Aaaand we're back. After the brief distraction that was the World Cup, domestic football gets going once more for most of the biggest European leagues over the next week and what better than The Sportsman's latest Football Power Rankings to remind you of the state of play across the club game?
We held back the end-of-November standings because, well, you were busy with that international stuff. So here is how the land lies taking into account all of the clubs' achievements up to the pause in the campaign.
Based on achievements over the past five seasons, with a sliding scale rewarding more recent successes most heavily, we’ve come up with an algorithm which identifies the very best teams across domestic leagues and European competition. Here are the top 40 teams in the rankings including all results up to and including November 30:
39. Panathinaikos (previously 40th), Dnipro (40th), Club Brugge (-), Newcastle United (-), Feyenoord (-) - 15.000
38. Real Betis (35th) - 15.063
37. Villarreal (37th) - 15.250
36. Genk (39th) - 15.938
35. Lille (38th) - 16.313
34. Union Berlin (12th) - 16.500
33. Atalanta (19th) - 17.500
32. Roma (29th) - 19.305
31. Monaco (34th) - 19.500
30. Benfica (33th) - 19.688
29. Lazio (30th) - 21.219
28. Young Boys (27th) - 21.563
27. Lens (26th) - 22.500
26. Real Sociedad (36th) - 22.625
25. Freiburg (32nd) - 22.750
24. Tottenham Hotspur (20th) - 24.297
23. Manchester United (24th) - 24.391
22. Eintracht Frankfurt (31st) - 24.734
21. Stade Rennais (22nd) - 24.938
20. Celtic (21st) - 25.313
19. Marseille (25th) - 26.375
18. Borussia Dortmund (14th) - 27.289
16. Red Star Belgrade (16th), Zenit St Petersburg (16th) - 29.063
15. Chelsea (15th) - 29.359
14. Atletico Madrid (7th) - 29.680
13. Red Bull Salzburg (15th) - 30.000
12. Juventus (27th) - 30.563
11. Inter (11th) - 32.000
10. RB Leipzig (23rd) - 33.469
If any team didn't want the football season to suddenly go into hiding it was RB Leipzig, who had racked up six straight wins going into the break. They're now into the last 16 in the Champions League and have climbed to third in the Bundesliga. They'll have a points freeze in December either way thanks to the extended break in Germany.
9. Arsenal (9th) - 33.531
There was no real let-up from Arsenal in November, aside from a League Cup exit to Brighton & Hove Albion. In the Premier League they picked up impressive wins at Chelsea and Wolves to take them five points clear of Manchester City. They have a ceiling in their Power Ranking hopes this season due to them being in the Europa League rather than the Champions League but they continue to set the pace domestically.
8. Liverpool (13th) - 37.422
At the end of October Liverpool looked ragged, but they went on to beat Napoli in Europe and pick up wins against Tottenham and Southampton in the Premier League to regather some ground in our standings. Jurgen Klopp's side still have some neutrals to win over after the resumption.
7. AC Milan (8th) - 38.500
Two late, late wins in Serie A - over Spezia and Fiorentina - and a 4-0 beating over Red Bull Salzburg have maintained Milan's push in Serie A, the Champions League and the Power Rankings alike. They're eight adrift of Napoli in Serie A though, leaving them closer to seventh than top despite currently sitting second.
6. Napoli (5th) - 38.984
Speaking of the Partenopei... They've now won 11 straight Serie A fixtures in a phenomenal domestic campaign which leaves them as huge favourites to win their first title since Diego Maradona's days. (Where else have we heard that recently?) They also have Eintracht Frankfurt in their sights in the Champions League knockout phase.
5. Barcelona (6th) - 42.969
The talk of Barcelona's death has been grossly exaggerated. Don't listen to the accountants, listen to the Power Rankings. Or even the Liga table, which Barca are currently top of. I mean, they're out of the Champions League and now have to get their hands dirty in the Europa League again with minnows such as Manchester United, Juventus and Ajax, but their form in the league is buying them some serious credit.
4. Manchester City (3rd) - 50.641
Ivan Toney. Twice. That's what we think of when we're reminded of Manchester City's last fixture. They're still far from out of the Premier League title picture though, and they have to be considered as one of the big hopes to lift the Champions League.
3. Paris Saint-Germain (2nd) - 53.367
After two-thirds of their superstar front line stole the headlines in Sunday's World Cup final, there's every chance PSG will be missing Lionel Messi at the very least when Strasbourg come to town next Wednesday. Yep, from the scenes of celebration in Buenos Aires, to Strasbourg at home! Still, with 24 goals in seven straight wins, this is a PSG side built to take on anyone. Watch out Bayern Munich.
2. Bayern Munich (4th) - 56.992
Bayern are PSG's next opponents in the Champions League. They're also now back in their usual spot at the top of the Bundesliga after the blip that was their early-season form. Expect them to sail the league title from here, but it's that two-legged tussle with the Parisians which could determine whether this season is a success or not for Julian Nagelsmann, with Sadio Mane due back just in time for the first leg.
1. Real Madrid (1st) - 58.164
Madrid's lead in our rankings was worth 11.8 points at the end of October. By the break in mid-November it became 1.1 and change. A mad Monday night defeat to Rayo Vallecano saw them surrender the leadership of La Liga to Barcelona, leading to them shelling seven points in our standings. They're only one Barca blip from having a commanding lead once more, but similarly a Champions League exit to Liverpool in the round of 16 would hit them very hard.
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