The Top 25 is back after the completion of the first month of the season. The usual suspects are in the top 5, but the list has changed around quite a bit due to transfers over the summer.
1) Real Madrid CF (ESP)
2) FC Barcelona (ESP)
3) Manchester City FC (ENG)
4) Bayern Munich (GER)
5) Manchester United FC (ENG)
6) Chelsea FC (ENG)
7) Juventus FC (ITA)
8) Borussia Dortmund (GER)
9) Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
10) Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS)
11) AC Milan (ITA)
12) Arsenal FC (ENG)
13) Schalke 04 (GER)
14) SSC Napoli (ITA)
15) Atletico de Madrid (ESP)
16) Olympique de Marseille (FRA)
17) Malaga CF (ESP)
18) Olympique de Lyon (FRA)
19) CSKA Moscow (RUS)
20) SL Benfica (POR)
21) Borussia Monchengladbach (GER)
22) Ajax Amsterdam (NED)
23) Everton FC (ENG)
24) SS Lazio (ITA)
25) Montpellier HSC (FRA)
Notes:
1-10: Real Madrid deserves top spot after beating out Barcelona for last year's La Liga crown, as well as their Supercopa victory last week on away goals. After toppling the Catalans, Mourinho's goal for this year must surely be another Champions League crown. It doesn't start easy. Early matchups with Manchester City and Dortmund make it a difficult road to London..While the Premier League has proven itself to be the deepest in Europe, its top teams have struggled mightily in the defensive end. City, United and Chelsea have all conceded at least two goals twice within their first three to four games. United were the only team not to reinforce their ranks this summer, although they do have returns from Phil Jones and Chris Smalling to look forward to. United have drawn another easy group, but will struggle again in Europe if they do not improve, especially after conceding eight goals in four games against Basel and Benfica last year.. Zenit made two huge acquisitions in Hulk and Axel Witsel, giving them a top-ten pedigree in both talent and experience. They should be favorites in Group C and could make a deep run in Europe after a disappointing drop-down to the Europa league last year.. After becoming the biggest of all spenders this summer, PSG have failed to see results on the pitch. Draws in each of their first three league games (followed by a first win against Lille) have put pressure on the new signings as well as manager Carlo Ancelotti. Group A looks soft for the Parisians, but they could be exposed by the experience of Dynamo Kiev and Porto.
11-25: Atletico Madrid are back on the rise after several mediocre seasons. Falcao can be argued as the best striker in Europe at the moment, scoring a hat-trick in a resounding Super Cup victory over Chelsea. Whether Atleti can keep him is a completely different question - transfer rumors have already started coming in from England. If he makes a January move to the Premier League, it could be a season-changer.. Everton are currently the fifth-best team in England. Tottenham, Liverpool and Newcastle have all stuttered at the start. If Everton keeps up their second-half form of recent years, they could challenge for a European place. Marouane Fellaini is in the top form of his career.. A horrendous 10th place finish is clearly out of the minds of Marseille as they have raced to a four-for-four start in Ligue 1. More importantly, they hold an early six-point advantage over PSG. The hot start makes the acquisition of Joey Barton even more questionable for L'OM.. Malaga look like a great story after they qualified for the Champions League against Panathinaikos. A huge investment looked to make Malaga a mainstay in Spanish football, but funds have dried up and the club had to sell many of the stars they bought. However, Manuel Pellegrini has kept heads up in the camp, good for a first appearance in the UCL and seven points from nine in La Liga.. Same old Arsenal this summer, as the club again decided to sell its instrumental players. Wenger did a better job this summer reinforcing his ranks, but the fans and players of the club are questioning its transfer policy. If they want to be serious contenders for trophies, and not just competing well, Arsenal must make a stand with its top players and force them to stay. Whether that means paying them more or not is the issue.
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