The inaugural Power Rankings title is likely to be decided over two games in Manchester and Barcelona at the end of this month after the top two both progressed to the Champions League semi-finals, where they now will meet each other in what promises to be a titanic battle.
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We take into account both domestic and European performances, plus the relative difficulty of each team’s league, to find out who is the best team in Europe.
Manchester United hold on to top spot in our league having beaten Roma 1-0 to book their mouthwatering date with Barcelona before ending Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes with a thrilling 2-1 win at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Catalan giants remain in second place, despite having been held to a 2-2 draw by Recreativo in La Liga, and largely thanks to their Champions League win over Schalke.
Liverpool storm into third place after their win over Arsenal in the third instalment of their much-hyped trilogy was followed by a comfortable 3-1 victory over Blackburn at the weekend.
And with Chelsea moving into fifth – despite a 1-1 draw with Wigan – unsurprisingly that means four of the top five spots are taken by Champions League semi-finalists.
Just Internazionale in fourth place are intruding on the all-conquering quartet’s dominance, with the Nerazzurri continuing to pick up regular points in Serie A.
The week’s biggest fall guys are Fenerbahce, who failed to bounce back from their Champions League exit at the hands of Chelsea when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Ankaraspor at the weekend. The Istanbul club drop to 11th and a top ten finish is now looking like a tough challenge for Zico’s men.
EUROPEAN POWER RANKINGS
1 (1) Manchester United – 24.76
2 (2) Barcelona – 22.38
3 (5) Liverpool – 20.96
4 (4) Internazionale – 20.74
5 (6) Chelsea – 20.53
6 (3) Arsenal – 20.44
7 (7) Porto – 20.17
8 (9) Sevilla – 19.97
9 (8) Roma – 19.26
10 (11) Everton – 19.97
11 (10) Fenerbahce – 18.52
12 (12) Real Madrid – 17.66
13 (13) Bayern – 17.31
14 (14) Hamburg – 16.75
15 (16) Olympiacos – 16.74
16 (15) Milan – 16.63
17 (20) Rangers – 16.44
18 (18) Werder Bremen – 16.29
19 (19) Fiorentina – 16.15
20 (17) Lyon – 16.15
HOW IT WORKS
Scores are based on points per game in domestic league and European games.
Domestic points per game are multiplied by the league coefficient – either 4, 4.5 or 5 – with teams in stronger leagues getting more credit.
Champions League (or Super Cup) victories are counted from the third qualifying round onward as three points for a win and multiplied by a coefficient of 5.
UEFA Cup victories are counted from the first round as three points for a win and multiplied by a coefficient of 4.
Domestic and European totals are then added together. If a side has played in both Champions League and UEFA Cup, its European total is an average of the two scores.
League coefficients:
England, Spain, Italy = 5
Germany, Portugal, France = 4.5
Others = 4
Example: Manchester United
80 points from 34 Premier League games = 2.35 points per game.
Multiplied by league coefficient of five – 2.35 x 5 = 11.76
26 points from 10 Champions League games (including qualifying) = 2.60 points per game.
Multiplied by Champions League coefficient of five – 12.50
Total score = 11.76 + 12.50 = 24.76
Mike Hytner / Eurosport
