European Club Power Rankings After March 9-11 Matches
We hardly struggled for quality football to watch during the most recent gameweek, as across Europe top teams clashed, producing spectacles such as Manchester United vs. Liverpool, Inter Milan vs. Napoli and Sevilla vs. Valencia.
These 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 opponents get a boost.
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20. FC Porto (-3)
Sunday brought with it something that's become extremely rare: a domestic loss for FC Porto. The 1-0 defeat at the hands of Pacos de Ferreira spoiled their chances of lasting the Liga NOS season unbeaten and allowed Benfica to draw within two points of them at the top.
19. Monaco (+1)
Monaco have seemingly found their stride and on Friday made it four wins from their past five games by beating Strasbourg. Stevan Jovetic has scored in each of his past four outings.
18. Schalke 04 (+1)
Schalke have become masters of the clean-sheet victory of late, and their latest triumph—a 1-0 win over Mainz on Friday—keeps them in second in the Bundesliga, just ahead of rivals Borussia Dortmund.
17. Shakhtar Donetsk (+1)
Shakhtar Donetsk prepared for their visit to Rome with a comfortable 3-0 win over third-place Vorskla Poltava. With a two-goal lead in place at half-time, Paulo Fonseca was able to withdraw the likes of Bernard and Taison early.
16. Lazio (-1)
Granted, the fixture list hasn't been too kind to Lazio, but this recent run of form is worrying. A failure to beat Cagliari on Sunday matches the disappointment of conceding two away goals to Dynamo Kiev in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
15. Inter Milan (+1)
A point against Napoli is never a poor result, but manager Luciano Spalletti was still deeply unhappy with his side's attacking display on Sunday. "I've worked with this team every day, and I think there is there is simply a lack of quality," he told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia). At least Milan Skriniar is around to save the day in defence.
14. Chelsea (Stay)
Antonio Conte opted to play with a recognised No. 9 against Crystal Palace, moving Eden Hazard back into his more regular role, and the attack synced up far better than it has done of late. Will they continue in this fashion against Barcelona on Wednesday, though, or will Hazard be back up top?
13. Valencia (Stay)
Valencia have more or less secured Champions League football for next season. Their victory over Sevilla on Saturday placed an 11-point gap between the two in the table, all but sealing Los Che's position inside the top four and ensuring they will only be looking up—at Real Madrid in third—from here on.
12. Roma (Stay)
With a monumental game against Shakhtar Donetsk looming, Roma were given the Friday night fixture in Serie A and took full advantage, beating Torino 3-0. The goalscorers—Kostas Manolas, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Daniele De Rossi—were not players you would expect to see on the scoresheet, but they all count the same.
11. Tottenham Hotspur (-2)
"I am concerned," Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino said of Harry Kane to Sky Sports on Sunday. "Of course I worry about him, his ankle. We hope it is not a massive issue for him and the team. We hope as quickly as possible he can recover and be available." He's worried, Spurs fans are worried and all of England is worried that the ankle injury he suffered against Bournemouth is serious.
Without him, they overcame the Cherries, and the fact they did so having gone one down—and having lost on Wednesday to Juventus—was impressive. Still, that loss counts heavily in these stakes, and Spurs thus drop out of the top 10.
10. Napoli (-2)
Napoli fans will be starting to grimace while looking at the Serie A table, as Juventus have stolen top spot following the Partenopei's 0-0 stalemate with Inter Milan on Sunday.
Maurizio Sarri's outfit have been top of Serie A almost all season long, but in the space of a week, they might not only drop below Juve but also fall four points behind should the Bianconeri win their game in hand against Atalanta.
9. Real Madrid (+2)
Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid have faced a deserved inquest at almost every turn this season, but over the past month, they have reminded us why they are the European champions.
Entirely unfazed by the idea of tackling Paris Saint-Germain so early in the Champions League, they beat them home and away to secure passage to the quarter-finals. When the tulips come out, Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. turn up the volume.
Trophy challenges in La Liga and the Copa del Rey may have gone up in smoke fairly swiftly this season, but they must be considered a front-runner for European glory again.
8. Liverpool (-1)
Saturday saw Liverpool's wings clipped a little, as they were beaten by Manchester United to end what has been an impressive run of form.
The performance simply served to reinformed some old truths that have plagued Jurgen Klopp's Reds for a while: Trent Alexander-Arnold, while excellent, is still a work in progress; Dejan Lovren is not the answer at centre-back; and the attack can be just a little too narrow and predictable at times.
7. Manchester United (+3)
A Marcus Rashford-powered Manchester United warmed up for Sevilla's visit on Tuesday in the ideal way, defeating old rivals Liverpool 2-1 on Saturday.
It was a balanced performance, wreaking havoc on the flanks in attack and stymieing Mohamed Salah and Co. in defence. The victory lifts them above the team they beat in these rankings into a season-high seventh place.
6. Atletico Madrid (+1)
Atletico Madrid are in fine form. Since Thursday, they have beaten Lokomotiv Moscow and Celta Vigo by three goals each, making it 10 wins from their past 11 games—the blemish being a tight loss to Barcelona.
Antonio Griezmann's strong performances were predictably key to the success, and it will have pleased manager Diego Simeone to see Vitolo net his first league goal for the club.
5. Paris Saint-Germain (Stay)
Another year, another dollop of disappointment served up by PSG. Sans Neymar, they were always unlikely to overcome a two-goal deficit against Real Madrid, but the manner of the defeat just felt so regrettable.
A poor midfield performance culminated in Marco Verratti's sending off for dissent, essentially ending Les Parisiens' season in March. The Ligue 1 title is all but wrapped up, so there's basically the Coupe de la Ligue final against Monaco in April and a likely Coupe de France triumph to look forward to, and that's it.
4. Bayern Munich (Stay)
Bayern Munich's commitment to destroying Hamburg each time they play them is impressive. They can add Saturday's 6-0 scoreline to the series of similar results managed against HSV since 2010.
Robert Lewandowski netted a hat-trick to take his league tally to 23 for the season; he's waltzing to the Torjager-Kanone award that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pipped him to last season.
3. Manchester City (-1)
Manchester City suffered their fourth loss of the season on Wednesday, falling 2-1 at home to FC Basel. It could barely have mattered less in the context of their Champions League round-of-16 tie, but it does hurt them in these rankings.
It draws them level with Juventus on defeats, enabling a direct comparison between the teams and allowing the Bianconeri to just shade the battle. A gritty win at Wembley Stadium will do that for you.
2. Juventus (+1)
With four goals in three games, Paulo Dybala has hit form at the right time and is leading Juventus to a strong finish to the campaign.
His winner at Wembley on Wednesday led the Bianconeri into the Champions League quarter-finals, and it was his double that secured a victory over Udinese on Sunday.
Other great performances in other areas of the pitch contributed to a fine week—Claudio Marchisio played well against Udinese, and Giorgio Chiellini was monstrous against Spurs—but La Joya is understandably taking the plaudits.
1. Barcelona (Stay)
On paper, Barcelona's task on Saturday was simple: beat bottom-of-the-table Malaga. But given the troubles Los Boquerones have caused the league leaders in the past and the fact Lionel Messi withdrew from the matchday squad late, you could forgive Cules for worrying.
In the end, it was simple. Ernesto Valverde's men were two up inside 30 minutes, and a red card to Samu Garcia ensured any hopes of a remarkable comeback were put to bed early. Chelsea will present a far sterner challenge on Wednesday.
