Voting: Each writer picked their top 20 teams. We then assigned points to each vote, with 20 points awarded for a first place vote, 19 for second, 18 for third and so on, to create the final list.
Presenting the third edition of The National’s European football Power Table, our view of the top 20 European clubs of the moment as voted this week by Thomas Woods, Jonathan Raymond and Steve Luckings.
Others receiving votes this week: Villarreal (8 points); Benfica (8); Olympiakos (7); Dynamo Kiev (5); FC Basel (5); FC Porto (3); Sevilla (1)
Dropped from Top 20, no votes: Besiktas
T19 – AFC Ajax, 9 points (last week: T18)
One point off PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Dutch Eredivisie, with solid wins over Groningen away and Feyenoord to their credit in the past couple weeks.
T19 – AS Roma, 9 points (last week: 20)
A valiant effort against Real Madrid in their Champions League last 16 tie, belied by the disheartening 2-0 result. Still, they’ve won four in a row in the league sine a narrow loss to Juventus that seems them up to fourth and charging hard on third-placed Fiorentina.
T18 – Manchester City, 10 points (last week: 14)
Free-falling in this space after their successsive league losses to Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, both at the Etihad Stadium. Their Premier League title aspirations may be in near-ruins, but they still have every opportunity to sustain a run in the Champions League, facing Dynamo Kiev in the last 16.
T18 – KAA Gent, 10 points (last week: unranked)
Losers by a 3-2 scoreline at home to Wolfsburg in the Champions League last 16 first leg, but showed enough fight late on that there remains the possibility they could pull off a shock in the return fixture.
16 – Bayer Leverkusen, 11 points (last week: unranked)
A loss in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) was disappointing, but masks a team that have not lost in the Bundesliga since early December, as they have leapfrogged Hertha Berlin into third.
15 – Fiorentina, 12 points (last week: unranked)
How they fare against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League will affect whether they maintain any sustained appreciation from our voters, who gave them extra credit for a 2-1 win over Inter Milan in Serie A.
14 – Southampton, 13 points (last week: unranked)
Surprised? Quietly, the south coast Premier League side have taken 16 of the last 18 points available to them as they now sit just a point behind Manchester United for fifth. Do not just yet rule out a run at Manchester City in fourth, either, whom they trailb y only seven points.
13 – PSV Eindhoven, 17 points (last week: 12)
They continue to own a one-point edge at the top of the Eredivisie after beating NEC last weekend 3-0, with Atletico Madrid awaiting in the Champions League next week.
12 – Sporting CP, 20 points (last week: T16)
Notched a 4-0 win over Nacional in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, where they sit three points ahead of Benfica ahead of their Europa League clash with Bayer Leverkusen on Friday night.
11 – Leicester City, 26 points (last week: 5)
Fell to Arsenal after their roaring win over Manchester City in the Premier League, but they still have a two-point lead at the top of the table going for them.
10 – Borussia Dortmund, 33 points (last week: 13)
They are into the German Cup semi-finals, and they are still closer to first than third in the Bundesliga – no small feat considering Bayern Munich’s customary dominence of the German top flight.
9 – Paris Saint-Germain, 37 points (last week: 6)
Their 2-1 home win over Chelsea seems to have been less, rather than more, impressive to our voters, as they flashed some perhaps surprising vulnerability against a Premier League team that have not had much going for them this season.
8 – Napoli, 32 points (last week: 3)
A 1-0 loss the Juventus sends them tumbling a little bit by our measure, and undoubtedly will make their scudetto push all the more difficult, but do not overreact – they are still just one point off Juve.
7 – Atletico Madrid, 41 points (last week: 9)
They have continued to win the matches they should in La Liga, beating Eibar and Getafe in their last two, to remain within shouting distance of Barca as they prepare for PSV in the Champions League.
6 – Real Madrid, 43 points (last week: 7)
Did enough to win comfortably away against AS Roma in the Champions League, all but assuring their passage to the quarter-finals, along with a string of relatively straightforward league wins.
T4 – Tottenham Hotspur, 49 points (last week: 8)
Level with Arsenal by our reckoning, as they own the Premier League’s top goal difference thanks to a massive win over Man City. Now, they must show they can balance domestic and European ambitions with their tough last-32 tie against Fiorentina in the Europa League.
T4 – Arsenal, 49 points (last week: 10)
Their win over Leicester City was a real statement of intent for a club desperate to win their Premier League title drought – a surprise against Barcelona in the Champions League would be something else altogether.
3 – Bayern Munich, 55 points (last week: 4)
Still mostly unimpeachable as a European powerhouse, but with a recent goalless draw to Leverkusen and a challenging Champions League tie with our No 2 team, one wonders if cracks will be revealed as Pep Guardiola makes his exit.
2 – Juventus, 56 points (last week: 2)
Usurping the lead in Serie A, after their dreadful start, is no small feat, and now they can show why they were finalists less than a year ago in Europe by shocking Bayern Munich.
1 – Barcelona, 60 points (last week: 1)
Still an easily unanimous choice for top club in Europe, with their latest La Liga win seeing Lionel Messi surpassing 300 Spanish top flight goals just more icing on the always sweet Barca cake.
