The Euro Rankings 12.1.2009

So much football since the International Break, it seems. A thrilling day of games on Sunday, so what did it do to the rankings? Have a look:





1. Chelsea FC
Top of English Premier League, Winners of UEFA Champions League Group D:
Yeah I'm Convinced: Play a fellow title rival, beat them, get a clean sheet, repeat. Pretty standard formula under Carlo Ancelotti to date.
I'm Not So Sure: There's a team sitting 2nd in these rankings that are the reigning European champions and put up two wins against continental giants.





2. FC Barcelona
Top of La Liga, Top of UEFA Champions League Group F
Yeah, I'm Convinced: What? Beat, I mean boss Inter without Messi and Ibrahimovic, and win El Clasico, and Barcelona is 2nd? Robbery!
I'm Not So Sure: The struggles in group play in the Champions League are still a little too fresh, but for all practical purposes, Chelsea is #1 and Barcelona is #1A.





3. Manchester United
2nd in English Premier League, Top of Champions League Group B
Yeah, I'm Convinced: They're doing that thing where they crush everyone inferior to them. 4-1 at Portsmouth and 3-0 over Everton are signs that the machine is starting to hum.
I'm Not So Sure: The Arsenal win is their signature win to date, that was over three months ago, and I've said enough about how fortunate they were to win that. Even the youngsters of this squad should not have that much trouble at home against Besiktas.





4. Bordeaux
Top of French Ligue 1, Winners of UEFA Champions League Group A
Yeah, I'm Convinced: Be honest, you never thought they would win their group in the Champions League, let alone qualify out of the group stage. This is a well-balanced team under Laurent Blanc, and Yoann Gourcuff might be highly sought after next summer.
I'm Not So Sure: Being unbeaten in 4 matches against Bayern Munich and Juventus might not be all that much to get excited about considering the form of those teams. There's an ugly loss at home to Valenciennes to be grouchy about too.





5. Real Madrid
2nd in La Liga, Top of UEFA Champions League Group C
Yeah, I'm Convinced: Had it not been for Victor Valdes and Carlos Puyol, Real Madrid might have been moved into #2 in the rankings. Ronaldo is back, so the movement should be upward now.
I'm Not So Sure: They could only manage one goal in the win at home over FC Zurich, as well as only one goal in the home win over Racing Santander. Ronaldo or not, those results should have been more impressive.





6. Sevilla
3rd in La Liga, Top of UEFA Champions League Group G
Yeah, I'm Convinced: As long as Luis Fabiano keeps up his scoring form, Sevilla will be in it till the end in the Spanish top flight. They still have the Real Madrid win on their record. However......
I'm Not So Sure: The Real Madrid win was almost two months ago and Ronaldo was hurt for that match. Now there's an ugly loss to Unirea Urziceni to go with that draw to struggling Stuttgart. Even though they have been successful in getting points, there are now issues in conceding goals (5 in their last 3 league matches).





7. Inter Milan
Top of Italian Serie A, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group F
Yeah, I'm Convinced: They are flexing their muscle in Italy with 33 goals through their first 14 matches. That 1-0 defeat is characteristic of wins that help Inter establish the dominance they've enjoyed in Serie A. However.....
I'm Not So Sure: They blew a glorious opportunity to bury a Barcelona team and you could argue they looked uninspired. If they don't rally in those closing minutes in Kiev, the Nerazzurri would be sitting here eliminated from the Champions League. One of the more puzzling teams in Europe to figure out.





8. AC Milan
2nd in Italian Serie A, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group C
Yeah, I'm Convinced: Enjoying the longest unbeaten run in all competitions out of anyone in the top 10 on this list (11 matches). In that span, they've scored 22 goals. Ronaldinho is just about back to his best.
I'm Not So Sure: Marseille and Cagliari exposed the defensive flaws in this team, and had it not been for a crossbar and an upright, it would be Marseille in 2nd and not Milan. Even with this terrific run, there's still some fragility.





9. Arsenal
4th in English Premier League, Winners of UEFA Champions League Group H
Yeah, I'm Convinced: They ran into a Chelsea buzzsaw on Sunday, had the Gunners been fully fit, the chances of beating the Blues would have been a little better.
I'm Not So Sure: That's the problem, there are a lot of injury issues at the moment (Van Persie's is most glaring). With the current available squad, would you take them over Lyon? Sunderland's been good, but that's three points Arsenal should not be dropping.





10. Lyon
2nd in French Ligue 1, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group E
Yeah, I'm Convinced: The quality in the team is still there to make it interesting against teams like Arsenal, Milan, Inter, and Sevilla. Lopez, Gomis, and Pjanic are proving to be as deadly an attacking combination as there is. However.......
I'm Not So Sure: There isn't a quality win to feel all warm and fuzzy about, and while winning at Anfield was impressive, Liverpool is not Liverpool right now. They are still having issues shoring their defense as well, with 18 conceded through their first 14 league matches.





11. Tottenham Hotspur
3rd in English Premier League.
Earned a point at Aston Villa, and maybe deserved more. Oh, and 9 goals in a Premier League match, no matter who it's against, is impressive. There's still the would they be this good if they had Europe distracting them factor.





12. Bayer Leverkusen
Top of German Bundesliga
Still unbeaten in Germany's top flight, and with the best defensive record (9 conceded) and second best scoring record (30 for). Another team with no European distraction. The argument could be made that the German Bundesliga is the 5th best league in Europe this season. How long will Stefan Kiessling stick around?





13. Juventus
3rd in Serie A, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group A
My pick to win Italian Serie A this season has been very puzzling to figure out lately. While they have been solid in both competitions, they are dropping some strange points. A win over Inter this weekend, and survive Bayern Munich next week, and they're back in the top 10.





14. Fiorentina
10th in Italian Serie A, Top of UEFA Champions League Group E.

So a tenth place team is 14th on my list. Why? Because they are only 3 points out of 4th and 4 out of 3rd. That's how tight it is in Italy right now. Needed a pk and defensive heroics to survive Lyon, and was a Gilardino-missed sitter away from perhaps winning at Inter. A balanced team that seems to be having one thing each game go right or wrong for them.





15. Rubin Kazan
Russian Premier League Winners, 3rd in UEFA Champions League Group F.
The downslide will continue unless they defeat Inter at the San Siro next week, which would put them through to the knockout stage of the Champions League. Not saying the Russian Premier League is too weak, it's just the teams that have passed them have posted more impressive results lately.





16. Werder Bremen
2nd in German Bundesliga, Top of UEFA Europa League Group L
They still haven't lost since August in all competitions and are coming off a 2-2 draw with Wolfsburg. Werder is the highest scoring side in Germany and they have their goals coming from multiple sources. As good as anyone that will be in the Europa League knockout stages.





17. Valencia
4th in La Liga, Top of UEFA Europa League Group B
Their unbeaten run has extended to 14 in all competitions, and are holding steady in 4th in Spain. If you would take them over Werder, Rubin Kazan, Fiorentina, or Juventus, I'd wouldn't argue with you much.



18. Deportivo
5th in La Liga
3 Consecutive wins in Spain and holding an impressive defense record, prove it time as they take on Barcelona at the weekend.

19. Olympiakos
Top of Greek League, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group H
They have overtaken rival Panathinaikos on the domestic front and gained another point in the travels in the Champions League. Just a point at home against Arsenal next week will secure qualification to the group stage.

20. CSKA Moscow
5th in Russian Premier League, 3rd in UEFA Champions League Group B
Really here thanks to their Champions League run. Should have beaten Man United at Old Trafford and beat Wolfsburg. They have a great chance of securing a knockout stage place but must win at Besiktas.

21. Bayern Munich
4th in German Bundesliga, 3rd in UEFA Champions League Group A
Drew with leaders Leverkusen and have positioned themselves to advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League with a win at Juventus next week.

22. SC Braga
Top of Portuguese League
Time to give Braga some love. Currently top of their domestic table, holding off Benfica and Porto. Braga also beat each of those teams by the way. Would they be running this well if they had to play in Europe too?

23. Wolfsburg
8th in German Bundesliga, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group B
They hold the aggregate advantage over CSKA but the recent defeat has to be unsettling. They must beat Manchester United (good thing they are at home) to assure qualification.

24. Aston Villa
6th in English Premier League
The home record is better, and they are still hanging around this list thanks to beating Chelsea, as well as a draw with Tottenham in recent games.

25. FC Porto
3rd in Portuguese League, Qualified as Runner Up in UEFA Champions League Group D
Jesualdo Ferreira's men should take no shame in losing to a Chelsea side that is not only hard to beat but hard to score on. Might be his best coaching effort yet considering the players lost in the summer.

OTHERS CONSIDERED
Benfica
Manchester City (drawing way too many games, had to drop them)
Liverpool (despite not qualifying for the knockouts they could return to the top 25)
Hamburg
Schalke
Real Mallorca
Marseille
Sampdoria
Cagliari
Fenerbahce
Galatasaray
Panathinaikos
Unirea Urziceni

So there are the rankings, really a lot of movement at bottom thanks to some teams hitting some disappointing results. Debate by commenting if you wish.