European Club Rankings After January 25-27 Matches

It's been a busy week of football across the continent, with cup action in England and Spain mixing in with regular league action elsewhere. Six of Europe's legitimate heavyweights lost a game of some description, making for an interesting set of rankings this time around.

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. Inter Milan (-3)

Torino appear to be something of a bogey side for Inter Milan; coming into this weekend they had won just one of their last six encounters with Il Toro, and Sunday made it one of seven after a 1-0 defeat. 

19. Borussia Monchengladbach (+1)

A late flurry of goals ensured Gladbach stayed perfect this side of the winter break, beating Augsburg 2-0 at home.

With all the focus on Borussia Dortmund's title charge and Bayern Munich's potential interception, few are paying the Foals much attention in third place—which probably suits them just fine.

18. Lyon (+1)

Lyon aren't wowing anyone right now, but they did take another step in the right direction in Ligue 1 this weekend with a 1-0 victory over Amiens.

With Lille beating Marseille on Friday and temporarily entrenching themselves in second in the table, this was a crucial three-point haul for Les Gones as it keeps them in touch.

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17. Arsenal (-2)

Arsenal's chances of earning silverware this season were slashed again on Friday, as they exited the FA Cup at the hands of Manchester United.

This, on the back of the news that Hector Bellerin will miss the rest of the season due a torn ACL, made for a week Gooners will be happy to forget in a hurry.

16. Real Madrid (+2)

Real Madrid's defining trait this season has been to make life difficult for themselves, and on Sunday they added another entry to the collection.

Sitting on a 3-1 lead against Espanyol heading into half-time, Sergio Ramos was then substituted due to injury before Raphael Varane was shown a straight red card.

They won 4-2, but things rarely just go smoothly for Los Blancos at the moment. Nacho and Casemiro at centre-back for the next one?

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15. Ajax (-3)

Ajax haven't found their groove this side of Christmas. They may have beaten Heerenveen in midweek in the cup, but it's tough to focus on that when their most recent result was a 6-2 loss at the hands of Feyenoord.

14. Sevilla (+2)

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Last week we bemoaned Sevilla's poor form—losing three games straight—and it appears they paid attention. Perking up considerably, they beat Barcelona 2-0 in a Copa del Rey first leg, then put five past Levante in a brilliant display of attacking firepower. 

13. FC Porto (Stay)

The Taca da Liga finals week is one of the best in Portuguese football. It crams semi-finals and a final into the space of four days.

Porto negotiated their way past Benfica before meeting Sporting in the final, which they surprisingly lost—albeit on penalties. A first chance of silverware blown.

12. Tottenham Hotspur (-4)

It only takes a week for the entire complexion of a team's season to change. Sadly for Tottenham, theirs has taken a turn for the worse.

On Thursday they exited the Carabao Cup via a semi-final penalty shootout against Chelsea, then on Sunday the team crashed out of the FA Cup 2-0 at the hands of Crystal Palace. Two legitimate chances of silverware gone in the space of three days.

11. Napoli (-1)

There's little wrong with a 0-0 draw with AC Milan in isolation, but movements in these rankings work within context.

Unfortunately for Napoli, they're being directly compared to Manchester United and Atletico Madrid, who both enjoyed winning weeks and push the Partenopei down.

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10. Chelsea (+4)

Remember what we said about a season's complexion changing quickly? Chelsea's last seven days have been the perfect riposte to their 2-0 loss at the hands of Arsenal last weekend.

First the Blues beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 to take the Carabao Cup semi-final to penalties. They then swept Sheffield Wednesday away 3-0 in the FA Cup while simultaneously introducing Gonzalo Higuain to Stamford Bridge.

9. Manchester United (+2)

Welcome (back) to the top 10, Manchester United. Eight wins in a row is an incredible achievement, no matter who you are, and the nature of the Red Devils' victories has turned plenty of heads.

They're back in the top-four race, building confidence ahead of a Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain that no longer seems like mission impossible, and on Friday they dumped Arsenal out of the FA Cup away from home.

8. Atletico Madrid (+2)

Atletico Madrid continued their good run of results this weekend, beating Getafe 2-0 with relative ease.

They now face something of a gauntlet of fixtures—their next four are Real Betis, Real Madrid, Rayo Vallecano and Juventus—so it's perhaps good they negotiated this one at a canter. Plenty of drama beckons over the next few weeks.

7. Bayern Munich (Stay)

Bayern's 4-1 win over Stuttgart made it seven straight victories in the Bundesliga. Those poor early performances that saw questions arise over manager Niko Kovac are long gone.

The increasingly commanding scorelines they're recording (the last three games have all been won by two goals or more) tell the story.

6. Paris Saint-Germain (Stay)

Given PSG won 9-0 last week, you could forgive fans for feeling a little short-changed after only beating Rennes 4-1 on Sunday.

At the heart of it all was Edinson Cavani, just as he was last week during the 9-0 romp. Two goals this weekend takes him to six (plus three assists) in his last three games. 

But while those storylines and scorelines are keeping PSG fans moderately happy, Neymar's injury—which could keep him out of the Champions League round of 16, per L'Equipe—are a huge concern.

5. Barcelona (-3)

Barcelona recorded two contrasting results last week: a 2-0 loss to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey and a 2-0 win over Girona in La Liga.

The reserve nature of the XI fielded for the first game perhaps explains the result, and there's still a second leg (at the Camp Nou) to come, meaning all is not lost, but that's a big hole to dig yourself in a competition you're the favourite for.

This is the second time they've flunked a Copa leg; last time it lost them top spot, this time it drops them three.

4. Manchester City (Stay)

Another week, another thrashing handed out by Manchester City. This time Burnley were the victims, falling to a 5-0 scoreline which featured five different goalscorers—including the Clarets' Kevin Long in the wrong net.

This followed a more tepid 1-0 win over Burton Albion midweek, sealing their passage to the Carabao Cup final in February with a 10-0 aggregate score. Ouch.

3. Liverpool (Stay)

As a result of exiting the FA Cup earlier this month, Liverpool enjoyed a weekend off. Presumably manager Jurgen Klopp was grateful for the chance to recharge and rejuvenate given the injury list they've been managing.

2. Borussia Dortmund (+3)

BVB's attacking stars put in another sensational performance this weekend, tearing Hannover to shreds with movement, speed and precise finishing. The 5-1 scoreline didn't flatter them.

For now, they're more than rising to the challenge set by Bayern Munich's improved form. The majority of the world hope they can continue at this pace, and said pace is rewarded with a big boost in the rankings.

1. Juventus (Stay)

Juventus stood a true test of credentials and character against Lazio on Sunday. They somehow rescued a victory in a game they were dominated in for long periods.

The Biancocelesti squandered chance after chance, forcing Wojciech Szczesny and Daniele Rugani into heroic interventions at times. And while they did eventually take the lead, they didn't have it in them to hold off the inevitable late retort.

Juve's Portuguese connection—first Joao Cancelo, then Cristiano Ronaldo—came through with the goods. It's why they'll be crowned champions, again, in 2019.

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All statistics via WhoScored.com