• Premier League Team of the Week: Richard Jolly's Best XI
The Power Table is The National’s sports team’s rankings of which clubs are currently the best in Europe.
This is the first set of rankings of the 2016/17 campaign. Last season, Barcelona dominated most of the rankings, but this year starts off with one of England’s dominant teams on top. In fact, three of the top five are from England, while some of the continent’s biggest powers such as Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are nowhere to be found.
Of course, by season’s end this table will likely look completely different, or even by the next iteration as the transfer window closes this week.
Surprises abound in the opening Power Table Click or swipe through for Nos 20-1.
20 Tottenham Hotspur
Only three points and three goals to show for the opening three Premier League games thus far, and it will not get easier from here as Spurs draw Monaco in their opening Champions League match. Between now and then is an international break and away at bottom-of-table Stoke City, so the time is now for Tottenham to improve from a sluggish English opening. Drawing Liverpool late was a big early result.
19 Benfica
Things are looking up for the Portuguese side, with seven points in three loss-less league matches. The club’s Champions League draw was somewhat favourable as well, as they figure to be the class of a group that includes only Napoli, Dynamo Kiev and Besiktas. Only Sporting sit ahead of Benfica in the early Liga table.
18 Porto
A 2-1 loss at top-of-the-table Sporting did little to diminish Porto in our mind, as we rank them higher than Benfica. That perception is helped by Porto’s 4-1 aggregate demolishing of Roma in Champions League qualification. They were rewarded with a very favourable Champions League draw, as no one can predict what form Leicester City will be in as the group stages unfold, and Club Brugge and Copenhagen aren’t likely to put too much fear into them. Porto could hang around these rankings for a while.
17 Arsenal
Sluggish might be a kind way to describe Arsenal’s start to the Premier League season, but they at least sit with four points in three matches. The international break and transfer deadline will likely help as they seek to find their way back near the top of the English table. They were drawn with Paris Saint-Germain in Group A of the Champions League, and you might notice the French powers are nowhere to be seen in these rankings. While fans are frustrated, better days look likely for Arsenal.
16 Feyenoord
The current class of the Dutch Eredivisie thanks to four successive wins to start league play, this following a Super Cup loss to PSV. They’ll have their chance to show how they stand with Europe’s elite in the Europa League, in which they play English giants Manchester United on September 15.
15 Sampdoria
It’s early yet, but the Serie A table is all kinds of crazy right now. Sampdiora sit among a crop of four teams with a perfect six points to start the season. Up next is a test against traditional power club Roma, and a win would solidify the early success.
14 Genoa
Speaking of Serie A, here are the current table-toppers. Genoa’s plus-4 goal differential is two better than any other club. With no European play on tap, Genoa hope to keep their scorching scoring pace going before Italy’s giants (ie Juventus) start to catch up.
13 Spartak Moscow
A perfect start in four matches in the Russian Premier League, which includes a staggering 10 goals scored to 1 allowed, Spartak are the class of Russia right now. No European play coming, so summer signing Fernando and Co’s full focus should be on staying near the top of Russia (though the Brazilian has only four yellow cards to show for four starts thus far). Qunicy Promes and Zhano Ananidze have led the attack with 3 league goals apiece
12 PSV Eindhoven
The Dutch giants are off to a stellar start in league play, with 10 points in four matches. The bad news is that they drew one of the tougher Champions Leagues groups. PSV will have to overcome at least two of Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Rostov to advance.
11 Borussia Monchengladbach
The first of three Bundesliga teams to crack our rankings, this might be surprisingly high. But they won their opening league fixture against Leverkusen and earlier qualified for the Champions League by thoroughly demolishing Young Boys 9-2 in aggregate. Their reward? Drawing Manchester City and Barcelona in Group C. Celtic feel their pain.
10 Borussia Dortmund
A brutal draw in Champions League Group F, as the German powers are there with defending champions Real Madrid as well as Portugal’s best in Sporting. Mark your calendars for September 27, when Dortmund host Cristiano Ronaldo and Co.
9 Sporting (Lisbon)
A perfect nine points in three Liga fixtures is a nice start, especially considering they’ve conceded just one goal. They’ll have to overcome one of either Real Madrid or Borussia Dortmund to advance in the Champions League. Real are an especially interesting draw, considering Ronaldo’s history with the club and his national-hero status after the country’s Euro 2016 glory.
8 Bayern Munich
One Bundesliga match, one 6-0 victory. Quite the opening statement. And winger Douglas Costa is set to return from injury soon. They should be the class of what is a tough Champions League Group D, but Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven will have something to say to that.
7 Monaco
The one and only Ligue 1 club in the rankings, and it’s not PSG. A 3-1 defeat over the defending champions solidified Monaco’s spot here. Their Champions League draw could open up more opportunities to make France a two-club country this season, as Tottenham, Leverkusen and CSKA Moscow should all be beatable.
6 Juventus
Still the class of Italy, as will likely be shown again when pretenders such as Genoa, Sampdoria and Sassuolo start to make way at the top of the Serie A table. They still have to replace Paul Pogba if they hope to make a serious run in the Champions League, but Juventus have drawn a favourable Group H that includes Lyon, Sevilla and Dinamo Zagreb
5 Chelsea
Can we officially say they’re back? Proving early that last season’s 10th place flop was an aberration, Antonio Conte’s men have a perfect nine points in three Premier League fixtures, and only Manchester City have scored more goals. There’s no Champions League or even Europa to distract them from reclaiming the Premier League trophy, so the rest of England should be worried.
4 Real Madrid
The defending Champions League kings are off to a solid Primera Liga start, with six points in two matches despite missing Ronaldo. They open their European Cup defence on September 14 against Sporting, and hope to have Portugal’s finest back and in form against the country’s best club.
3 Manchester United
Chelsea are back near the top, and so is the manager that recently led them to the top of the league only to see them fall back down. Jose Mourinho has taken over a once-disappointing United side, and along with fellow additions Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Eric Bailly has returned them to their rightful place in England’s elite.
2 Barcelona
Have the Catalans gotten stale? It’s a ridiculous notion, but it’s just expected their dominance of Primera Liga and a final-four run in the Champions League will continue. They’ll get Neymar back soon, and the fact that they aren’t at the top of the rankings is due more to increased quality of competition than it has to do with Barcelona regressing. They’ll be near or at the top all season.
1 Manchester City
Say hello to the new best team in Europe. Pep Guardiola has City firing on all cylinders, with nine goals and nine points in three Premier League fixtures. A Manchester Derby tie with United is next on the league schedule, and in the Champions League they’re grouped with Barcelona. We’ll see soon if City deserve this high a placement.
Others receiving votes
• Galatasaray
• Celtic
• Everton
• Guingamp
• Dinamo Zagreb
• FC Basel
• Napoli
• Sturm Graz
• Sevilla
• Sassuolo
• Las Palmas
HOW THEY VOTED
Steven Luckings, Senior Sports Editor
1 Manchester City
2 Manchester United
3 Barcelona
4 Real Madrid
5 Juventus
6 Chelsea
7 Sporting (Lisbon)
8 Monaco
9 Bayern Munich
10 Benfica
11 Borussia Dortmund
12 Feyenoord
13 PSV Eindhoven
14 Borussia Monchengladbach
15 Arsenal
16 Spartak Moscow
17 Everton
18 Napoli
19 Sevilla
20 Tottenham Hotspur
Jonathan Raymond, Online Sports Editor
1 Barcelona
2 Manchester City
3 Real Madrid
4 Juventus
5 Bayern Munich
6 Manchester United
7 Borussia Dortmund
8 Chelsea
9 AS Monaco
10 Sporting Lisbon
11 Borussia Monchengladbach
12 Tottenham Hotspur
13 PSV Eindhoven
14 Arsenal
15 Dinamo Zagreb
16 Celtic
17 Feyenoord
18 Sassuolo
19 Las Palmas
20 Spartak Moscow
Jon Turner, Online Sports Editor
1 Manchester City
2 Chelsea
3 Manchester United
4 Barcelona
5 Real Madrid
6 Monaco
7 Genoa
8 Juventus
9 Sampdoria
10 Porto
11 Sporting
12 Spartak Moscow
13 Galatasaray
14 Bayern Munich
15 Borussia Dortmund
17 Guingamp
17 FC Basel
18 Sturm Graz
19 Everton
20 Celtic
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