📈 Power Rankings: PSG on the march, Arsenal on the slide? | OneFootball

The international break is well and truly over, meaning club football is back and so are the Power Rankings. 

Every week we rank the best teams in Europe based on their rolling performance levels as well as recent results.

With no match this week, Manchester United went to Ireland for a training camp. That means they have fallen out of the top ten, but who replaces them?

10. Sporting CP ⬇️ (Last week: 8th)

An admirable performance against Arsenal almost generated the desired outcome for Sporting on Tuesday, but they fell just short, conceding Kai Havertz goal in stoppage time. The game is still in the balance, though, heading into the second leg in north London, which is the least they could have asked for.

On the domestic front, they continued their impressive seven-month unbeaten run in the Primeira Liga by beating Santa Clara 4-2 at home.

Read – Champions League takeaways from the quarter-final first legs

9. Lens ⬇️ (7th)

A 3-0 defeat to Lille could be the death knell for Lens’ unlikely title challenge, especially after their top-of-the-table clash with PSG was postponed due to the UEFA Champions League, meaning the Parisians now have a game in hand.

8. Como ⬆️ (9th)

Their three-match winning streak may have been ended by a goalless draw with Udinese, but they remain undefeated in their last seven Serie A games and right in the hunt for Champions League qualification.

7. Napoli 🆕

Napoli jump right up to seventh after securing a massive win over AC Milan on Monday, extending their winning run to five matches. They are now seven points off leaders Inter Milan, whose form has slumped massively in recent weeks. A title challenge still seems unlikely, but Antonio Conte’s side are at least looking more like the team that won the Scudetto last season.

6. Man City ↔️

A domineering 4-0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup put Manchester City once step closer to a second trophy this season. As you were.

5. Real Madrid ⬇️ (4th)

If it weren’t for the magical palms of Manuel Neuer, Real Madrid could have been in a far better position in the Champions League quarter-finals right now. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that they could and probably should have been battered by Bayern Munich in the home leg. And that came after a surprise defeat to Mallorca at the Bernabeu, dealing a huge blow to their La Liga title chances.

4. Arsenal ⬇️ (3rd)

A shaky couple of weeks for the Gunners. A shock defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup ended their Treble dreams, while they just about managed to get out of Lisbon with a 1-0 over Sporting CP in midweek.

Read – Arsenal close in on Champions League record held by Chelsea

3. Barcelona ⬇️ (2nd)

An odd week for Barcelona. They beat ten-man Atletico Madrid away before losing to Atletico Madrid at home after they themselves were reduced to ten men. They created more than enough chances to beat their Spanish rivals even with the disadvantage, illustrating their attacking strength, but that’s cold comfort after suffering such a brutal defeat in the Champions League.

Side note: For anyone wondering why Atleti have not made the list, it takes more than just one win to get in and they had lost three matches consecutively before beating Barça.

2. PSG ⬆️ (5th)

A true return to form for Paris Saint-Germain, who absolutely dominated Liverpool on Wednesday night. The Reds admittedly did not offer the most threatening of opposition, but PSG didn’t find their stride in Europe until this stage of the season last year either. And we all know how that worked out for them.

They have won their last five matches in all competitions and sit atop the Ligue 1 table.

1. Bayern Munich ↔️

Three late goals, two of which came in stoppage time, were required to beat Freiburg in a Bundesliga game that was more tense than it had any right to be. That one could be put down to some light rotation, as Bayern Munich looked excellent away to Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Vincent Kompany’s men should have won the first leg by a bigger margin, something they may come to regret when the two teams meet again next week.

Read – Premier League guaranteed fifth Champions League place

See Also – Five who played for both PSG and Liverpool

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