📈 Power Rankings: Barcelona back top, Arsenal drop | OneFootball

Thursday’s Power Rankings are back after another week of action across European football’s top leagues.

Here are the 10 sides in our updated Power Rankings table.

📈 Power Rankings: Barcelona back top, Arsenal drop

10. Aston Villa (🆕)

Aston Villa have punched above their weight under Unai Emery and sneak into our Power Rankings for the first time this season. The Villans have lost just one of their 12 games in all competitions this season and sit fourth in the Premier League table.

After navigating a potential banana skin at Fulham at the weekend, Emery’s side continued their perfect record in the Champions League. John McGinn and Jhon Duran got the goals as Bologna were beaten at Villa Park, with Villa now top of the Champions League standings. They are just the third team in Champions League history to win their first three games in the competition without conceding a goal.

9. PSV Eindhoven (No change)

PSV Eindhoven continue to make light work of Eredivisie opposition with the Dutch champions still perfect after nine games. Peter Bosz’s side has taken maximum points domestically, after beating 10-man AZ Alkmaar at AFAS Stadion.

PSV followed that win with a battling point at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Noa Lang opened the scoring for the visitors in Paris, though Achraf Hakimi rescued the Ligue 1 champions a point.

8. Napoli (No change)

Napoli retained their place at the top of Serie A as a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia penalty was enough to see off Empoli at the weekend. Antonio Conte’s side are unbeaten since the opening weekend and have won seven of their last eight across all competitions.

7. Bayern Munich (👎 Last week: 6)

It was a week of stark contrast for Bayern Munich who thrashed Stuttgart at the weekend to retain their place at the top of the Bundesliga. Harry Kane hit a hat-trick in a 4-0 win that buoyed Bayern ahead of a crunch Champions League clash at Barcelona.

The Bavarians were well beaten, however, as Barcelona ran riot to secure a 4-1 win. It was a statement result for the Spaniards and a performance that asked questions about Vincent Kompany’s approach.

6. Arsenal (👎 Last week: 1)

Arsenal tumble down our Power Rankings table after two unconvincing performances this week. The Gunners saw their unbeaten run this season end in the Premier League, as Bournemouth beat Mikel Arteta’s team 2-0 on the south coast. A third red card in eight league games contributed to their collapse, as William Saliba was dismissed.

Arsenal edged out Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday, though looked far from their best at the Emirates. Improvement is needed ahead of a huge clash with in-form Liverpool this weekend.

5. Sporting Lisbon (No change)

Sporting storm on under Ruben Amorim.

It’s eight wins from eight in the Primeira Liga and Taca de Portugal progress was secured with a 2-1 win at Portimonense at the weekend. Sporting then won 2-0 at Sturm Graz to make it seven points from three Champions League games. Viktor Gyokeres created the opener and scored the second, extending his record to 13 goals in 13 games this season.

4. Real Madrid (🆕)

Real Madrid re-enter our Power Rankings table after a third consecutive win in all competitions. The Spanish champions won at Celta Vigo at the weekend with Vinicius Junior scoring the decisive goal, before the Brazilian inspired their turnaround against Borussia Dortmund in Europe.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side trailed 2-0 at half-time in a rematch of last season’s Champions League final, only for Vinicius to score a second-half hat-trick to lead Los Blancos to a 5-2 win.

The stage is set perfectly for El Clásico this weekend.

3. Manchester City (👍 Last week: 4)

Manchester City continue to churn out results with the Citizens yet to be beaten in 2024/25.

John Stones scored a stoppage-time winner during the weekend win at Wolves, as the centre-back headed home late on after a frustrating performance at Molineux. In midweek, City set a new record for the longest unbeaten run in Champions League history (26 matches), eclipsing Manchester United’s previous landmark after a 5-0 win over Sparta Prague.

2. Liverpool (No change)

Arne Slot’s record-breaking start as Liverpool manager continues.

The Dutchman has won 11 of his first 12 games in charge, with the Reds having passed tough tests against Chelsea and RB Leipzig over the last week. Premier League leaders and boasting maximum points in Europe, it’s been a dream start for Slot since he succeeded Jurgen Klopp in the summer.

Next up: Arsenal (A).

1. Barcelona (👍 Last week: 3)

Barcelona move back to the summit after a wonderful week for the Spaniards.

Hansi Flick’s side thrashed Sevilla 5-1 in La Liga with Robert Lewandowski and Pablo Torre each on target twice, before a statement showing to beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Barcelona had lost their last six meetings with the German giants but produced a ruthless performance to win 4-1 in Catalonia. Momentum is building in Barcelona, who face Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu next.

Read – Champions League Awards ‘Ballon d’Or Vinicius’ sublime

See more – Champions League Team of the Week – Vinicius, Raphinha star

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