European Club Rankings After August 10-12 Matches
Four of Europe's top five footballing nations have returned to action, be it through league or Super Cup play, with only Italy yet to offer up a meaningful dish in 2018-19.
This weekend we gorged ourselves silly on full Premier League and Ligue 1 schedules, plus German Supercup and Spanish Super Cup action too.
In accordance with it all, we've updated our European Club Rankings, listing the continent's top teams in order of estimated strength at this stage of the season.
You can read last week's pre-season rankings here.
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20. Valencia (Stay)
Valencia kick off their 2018-19 season on August 20 with a gruelling match against Atletico Madrid. Last week they signed Michy Batshuayi on loan, bolstering their front line considerably ahead of what promises to be a challenging campaign.
19. Arsenal (Stay)
There should be no rewriting of scripts or overly harsh judgments of Arsenal after Sunday's match.
It doesn't matter how good a pre-season they could have had or how well their transfer window could have gone; they weren't going to be strong enough to beat Manchester City, who appear to have somehow become even better.
In a way, Arsenal's season actually starts on Saturday when they play Chelsea.
18. Lyon (Stay)
Lyon's opener came too early for Nabil Fekir, but that didn't matter. Memphis Depay and Bertrand Traore took centre stage as Les Gones beat Amiens 2-0 to open 2018-19 with a victory.
17. AS Roma (Stay)
Roma begin their 2018-19 season on Sunday away to Torino.
16. Borussia Dortmund (Stay)
BVB still have a fair wait to get their Bundesliga campaign under way, but their first fixture at least promises to be a cracker: home to RB Leipzig on August 26.
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15. Schalke 04 (Stay)
August 25 will see Schalke meet Wolfsburg in the clubs' Bundesliga opener. They'll have to hold tight and watch the rest of Europe compete until then. It'll be tough.
14. Napoli (-2)
It's important not to take too much notice of pre-season results, but it's hard not to feel concern for Napoli right now. "We ought to be worried," Carlo Ancelotti told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia) after his side lost yet another game, this time to Wolfsburg.
A drop-off post-Maurizio Sarri was expected, but not this soon.
13. Lazio (+1)
Lazio begin their campaign on Saturday at home to Napoli. That would once have been a game to fear, but now perhaps that's not the case.
12. Chelsea (+1)
Perhaps Chelsea are acclimatising to "Sarri-ball" quicker than expected? There were certainly elements of excellent give-and-go play in their 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town.
Then again, it was Huddersfield—a team many have picked to be relegated from the Premier League this season.
Still, the Italian coach will be happy many of his players—from Antonio Rudiger right through to Willian—seemed to grasp his philosophy more obviously than against Manchester City in the Community Shield. Eden Hazard stepped off the bench and sparkled too.
11. Tottenham Hotspur (Stay)
At times it was ropey, at times it was downright worrying, but Tottenham Hotspur got the job done at St James' Park on Saturday and returned south with a win.
Jan Vertonghen's brave header just passed the goal line (it was nine millimetres over), giving them the lead, and then Dele Alli's more convincing effort re-established an advantage that had been cut by Joselu.
There were some poor overall performances (Serge Aurier, Moussa Sissoko and Harry Kane among them) but they had enough acts of quality to haul themselves over the line.
10. Manchester United (Stay)
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Like Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United's opening performance against Leicester City wasn't particularly convincing. That fans left the ground muttering about how impressive Eric Bailly, a centre-back, was paints a vivid picture.
Still, a win's a win. With all of the pressure Jose Mourinho has heaped on to himself during pre-season, these three points were sorely needed; they give the club some breathing room and ensured the campaign doesn't kick off under a cloud.
9. Inter Milan (Stay)
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Almost everyone's excited about Inter Milan this season, and this weekend we saw a glimpse of why: Lautaro Martinez, a new signing at San Siro, scored a delightful, flying volley against Atletico Madrid in his team's final tune-up match of the summer.
He and Mauro Icardi are going to form such a good partnership.
8. Liverpool (Stay)
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Liverpool were as fierce as expected against West Ham United. The terrific front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino tore the Irons to shreds, with Naby Keita shining in midfield and the defence looking solid.
About as pleasing as the forwards' hot start was the full-back contribution from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson. Both tormented their opposite numbers—the former hitting the post, the latter grabbing an assist.
There's only so much a home game against this sort of opponent can tell you, but the early signs are very good.
7. Paris Saint-Germain (-1)
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A youth-infused Paris Saint-Germain XI opened their Ligue 1 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Caen.
Colin Dagba, Stanley N'Soki, Antoine Bernede, Christopher Nkunku, Moussa Diaby and Timothy Weah—all aged 20 or under—either started or came off the bench.
It was a match that taught us little other than the fact PSG's kids, under Thomas Tuchel's tutelage, might be able to make a splash en masse. They only drop because a certain German side blew us away with their performance...
6. Bayern Munich (+1)
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Bayern Munich mean business.
Despite spending nothing on new recruits over the summer (so far), simply opting for a change in manager instead, they appear a completely revamped side—evidenced by their incredible 5-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Supercup.
Niko Kovac will hope the performance serves as a statement for what's to come, with fantastic performances in every area of the pitch and a relentlessness that spanned 90 brutal minutes.
5. Atletico Madrid (Stay)
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Atletico Madrid start the campaign with an unenviable trip to Mestalla Stadium to face Valencia on August 20.
This weekend saw them conclude their pre-season with a tight match against Inter Milan, and soon we'll see if they've done enough.
4. Real Madrid (Stay)
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Well, at least Luka Modric is staying. Had he joined Cristiano Ronaldo in leaving Real Madrid this summer, they would have been left in a pickle.
According to Marca, the Croatia international will be given a new deal and a salary raise, meaning Los Blancos fans can hang their hat on him as their new superstar.
Real Madrid start their season at home to Getafe on Sunday.
3. Juventus (Stay)
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Juventus begin their 2018-19 Scudetto defence on Saturday with a trip to Chievo. Few expect anything short of a convincing Bianconeri win.
2. Barcelona (Stay)
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Barcelona started the season with a trophy, securing the Spanish Super Cup thanks to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday.
An Ousmane Dembele cracker sealed the victory in the 78th minute. The France international lashed home from distance with what is supposed to be his weaker foot.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved a spot-kick he himself had given away with just seconds to spare, ensuring extra-time wasn't required.
1. Manchester City (Stay)
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Manchester City just haven't skipped a beat. They are so well-coached now that seemingly any of their players can take to the pitch and the performance will still be top notch.
Sunday saw them open the Premier League season with a victory at the Emirates Stadium, dealing a defeat to Unai Emery on his debut, and they were fully convincing in it too.
Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Leroy Sane will now come back into the XI and probably make them better. Look out.
