European Club Rankings After February 22-24 Matches
Last week saw the first half of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 ties concluded, top teams clash in both England and Germany and even a trophy handed out in the form of the Carabao Cup. It all plays a major role in the order of our top 20 here.
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. Sevilla (Stay)
Wissam Ben Yedder summed it up best:
Sevilla stick around in the rankings despite the 4-2 loss to Barcelona on Saturday as they've beaten Lazio twice in the last two weeks—a feat not to be sniffed at.
19. AC Milan (New!)
There's space for a new entry after Borussia Monchengladbach's dreadful 3-0 defeat to Wolfsburg on Saturday, and the spot goes to Milan.
A much-improved force following some expensive January work, they're suddenly in the mix for a Champions League spot having racked up five wins in seven. They've scored three goals in each of their last three fixtures, one of which was against the Atalanta side that beat Juventus 3-0 in the Coppa Italia earlier this year.
18. Lille (-1)
Lille managed just a 1-1 draw with Strasbourg on Friday, but it's a result that widens the gap between themselves and Lyon in third as a result of Les Gones' loss to Monaco.
17. Arsenal (+1)
Arsenal avoided a scare last week, beating BATE Borisov 3-0 at home to progress to the UEFA Europa League round of 16. One down on aggregate and missing Alexandre Lacazette due to suspension, room for error was lacking.
They followed that up with another home win, this time 2-0 over Southampton, to move into fourth in the league.
16. Lyon (Stay)
Lyon did well to hold Barcelona to a 0-0 draw in the Champions League last week, but to pretend there wasn't a large amount of fortune attached to the result (mostly in the form of awful finishing from Luis Suarez) would be remiss.
Perhaps they put so much into the match that they couldn't recover in time for the Sunday night visit to Monaco, where they lost 2-0. Admittedly, not having Nabil Fekir for either game considerably blunted their chances of winning.
15. Ajax (Stay)
Another big domestic win for Ajax this weekend, this time to the tune of 5-1 against ADO Den Haag, but that's not what's keeping them in our top 20. Should they fail to pull off an upset at the Bernabeu on March 5, they might well drop out altogether, as it's their European run that has kept them afloat in this ranking.
14. FC Porto (Stay)
Porto made short work of Tondela on Friday, with Pepe, Oliver Torres and Hector Herrera all netting in a 3-0 win to keep the pressure on the Primeira Liga's chasing pack.
13. Chelsea (Stay)
Despite losing a cup final and being seemingly undermined by his goalkeeper in front of the world, manager Maurizio Sarri came out of Sunday's events looking pretty good.
He devised a game plan that prevented Manchester City from scoring over the course of 120 minutes, succumbing only on penalties, and managed to brush the awkward Kepa Arrizabalaga situation—in which the stopper refused to be substituted late in extra-time, much to Sarri's fury at the time—under the carpet with a chuckle and a grin.
12. Napoli (Stay)
A goal-filled week will have Napoli fans smiling, and rightly so. Zurich were defeated 2-0 (5-1 on aggregate) in the Europa League, then Parma took a 4-0 battering in Serie A.
11. Tottenham Hotspur (-3)
Mauricio Pochettino's outburst at the referee overshadowed what was a really poor Tottenham performance against Burnley on Saturday in their 2-1 defeat.
A clever Harry Kane goal aside, little went the way of Spurs as defenders made mistakes, midfielders misplaced passes and forwards accrued more bookings than challenging shots in the closing stages.
10. Real Madrid (Stay)
League: 3rd | Copa del Rey: Semi-finals | Champions League: Round of 16
Real Madrid won ugly and got lucky on Sunday night.
Levante gave them more than a few scares defensively during their 2-1 victory, and the winner only came courtesy of a ridiculous penalty decision that was, somehow, approved by VAR. Cheick Doukoure took a wild swipe at Casemiro in the box but didn't appear to touch him, yet the Brazilian fell dramatically.
9. Atletico Madrid (+2)
League: 2nd | Copa del Rey: Out (Round of 16) | Champions League: Round of 16
What. A. Performance!
Atletico Madrid summoned the spirit of old against Juventus last week, combining defensive steel with attacking strength and producing a complete performance. The 2-0 scoreline flattered Juve, not Atleti.
They recorded the same scoreline against Villarreal on Sunday to keep themselves ticking over in La Liga.
8. Manchester United (+1)
League: 5th | Carabao Cup: Out (3rd round) | FA Cup: Quarter-finals | Champions League: Round of 16
All things considered, United did very well to finish their match with Liverpool on Sunday with a clean sheet and a point. The three first-half injuries, in addition to Nemanja Matic pulling up the day before, wreaked havoc with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's game plan. Marcus Rashford appeared to play most of the game hobbled, too, as there were no substitutes left.
Last week's European Club Rankings did not take into account United's FA Cup game against Chelsea last Monday, so that also factors into their ranking now.
7. Bayern Munich (Stay)
League: 2nd | DFB-Pokal: Quarter-final | Champions League: Round of 16
A rare goal from Javi Martinez was enough to lead Bayern Munich past Hertha Berlin on Saturday, extending this strong mini-run of wins in the league to three.
That, in addition to the excellent defensive showing produced at Anfield last week in the Champions League, keeps them in a healthy spot in these rankings.
6. Borussia Dortmund (Stay)
League: 1st | DFB-Pokal: Out (3rd round) | Champions League: Round of 16
Despite the star names going head-to-head in England, it's arguable the game of the weekend was in Germany, as Borussia Dortmund beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 in a thriller.
It's an important result for BVB; it stops their winless run (which stood at five) and keeps them three clear of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
5. Juventus (-1)
League: 1st | Coppa Italia: Out (Quarter-finals) | Champions League: Round of 16
Like it or not, Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri will be judged by his side's Champions League fortunes this campaign—and right now, things aren't looking good.
A 2-0 loss at the hands of Atletico Madrid last week leaves their hopes of securing European football's biggest prize in serious doubt; the task of turning the tie around in the second leg is mountainous.
The 1-0 weekend win over Bologna, courtesy of a Paulo Dybala strike, doesn't prevent them from sliding in the rankings.
4. Paris Saint-Germain (+1)
League: 1st | Coupe de France: Quarter-finals | Coupe de la Ligue: Out (Quarter-finals) | Champions League: Round of 16
Things seem pretty sweet for PSG at the moment.
They are generating wins domestically with machine-like ease and will be watching Manchester United's injury pile-up with glee. Chances of an almighty Champions League second-leg upset grow slimmer by the day.
3. Liverpool (Stay)
League: 1st | Carabao Cup: Out (3rd round) | FA Cup: Out (3rd round) | Champions League: Round of 16
Liverpool missed a big chance on Sunday. The task of taking on Manchester United at Old Trafford was softened considerably by a slew of injuries experienced by the hosts—either the day before the game or during the first half—leaving them there for the taking.
Instead, the Reds turned in a poor attacking display—epitomised by Mohamed Salah's no-show—and settled for a point. That's not the sort of result that will calm the arising nerves in this title race.
That said, it did move them a point clear at the top of the table—an excellent position to be in considering the stage of the season.
2. Barcelona (Stay)
League: 1st | Copa del Rey: Semi-final | Champions League: Round of 16
Barcelona went into last weekend on an iffy run of form—three draws from their last four games. Sure, good teams like Real Madrid and Valencia were present in that run, but it's still enough to cause unrest among a club's fanbase that has been conditioned to expect perfection.
It's in these circumstances that certain players step forward and grasp the mantle, and few were surprised when it turned out that player would be Lionel Messi. An incredible hat-trick against Sevilla, inclusive of three brilliant goals, kept Barcelona on track in La Liga.
Add that to the clean-sheet draw with Lyon recorded last Tuesday in the Champions League, and it stands as one of Barca's better recent weeks.
1. Manchester City (Stay)
League: 2nd | Carabao Cup: Winners | FA Cup: Quarter-finals | Champions League: Round of 16
This past week promised to be a defining one for Manchester City, and so it proved.
A gutsy 3-2 win against Schalke 04 on Wednesday—earned despite being a goal and man down in Germany—set them on course to the Champions League quarter-finals, and then Sunday saw them lift the first English piece of silverware on offer: the Carabao Cup.
Taken to penalties by an organised and reserved Chelsea side, it took until Raheem Sterling's fifth spot-kick to secure the trophy.
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
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