Just over a month into the European league season in soccer and teams are already starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. After back-to-back wins over Athletic Club and APOEL Nicosia, we believe FC Barcelona is now a cut above the rest. They are 4-0 on the young season and remarkably have yet to concede a goal. Needless to say, they top our 10 best power rankings list.
1. Barcelona
They beat Athletic Club 2-0 and then APOEL 1-0 to open their Champions League campaign. In our humble opinion, (and Colombian pop-star Shakira’s), they top our list. Shakira’s husband, Pique, scored the loan goal in their match against APOEL, and the deadly combination of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez has been lethal thus far; we believe it will only continue once Suarez’s ban is lifted.
2. Chelsea
We all know Jose Mourinho is a great coach and thus far on the young season he has proved that again. The former United man has been impressive so far without the help of his newest striker, Diego Costa. Despite tying Schalke in their opening game of the Champions League, we still believe this squad has what it takes to win the EPL.
3. Atletico Madrid
Yes, I know they just lost in Greece and Diego Simone is still suspended. Regardless, Simeone has changed the culture of this team and with or without him on the field they have emblazoned his passion and spirit on the pitch. They have two huge victories over archrivals Real Madrid already and Mario Mandzukic looks every bit worth his large transfer fee.
4. FC Porto
This Portuguese team making our list might surprise many people, but they are every bit as good as the English and La Liga clubs in Europe. They are undefeated on the season and scored an impressive six goals to open their Champions League campaign as they blew out BATE Borisov. They made a lot of moves this summer and are still trying to gel together, once they do, look out.
5. Bayern Munich
The German-giant is injury riddled and that’s why they are in the middle of our power rankings. Give them a few months and they should be in our top three. They got an impressive victory past Manchester City last week and Pep Guardiola has instilled a new attacking style that makes this team relentless at the end of games. I believe they will win the Bundesliga title and be in the mix again in the UEFA Champions League.
6. Real Madrid
If it wasn’t for Atletico Madrid, Real would probably me number one on our list. They routed FC Basel 5-1 to open up the Champions League and their fantastic four each scored a goal in the contest. Despite rumors that Ronaldo is “fed up” and wants out, there is too much talent on this team for them not to do well. As long as they don’t have to play the Atleti every week, they will do fine.
7. Borussia Dortmund
This club is surprising a lot of people, including us. Jurgen Klopp’s team beat Arsenal 2-0 in their Champions League opener and the game wasn’t even as close as they final score dictated. Marcos Reus is out, but Borussia doesn’t seem to miss a beat without him. Italian striker, Ciro Immobile has been fantastic so far and we believe the team has what it takes to turn a lot of heads this season.
8. Liverpool
There was many questions surrounding Liverpool this summer to see how they would perform without Luis Suarez. So far they have been inconsistent to say they least and still appear to be finding their feet without the Uruguayan striker. They lost at home to Aston Villa 1-0 last weekend, and needed extra time to beat Ludogorets Razgrad in their Champions League opener. New addition Mario Balotelli scored his first goal for the team, and he should score a lot more by seasons end. We like the Reds to get back to the EPL championship game.
9. Manchester City
Goalkeeper Joe Hart has looked impressive despite rumblings that he’s going to lose his starting position. They lost to Bayern Munich last week which is a terrific club, and came back to get a 2-2 result against Arsenal last weekend. They play Chelsea on Sunday and we should see where they rank amongst the EPL’s best after that.
10. Olympiakos
Yes, this is not a typo. A team from Greece has made our Power Rankings list. Before you laugh, realize that this Greek club just beat Atletico Madrid, a team that has absolutely dominated Real Madrid all season. If they continue to win, we will continue to put them on our list. Keep an eye on striker, Ibrahim Afellay who is playing with some extra motivation after Barcelona gave him his walking papers this summer.
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