Top 25 for this week. There are a number of important ties coming up after the international break involving these squads so keep a look out the next few weeks.
Here is the distribution by country: England 6, Italy 4, Spain 4, France 3, Germany 3, Russia 2, Portugal 1, Belarus 1, Scotland 1
1 (1) Real Madrid CF (ESP)
2 (2) FC Barcelona (ESP)
3 (6) Chelsea FC (ENG)
4 (4) Bayern Munich (GER)
5 (3) Manchester City FC (ENG)
6 (7) Juventus FC (ITA)
7 (5) Manchester United FC (ENG)
8 (8) Borussia Dortmund (GER)
9 (12) Arsenal FC (ENG)
10 (15) Atletico de Madrid (ESP)
11 (14) SSC Napoli (ITA)
12 (9) Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
13 (13) Schalke 04 (GER)
14 (17) Malaga CF (ESP)
15 (10) Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS)
16 (16) Olympique de Marseille (FRA)
17 (11) AC Milan (ITA)
18 (18) Olympique de Lyon (FRA)
19 (19) CSKA Moscow (RUS)
20 (23) Everton FC (ENG)
21 (20) SL Benfica (POR)
22 (24) SS Lazio (ITA)
23 (NR) Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
24 (NR) BATE Borisov (BLR)
25 (NR) Celtic FC (SCO)
Out of rankings: 21. Borussia Monchengladbach (GER), 22. Ajax Amsterdam (NED), 25. Montpellier HSC (FRA)
Notes:
1-10: Real Madrid are finally returning back to form, clinging to that number one place after a Clasico 2-2 draw with Barcelona. Whether they can maintain their focus against the smaller clubs remains to be seen.. Atletico Madrid are one of the scariest teams to play right now. With Falcao in world-class form (8 goals in 7 games), Atleti have scored 18 goals in 7 games to go joint-top on points with Barcelona. It makes their board's decision to put a price on Falcao Monday even more questionable. Why disturb the team right now?.. Santi Cazorla looks like an early candidate for buy of the season, showcasing his talent with a cracking goal in Arsenal's 3-1 win over gritty West Ham. Cazorla has been the best player in Arsenal's team by a wide margin, and returns of Jack Wilshere and Bacary Sagna will boost their quality further. You can't help but think this is same-old Arsenal though, especially as Olivier Giroud continues to flounder around up top.. In the same vein, this is not same-old Chelsea. Free-flowing playmakers have tranformed Chelsea from the counter-attacking defensive scheme to a more attractive attacking style. It is still too early to hand Chelsea an edge in the title race, but despite having a young starting XI, Chelsea look to challenge for the length of the season. Young does not always mean inexperienced.. Dortmund showed against Manchester City that they are a much-improved side in Europe. Last year's fourth-place finish was the result of inexperience and injuries. Dortmund deserved all three points away to the English champions. It only reinforces my belief that they will navigate through that group with Real Madrid.
11-25: It's amazing how AC Milan have gone from being Italian champions two years ago to a middling side this year. I know it's early - but this is not a form problem, it's a talent problem. Very few clubs are built to sell their best two players in the summer and contend (pretty much only Arsenal, kind of). Bringing in Pep won't help. Milan need to buy big in January if they hope to qualify for next season's Champions League. Forget about the title.. Tottenham look very impressive under AVB. I'm glad to see him doing better than his short reign at Chelsea. It's simply a better fit for an overhaul. He also has young players who can play - whereas his Chelsea youngsters weren't quite good enough yet. Spurs could be a very dangerous side this season.. Well, well BATE. Nothing but praise for the Belorussian ride after they systematically took down Bayern Munich 3-1 in Borisov. They proved that their win against Lille was no fluke, and are now in a great position to go through the group. Their next UCL game, home to struggling Valencia, is even more important. Another win would virtually send them through, amazingly.. Celtic deserve some praise as well. They acquired just their second win in a rich European tradition by coming from behind to defeat Spartak in Moscow. Scottish football has taken a beating from many people, due to their recent poor performance in Europe and the recent collapse of Rangers. The Bhoys could do wonders for their country by qualifying for the next stage.. Napoli are just as strong as last season, despite selling Ezequiel Lavezzi to PSG. Goran Pandev has slipped seamlessly into the starting lineup, and the club have started with nineteen points out a possible twenty-one. Juventus are the best team in Serie A, but Napoli could establish themselves as a definitive second.. Zenit are leading the race of most disappointing team this season, if only slightly over PSG. The only team in Russia spending nearly as much money as Zenit are Anzhi, whom they trail by five points in the league. Couple that with two listless Champions League defeats to teams who sold off their best players this summer in Malaga and AC Milan. There is too much of a talent gap for Zenit to not recover domestically, but their European campaign looks dead in the water.
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