WCR Top 25 - June 6, 2023

This is the penultimate WCR Top 25 of the season, as we will bring you one more list following Saturday night’s UEFA Champions League match between #1 Manchester City and #7 Internazionale (and also after Sunday’s match between #23 Palmerias and Sao Paulo).

There wasn’t a lot of movement in this week’s rankings, as to be expected since half of the clubs ended their seasons the previous week.  The big exception was Barcelona, who plummeted three notches following a second straight week of losing to a club trying to avoid relegation in La Liga.  Other than that, it was mostly jostling among clubs, a position here and there.

Lazio returned to the rankings.  The Italian Serie A runners-up replace RB Salzburg, who celebrated their return to the rankings with a draw against Austria Wien.  Also, Tottenham returned, replacing Chelsea, despite both clubs having the week off.  Given the state of the final table, however, it’s hard to say it doesn’t make sense for them to be there.

All of the rankings are below.  If you don’t like the list, please feel free to check out our methodology page, which includes links to all of the source data we are using. 

1.  Manchester City (Eng) (125 pts) (5 first place votes) (LW 1) - A rested Manchester City is back to playing the A-Team, which has led them back to the winner’s circle.  A 2-1 victory over Manchester United at Wembley was good enough to win the 2022-23 FA Cup and City is now two-thirds of the way to matching their city-rival’s treble from 1999.  To complete the hat trick, City will have to defeat Inter Milan in Istanbul next Saturday night in the Champions League final.

2.  Bayern Munich (Ger) (118 pts) (LW 2) - Season Completed

3.  Liverpool (Eng) (109 pts) (LW 4) -Season Completed

4. Real Madrid (Esp) (108 pts) (LW 3) -In his final match after fourteen years in a Real Madrid uniform, Karim Benzema scored the tying goal on a penalty kick which ultimately gave Los Blancos a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao in the season finale.  Being removed from the match immediately afterwards to a standing ovation at the Bernabeu was the classy way to end this leg of his career.  The loss also assured Osasuna would qualify for a European position, though as it turned out, they didn’t actually need the help.

5.  Arsenal (Eng) (97 points) (LW 6) - Season Completed

6.  Napoli (Ita) (96 pts) (LW 7) - Napoli gave their fans a going away present with a 2-0 victory over relegated-to-be Sampdoria at home, including a penalty kick by Victor Osimhen, their biggest star, who could be playing his final match in a Napoli jersey.  It will be interesting to see how many of their top players Napoli will be able to hold on to during the summer transfer window.

7.  Inter Milan (Ita) (93 pts) (LW 8) - Internazionale didn’t really need a result this weekend as they’ve already qualified for next season’s Champions League, but they played the season out well and scored a 1-0 victory over Torino in their final Serie A match of the season.  Of course, that’s not the end of the road for Inter, who will take on Manchester City next week in Istanbul for the biggest trophy in Europe.

8. Barcelona (Esp) (90 points) (LW 5) - There were ten teams playing in the five late matches that would determine the final relegation spot this weekend.  And the only one of those ten clubs to lose was . . . you guessed it . . . Barcelona.  In a match that was much more important to the opposition than it was to the La Liga champions, Celta Vigo proved better by a 2-1 score in the final match of the season for both clubs.

9.  Manchester United (Eng) (76 pts) (LW 10) - United put up a good fight against their city rivals 1-2 in the FA Cup final, but ultimately Man City turned out to be too tough for the Red Devils, just as the best club in the world has proven to be too tough for most opponents.  That match marked the end of the season for a Manchester United club that, as usual, is looking to make some big moves in the transfer market.

10.  Borussia Dortmund (Ger) (76 pts) (LW 9) - Season Completed

11.  RB Leipzig (Ger) (71 pts) (LW 11)

12.  Atlético Madrid (Esp) (71 pts) (LW 12)

13.  Newcastle United (Eng) (69 pts) (LW 13)

14.  Porto (Por) (58 pts) (LW 15)

15.  Benfica (Por) (52 pts) (LW 16)

16.  Paris St. Germain (Fra) (50 pts) (LW 14)

17.  AC Milan (Ita) (39 pts) (LW 17)

18.  Brighton (Eng) (37 pts) (LW 18)

19.  Aston Villa (Eng) (27 pts) (LW 19)

20. Real Sociedad (Esp) (26 pts) (LW 20)

21.  Juventus (Ita) (21 pts) (LW 22)

22.  Brentford (Eng) (18 pts) (LW 21)

23.  Palmeiras (Bra) (16.7 pts) (LW 23)

24. Lazio (Ita) (14 pts) (LW 24)

25. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (11 pts) (LW 25)

Also receiving points:  Chelsea (Eng) (10), Ajax (Ned) (8), RB Salzburg (Aut) (8), Lens (Fra) (7), Lille (Fra) (7), Sporting CP (Por) (5), PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (5), Sevilla (Esp) (4),  Villarreal (Esp) (3), Feyenoord (Ned) (3), Roma (Ita) (3).