European Club Power Rankings #1
By: Wayne
I've been watching a lot of soccer this week (sorry, not calling it futbol), and it's always fun to wonder about who the best team in Europe really is. Of course, this is the primary purpose of the Champions League - the winner should be the greatest soccer side in Europe. I want to try to get more consistent with my articles, and I'm gonna start adding some weekly posts. The Champions League draw for the knockout rounds is tomorrow, and in honor, here's my first weekly column - a European club power rankings.
1. Liverpool - It pains me to say it as a Manchester United fan, but Liverpool are the class of European soccer at the moment. Through 17 Premier League matches played, the team has 16 wins and just one draw (to my Red Devils). They have 49 points through 17 games played, which would put them on pace for 110 points by the end of the season. That would crush Manchester City's record-breaking season in 2017-18 with 100 points. In their last 26 games Premier League games they have 25 wins and 1 draw, most points in top-flight English history. Meanwhile, coming off a thrilling comeback UCL win over the summer, Liverpool currently leads its group with 13 points. The performances have been a bit uneven with a draw and a loss against Napoli, but it's pretty excusable in the context of their dominant Premier League campaign. Salah, Mane, and Firimino make up what is perhaps the best front 3 in soccer - the trio have combined for 30 goals and 21 assists. Virgil Van Dijk is brilliant in protecting his world-class goalkeeper Allison, who has allowed only 5 goals in 9 starts. The defending UCL champs can let their resume speak for themselves in that competition as the winningest team of all time since the reformat. Liverpool looks set to end its 29-year title drought as well, barring some kind of a slip.
2. PSG - Paris is dominating the Ligue 1 yet again, with 39 points (4 points clear of second-place) and a plus-26 goal differential (next-highest is Lyon with plus-12). But frankly, it's hard for me to get excited about this world-class team doing what it should in domestic play. PSG has been absolutely dominant in the UCL as well. Kylian Mbappe and Mauro Icardi each produced 5 goals in the group stages, leading the club to 17 goals which put them as the second-highest scoring club. Meanwhile, the defense has been excellent, allowing just 2 goals in their 6 group stage games. Their signature performance of the season is easily their 3-0 masterclass win over Real Madrid at the Parc des Princes. Keylor Navas has regained his elite form in goal with just 6 conceded goals and 7 clean sheets in 11 games played. Neymar's partnership with Icardi and Mbappe in the attack has been magical at times this season. Mbappe has 13 goals and 7 assists in all competitions. Mauro Icardi has 12 goals and 1 assist, Di Maria has 9 goals and 9 assists, and Neymar has 7 goals and 3 assists. It's pretty close to a lock that PSG wins their domestic league again, but this team is a real contender for the Champions League.
3. Juventus - Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, and Gonzalo Higuain have put together some stellar numbers this season with 22 goals and 11 assists between the three. But the defense is the real strength of this team, with only 19 goals in 22 games allowed this year. Leonardo Bonucci, Matthijs de Ligt, Danilo, and Alex Sandro have formed a formidable back-four. The strength of the defense has really shined through in the team's UCL play, with only 4 goals allowed through the group stages which tied for 2nd-best. Clean sheets against Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen (twice) punctuated their efforts on that end. Juventus now leads the Serie A after beating Udinese over the weekend, but they are only 1 point clear of 2nd-place Inter Milan. It hasn't all been roses for Juve this season, but they have won 8 of their last 10 games in all competitions and will be looking to avenge their loss to Ajax in the round of 16 last season. I wouldn't be shocked to see this team make the final.
4. Barcelona - With Ballon D'Or winner Lionel Messi on the pitch, Barca seems to be the favorite every time they take the field. They lead an incredibly competitive La Liga table with 35 points, putting them 1 point clear of second-place Real Madrid. But they're only 6 points clear of 5th-placed Atletico Madrid. La Liga feels more like the Premier League this season. In the Champions League, Barca survived what many called the group of death with 3 wins in 4 matches against Borrusia Dortmund and Inter Milan. Their goal differential is not quite as good as some of the teams in this tier, but credit that to a really tough group to play in. 43 goals scored in La Liga lead the next best team (Real) by 11 and most of the La Liga table by more than 20. This team also has a perfect home record this season, with 7 wins in 7 games and just 9 goals allowed. Messi is putting together another outstanding season with 14 goals and 9 assists in all comps. Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezzman have chipped in with a combined 19 goals and 9 assists. Top to bottom you can make the case that this is the most talented team in the world, and they will surely be striving for retribution in the Champions League after their collapse at the hands of Liverpool last term.
5. Manchester City - It's been a disappointing domestic season for City, with 4 losses in 17 Premier League games. Losses against Manchester United and Wolves at home, as well as Norwich on the road, were not impressive results for this team. But their Champions League play has been inspiring, placing third in goals scored, goal differential, and points. It isn't the most difficult group, but City have looked good in each game. City have somehow allowed more goals than Crystal Palace and Wolves in the Prem this season, though, and their defense could have some issues against the elite forwards they will encounter later in the tournament. But with Laporte set to return from injury in February, this defense could have just the help it needs on the way. The attacking play of this team is as elite as ever, with 47 goals scored in 17 Prem games - 2.75 goals per game. City has a platoon of world-class attacking talent - Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez. The list goes on and on. Not to mention Leroy Sane who is also set to make his return from injury in February. City has 6 players with over 5 goals, led by Raheem Sterling with 15, Segio Aguero with 13, and Gabriel Jesus with 10. This season has been uneven, but it's hard to disrespect the back-to-back defending Prem winners and Pep Guardiola's coaching ability. They will just need a boost defensively if they want to win their first Champions League. 14 points behind Liverpool, a third straight Premier League win does not look likely.
6. Bayern Munich - The German outfit was easily the hardest team for me to rank in this. Their Champions League play to this point has been outstanding. 6 wins in 6 matches, league-leading 24 goals scored, +19 goal differential, and 18 points. Robert Lewandowski is the best scorer in the world right now. He has 10 goals in 437 UCL minutes played, a stunning 44 minutes per goal scored. He has 29 goals in his 22 starts. Bayern was placed in a relatively easy group with a Greek and Serbian team, but their play has been flawless and suggests they should be near Liverpool at the top of these rankings. However, their domestic play has been very underwhelming. Bayern is currently 5th in the Bundesliga behind RB Leipzig, Borrusia Monchengladbach, Borrusia Dortmund, and Schalke 04. The team has recent losses to Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen, as well as a shocking 5-1 defeat to now 12th-placed Eintracht. Bayern's 41 domestic goals for only places 1 goal behind league-leading Leipzig, and their goal-differential suggests they are the second-best team in Bundesliga. Serge Gnabry has contributed 9 goals and 7 assists, Coutinho has 7 goals and 7 assists, and Thomas Muller has 5 goals and 11 assists, mostly to the man of the moment, the best striker in the world - Robert Lewandowski.
7. Real Madrid - Los Blancos haven't won anything this year. They finished second in their UCL group to PSG and are currently placed 2nd in La Liga. But this team has the most potential to make a big leap in these rankings by the end of the season. A match today against Valencia and on Wednesday against Barcelona presents the opportunity to take the lead in La Liga from Barca - they are currently only a point behind. They have 3 wins and a draw in their 4 non-PSG UCL games, and they have the second-fewest goals allowed in La Liga with 11 in 15 games. Sergio Ramos, Casemiro, and Dani Carvajal have been in outstanding form defensively. Karim Benzema has led the charge with 15 goals and 7 assists in all competitions, but no other player on the roster has more than 6 goals this season. Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard, James Rodriguez, and Vinicius Jr. have all scored two or fewer goals this year, but these are guys with world-class status and there should be some positive regression in the coming weeks. Real will just be hoping they don't draw PSG in the Round of 16.
8. RB Leipzig - I wanted to put Leipzig higher than 8, but they just aren't quite as battle-tested as the teams above them. But Julian Nagelsmann's side has been outstanding this year. They currently lead the Bundesliga with 33 points and an impressive 26 goal differential. Timo Werner has had a terrific campaign with 21 goals and 8 assists in all competitions, and this team has received excellent play from a ton of young players - Ibrahima Konate, Yussuf Poulsen, Michael Sabitzer, Dayot Upamecano, Emil Forsberg. Leipzig won a super balanced Champions League group, going unbeaten in 5 of 6 games. RB Leipzig has a lot of young talent and a young new manager. The early returns have been great, but I'm not totally sure this team has what it takes to make a real run at the UCL or remain in first place in the Bundesliga. We've seen young teams like this in Monaco and Ajax make huge UCL runs in recent years, though. This team has the potential to follow in their footsteps.
9. Borrusia Dortmund - Unfortunately for this talented German team, they play in the Bundesliga, the most competitive league in Europe this season, and got placed in a UCL group with Barcelona (leading La Liga) and Inter Milan (2nd in Serie A). Nothing about their statistical results from the group stage is particularly impressive, but the difficulty of advancing in this group cannot be overlooked. Jadon Sancho has led the team with 11 goals and 11 assists in 22 appearances, but he may be on the move this summer if not in January, although it would be a surprise to see Dortmund sell midseason. Marco Reus's numbers have been a little down this year with 10 goals and 3 assists. Thorgan Hazard has shown his wizardry with 8 assists. Julian Brandt, a highly touted summer transfer from Bayer Leverkusen, has had a hard time staying on the pitch, and he only has 5 goals and 4 assists in 22 appearances, just 14 starts among them. Reus getting back into form and Brandt unlocking his full potential on the pitch will be key to Dortmund making a run in the Champions League, but at the very least they are only 4 points off first place in the Bundesliga and their 3rd-ranked +18 goal differential suggests they will finish near the top of the German table.
10. Atletico Madrid - Atleti has one of the very best defenses in the world this season. Jan Oblak is the premier sweeper keeper with only 10 goals allowed in 17 games and 9 clean sheets in that span. Diego Simeone's 4-4-2 system has worked perfectly with their current roster, and midfielders like Saul Niguez, Thomas Partey, and Koke have made huge contributions defensively. Defenders Jose Maria Giminez, Kieran Trippier, and Renan Lodi have had great seasons. Atleti only gave up 5 goals in the Champions League group stage despite being in the same group as Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen. The age-old mantra is defense wins championships, and Atleti better hope that's true because their offense has really struggled. 18 goals in 15 games is rough and just a +3 goal differential would suggest they were closer to not advancing to the knockout rounds. Joao Felix has been inconsistent but has flashed great play at times and has chipped in 4 goals. Alvaro Morata leads the team with just 8 goals. Atleti will look to win every game in the UCL 1-0, and it may just work for them against some teams. I would love to see an attacking team like PSG take on this defense.
11. Ajax - Only 5 teams in the Champions League group stage finished with a better goal differential than Ajax's +6. Only 7 teams scored more than their 12 goals. But unfortunately for this club, a loss to Valencia on Matchday 6 sealed their fate to the Europa League. The Eredivise is pretty much a two-team race between Ajax and AZ Alkmaar, but Ajax is the much more talented team and their 52 goals are 13 more than Alkmaar has scored. It's a shame Ajax won't continue in the UCL, because even without de Ligt and de Jong, I felt like this team had a chance to build on its progress from last year. Quincy Promes has been terrific, with 14 goals and 3 assists in 20 appearances. Dusan Tadic has 7 goals and 15 assists and Hakim Ziyech has 7 goals and 16 assists this season. This team still has loads of talent, and should be the early favorite to win the Europa League. It must hurt for them, though, to see teams like Lyon and Atalanta advance with fewer points than them.
12. Inter Milan - This, like Bayern, was a really hard team to rank. Unlike Bayern, however, it's Inter Champions League performance in the group stages that did not meet the elite play they have shown domestically. To be fair, they are the only team in the top 15 who had to play two top 10 teams in their UCL group. Inter struggled, with only 7 points in 6 games, and their 9 goals allowed in that span were poor. Lautaro Martinez was the only forward to really show up for this team in international play, scoring 5 goals in Champions League play. Romelu Lukaku only managed 2 goals in 6 games, falling far short of his 10 goals in 15 domestic games. Samir Handanovic is consistently one of the most underrated keepers in the world - he has allowed only 13 goals in 15 domestic games. But his UCL performance didn't match what he has done domestically. Inter is 2nd in Serie A, just one point behind Juventus. In 15 domestic matches, they have scored 31 goals and allowed just 13, giving them the second-best goal differential in Italian play (behind just Lazio). Inter Milan is more talented than their Champions League showing suggested, and they should still be considered a threat to win Serie A. They will also be among the most competitive teams in the Europa League the rest of the way.
13. Leicester City - It's difficult to put Leicester higher than this because they aren't even competing in the Europa League. It's hard to know how they would fare against top European talent. But what they have done in the Premier League this season, with the headlines dominated by Liverpool v. Man City III, is nothing short of astounding. Leicester has bagged 39 points in 17 games, good for 2nd place (ahead City). Leicester ranks third in the Prem with 40 goals and has a league-leading +29 goal differential thanks to their defense only allowing 11 goals. Jamie Vardy is roaring with a league-leading 16 domestic goals this season, 5 more than second place. Ricardo Pereira and Wilfred Ndidi have combined for 83 Premier League tackles, making Leicester fans forget about losing Ngolo Kante a few years ago. Kasper Schmeichel has had an outstanding season with a 77.6 save percentage and 7 clean sheets in 17 games. There are no guarantees in the Prem, but 13 points of 5th place Tottenham, Leicester looks ready to lock in a top-4 spot. It will be exciting to see them take on some of these elite European clubs should they make it to the UCL next year.
14. Manchester United - Now we get to the part of this list where I get to rant about my beloved and sometimes hated Red Devils. I expect pretty much nobody to read this whole thing, but here we go. If you watched us beat Manchester City at the Etihad last week, you'd be surprised to see this team not in the top ten. But if you watched us draw Everton at home today, you'd be surprised to see us here at all. The inconsistencies of this season have been absolutely maddening, and it's so frustrating as a United fan to see us drop points against mediocre opponents when we're undefeated against the Big 6 + Leicester this season. United is 6th in the table after today's results, 4 points away from 4th placed Chelsea. But today's game provided a massive opportunity to knock off a weak Everton team at home and take the 3 points to move into 5th place ahead of Tottenham. And the team couldn't capitalize. When we play high-end competition like Manchester City, our offense has space to roam and Marcus Rashford, Daniel James, and Anthony Martial can capitalize on opportunities on the counter-attack. But in games against an inferior opponent who parks the bus for much of the game, it becomes painfully obvious that the midfield combination of Jesse Lingard, Fred, Scott McTominay, and Andreas Pereira doesn't have the passing quality to generate good shot opportunities. Paul Pogba is one of the best in the world at finding long passes through a tight defense, and his absence is most felt in games like today. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer is proving himself to be the man for the job over time, and this club still needs a bit of a roster overhaul. Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho, James Maddison, Mario Mandzukic, and Bruno Fernandes have all been linked to United in recent weeks, and each would provide a much-needed boost in creative attacking play. Marcus Rashford has been in tremendous form with 8 goals in his last 12 appearances in all competitions, and Daniel James has provided some attacking help with 3 goals and 4 assists. His pace will keep him an integral part of this team for years to come if his precision and technique can improve. 18-year-old Mason Greenwood is surprisingly the second-leading scorer on the team with 7 goals, and he has world-class potential, but it's clear more of an attacking threat is needed. The United defense has been much improved, and new signings Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire have provided much-needed relief to last season's overmatched David De Gea. At this point if you're still reading this you're either a United fan or fucking bored as hell. GGMU.