Probably the best media property on the Internet covering Europe's beautiful game, including the business of the sport. Our twice daily infographics and analysis, such as Striker Watch, This Stat Is For Real, FIFA Friday, MOTW, and The 20 European Club Rankings (updated every Thursday) keep you up-to-date on emerging trends within the top leagues of European soccer. Published by red-blooded Americans from Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. <3, @soccernotwar "International football is the continuation of war by other means." - George Orwell
Through Oct, La Liga is the most competitive league in terms of table point difference. It's the V-Shape of the La Liga clustered bar that tells a tale of a league that is competitive from top to bottom, even if FC Barcelona and Real Madrid C.F. are usually the winners. The small point difference between the mid-table team (place 10th) and the last place team (place 20th) is only 6 points, compare that to 12 points in Ligue 1. Comment below on which league among the Top 5 is the most competitive in Europe. Interested to hear your arguments for and against!
Who do you love more this Monday? Memphis or Wijnaldum? Both are recent transfers to the Premier League and the pair are former teammates at PSV Eindhoven.
"He arrived as a Peruvian pan flute player at [Netherlands team hotel] Huis ter Duin. If you are a young boy and still have not done anything, do not play dress up as you report to the coach. [Cristiano] Ronaldo does that, but at least he is proven. "
TOP 20 European Club Rankings are back! Comment below about your team or ask us why we ranked a club the way we did. We are going to move to a podcast format to support our graphics so weâll have full analysis about the rankings in future editions. Thanks for your support!
Taking a Look at Penalties in the 2015/16 Club Season
Keylor Navas, the Costa Rican keeper for Real Madrid, made a sensational full-stretch save to deny a penalty from Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid in last Sundayâs Madrid Derby. The matched ended one-one though the penalty conversion would have changed the outcome of the match. Because referees cannot award goals (for example, in basketball if goaltending is the call, the points count without taking free throws), penalties are a serious business and quite stressful on the players. Weâve already analyzed Leo Messiâs penalty misses and determined that while he gets a lot of flack for missing; his misses rarely affect the outcome of the match (meaning Barcelona wins the match or the Cup/League anyways).Â
Today weâre curious about the amount of penalties across the five top leagues and how they might affect the outcome of games. This rudimentary analysis shows that the Bundesliga is a penalty taker's dream because so many penalties are awarded; similar to Ligue 1 in France but the conversion rate is much lower (13/25 - ouch!). Tomorrow weâll take a look at the top clubs and their penalty stats.Â
People have been wondering, âwhereâs Aguero beenâ?  And now heâs scored five goals and grabbed the headlines along with Cityâs stepping over their Manchester rivals to stand top of the table, again.  But Newcastle United are the weakest in the Premier League at the moment and not the strength of Wolfsburg, who suffered an even bigger humiliation (5 goals from Robert Lewandowski in nine minutes).Â
Aguero did come up big in the Champions League last week against Bundesliga side, Borussia Monchengladbach, to help City regain some standing in the Group of Death. Â Kun was absent, though, when City was hammered four-one by the Spurs the match prior.Â
We arenât questioning Agueroâs quality though we are wondering about his fitness for the rest of the season. He seems to be back to full fitness since his early season injury and letâs hope, for the sake of football fans, that the Argentinian striker is back at his best. Â As the legendary Manchester United midfielder, Paul Scholes, was quoted in the Mirror, that Aguero is the only player from the Premier League who could get into a squad like Barcelona or Real Madrid.Â
FSG's decision to sack Rodgers was made before today's Merseyside derby, but the owners did not want to disrupt preparations for the match by making an announcement before the game. Even a victory at Goodison Park would not have prevented Rodgers losing his job. [BBC]
âRodgers was not told at Goodison Park. He was visited at home by Ian Ayre and I am told he took the news with dignity and good grace. Many of the players are now off on international duty and so there was no chance to say goodbye to them.â
The top five remain mostly unchanged from last week while the rest of the rankings were quite the opposite story. Â Chelsea and Roma were dropped because of terrible performances last week and the cumulative disaster of their domestic league results thus far warrant more in-form sides to fill out the top 20. Â Welcome Villarreal and Fiorentina, surprise league leaders in La Liga and Serie A, respectively. More on the Top 20 entrants in just a moment; now, letâs turn our attention to the rankings starting from the least most powerful club in this weekâs rankings, Sevilla.
20. Sevilla (16th, La Liga; 2nd, Champions League Group D)
The deflated Spanish side can take comfort in their first domestic win against Rayo Vallecano (11th place, La Liga) to help them edge out of the relegation zone though thatâs little solace after they lost two nil in Turin to Juventus. Weâre not optimistic about Sevilla staying in the Top 20 after next week. Next opponent: Barcelona.Â
19. Fiorentina (1st, Serie A; 4th, Europa League Group I)
They wrestled away top position in the table from Inter Milan, in Milan, four one, with the help of a hat-trick from Nikola Kalinic. The 27-year-old striker had only one goal in five appearances before becoming the hero for the Viola. Next up: Seria A opponents, Belenenses and Atalanta.
18. Zenit (3rd, Russian Premier League; 1st, Champions League Group H)
The Russian side is taking care of business in the Champions League defeating Gent, in a two one victory over the Belgian champs. Zenit is still looking strong to come out of the UCL group stage though domestically, a two-two draw against Spart Moscow isnât good enough. Hulk and Dyzuba need to continue to score goals. Up next, Rostov.Â
17. Villarreal (1st, La Liga; 3rd, Europa League Group E)
The Yellow Submarine is the talk of La Liga. Vila-real, the home of Villarreal, is a small Spanish town of only 50,000. A one nil defeat of Atletico Madrid thanks to a goal by Leo Baptistao, on loan from the opposition. Perhaps the intensity of La Liga caused Villarreal to slip in their first Europa League match. Â They need to win their group to demonstrate more of their Top 20 quality. Up next in Europa, Viktoria Plsen, and domestic opponent, Levante.Â
16. Wolfsburg (4th, Bundesliga; 3rd, Champions League Group B)
The Wolves have come away with less than stellar results this past week. A draw to impotent, bottom of the table, Hannover 96 was compounded by a two one loss in Champions League to a rising Manchester United side at Old Trafford. Amidst the Volkswagen scandal and the transfer of their star playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne, to Manchester City, Wolfsburg might not be around the Top 20 for much too long. Up next: Borussia Monchengladbach.
15. Schalke (3rd, Bundesliga; 1st, Europa League Group K)
19-year-old Leroy Sane has been a super sub and leads the team with 3 goals in Bundesliga competitions. His goal against Hamburg was enough to see The Royal Blues win one nil; their fourth clean sheet in as many competitions owing to the tepid competition and the leadership of Cameroonian defender Joel Matip who has played every minute so far this season. Â More goals from a 32-year-old Huntelaar would help Schalke challenge for more. Up next: Asteras Trip in Europa and Cologne domestically.
14. Benfica (3rd, Portuguese Liga; 1st Champions League Group C)
A huge win for the Lisbon-based side as they won at the Vincente Calderon, two one, against powerhouse Atletico Madrid. Now everyone is talking about the Argentine, Gaitan, who has turned it up in Champions League with a goal in each match so far. Â Up next:Â Uniao da Madeira.
13. Valencia (8th, La Liga; 2nd Champions League Group H)
Now thatâs more like it. Two-time Europa League champs are finding their form again. They beat Lyon ( 8th in Ligue 1) one nil and also bottom of the table Granada with the same score line. Valencia needs to score more goals to remain where they are in the TOP 20. Three goals in six games are only better than one other La Liga team, goalless Malaga. Up next: Athletic Bilbao.
12. Arsenal (4th, Premier League; 4th, Champions League Group F)
We know, we know, Arsenal pulled a classic move and lost to Olympiakos three two and the Gunners have slim hopes to hang in Champions League past the group stage. The good news is that they defeated upstart Leceister City five two thanks to a hat-trick from Alexis Sanchez. About time. Arsenal has the midfield quality though they are in danger of following Chelsea, and sliding right out of the Top 20 if their performances donât improve. Next up: Manchester United.
11. Juventus (15th, Serie A; 1st Champions League Group D)
One step forward, two steps back. Or is two steps forward and one step back? Juve canât quite figure it out. A two one loss to rivals Napoli was made up for by a two nil defeat of Sevilla in Champions League to climb to the top of the group. Morata was the hero once again, registering his fifth consecutive goal in as many UCL competitions (since last year). Ultimately, Juventus must carry their UCL form into Serie A or be stuck in the bottom half of the Top 20. Up next: Bologna. Â
10. Borussia Dortmund (2nd, Bundesliga; 1st, Europa League Group C)
Dortmund could have climbed higher up in the Top 10 this week if not for it draw against Darmstadt; Aubameyangâs brace was not enough for BVB as they allowed three points to slip away in the closing moments of the match. A real contest is coming up to really test their quality and will let us know if Dortmund will be climbing up or down next week. Up next: PAOK Salonik in Europa and then Bayern Munich.
9. Inter Milan (2nd, Serie A)
With Juventus looking impotent in Italy, it looked like Interâs early season play was a preview of a whole season of domination in Serie A. Â Then their rivals from Florence came to town and dropped the Milan side four one. Ouch. Of course, Mirandaâs red card in the first half meant that a draw would be the best result they could have hoped for. The former Atletico Madrid defender is unavailable for the next match, with fellow summer transfer signing, Jovetic, still injured. Despite squad setbacks and their first loss of the season, the squadâs quality and depth will see them pick up where they left off before Fiorentina. Up next: Sampdoria.
8. Porto (1st, Portuguese Liga; 1st, Champions League Group G)
The Portuguese powerhouse club loves the big stage. But at home they still need to be better. Case in point is last weekâs domestic league two-two draw against Moreirense (second to the bottom of the table) in which Porto had the lead twice, conceding the equalizer in the 88th minute. In Champions League, at home, Porto looked strong against a struggling Chelsea side that weâve dropped from the Top 20 and won two one to take hold of 1st place in their UCL group. Yacine Brahimi, Andre Andre, and 18-year-old Ruben Neves are showing that they donât miss Jackson Martinez (transferred to Atletico Madrid). Up next: Belenenses.Â
7. Manchester City (2nd, Premier League; 3rd, Champions League Group D)
Early on, it seemed that City was invincible in the England and that ended when West Ham beat them and then last week it was Tottenham who took City to task in a four one victory. In Champions League, City found redemption and are looking to climb back in the Group of Death (Bayern Munich, Sevilla and Gladbach) after a come from behind two one victory at Borussia Park. It was Aguero, naturally, who won a penalty in the final minutes and then cooly converted the winner from the spot. But the man of the match must go to Joe Hart who saved a penalty and many other changes to keep City in the game. With David Silva back in the line-up, expect City to regain their Premier League form. Up next: Newcastle.
6. Manchester United (1st, Premier League; 2nd, Champions League Group B)
United fans are so happy today compared with any day during the summer transfer window. New signing Anthony Martial is proving to be the striker for the future and Juan Mata has rediscovered his playmaking form. In a topsy-turvy Premier League, United are now at the top, but they arenât a perfect side just yet, and the Top 5 clubs in the rankings are still miles and miles ahead of those ranked 6 - 20. The Red Devils took care of Sunderland three nil, as to be expected, and then came back against Wolfsburg to win two one at Old Trafford. A big win because of the earlier loss to Eindhoven. United move up this high in the rankings because most other teams struggled. A win against the Gunners this weekend will validate our 6th place ranking for United. Up next: Arsenal.
5. Atletico Madrid (5th, La Liga; 2nd, Champions League Group C)
Two losses this week against quality sides arenât enough to drop Atletico from their 5th place spot; at least for now. Villarreal deservedly won at the Vincente Calderon and Benfica came back to win two one in their Champions League fixture. Against The Yellow Submarine and the Portuguese side, Atletico had chances; Jackson Martinez needs to improve his finishing and what better stage to prove his quality than against their city rivals this week. The bright side is that the young Angel Correra is making his case for more playing time as he grabbed the only goal against Benfica. Up next: Real Madrid.
4. Barcelona (2nd, La Liga; 1st, Champions League Group E)
The Catalans are trying to find their form and are happy to pick up scrappy wins along the way as their depleted squad hangs on until reinforcements are ready to play again. Itâs not only injuries to Messi and Iniesta and Bravo that have thrown Barcelona off their stride, but also the tax fraud/evasion investigations that are creeping up Neymar and Mascherano. The two one victory against Las Palmas and Champions League competition, Bayer Leverkusen, show that there are goals without Messi. His name is Luis Suarez and it was his late winner that put them up over Bayer. Up next: Sevilla
3. Paris Saint-Germain (1st, Ligue 1; 2nd, Champions League Group A)
Do you remember when Angel Di Maria took a sabbatical at Manchester United last year? It must have done him a lot of good because his form for Paris has been sensational. His passing and vision have made Paris more dangerous than they already were. Â They racked up the goals on impotent Nantes, four one, and then cruised to a three nil win against Shakhtar in the Champions League. Right back, Serge Aurier had a goal in each of the victories last week and show that there are many threats from Paris, including off the bench. Up next: Marseille.
2. Real Madrid (3rd, La Liga; 1st, Champions League Group A)
500! Cristiano Ronaldo made history by recording his 500th career goal (also had his 501st this past week, too) as Real defeated Malmo two nil in the Champions League. But it was the goalless draw against Malaga (who were never a threat to score because they havenât scored in La Liga yet) that sets the Capital club back to second place in this weekâs power rankings. Gareth Bale started off the season in fine form with 2 goals and three assists in three matches before suffering an injury on September 15th against Shakhtar. Â Real travels across the city to the Vincente Calderon this week for a derby clash against Atletico and the result there could shape up the Top 5 for next week. Up next: Atletico Madrid
1. Bayern Munich (1st, Bundesliga; 1st, Champions League Group F)
Robert Lewandowski! The Polish striker has been on a goal-scoring tear. There was the famous and historic five goals in nine minutes against Wolfsburg two weeks ago. He then scored a brace to help Bayern slide past Mainz three nil, and then he recorded a hat-trick in the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb. The man has TEN goals in his last three matches. Most attacking players would love to have 10 goals in a season, let alone 10 in 8 days. Â And itâs not just Lewy who is getting it done, Douglas Costa has been a monster signing for Bayern and with the hopes of Robben and Ribery rejoining from injury, the German champs are going from strength to strength. Up next: Borussia Dortmund.
