Top 25 - February 23

I apologize for the Top 25 being two days late, but I think I should publish it on Thursdays anyway to accommodate for the European ties taking place. Here is this week's Top 25:

Format: Rank (Previous) Team (Country)

1 (1) FC Barcelona (ESP)
2 (2) Real Madrid CF (ESP)
3 (3) Manchester City FC (ENG)
4 (4) FC Bayern Munich (GER)
5 (5) Manchester United FC (ENG)
6 (7) Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
7 (8) Borussia Dortmund (GER)
8 (9) Juventus FC (ITA)
9 (11) AC Milan (ITA)
10 (10) Paris St. Germain FC (FRA)
11 (6) Chelsea FC (ENG)
12 (13) FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS)
13 (14) SL Benfica (POR)
14 (12) Arsenal FC (ENG)
15 (19) Montpellier HSC (FRA)
16 (16) Schalke 04 (GER)
17 (17) LOSC Lille (FRA)
18 (18) Olympique de Marseille (FRA)
19 (15) FC Inter Milan (ITA)
20 (20) Olympique Lyon (FRA)
21 (21) CSKA Moscow (RUS)
22 (22) Newcastle United FC (ENG)
23 (23) Borussia Monchengladbach (GER)
24 (25) SSC Napoli (ITA)
25 (NR) FC Basel (SWI)

Dropped: Udinese Calcio (24)

Notes:

TOP TEN: AC Milan return to the top ten after three consecutive wins, including a hammering of Arsenal and the infliction of Udinese's first home defeat. Milan certainly have the quality to play with anyone in Europe. It is all about keeping those players in form and focused.. I haven't moved Bayern down yet but they are certainly in worrying form. Draws against the weaker Bundesliga sides away from home will not be good enough in a year where there are four legitimate contenders. They are also the second top 5 team to lose away to FC Basel.. It was surprising to see Real Madrid concede a late goal against CSKA. Mourinho's teams are known for their ability to keep leads and get results. It didn't happen in Moscow, and while Real still have an advantage heading back to the Bernebeu, they failed to deliver the knockout blow.. I'm pretty sure Barcelona don't care about La Liga this season. Another loss, away to Osasuna, shows the lackadaisical nature of Barca's domestic season. Now ten points back of Real, the Catalans may not want to bother attempting to cut the large gap in order to focus on winning the Champions League.

11-25: Arsenal and Chelsea are now deadlocked in a tight race in the Premier League. Unfortunately for the London clubs, that race is for fourth place, not the title. Arsenal is all but out of the Champions League and have been eliminated from both domestic cups, while Chelsea faces a 3-1 deficit against Napoli and a replay against Birmingham to stay in the FA Cup. With the current top three looking very strong in the Premier League, the race looks down to these two big clubs for fourth (with maybe a mention for Newcastle). The club that does not obtain that fourth spot could be in a world of trouble..  FC Basel has earned its place in the Top 25 after an impressive 1-0 win over Bayern Munich. After enduring a torrid ten minute spell to start the contest, Basel grew into the game, creating multiple great chances, hitting two posts, before finally scoring the winner in the 86th minute. They do not pack the back like APOEL; Basel plays a very attractive style that has made them a loveable underdog. The task in Munich will be much more difficult, however.. Montpellier were minutes away from going top of Ligue 1 but PSG equalized to snatch a 2-2 draw. With thirty-one points out of thirty-six at home, along with a strong away record and top goal difference in the league, Montpellier must be considered a top-two team in France.. I'm impressed with the showings from both CSKA and Zenit in the Champions League. Both teams are on winter break and faced top-15 sides, with CSKA gaining a draw and Zenit a 3-2 win. I've rated these teams highly and they seem to be backing me up. Not quite sure why Zenit are attempting to acquire Andrei Arshavin though. Maybe a return would spark the little Russian's creativity back into him.