European Club Power Rankings After November 17-19 Matches

The November international break was great, we're big enough to admit that, but there's nothing like the fuzzy feeling you get when domestic football returns en masse. 

Europe's top leagues resumed on Friday with a shock Borussia Dortmund loss to Stuttgart. The weekend continued with derbies in north London and Madrid on Saturday, before Sunday added yet more wins for Inter Milan and Valencia.

The rankings are a season-long measurement of clubs. Just like last term, they track teams throughout 2017/18, taking into account results from all competitions.

Sides that have lost the fewest games naturally rank higher—though the strength of opposition met in a loss is considered—and both Champions League form and presence are used as tiebreakers for those with similar records. Those who gather big wins against strong opposition get a natural boost. 

20. Sevilla (New!)

Borussia Dortmund drop from the top 20 after their seventh defeat of the season on Friday, so that paves the way for Sevilla to come back into the rankings. They've hardly sparkled, but they have at least kept themselves in among the chasing pack in La Liga.

19. AS Monaco (-2)

Monaco's 2017-18 is beginning to look like a true hangover season. A draw with Amiens isn't good enough—particularly when your Ligue 1 title rivals win by three despite not hitting top gear.

18. Lyon (-2)

Montpellier brought Lyon's four-game win streak in Ligue 1 to an end on Sunday, as the two sides drew 0-0. Flicking through Les Gones' XI, it's remarkable how much youth Bruno Genesio is utilising; nine of the starting 11 were aged 24 or under.

17. Liverpool (+2)

Mohamed Salah FC? At times, it feels like it.

The Egypt international broke a record on Saturday as he netted his eighth and ninth goals of the season from just 12 league showings. He's the quickest to this mark—surpassing Robbie Fowler on his way to it.

16. Atletico Madrid (Stay)

Atletico Madrid drew (shock!) and failed to muster a goal once again, but given they squared off against the European champions this week, we'll forgive them. 

15. Arsenal (+3)

Hands up, who expected that from Arsenal?

So often Arsene Wenger has struggled tactically against the top sides, but the game plan he drew up for the north London derby was exceptional. The high-press, controlling strategy took the match away from Tottenham Hotspur, who looked perplexed by the work rate on show.

Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette performed superbly as a trio, and it's telling that the Gunners have won all three of the games they've started together in.

14. Tottenham Hotspur (-7)

Tottenham turned in a pretty putrid performance at the Emirates Stadium. Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino may have a point when he blames some questionable officiating for the goals, but did they deserve to get anything from the game? Absolutely not.

Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Mousa Dembele looked half fit at best, and the rest of the team failed to deal with the pressure Arsenal placed them under.

13. Chelsea (+1)

Chelsea blew the doors off West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, beating them 4-0 at the Hawthorns thanks to some stellar work from Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata and Co.

Antonio Conte has decided to grow a beard to see if it improves the Blues' luck, and so far his new facial hair is off to a great start. If this continues, he might be able to swing a freelance gig as a mall Santa throughout December.

12. Juventus (-3)

Some late goalscoring from Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain made Juventus' loss to Sampdoria look a close one on Sunday, but the reality is they were 3-0 down until the 91st minute. What on earth?

It's just the latest result that further points towards an end to the dominant Bianconeri era. They don't play the best football in Serie A, and they aren't getting the best results.

11. Real Madrid (+2)

A draw (and a clean sheet) away to fierce rivals Atletico Madrid is by no means a poor result in isolation, but in the context of the weekend and La Liga's developments this season, it's not ideal either.

Los Blancos will need to make history to overturn the 10-point deficit behind Barcelona, and given the form the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema are in, it feels as though that gap might continue to widen rather than close. 

10. Manchester United (+1)

What a difference Paul Pogba makes.

Returning to the starting XI for the first time since September, he reinstated United's swagger on the ball on Saturday. They suddenly looked vibrant in attack, enchanting the Old Trafford crowd and putting four past a helpless Newcastle United defence.

With Romelu Lukaku back in form again, both Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford playing well either side of him and Zlatan Ibrahimovic making his long-awaited comeback, things seem pretty rosy for the Red Devils again.

9. Lazio (-4)

Lazio's relentless streak of form was bound to be curtailed at some point, but for it to happen in the Derby della Capitale? That's tough for fans to take.

It all imploded in the space of four minutes, with Bastos conceding a penalty before the whole defence allowed Radja Nainggolan to waltz forward and fire home from range. It was so unlike what we've seen from the Biancocelesti throughout 2017-18 up until that point.

8. AS Roma (+2)

They may have started the season a little timidly, but Roma appear to be warming up now.

Beating Lazio in their current vein of form is no mean feat, but they managed it on Saturday. Diego Perrotti and Nainggolan netted in a 2-1 victory that saw them leapfrog their opponents in the table.

7. Valencia (+5)

It's eight wins in a row for Valencia. That's a club record.

The latest was away to Espanyol, who had won three of their last four home fixtures, making the RCDE Stadium a difficult place to go. They had their chances and were right in the game even at 1-0, but Santi Mina killed it off late. 

6. Inter Milan (+2)

More and more people are making the trip to San Siro each week to watch this Inter side, and it's no wonder. They've already hit double figures for wins this campaign, remain unbeaten and boast a formidable striking talent in Mauro Icardi.

He struck twice on Sunday to help down Atalanta, who provided a stern test on the night. The Nerazzurri are now nestled snugly in second place in the Serie A table.

5. Napoli (+1)

Serie A's 13th gameweek saw Napoli host AC Milan—two teams you probably thought would be a lot closer to one another in the table at this stage. Instead, the Partenopei's 2-1 win moved them 16 points ahead of the Rossoneri in the table.

Lorenzo Insigne and Piotr Zielinski did the damage as Napoli played an unusual game, enjoying just 45 per cent possession—a full 15 per cent lower than their typical average (60 per cent). Milan didn't threaten too much, though, and their goal was a late volley from outside the box in hit-and-hope circumstances.

This, tied with Juve's loss, puts Maurizio Sarri's men four clear at the top. Now, to turn the attention to a less-than-impressive Champions League campaign.

4. Bayern Munich (Stay)

It took 30 minutes for Bayern to find a way past Augsburg, but from the moment Arturo Vidal slammed home, the complexion of the game changed. Robert Lewandowski soon followed with two more.

The result makes it eight played, eight won under Jupp Heynckes, and ESPN FC reported on the same weekend that Hoffenheim striker Sandro Wagner is a transfer target for the club.

They're playing well and have an eye on the window. All is well again at the Allianz Arena.

3. Barcelona (Stay)

Another week, another win for Barcelona. A 3-0 triumph over Leganes wouldn't usually be cause for mass celebration, but in this scenario, things feel different.

Luis Suarez scored not one but two of the goals. Coming into the game, he hadn't found the back of the net for a month and was struggling for form, but perhaps now—finally—the rough run is over.

We're not sure what will have pleased Ernesto Valverde more: Suarez turning up, or the Madrid clubs drawing just a few hours later.

2. Paris Saint-Germain (Stay)

Paris Saint-Germain took care of business against Nantes on Saturday. Edinson Cavani scored his 14th and 15th Ligue 1 goals of the season as they won 4-1.

Unai Emery has rotated his side quite a bit this season, sharing out the starts and ensuring the likes of Javier Pastore and Angel Di Maria get a chance. Sixteen different players have started six or more league games so far, keeping them nice and fresh.

1. Manchester City (Stay)

Manchester City played some swashbuckling football on the way to a 2-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday, but they claimed the victory courtesy of some seriously good fortune.

Vincent Kompany returned from injury and immediately committed a last-man foul on Jamie Vardy, but he  somehow avoided a red card. The Foxes then struck the post just seconds before Kevin De Bruyne's 49th-minute wonder strike to make it 2-0.

Football, eh? Fine, fine margins.

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All statistics via WhoScored.com