Embedded Files
One of the reasons I love the opening of the Champions League proper is that the upsets usually have a big effect on the rankings. This year is no exception.
Lots of clubs moved within a point of two of where they were last week. In fact, there were a lot of clubs switching this place in the Top Ten, such as Liverpool and Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Real Madrid and RB Leipzig and Napoli, with the first team mentioned in each of those combinations moving past the second team in each.
Three clubs moved up three notches or more. The biggest mover was Paris St.-Germain, who moved up five spots from 19th to 14th, mostly on the win over Borussia Dortmund, which also knocked Dortmund out of the WCR Top 10. Other big upward movers were Newcastle United, who pulled off an 8-0 victory over Sheffield United, and Bayer Leverkusen, who continue to roll through both the Europa League and German Bundesliga.
The biggest mover downward was SL Benfica. The Portuguese side didn’t look good in their surprise 0-2 loss at home to RB Salzburg. Losses in European competitions also resulted in multi-spot drops for Brighton and Borussia Dortmund.
Despite all the movement in the rankings this week, we still have the same twenty-five clubs as we anxiously await the second round of the group stage, which should bring even more movement.
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) - The halftime score of City’s debut in this season’s Champions League left most people scratching their heads, but ultimately they were able to play like themselves and come from behind to beat Red Star Belgrade 3-1. In Premier League action, City’s match was a lot more contentious than close. After scoring two only goals, there was no more scoring other than a second round knockdown scored by Rodrigo, resulting in a red card, but not changing the 2-0 outcome. Coming up for City is a Wednesday night battle at St. James’ Park in the only competition Man City didn’t win last season - the League Cup, and then a visit to Wolverhampton on Saturday.
2. Liverpool (Eng) (117 pts) (LW 3) - Liverpool is getting rather predictable. Give up a first-half goal to make people nervous, score three of your own, and win comfortably. In their last six matches, they have won 3-1. 2-1. 3-0, 3-1, 3-1 & 3-1. The last two came in the past week, first at LASK in the Europa League, and then at home against West Ham United. I’ll go out on a limb and predict 3-1 victories for Liverpool this week at home against Leicester City in their EFL Cup match and Saturday away against Tottneham.
3. Bayern Munich (Ger) (116 pts) (LW 2) - It was a pretty good week for the second best club in the world. First, Bayern picked up three points in a 4-3 home victory over Manchester United in a match that never seemed as close as the scoreline suggested. Over the weekend, the Bavarians used a Harry Kane hat trick to defeat VfL Bochum by a touchdown, with an extra point added for good measure. This week will see Bayern visit Preußen Münster in its first DFB Pokal match of the season and then traveling to Leipzig to play RB Leipzig in a battle of WCR Top Ten clubs whose only Bundesliga blemishes have come at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.
4. Inter Milan (Ita) (105 pts) (LW 5) - It felt like a rough week for Inter Milan, but in the big scheme of things, it probably wasn’t that bad. After giving up an early goal, it took a late goal for Internazionale to record a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad in their opening UCL Group Stage match, but an away point is an away point. Domestically, Inter didn’t look great against Empoli, but escaped with a 1-0 away victory, leaving them with a full fifteen points after five Serie A matches and a 14-1 overall goal differential. This week, Inter will play two clubs in Serie A action that you would expect them to defeat - Sassuolo at home on Wednesday night and then at home against Salernitana on Saturday night.
5. Real Madrid (Esp) (105 pts) (LW 4) -Real Madrid did what they had to do in order to pick up three points in a 1-0 victory over Union Berlin in their Champions League Group Stage match. Domestically, they could not manage to do that, however, and they fell 1-3 to city rival Atletico Madrid in a match that might start raising questions about how good the royal club is this season. They should bounce back this week against easier competitions - Las Palmas on Wednesday and Girona on Saturday - but all eyes will be on their match at Napoli the following week.
6. Arsenal (Eng) (102 points) (LW 6) - Arsenal looked to be in top form in their 4-0 Champions League victory over PSV Eindhoven at midweek. Over the weekend, though they played well in the North London Derby, they just couldn’t shake Heung-Min Son and the rest of the Spurs comebacks, resulting in a 2-2 draw at the end. This weekend, Arsenal enters the EFL Cup with an away match against Brentford at midweek. They will actually have to leave the city on Saturday to take on Bournemouth in their next Premier League match.
7. Barcelona (Esp) (95 points) (LW 7) -Ultimately, it turned out to be a very good week for Barcelona. First, they scored their second straight 5-0 victory, this one over Royal Antwerp in their first UCL Group Stage match of the season. Then, they scored three goals between the 80th and 90th minutes of the match against Celta Vigo to snatch a 3-2 victory from the jaws of defeat. Barça will have two La Liga matches this week, playing at Mallorca on Tuesday night and then hosting fellow UCL club Sevilla in the Friday night league match of the week.
8. RB Leipzig (Ger) (88 pts) (LW 9) - Leipzig looked good enough during their Champions League debut, picking three points up on the road against Swiss club Young Boys. Domestically, it took a sweet Timo Werner goal at the 75th minute to deliver RB a 1-0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach. This week Leipzig will likely look past Wehen Wiesbaden in their DFB Pokal midweek match and focus most of their attention on their matchup with Bayern Munich, which they will host early Saturday evening.
9. Napoli (Ita) (85 pts) (LW 8) - There was some good news for Napoli supporters this week as the team from the south scored a 2-1 away win over Braga to get three quick points in the Champions League. Domestically, however, Napoli drew 0-0 with Bologna and has now gone three consecutive Serie A matches without a victory for the first time in a year-and-a-half. They will have two chances to end that streak this week, first at home against Udinese on Wednesday night and then at Lecce on Saturday afternoon.
10. Atlético Madrid (Esp) (70 pts) (LW 12) - Maybe in future years, Atléti players will think it was worth dropping two points to be part of such an amazing finish in their 1-1 draw at Lazio in the Champions League. Of course, that will only happen if they advance. Regardless, their 3-1 home victory over Real Madrid in the Madrileño Derby will always bring good memories. Atletico has two league matches this week, starting at Osasuna on Thursday night, and finishing at home against Cadíz on Sunday night.
11. Porto (Por) (66.5 pts) (LW 11)
12. Borussia Dortmund (Ger) (62 pts) (LW 10)
13. Newcastle United (Eng) (60 pts) (LW 16)
14. Paris St. Germain (Fra) (59.5 pts) (LW 19)
15. AC Milan (Ita) (56 pts) (LW 13)
16. Manchester United (Eng) (50 pts) (LW 15)
17. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (49 pts) (LW 18)
18. Benfica (Por) (39 pts) (LW 14)
19. Brighton (Eng) (32 pts) (LW 17)
20. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (25 pts) (LW 23)
21. Juventus (Ita) (24 pts) (LW 20)
22. Aston Villa (Eng) (22 pts) (LW 22)
23. Palmeiras (Bra) (21.7 pts) (LW 21)
24. Sporting CP (Por) (16 pts) (LW 24)
25. West Ham United (Eng) (13.5 pts) (LW 25)
Also receiving points: Real Sociedad (Esp) (9.5), Feyenoord (Ned) (6), Brentford (Eng) (5), RB Salzburg (Aut) (3), Chelsea (Eng) (2), PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (2), Roma (Ita) (1), Villarreal (Esp) (0.5), Atalanta (0.5).
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse