European Club Rankings After December 14-16 Matches
The week in which the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 participants are decided is one of the most pivotal of the season—both for clubs' chances of silverware, and for our European Club Rankings.
With full knowledge of which sides are moving on to February's knockout stage and those dropping to the Europa League, we've been able to make some surgical changes to our order as we re-evaluate teams' campaigns so far.
The European Club Rankings is 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
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20. Borussia Monchengladbach (Stay)
Gladbach held Hoffenheim scoreless this past weekend, which is actually more of an achievement than it sounds. If Manchester City, Lyon and Shakhtar Donetsk failed to manage it, there's got to be an element of difficulty to it!
Sadly, they were held themselves in return, resulting in a 0-0 draw and no movement for the Foals.
19. Real Madrid (Stay)
Real Madrid have been a consistent lesson in patience and tempering expectations this season. Every time they look like they're on a roll, when you're just about to declare them healthy again, they come screaming back down to earth.
Last week's reality check was a remarkable 3-0 home loss to CSKA Moscow, who finished bottom of their Champions League group. The fact the result wasn't even that surprising is illustrative of their current plight.
18. Manchester United (-3)
It was (another) difficult week for Manchester United, who lost to both Valencia and Liverpool, heaping more pressure on manager Jose Mourinho in the process.
Qualification to the Champions League latter stages was sealed beforehand, so they still have that chip to play, but they're now 19 points from first in the league, 11 points from the top four and eight points from fifth. Given the talent in the squad, that is criminal.
17. Lyon (+1)
Lyon became the latest side to make light work of Monaco, winning 3-0 thanks in part to a silly Aleksandr Golovin red card.
Four days before they drew their fifth Champions League group-stage game in a row, 1-1 with Shakhtar Donetsk in a mini-blizzard, and it was enough to secure a round-of-16 berth.
16. Inter Milan (-3)
Inter Milan's failure to beat PSV Eindhoven last week resulted in them being knocked out of the Champions League after squandering a four-point lead over Tottenham with two games to play.
Understandably, manager Luciano Spalletti is under some pressure, per Football Italia.
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15. FC Porto (+2)
On a 13-game win streak in all competitions, FC Porto are crushing whichever competition they're tasked with. Five wins and a draw saw them top their Champions League group and total more points (16) than any other side, and they remain top of Liga NOS.
14. Ajax (+2)
Ajax games are a lot of fun.
Their 3-3 draw midweek with Bayern Munich was raw entertainment; goals, red cards, the lot. Sunday's 8-0 win over De Graafschap was one-sided but featured two different hat-trick scorers—Hakim Ziyech and Daley Blind! What more can you ask for?
13. Arsenal (-4)
The unbeaten streak is over! Arsenal came unstuck at the 23rd attempt—a phenomenal achievement, it must be said—but it was at the hands of a Southampton side that began the match in the Premier League's bottom three.
The Gunners finished the match with a rusty Laurent Koscielny and Granit Xhaka at centre-back and Hector Bellerin off to the treatment table to join several others. The physical state of this squad heading into the Christmas period must be a concern to manager Unai Emery.
12. Sevilla (Stay)
Sevilla's 3-0 win over Krasnodar in midweek sealed top spot in their Europa League group. A 2-0 victory against Girona in La Liga followed, keeping them second in the table and extending their unbeaten domestic streak to nine games.
11. Atletico Madrid (-1)
A draw and a win isn't a bad set of results for Atletico Madrid on paper, but look more closely and the draw could prove costly.
Failing to put Club Brugge away meant they missed out on top spot in their Champions League group, opening them out to a world of potential pain in the draw.
10. Bayern Munich (+1)
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Bayern Munich are on the prowl again. Over the last month they've shaken off that early-season malaise and put together a strong run, winning four of their last five games.
A thrilling 3-3 draw against Ajax last week sealed top spot in their Champions League group, and a 4-0 demolition job on Hannover 96 on Saturday kept them trending positively in the Bundesliga.
They are nine points off Borussia Dortmund in first. It's a gap, sure, but for a team with a history of winning, it's not too large.
9. Chelsea (-1)
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Chelsea moving down one isn't really a reflection of anything they've done.
We're not judging them too harshly for a 2-2 draw with Vidi, as a number of youngsters took to the field in Hungary, and it's the only game in the group stage they failed to win—hardly something to get too worried about.
The weekend saw them produce a good performance at Brighton, winning 2-1 thanks to some Eden Hazard magic. It was another good result, particularly in the context of the weekend, as Arsenal and Manchester United lost.
Really, they only drop because of another club's excellent recent form. They land in eighth, one spot above...
8. Tottenham Hotspur (+6)
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Call it a hard-fought week for Tottenham, who worked their socks off in back-to-back games to achieve the required results.
The 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou was celebrated like a win because, in truth, it must have felt like one. The point earned sealed qualification to the Champions League latter stages—completing one of the most unlikely turnarounds in the competition's recent history.
The last-gasp 1-0 victory over Burnley was Mauricio Pochettino's 100th in the Premier league as manager, and the sort they'd never have dug out were he not in charge. How fitting.
7. Napoli (-2)
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Napoli's 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League not only sent them tumbling out of the competition, it has also moved them down the European Club Rankings.
The 1-0 win against Cagliari on Sunday reaffirmed their status as the second-best side in Italy, but the fact they'll be unable to trouble the biggest names across the continent for the rest of the season will cap how high they can go in these rankings to an extent—unless they win the Europa League!
6. Liverpool (+1)
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Without a doubt, Liverpool had the best week in European football.
Tuesday saw them beat Napoli 1-0, securing a berth in the Champions League latter stages in the process.
Then, on Sunday, they beat arch-rivals Manchester United 3-1 to retain top spot in the Premier League and remain unbeaten this season.
To put in consecutive performances such as these is remarkable. Manager Jurgen Klopp rotated his squad well to make it possible, and his star attackers did the business when it mattered the most to make it a reality.
5. Paris Saint-Germain (+1)
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Paris Saint-Germain haven't played a Ligue 1 game since December 5 due to ongoing riots in France, so all we have to judge them on in these stakes is the match they played against Red Star Belgrade, which they won 4-1.
It was a result that secured top spot in Champions League Group C, ahead of Liverpool and at the expense of Napoli, and it featured a mesmeric goal from Neymar. Many feared for their prospects after landing in such a difficult group, but they came out on top and lost just one game.
4. Borussia Dortmund (Stay)
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Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 win over Werder Bremen this weekend confirmed them as the Bundesliga's "autumn champions." With just two games to go before the winter break, no team can overhaul their lead at the top.
Manager Lucien Favre will hope his team don't stop to pat themselves on the back too hard, as they'll have to motor on at the same pace in the second half of the season if they're to secure the title.
Success hasn't solely arrived on the domestic front, either, as last week saw them secure top spot in their Champions league group—ahead of Atletico Madrid.
It is all rosy at BVB.
3. Juventus (-2)
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Juventus suffered their second loss of the season in midweek, falling 2-1 to Young Boys in what was—fortunately for them—a meaningless Champions League game. With Manchester United losing to Valencia at the same time, first place in the group was not surrendered as a result.
But while it had no bearing on their European adventure, it affected their stock in the European Club Rankings. Their stay at the summit lasted just a single week, and they drop to third.
The Bianconeri at least salvaged the week with a 1-0 win over neighbours Torino. Cristiano Ronaldo netted in his sixth straight Serie A away game, but it was never going to be enough to prevent a drop.
2. Barcelona (+1)
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A heavily rotated Barcelona XI drew 1-1 with Tottenham in midweek; the game meant little to the Blaugrana, and it showed in manager Ernesto Valverde's selection.
Focus restored for the weekend, Lionel Messi and Co. blew Levante away 5-0 at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia. The Argentinian scored a hat-trick and added two assists in a wonderful individual display.
The week's events kept the club ticking over both in Europe at home.
1. Manchester City (+1)
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Last week went about as well as it could have for Manchester City, all things considered.
They beat a good Hoffenheim side 2-1 in the Champions League to secure top spot in their group and followed that up with a comfortable 3-1 win against Everton on Saturday. Kevin De Bruyne returned from another injury lay-off, and Sergio Aguero was able to take to the bench against Everton.
There were times against the Toffees that the football City played looked a little mechanical, but that's going to serve them well heading into the busy festive period. Manager Pep Guardiola can drag and drop players into the system and the outcome is the same—what other managers would do for that luxury!
In the wake of Juventus' loss to Young Boys, last week's efforts are enough to take City back to the top, meaning their throne was only abdicated for a week.
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
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