to win—but at least they didn't lose. (We were short for options this week.)
18. Lyon (-2)
Lyon squandered the chance to move ahead of Monaco this weekend, drawing with Angers 1-1. That will happen when your team's full of spring chickens.
17. FC Porto (+1)
FC Porto face Estoril on Monday evening. Given the latter are bottom of the league with a goal difference of minus-21, that should* be a win.
*This is football; nothing is a given.
16. AS Roma (+1)
With Serie A on a short post-Christmas break, Roma won't be in action until Sunday when they face Inter Milan at the San Siro.
15. Valencia (Stay)
What a difference Goncalo Guedes makes.
Having returned to full fitness, the Portuguese wide forward is powering Valencia to victory. A goal and an assist against Deportivo La Coruna keeps Los Che on their mini-roll.
14. Lazio (Stay)
With Serie A on a short post-Christmas break, Lazio won't be in action until Sunday when they face Chievo at home.
13. Inter Milan (Stay)
With Serie A on a short post-Christmas break, Inter won't be in action until Sunday when they face Roma at home.
12. Chelsea (-1)
Where have Chelsea's goals gone?
Three straight 0-0 draws—against Norwich, Arsenal and Leicester City—have led to a stall in Premier League momentum and an unwanted midweek FA Cup replay.
You would think with the talents of Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata, Willian and Pedro, they could conjure one in 270 minutes, huh?
11. Tottenham Hotspur (+1)
Saturday's demolition of Everton raised a few eyebrows. Spurs may have shown themselves well-capable of punishing lacklustre defences to the tune of four or five goals, but against an organised unit such as Sam Allardyce's?
Harry Kane scored twice, but the star of the show was Heung-Min Son, who scored in his fifth consecutive home game, assisted and struck the woodwork. He loves playing at Wembley Stadium.
10. Real Madrid (-3)
Real Madrid's season continues to tank, with this weekend's loss to Villarreal forcing a public acceptance the La Liga title is long gone.
The performance wasn't that bad, but the lack of confidence haunting the team played a part in their inability to finish off chances. Cristiano Ronaldo took a whopping 11 shots but failed to find a way past Sergio Asenjo with any of them.
9. Manchester United (+1)
United host Stoke City on Monday evening at Old Trafford, completing the weekend's Premier League fixture slate. They move up because Real Madrid have to drop so far.
8. Atletico Madrid (+2)
At least one half of Madrid is enjoying its football.
Atletico feel like they have turned a corner of sorts, with January additions Diego Costa and Vitolo adding some much-needed energy to the group and revitalising them to an extent.
Yet to concede this year and with 10 goals yielded from four games, Diego Simeone's men are in a good spot.
7. Liverpool (+2)
Liverpool put on a show on Sunday and in the process ended Manchester City's long unbeaten Premier League run. The final scoreline of 4-3 didn't tell the whole story, as the Reds were 4-1 up and cruising until a late flurry.
This was their first match since Philippe Coutinho's exit and had the potential to go very wrong—likely sparking mass concern and hysteria had they lost—but the performance of the midfield trio (particularly Coutinho's replacement, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain) will quell many concerns.
6. Napoli (Stay)
With Serie A on a mini post-Christmas break, Napoli won't be in action until Sunday when they face Atalanta on the road.
5. Juventus (-1)
With Serie A on a mini post-Christmas break, Juventus won't be in action until January 22 when they face Genoa at home.
4. Bayern Munich (+1)
Bayern were handed a tough test to kick off the Ruckrunde on Friday: facing goal-happy Bayer Leverkusen away from home.
Heiko Herrlich's men are an exciting watch, boasting a wonderful array of attacking talents, and they came into the match unbeaten at home this season.
But Bayern are Bayern. They rise to these challenges and overcome them. Bayern downed Leverkusen 3-1, with Jupp Heynckes beginning 2018 in the best possible way.
3. Paris Saint-Germain (Stay)
PSG kept things ticking along nicely in Ligue 1 with a 1-0 win at Nantes. Angel Di Maria's open-goal miss from close range will rank highly among the worst you'll see, but it mattered not, as he scored the goal that brought home three points.
This, combined with Monaco and Lyon's draws, pulls them 11 points clear at the top of the table, but it isn't enough to usurp Manchester City in second.
2. Manchester City (Stay)
There will be no "Invincibles" season for Manchester City; they incurred their first Premier League loss of the campaign on Sunday at the hands of Liverpool.
A whirlwind game provided seven goals—most of which were either sublime or the result of heinous mistakes—with City on the wrong end of a 4-3 scoreline.
The result won't concern Pep Guardiola—at worst, Manchester United can close the gap to the top to 12 points on Monday—but perhaps the iffy performance in the face of a genuine high press will. What if others can force similar errors?
1. Barcelona (Stay)
A trip to Anoeta to face Real Sociedad is one of the few dates in the calendar Barcelona don't relish. Their record there is dreadful, and while there's no "curse" in place, it is spooky how often they falter there.
Sunday's visit was in keeping with Barca's season so far, though: a 4-2 win inclusive of some Lionel Messi magic and a Luis Suarez brace. The victory, in conjunction with City's loss, means the Blaugrana are now the only unbeaten side remaining in Europe's top five leagues (when considering league action).
All statistics via WhoScored.com
