European Club Rankings After December 21-23 Matches
This weekend we waved (a temporary) goodbye to the Bundesliga, with the German sides heading off on their winter breaks.
We'll miss watching Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Co.—though what might help us cope with their absence is the turbo-charged, near-daily dose of Premier League football. As German football winds down, the English game hits the booster button.
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.
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20. Borussia Monchengladbach (Stay)
Gladbach rounded off their "hinrunde" with a defeat to Borussia Dortmund, but they can still be happy with their half-season's work. They head into the winter break third in the Bundesliga.
19. Inter Milan (-3)
A 91st-minute concession against Chievo squandered a three-point haul Inter really couldn't afford to be without. They're now eight points off second-placed Napoli. This season isn't going to plan.
18. Lyon (-1)
Lyon's 1-1 draw away to Montpellier is a better result than it first seems. La Paillade are enjoying a strong season, occupying fourth, and they present a stern challenge to most.
17. Real Madrid (+2)
Real Madrid: World champions.
A 4-1 win over Al-Ain sealed their third successive Club World Cup trophy, giving Santiago Solari his first managerial honour. It also gives the team a plus-two boost in our rankings.
16. Manchester United (+2)
The post-Jose Mourinho era is off to some start at Manchester United.
There are plenty of people out there who are keen to remind United fans that it was "only Cardiff City" they beat 5-1 on Saturday, but it was the manner of the performance—the movement, the energy, the tempo—that had supporters gushing.
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15. Arsenal (-2)
Arsenal went from 22 games unbeaten to losing two in a row—the first to Southampton 3-2 last weekend, then the second three days later to rivals Tottenham Hotspur, 2-0.
Although they bounced back (to a degree) in beating Burnley 3-1 this weekend, it's not enough to stop a fall caused by that midweek defeat.
14. FC Porto (+1)
Porto extended their win streak (in all competitions) to 14 on Sunday, beating Rio Ave 2-1 thanks to Yacine Brahimi and Moussa Marega strikes.
A victory over Belenenses on December 30 would cap an incredible half-season.
13. Ajax (+1)
Another week, another comfortable victory for Ajax in the Eredivisie. This time it was FC Utrecht who were downed and dominated.
12. Chelsea (-3)
It feels like Chelsea are beginning to lose their rhythm a little; their recent form (two losses in their last six games) is a far cry from that unbeaten August-November stretch. A 1-0 home defeat to Leicester City this weekend is enough to see them drop from the top 10.
11. Sevilla (+1)
A goal and a man down heading into injury time in the second half, Sevilla kept pushing when other sides might well have caved in. Their reward was a 91st-minute equaliser, rescuing a point away to Leganes.
10. Atletico Madrid (+1)
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An Antoine Griezmann penalty was enough to secure a 1-0 win for Atletico Madrid against Espanyol this weekend. It's a result that both keeps the club within touching distance of the top—and prolongs the mild concerns over Los Colchoneros' performance levels. They're a paradoxical old club, aren't they?
Despite the fact they played an opponent enduring a five-game losing streak in La Liga, they were made to really work for the win, relying on a set piece plus some Jan Oblak brilliance in goal. They've won four of their last five, but many fans walk away from their games believing they haven't really impressed.
It's been like this for most of the season.
9. Napoli (-2)
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Napoli have responded pretty well to their UEFA Champions League disaster at Anfield, winning their next two games in Serie A 1-0. Manager Carlo Ancelotti is rotating his squad well, switching the defensive personnel as regularly as the attacking lineup.
Why, then, should they move down two?
Well, even with two wins under their belts, they're struggling in comparison to the sides who have just leaped ahead of them. Scroll down and you'll see why.
8. Bayern Munich (+2)
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Bayern Munich seem to enjoy playing in Frankfurt.
Their first competitive match of the season was a 5-0 victory there in the German Super Cup, and on their return this past weekend they produced another flurry, winning 3-0. It's a result that extends their win streak in the Bundesliga to five.
The winter break comes at just the wrong time for Niko Kovac's men; they're finally picking up steam after a tumultuous start, and now the form counter resets to zero.
7. Tottenham Hotspur (+1)
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In a week in which all eyes were on Mauricio Pochettino, the reported first-choice target for Manchester United come the summer, per B/R's Dean Jones, his Tottenham side put on a ferocious display of attacking football.
To record a 6-2 win anywhere is special, but in managing it against Everton at Goodison Park, Spurs earn maximum credit. Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen toyed with their opponents, slicing them open at will.
The result followed a 2-0 win over archrivals Arsenal in the Carabao Cup, which sets up a two-legged tussle with Chelsea—a side they recently destroyed to the tune of a 3-1 scoreline—in the semi-final.
This is "Pochball." This is why United are so smitten with the Argentinian tactician.
6. Borussia Dortmund (-2)
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Borussia Dortmund head into the winter break in first place in the Bundesliga, six points clear of the nearest challenger in Bayern Munich.
Their 2-1 win over third-placed Borussia Monchengladbach signed off a superb half-campaign, one which even manager Lucien Favre can't have been expecting to go quite so swimmingly.
So why would they move down two?
While the weekend's football went well, the midweek slate didn't quite go to plan. A 2-1 loss to a Fortuna Dusseldorf side hovering just above the relegation zone isn't particularly forgivable and hurts their stock in this European Club Ranking.
5. Paris Saint-Germain (Stay)
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Saturday saw Paris Saint-Germain play their first Ligue 1 fixture for just shy of 20 days (French riots caused a number of postponed fixtures), winning 1-0 against Nantes.
The game saw Kylian Mbappe celebrate turning 20 in typical style, stealing in at the back post to convert an Angel Di Maria corner. It was perhaps the only highlight of a dour game, with PSG appearing not to take their final game of 2018 too seriously.
Thomas Tuchel's men head into the new year with a 13-point lead at the top of the table and two games in hand on second.
4. Manchester City (-3)
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Just like Juventus' stay before them, Manchester City's time on the throne this time around lasted just a week. Their 3-2 loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday paves the way for another side to assume top spot.
It's fair to say Pep Guardiola got it wrong against the Eagles. That doesn't happen often, so when examples do occur they feel particularly notable.
He moved John Stones into midfield to cover Fernandinho, which went badly, and the defensive line he fielded struggled with the pace of Palace (perhaps Stones' recovery speed could have helped there?).
They found themselves in a 3-1 hole and just threw attackers on, resulting in the sort of uncoordinated display you would not expect from a Guardiola team.
City have lost more games than Barcelona and Juventus, and they sit four points behind Liverpool in the Premier League table. They are now behind all three in our rankings.
3. Liverpool (+3)
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Welcome to the top three, Liverpool.
It feels as though this team are clicking into gear; almost every piece is in place, almost every player is either at or arrowing towards peak performance level.
The impressive 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, in conjunction with Manchester City's defeat, means the Reds will not only be top at Christmas, they have also opened up a four-point gap between the two clubs.
It's a position that summarises their brilliant 2018-19 so far, and it's rewarded with a big boost in the rankings.
2. Juventus (+1)
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Ahead of Juventus' tussle with AS Roma this weekend, Giallorossi manager Eusebio Di Francesco admitted he wished Cristiano Ronaldo "couldn't play" against his side, per Goal.
Perhaps that resulted in too heavy a focus on the Portuguese, when instead equal attention should have been paid to the Bianconeri's other attacker in peak form: Mario Mandzukic.
The 32-year-old scored a very Mandzukic goal to settle the match 1-0 in Juve's favour, bustling in to convert a header at the far post. It leads to a bump of one spot for his team in the rankings.
1. Barcelona (+1)
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Barcelona's 2-0 victory over Celta Vigo takes them to the top of our European Club Rankings. Ordinarily it wouldn't be enough, but in conjunction with Manchester City losing to Crystal Palace, a path opened up.
The three points were earned via some classic Jordi Alba-Lionel Messi link-up play, the two combining in both of the moves that resulted in goals. Ousmane Dembele netted the first on the rebound, but the second was a cross converted in style by the Argentinian superstar.
We're close to the halfway stage of the campaign, and Barcelona are top of La Liga, qualified first from their Champions League group and have lost just two games all season.
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
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