European Club Rankings After May 10-12 Matches
Last week was a wild one.
The identities of our Champions League and Europa League finalists were revealed, the Premier League title was decided, the Eredivisie title was all but sealed, and the race for continental football in several leagues took some defining turns.
Soak it all in and catch up on what you missed here.
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The European Club Rankings is a list of the top teams in order of form and performance at this stage of the season.
You can read the previous set of rankings here.
20. Manchester United (-3)
United finished their campaign on a five-game winless streak, capping things off with a 2-0 home defeat to already-relegated Cardiff City. The week before that they drew with already-relegated Huddersfield Town. What a mess for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mike Phelan to sort out.
19. Eintracht Frankfurt (-3)
Frankfurt's loss to Chelsea on penalties in the Europa League semi-final was cruel; it took a lot out of a team who fought so hard and came so close to the final.
They suffered something of a hangover from it against Mainz at the weekend, losing 2-0 at home and surrendering their grip on fourth place in the Bundesliga.
Their winless streak now stands at six. Their chances of Champions League football next season hang in the balance.
18. RB Leipzig (New!)
RB Leipzig last lost a game in January, their form since then reading 13 wins and five draws. Their Champions League spot for next season is secure, and they will have a crack at silverware later this month in the DFB-Pokal final against Bayern Munich.
17. Lyon (+2)
It was a pivotal weekend for Lyon, as their mightily impressive 3-0 win away to Marseille, coupled with Saint-Etienne's 1-0 loss to Montpellier, opened up a four-point gap between the two teams. A top-three finish (and the Champions League berth that comes with it) is almost assured.
16. Lille (+2)
Lille all but sealed second place in Ligue 1 with a 1-0 win over Bordeaux at the weekend. They're six ahead of Lyon with a far superior goal difference, meaning they'll head straight in to the group stage, avoiding the playoffs. The difference that will make to their summer transfer strategy cannot be underestimated.
15. FC Porto (-3)
Not only do Porto have to beat Sporting on the final weekend of the season to have any chance of winning the Primeira Liga, but they must rely on Benfica losing at home too (against Santa Clara). Consider the chances extremely slim.
14. Napoli (Stay)
Another late splash secured Napoli another victory this weekend, Mario Rui netting in the 88th minute to beat SPAL 2-1.
13. Benfica (+2)
One more win. That's all they need. Just one more win and the title is theirs.
Their final match is against Santa Clara this weekend, at the Estadio da Luz, and the home crowd will expect their heroes to lift the trophy at the end of it.
12. Arsenal (+1)
Arsenal secured not one, but two—yes, two—away wins last week, first beating Valencia 4-2 at Mestalla, then Burnley 3-1 at Turf Moor. It's the uptick in form Unai Emery will have desperately wanted ahead of the Europa League final.
11. Paris Saint-Germain (Stay)
PSG exited beach mode ever so briefly this weekend, putting together a good 60 minutes against Angers and scoring two goals, which was enough for a win.
They then re-entered beach mode, Marquinhos got sent off and Neymar did a rainbow flick over a defender in the corner.
10. Atletico Madrid (-1)
League: Second | Copa del Rey: Out (round of 16) | Champions League: Out (round of 16)
This weekend, the Wanda Metropolitano waved goodbye to Diego Godin, who played his final home match for Atletico Madrid.
Sadly, he didn't secure a clean sheet to mark the occasion appropriately—Sevilla played the part of party-poopers there, scoring to force a 1-1 draw—but was serenaded deservedly all the same. What a servant he has been to the club.
9. Borussia Dortmund (-1)
League: Second | DFB-Pokal: Out (third round) | Champions League: Out (round of 16)
Dortmund just about saw Fortuna Dusseldorf off on Saturday, keeping their title hopes alive going into the final Bundesliga day.
The 3-2 win victory was nervy at almost every stage, mostly thanks to stand-in goalkeeper Marwin Hitz making errors and conceding penalties, but they got it done.
They need a win on the final day at Borussia Monchengladbach and a Bayern Munich loss to Eintracht Frankfurt to lift the title.
They move down despite winning, as Chelsea's season accomplishments now surpass theirs.
8. Chelsea (+2)
League: Third | Carabao Cup: Out (Finalist) | FA Cup: Out (fifth round) | Europa League: Final
Few seasons have felt as dramatic as Chelsea's, with opinions viciously split on so many matters, chief of which is manager Maurizio Sarri.
But while they've teetered and wobbled on an all-too-regular basis, the facts are that Chelsea finished third and have a Europa League final to look forward to. What a chance it is for Eden Hazard to gift Blues fans a trophy as a farewell present.
7. Bayern Munich (-1)
League: First | DFB-Pokal: Final | Champions League: Out (round of 16)
A combination of RB Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi and one of the most marginal VAR calls in history has forced the Bundesliga title race to the wire.
Bayern Munich struggled immensely to find a way past Gulacsi this weekend, and when they eventually did, the offside flag cancelled it out.
Thanks to a wildly superior goal difference, a draw will be enough to secure the title on Saturday, but they face a wily Eintracht Frankfurt side who, in a quest for the Champions League, have everything to play for.
6. Juventus (-1)
League: Winners | Coppa Italia: Out (quarter-finals) | Champions League: Out (quarter-finals)
"Matches like tonight's are worthless," Max Allegri told reporters after Juventus' 2-0 loss to Roma on Sunday, per Calciomercato.
While that may be true from a black and white perspective, it's not exactly what travelling Juve fans or supporters of the clubs vying with Roma for European spots want to hear.
5. Tottenham Hotspur (+2)
League: Fourth | Carabao Cup: Out (semi-finals) | FA Cup: Out (fourth round) | Champions League: Final
Just as we all foretold, Tottenham stormed back from a 3-0 aggregate deficit to score three second-half goals—all from Lucas Moura—and progress to the final at Ajax's expense.
What a boring, predictable tournament the Champions League is.
Spurs' final Premier League game of the season quickly became immaterial in the wake of such a comeback, as they're now on Operation: Rest As Many of These Exhausted Players As We Can.
They've got just shy of three weeks to fill their lungs and get Harry Kane fit for a titanic tussle with Liverpool.
4. Ajax (Stay)
League: Winners | KNVB Cup: Winners | Champions League: Out (semi-finals)
Hearts shattered all around the world as Lucas Moura condemned Ajax to semi-final defeat in the most ludicrous of circumstances last week. It's a group of players the neutrals had fallen in love with and wanted to see contend.
Disappointment on such scale can often have a very bad effect on teams, but to their credit, Ajax shook it off fast, winning their next game in the Eredivisie and essentially sealing the title as a result.
There will be no crack at continental glory, but the domestic double Erik ten Hag's men have secured will do very nicely in the end.
3. Barcelona (-2)
League: Winners | Copa del Rey: Final | Champions League: Out (semi-finals)
Barcelona have won La Liga (again) and stand heavy favourites to win the Copa del Rey (again). A domestic double should signify a strong season, and yet...2018/19 undoubtedly feels like a failure for La Blaugrana in some respects.
At the end of last season, Lionel Messi grabbed the microphone and told the Camp Nou he would do everything possible to return the Champions League trophy to the gathered fans. It's arguable he made good on that promise, but it still wasn't enough to prevent a collapse of almighty proportions at Anfield.
Another year without European success, another year smarting from it to come.
2. Liverpool (+1)
League: Second | Carabao Cup: Out (third round) | FA Cup: Out (third round) | Champions League: Final
Despite losing just one game all season, Liverpool missed out on the Premier League title.
That's an incredibly tough pill to swallow, as no one can deny they've put together a phenomenal campaign, accruing a whopping 97 points off the back of continually excellent performances.
They've got one more chance to win the trophy their year probably deserves: the Champions League, on June 1, in Madrid. If they summon anything close to that second-leg performance against Barcelona from last week, they'll be 80 percent of the way there.
1. Manchester City (+1)
League: Winners | Carabao Cup: Winners | FA Cup: Final | Champions League: Out (quarter-finals)
Fourteen straight wins to close out the Premier League title. What do you even say about that, beyond the criminally obvious?
The last five, beginning with the squeaky win over Tottenham and ending with the final-day victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, were nerve-ridden and tough to watch at times, but Pep Guardiola's men pulled through and did what needed to be done.
On Saturday, they'll aim to turn an impressive double into an unprecedented domestic treble by winning the FA Cup.
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
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