European Club Rankings After December 1-2 Matches
With the UEFA Champions League group stage nearing its conclusion and Europe's leagues in full swing, the general order of our top teams feels like it's taking shape.
This weekend's football was headlined by the Premier League's derby day, where Liverpool and Arsenal overcame their bitter rivals, but crucial games took place all over the continent.
All of this plays a prominent role in this week's European Club Rankings, a list of the continent's top teams in order of form and performance at this stage of the season.
You can read the previous set of rankings here.
20-16
1 of 12
20. Real Madrid (Stay)
Los Blancos beat Roma and Valencia last week—two legitimately strong opponents—qualified for the Champions League round of 16 and moved up into fifth in La Liga.
This is usually the part where we'd say things are looking up for the reigning European champions, but their form has been so volatile this term we're not going to be tricked into making any more statements or projections based on the week's work.
19. Eintracht Frankfurt (-3)
This weekend the Frankfurt machine hit a slight blip. After destroying Marseille 4-0 in midweek many will have expected them to deal with Wolfsburg with ease—particularly since they were hosts.
But a feisty matchup that contained 10 yellow cards ended with The Eagles on the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline. It's a match they shouldn't have lost, and it sends them plummeting to 19th.
18. FC Porto (+1)
Porto have strolled their Champions League group, collecting 13 points from five games. They've balanced that well with a strong Liga NOS campaign, and they top every group they're involved in.
17. Ajax (+1)
Last Tuesday saw Ajax seal passage to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time since 2006 thanks to a 2-0 victory over AEK Athens.
Five days later they thrashed ADO Den Haag 5-1, and in doing so moved to within two points of PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Eredivisie.
16. Lyon (+1)
On their day Lyon are fantastic, the problem is you just never know which Lyon are going to turn up. They've proved more than a match for Manchester City on two occasions this term but have struggled to find that level consistently in Ligue 1.
This weekend's 2-2 draw with Lille isn't a poor result—Les Dogues are one France's form teams—but you know they're capable of more.
15-11
2 of 12
15. Manchester United (-1)
It was another week of struggles for Manchester United despite collecting a win and a draw. On the surface that looks fine, but they played Young Boys and Southampton and did not convince against either.
The latter performance against Saints was particularly concerning, as they went 2-0 down to a side in the relegation zone before sparking into life. That there were more calls for Jose Mourinho's sacking from fans off the back of this is hardly surprised.
14. Tottenham Hotspur (-1)
A mixed week for Spurs, who must decide which emotion they feel more strongly: Elation at beating Inter Milan and giving themselves a chance of salvaging their Champions league campaign, or bitter disappointment at losing the north London derby to Arsenal 4-2.
13. Sevilla (-1)
Sevilla blew a chance to move into the top 10 this week. A loss to Standard Liege midweek was followed by a draw with Deportivo Alaves, snapping a nice three-game win streak and ending their short stay at the top of La Liga.
12. Bayern Munich (+3)
A dominant performance from Bayern midweek saw them crush Benfica 5-1, Arjen Robben stealing the limelight by basically scoring the same goal twice. Things weren't as comfortable in the Bundesliga at the weekend, but they got the job done against Werder Bremen 2-1.
11. Inter Milan (Stay)
Technically speaking, Inter surrendered control over their Champions League fate in losing to Spurs; with a worse head-to-head record than the London club, it's possible even a win over PSV on the final matchday won't see them through (should Spurs beat Barcelona).
Sunday saw them head to the capital and grab a 2-2 draw with Roma thanks to goals from Keita Balde, who is growing into this side, and, of course, Mauro Icardi.
10. Atletico Madrid (-1)
3 of 12
The 2-0 win over Monaco's youthful outfit was a game that went largely as expected, Diego Simeone's men playing with the sort of control and ease you would want to see.
You would probably describe their 1-1 draw with Girona on Sunday the same way—largely as expected—but not for positive reasons this time. It's one win in seven away league games for Los Colchoneros, which is a concern, and it knocks them down one in the rankings.
9. Arsenal (+1)
4 of 12
Unai Emery's first north London derby was a thriller, and in the end his Arsenal side fell the right side of a 4-2 scoreline.
A topsy-turvy game saw the Gunners go ahead, fall behind and then roar back in incredible fashion, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang starring at the head of an exciting attacking performance.
Add this to their 3-0 dismantling of Vorskla on Thursday, and it's clear Arsenal's week was one of the best across the continent.
8. Chelsea (Stay)
5 of 12
Two games, two clean-sheet victories. The opposition (PAOK and Fulham) weren't necessarily up to much, but this was the sort of riposte Maurizio Sarri will have been looking for after last week's horror performance against Tottenham in the 3-1 defeat.
Fans were delighted to see Callum Hudson-Odoi given a start in midweek, and he repaid the manager's faith with a super performance in scoring, assisting and smacking the top of the bar. Ruben Loftus-Cheek played well too, before he stepped off the bench on Sunday to seal a 2-0 win.
7. Liverpool (Stay)
6 of 12
Liverpool's loss to Paris Saint-Germain midweek saw them go 0-3 in Champions League away games this season. It's unclear why the club haven't taken to trips abroad, but it's placed them in a tricky scenario ahead of the final game.
They must now beat current group-toppers Napoli 1-0 or by two clear goals to progress to the knockouts. They'll have Anfield behind them, but this is still a tough ask.
At the very least, they were able to rebound and build confidence with a derby win over Everton. Divock Origi provided the winning goal right at the death, sending Jurgen Klopp, the players and the fans into a state of delirium.
6. Napoli (Stay)
7 of 12
Dries Mertens became Napoli's leading European goalscorer with a brace against Red Star Belgrade last Wednesday, and in the process powered his side to a commanding position in Champions League group C with a 3-1 win.
A draw at Anfield in the final match guarantees progression, though likely won't be enough to top the group, and they can even lose 2-1 and still progress at the expense of Liverpool due to the head-to-head rule.
They're in Serie A action Monday evening against Atalanta.
5. Paris Saint-Germain (Stay)
8 of 12
Paris Saint-Germain's meek performance at Anfield on Champions League Matchday 1 left the French club with something of a point to prove. Many were distinctly unimpressed, writing them out of the conversation regarding who can actually win the tournament.
Last Wednesday's performance against the same Reds outfit was quite the riposte: For 45 minutes they dominated last year's runners-up, and, theatrics aside, it was a thrilling performance that deserved a 2-1 win.
In beating Jurgen Klopp's men, they've earned the right to be taken more seriously on the continent. It's a shame, then, that in the next game their Ligue 1 win streak skidded to a halt at Bordeaux, with a 2-2 draw forcing the first dropped points of the league season—and Neymar hobbling off injured made matters worse.
4. Borussia Dortmund (-1)
9 of 12
Why does Paco Alcacer only tend to score when he's brought on as a substitute? It's hardly a burning question given Borussia Dortmund's form, but it is one Lucien Favre will have to give some thought.
He stepped off the bench against Freiburg to typical effect: punishing a leggy defence with a goal that sealed a 2-0 win.
It's a better result than the one they managed in midweek—a 0-0 draw with Club Brugge—which likely means they will finish second in their Champions League group and could have a seriously detrimental effect on their hopes of glory.
3. Barcelona (+1)
10 of 12
Barcelona have had to really flex their squad lately. Injuries have piled up over the last few weeks, leaving manager Ernesto Valverde with a small squad to work with.
Fortunately they still have Lionel Messi, and he's capable of deciding any game. He did so against PSV Eindhoven in midweek in the 2-1 win, and then he had a big say in the 2-0 victory over Villarreal on Sunday.
Its a good job they've got Champions League progression wrapped up already and only have to focus on one competition.
2. Juventus (Stay)
11 of 12
Juventus are storming through the season right now.
A 1-0 win over Valencia in the Champions League was followed by an impressive 3-0 victory away to Fiorentina on Saturday; it was just another display of dominance in their domestic league.
Almost every facet of this team is excelling right now. The forwards are scoring, the midfielders are creating and the defence have kept four straight clean sheets.
1. Manchester City (Stay)
12 of 12
You would imagine Manchester City will be happy to see the back of Lyon.
They were forced to come from behind twice to draw 2-2 with them last week in the Champions League, and when you add that result to the home defeat of them on Matchday 1, you might be tempted to say OL manager Bruno Genesio has Pep Guardiola's number.
Bournemouth made for tough opponents at the weekend, too, but a second-half onslaught proved too much, with a 3-1 win eventually earned. A draw and a win is a worse haul than Juventus' two victories, but given the margin of some of City's wins over the last two months, they still feel good value for the No. 1 spot.
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
