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The fixture calendar across Europe from December 8-11 was stacked full of great fixtures.
A goal-filled final round of group games in the Champions League served as the starter; Real Madrid vs. Sevilla and Juventus vs. Inter Milan followed for main; and the Merseyside and Manchester derbies rounded off a delicious, wholesome footballing meal.
The rankings are a season-long measurement of clubs, tracking teams throughout 2017/18 and taking into account results from all competitions.
Sides that have lost the fewest games naturally rank higher—though the strength of opposition met in a loss is considered—and both UEFA Champions League form and presence are used as tiebreakers for those with similar records. Teams that gather big wins against strong opposition get a natural boost.
20. Sevilla (-4)
Sevilla's stock takes a hefty hit, as they were blown away by Real Madrid on Saturday by a 5-0 scoreline. The damage was all done by half-time, completing a rough week in which they also failed to beat Maribor.
19. Lyon (Stay)
Lyon lost to Atalanta in midweek, surrendering first place in their Europa League group and suffering the consequences in the draw, getting stingy Villarreal. A bounce-back victory over Amiens this weekend keeps them in 19th, though that's as much to do with Sevilla taking a battering than anything else.
18. FC Porto (New!)
FC Porto jump in as Schalke drop out. They begin in 18th, and it's time to respect the campaign they've steadily put together. Progression in the Champions League plus an unbeaten Primeira Liga season so far represents a marked improvement on 2016-17's attempt.
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17. Arsenal (Stay)
Olivier Giroud off the bench: It's one of football's most tried, tested and effective formulas. He rescued a point for Arsenal at St Mary's Stadium on Sunday, having starred in the 6-0 demolition of BATE Borisov just three days before.
16. Tottenham Hotspur (+2)
Death, taxes and Tottenham smashing Stoke City to pieces. The 5-1 win at Wembley Stadium was simply par for the course when these two teams meet, but why can't Spurs ramp up results like this post-Champions League more often?
15. Chelsea (-2)
When Chelsea lose, they sure do it in style.
It must be difficult for fans to put their finger on why this team can beat Atletico Madrid and go blow-for-blow with Roma...but then lose to Burnley, Crystal Palace and now West Ham United.
Six losses for the Blues already this campaign. No other Champions League contender has as many.
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14. Lazio (-2)
A week to forget for Lazio. The loss to Zulte-Waregem mattered not, with top spot in their Europa League group sewn up, but the defeat to Torino on Monday hurts them. Ciro Immobile's straight red card in the first half (with the score at 0-0) was predictably damaging.
13. Liverpool (+2)
Beating any team in the Champions League 7-0 is an incredible feat, and while Spartak Moscow are hardly the strongest outfit you'll come across, they're far from the weakest, either.
Unfortunately, the Reds followed that up with a disappointing 1-1 draw with Everton on Sunday, conceding the only chance created against them and squandering a few gilt-edged ones themselves. That means they only move up two.
12. Atletico Madrid (+2)
Atletico clung on for dear life at Stamford Bridge last week as Eden Hazard and Co. tore through them, and Jan Oblak stood tall in goal and helped them escape with a point.
In the context of these rankings, that's important—losses move you down—but in Group D, it was enough only to secure Europa League football for 2018.
11. Manchester United (-2)
On Wednesday, we saw the good side of Manchester United; they put together some thrilling attacking moves and beat CSKA Moscow with relative ease (in the end).
On Sunday, sadly, we saw the other side. Defensive, careful and reluctant to push forward until they'd fallen behind, it was never a strategy that was going to outgun or outlast their fierce rivals Manchester City.
10. Roma
Roma may well be criticised for dropping points at Chievo this weekend, but sometimes it's just not meant to be.
That's what Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco will keep himself sane thinking, anyway, as he recalls 38-year-old Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino's David De Gea-esque performance between the sticks in their 0-0 draw.
9. Real Madrid
That's more like it! After scraping past Borussia Dortmund in a rather pointless game in midweek, Real Madrid really found their groove early against Sevilla, scoring five in the first half alone.
A back line including Achraf Hakimi, Jesus Vallejo and Nacho may have concerned a few fans before kick-off, but they all excelled, with the former grabbing his first goal for Los Merengues and the latter excelling in every facet once again.
8. Valencia (Stay)
Valencia certainly feel like they're slowing down a little; the results becoming harder and harder to achieve.
But as long as Los Che grind them out where necessary, they'll keep their position in the top 10 of these rankings. They did exactly that against Celta Vigo on Saturday and will be counting the days until offensive spark Goncalo Guedes returns to the pitch to help them out.
7. Napoli (-2)
Napoli seriously, seriously messed this Champions League campaign up.
Losing to Manchester City? Fine. Losing to Shakhtar Donetsk? Well, they're a good side...but losing to Feyenoord? It crowned an incredibly disappointing few months in European competition for Maurizio Sarri's men.
6. Juventus (Stay)
Juventus will be ruing a missed opportunity this past weekend, as a win over Inter could have vaulted them to the top of Serie A, but they could only manage a draw.
It was a game defined by Mario Mandzukic, who fluffed a few chances but also struck the woodwork. While Gonzalo Higuain disappeared for long stretches, crosses to the Croatian proved a more effective strategy, but he couldn't find the back of the net.
5. Bayern Munich (+2)
Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain in their final Champions League group game in a move that reasserted their presence as a dominant force in football.
Having been beaten so heavily in France under Carlo Ancelotti, this commanding win under Jupp Heynckes underlined how quickly and how drastically things have changed under new stewardship.
Drawing Besiktas in the round of 16 is about as good as it gets. It's no easy game, but it's a hell of a lot better than some of the alternatives were.
4. Paris Saint-Germain (-1)
Motivation to win and push for a result appeared severely lacking for PSG in Munich last week. An absolute disaster would have to have occurred to give up top spot in the group, and once Kylian Mbappe nabbed one, that eventuality was essentially shelved.
It did pave the way for back-to-back losses, though—adding to the surprise defeat to Strasbourg the week before—and that sees them move down one spot for the second consecutive week.
They bounced back with a 3-1 win over Lille on Saturday, and they can now look forward to a chance to gain revenge over Strasbourg in the Coupe de la Ligue on Wednesday.
3. Inter Milan (+1)
The 0-0 draw in Turin was a far better result for Inter than it was Juventus.
It was another example of Luciano Spalletti masterfully negotiating a game at a title rival's home; you can add this point (and clean sheet) to the same result achieved away to Napoli and the 3-1 win earned at Roma on the opening weekend.
Miranda and Milan Skriniar did superbly to marshall Higuain, and when the Bianconeri did get a sniff, Samir Handanovic closed the door.
2. Barcelona (Stay)
Consecutive 2-0 victories, one in Europe and one in La Liga, keep Barcelona ticking over nicely.
Luis Suarez has gone from a nightmare scoreless streak to four goals in six, and his strike against Villarreal at the weekend was absolutely vintage, while Lionel Messi continues to sparkle and make the difference.
A special shoutout to Thomas Vermaelen, too: Many will have forgotten he existed, but he's returned from a long spell injured to play—and play well!—over the last month.
1. Manchester City (Stay)
Manchester City lost their first game of the season last week, falling to a strong Shakhtar Donetsk outfit in Ukraine. It wasn't considered the most important match, and the team Pep Guardiola sent out spoke volumes.
They bounced back with a derby victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, and in the process set a Premier League record: most consecutive wins in history (14), bettering Arsenal's remarkable run of (13) back in 2001-02.
This win keeps them top. Despite Barca's continued roll, PSG's recovery and Bayern's big splash, it's enough to hold them all off.
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All statistics via WhoScored.com