With the Champions League coming up it's time for a new Top 25. There's a degree of stability at the top and a somewhat major drop-off after number 8 (Dortmund) and even more so after 11 (Atletico). Teams 12-25 are good but are not on the same level as the top 11. Look for this gap to increase in the table as the season wears on.
Distribution: England 6, Italy 4, Spain 4, France 3, Germany 3, Portugal 2, Russia 2, Scotland 1
1 (1) Real Madrid CF (ESP)
2 (2) FC Barcelona (ESP)
3 (3) Chelsea FC (ENG)
4 (4) Bayern Munich (GER)
5 (5) Manchester City FC (ENG)
6 (7) Manchester United FC (ENG)
7 (6) Juventus FC (ITA)
8 (8) Borussia Dortmund (GER)
9 (12) Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
10 (13) Schalke 04 (GER)
11 (10) Atletico de Madrid (ESP)
12 (9) Arsenal FC (ENG)
13 (11) SSC Napoli (ITA)
14 (14) Malaga CF (ESP)
15 (15) Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS)
16 (16) Olympique de Marseille (FRA)
17 (19) CSKA Moscow (RUS)
18 (17) AC Milan (ITA)
19 (18) Olympique de Lyon (FRA)
20 (NR) FC Inter Milan (ITA)
21 (20) Everton FC (ENG)
22 (21) SL Benfica (POR)
23 (NR) FC Porto (POR)
24 (23) Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
25 (25) Celtic FC (SCO)
Out of rankings: 22) SS Lazio (ITA), 24) BATE Borisov (BLR)
Notes:
1-10: Chelsea, Bayern, and Juventus all lost their first ties of the season to high-quality rivals Manchester United, Inter, and Bayer Leverkusen respectively. Curiously, all of those losses came at home.. I really like what I see from Schalke, despite the recent loss to lowly Hoffenheim, where they rested a number of starters. Their historic win at Arsenal was a mark of their own quality rather than Arsenal's obvious shortcomings. What was a hot start for a talented team is shaping into a season where they can contend in both the Champions League and Bundesliga for a long while.. PSG seem to be finally putting it together, going top of Ligue 1, while bouncing back to take second in Group A. Many doubt PSG's credentials despite their influx of talent, likening their rise to Manchester City, citing domestic success but struggles in Europe. The teams were built differently but you can certainly see the similarities in thrusting a bunch of skilled players together too quickly. PSG will struggle against more experienced clubs.. As for City, they are still struggling in Europe a year later. Rock bottom of Group D, it would take a near miracle to take them through. Ajax took them apart in Amsterdam, and this team just does not feel as potent as last year's champions. Fulham and Everton have both scored more goals in the Premier League.. Barcelona have been stunningly consistent this season result-wise, despite defensive lapses against Deportivo, Sevilla and Spartak. Their attacking force is the best in the world and can carry them to another domestic crown. The European title is a different story. Poor defensive positioning and a lack of offensive diversity cost them dearly against Chelsea.
11-25: Let's start off with the current mess that is Arsenal FC. There was a similar panic last year when Arsenal were hammered by United and showed no cutting edge after selling Fabregas and Nasri. However, this year has the feeling of 09-10 Liverpool more so than last year's third place finish. Is it time for Wenger to go? I don't think so - but if you do remove him you'd better have a big-name replacement. Wenger has made questionable subs and team selections this season, but the real problem is the players on the field. Andre Santos does not belong in the Premier League and Giroud has been awful in a Gunners shirt, just to name a few. Whether these decisions are the scorned board's or Wenger's are hard to tell. It is a difficult time for Arsenal. The Theo Walcott situation only makes it worse.. After over a year in the dark, Inter are officially back. The 3-1 win at Juventus (which pulled them within a point of the Old Lady) was a great performance, especially after being down less than twenty seconds into the game. This is a reloaded side under Andrea Stramaccioni, although their "old guard" of Milito, Cambiasso, Samuel, and Zanetti are still around. With rivals AC Milan still struggling and Napoli beginning to come back down to earth, Inter could be the second-best team in Italy by the end of the season.. Porto reenter the ranks as well after surging to the top of Group A as well as the Portuguese Liga on goal difference over Benfica. The goals are flying in and they are in a good position to put last year's embarrassing group stage exit to bed. The win over PSG was most impressive, as domestically, Porto and Benfica are rarely challenged nowadays. The emergence of Braga is the only threat to change that.. Is there a big club more under the radar than CSKA? After a shock loss to AIK in the Europa League playoffs, CSKA have reeled off ten wins out of eleven in what is arguably the most talented Russian Premier League of all time. Despite the run, big spenders Anzhi and Zenit are still right on their tail, just one and three points behind respectively. CSKA still have a lot of work to do, but can keep their players fresher, as the other two sides are both participating in European competition.
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