European Club Power Rankings After February 9-11 Matches
As Europe's top teams prepare to renew cross-continental rivalries via the Champions League and Europa League this week, we provide a handy stock check on how each of their seasons has gone to date.
The rankings are a season-long measurement of clubs, tracking teams throughout 2017/18 and taking into account results from all competitions.
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.
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20. Bayer Leverkusen (-1)
Leverkusen lost 2-0 to Hertha Berlin at home, a result which saw them fall to fifth in the Bundesliga. It really is tight among those teams just behind Bayern Munich.
19. Lyon (-1)
Lyon's troubling patch continues, with Sunday's home loss to Rennes their third in a row in Ligue 1. It means they drop four points below Marseille in the table—and a place below them in these rankings.
18. Marseille (+2)
Marseille went goal-crazy during their midweek Coupe de France tie with Bourg en Bresse, winning 9-0; Kostas Mitroglou and Lucas Ocampos both scored hat-tricks. Their weekend result—a 2-2 draw with AS Saint-Etienne—wasn't quite so impressive, but it's better than Bayer Leverkusen or Lyon's efforts.
17. Roma (+1)
Roma haven't been great of late, so when they fell behind to Benevento early on Sunday night, the Stadio Olimpico voiced its collective concern.
The response must be applauded, though. The Giallorossi scored five, with last week's hero Cengiz Under again sparkling to the tune of two goals and one assist, and Gregoire Defrel finally scoring his first goal for the club.
16. Valencia (Stay)
Valencia beat Levante 3-1 on Sunday to stop an alarming run of losses—although their opponents of late have been in the elite tier, so perhaps it's excusable. On another day, it could have been six, had the young forwards not been quite so profligate.
15. Lazio (-2)
Three straight Serie A losses see Lazio's star fade a little. The latest was pretty convincing, too; a 4-1 defeat to Napoli in which they were completely outplayed.
14. FC Porto (+1)
It was another successful week for FC Porto, who dispatched Sporting CP 1-0 in the Taca de Portugal in midweek and then Chaves 4-0 in league action at the weekend. If they win their game in hand, they'll move five points clear at the top of the Primeira Liga.
Liverpool are about to face a team bang in form.
13. Inter Milan (+1)
For the first time this year and the first time since mid-December, Inter Milan won a game of football. Hallelujah. It took two Bologna red cards and a wondergoal from 19-year-old Yann Karamoh on his first start, but they did it.
12. Chelsea (-1)
Last week's rankings were released before Chelsea's unfathomable 4-1 loss to Watford, so their position now takes into account that result. They take on basement Premier League club West Bromwich Albion at home on Monday evening. They can't lose that one, can they?
11. Real Madrid (+1)
Are Real Madrid warming up at just the right time? That's the sort of positive spin Zinedine Zidane will rightly put on their 5-2 demolition of Real Sociedad, as his and the team's attentions now turn to a mouth-watering matchup with Paris Saint-Germain.
10. Manchester United (-2)
Manchester United's loss to Newcastle United on Sunday may have been a touch unfortunate—only some desperate, heroic defending from the Magpies denied the Red Devils a point or more—but it also wasn't without its obvious, worrying issues.
The defensive personnel is a huge concern, with Chris Smalling enduring the wrath of the fanbase this weekend, while Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho took serious flack too. The formation the manager seems wedded to isn't working—and people are losing patience.
9. Tottenham Hotspur (+1)
Tottenham's last three matches have been against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, and they've garnered seven points from a possible nine. That's phenomenal going.
It's the ideal way to warm up for what is a crucial test of their abilities in Turin this week, with Harry Kane and Co. set to take on a Juventus outfit that simply does not concede goals.
8. Liverpool (+1)
Liverpool put forward a strange performance against Southampton on Sunday. In the first half, they were thoroughly second best but went in at the break with a two-goal lead; in the second half, they were brilliant but didn't manage to score.
Overall they were good value for the three points, with main men Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah combining for both goals.
7. Atletico Madrid (Stay)
Atletico Madrid's recent La Liga form has been very strong, and their win at Malaga moved them to within seven points of first-placed Barcelona.
No one's expecting them to genuinely challenge for the title—that's still a big gap, and the Europa League latter stages could yet complicate their season—but Diego Simeone's men are now 15 points clear of fifth, which might mean they can begin to reshuffle their priorities a little.
6. Napoli (Stay)
Short clips of Napoli's stupendous football again did the rounds on social media this weekend, with one particular goal against Lazio producing collective gasps from all who saw it.
Manager Maurizio Sarri has been complaining about the Serie A fixture scheduling, per Reuters, noting his Partenopei side will play after Juventus consistently until mid-March, but the pressure of following the champions' results doesn't appear to have freaked them out so far. Six straight wins.
5. Juventus (Stay)
Juventus overcame what many had identified as a potential banana skin on Friday, beating Fiorentina 2-0 in Florence.
The performance was typically solid in the defensive phase, with the clean sheet meaning they have conceded just once in the last 16 games, while it was Federico Bernardeschi—a player Massimiliano Allegri bought from Fiorentina last summer—who opened the scoring.
His celebration was far from muted.
4. Paris Saint-Germain (Stay)
PSG continue to roll towards an inevitable Ligue 1 title. The key is that even when they don't dazzle, they generally still win. This weekend provided a case in point, with Neymar scoring the only goal of the game against Toulouse midway through the second half.
Unai Emery's XI was heavily rotated with Real Madrid on the horizon, allowing the likes of Lassana Diarra to make an immediate impact after signing in January, and the likes of Marco Verratti to rest.
3. Bayern Munich (Stay)
Bayern hauled in yet another win this weekend, triumphing 2-1 over Schalke 04, but they hardly convinced in the process. It speaks volumes that their best player was arguably goalkeeper Sven Ulreich.
Perhaps it was just a minor bump, perhaps Jupp Heynckes' absence (due to flu) had a bigger effect than many anticipated. Either way, it's three more points and a step closer to another title.
2. Barcelona (-1)
Ernesto Valverde took some calculated risks with his lineup this weekend against Getafe, resting a number of players following a midweek cup match. That meant Yerry Mina made his Barcelona debut alongside a left-back (Lucas Digne) in central defence.
The result, a 0-0 draw, means they lose a little ground in their title charge but not much, and the Mina-Digne partnership turned out to be the least of their concerns anyway.
Fatigue was clear in the midfield and forwards' performances—particularly those of Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi—as they limped to the final whistle. The rigours of playing a game every three or so days looks to be taking its toll.
With stakes high at the top of these rankings, Barca's slight downturn in form (and we mean slight) means they're knocked off top spot.
1. Manchester City (+1)
Manchester City scored pivotal goals at key times against Leicester City, netting after just three minutes in both halves. They added three more for good measure en route to a 5-1 win—four of which were plundered by the magnificent Sergio Aguero.
This win, combined with Barcelona's failure to beat Getafe at home, paves the way for them to return to the top of the rankings—a position they haven't held since December 18.
The Citizens look in good nick despite the fact they have been missing David Silva, Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane of late, winning five of their last six games in all competitions.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
