European club power rankings

Thought it would be fun to make a power rankings thread after some of the recent shake-ups in Europe.

1. Bayern Munich- Clearly the most dominant team in Europe this season. They've taken an incredible 75/87 possible points in their domestic league, and are rightful favorites to win the Champions League even if they did need a fortunate call to advance through the quarters against Juventus.

2. Real Madrid- A team that initially looked to be somewhat of a mess has really come together under Zizou, as a domestic run highlighted by an away Clasico win has brought them within 4 points in La Liga, and they have the best record in the Champions League this year at 7-1-1. They also have the best goal differential in Europe in their domestic league at +64 through 32 games.

3. Barcelona- What a difference a couple weeks can make! Barcelona looked to be untouchable in Spain and favorites to win the Champions League, but losses to Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, and Atletico Madrid leave Barcelona with only a 3 point lead domestically, and eliminated from the premier European competition.

4. Atletico Madrid- Atletico's definitely proving themselves to be the real deal, making the Champions League semis for the second year in a row by eliminating the holders, and still within close striking range domestically as well. Still, I can't put them ahead of Barca when their goal differential is 22 goals worse in the same league.

5. Juventus- After a poor start to the season, Juventus has caught fire in Serie A with an absurd record of 21 wins, 1 draw, and 0 losses in their last 22 matches. They also have to feel hard done in the Champions League where if a goal had been correctly called onside, they would have built an unstoppable 3.5 goal lead against the best team in Europe, and would likely still be alive in the Champions' League.

6. PSG- Failing yet again to make the semis will leave a bitter taste in Parisian mouths this year, but Paris has still been extremely dominant over the course of the season holding a massive 28 point lead in Ligue 1 where they clinched the title absurdly early.

7. Manchester City- Somewhat of a Jekyll and Hyde performance from Manchester City this year who have been excellent in Europe where they've qualified for the semis with an overall record of 6-2-2, but who have struggled in their domestic league sitting 15 points back of Leicester City. Still, with their best player Kevin de Bruyne finally healthy, expect City's performance to tick up closer to the elite level.

8. Borussia Dortmund- An unbelievable collapse giving up 3 late goals against Liverpool cost Dortmund their chance to win a European trophy this season, but they have managed a record of 21-5-3 in the Bundesliga this year and are still alive in the DFB-Pokal as well.

9. Tottenham Hotspur- Apologies to Leicester, but Spurs have been the best team in England domestically this year where their +35 goal differential is 9 better than anyone else in England. They were also strong in the Europa League when playing a full squad before ultimately punting it to focus on winning the Premier League.

10. Benfica- Benfica's looking good in Portugal with 73 points and a +54 goal differential to 71 points and a +41 GD for their nearest competition. In Europe, they followed up 2 wins over Zenit St. Petersburg in the Round of 16 with a very game performance against Bayern, losing 3-2 on aggregate.

 

Yeah, I was trying to split the difference with City a little bit since they should clearly be behind PSG on their European form, but should also clearly be behind Spurs on what they've done domestically. Portuguese teams are always super tough to rate accurately so I definitely wouldn't quibble if you wanted Benfica rated a bit higher.

 

I assume you're not arguing them on front of the Big 3 or Atletico so why do you think they should be ahead of Juventus? PSG picked up 96 points in Ligue 1 while Juve picked up 91 points in a much stronger Serie A even with a disastrous start. Their recent form has been much better. Also, they got one of the worst draws in the CL this year having to face Bayern early and yet they would have advanced if their third goal had been correctly called onside in the 2nd leg. Last year, when they didn't have to suffer from a bad call, they made the final. Granted, PSG does have a much better domestic goal differential, but it's hard to separate that from the quality of opposition and the style of play for the respective teams.