European Soccer Top 25: Feb. 10
Arsenal relinquish top spot as Bundesliga teams rise
Four of the top 10 teams in last week’s rankings tasted defeat while Bayern Munich got back to winning ways in the Bundesliga.
Here is this week’s edition of the European Soccer Top 25.
Dropped from rankings: Freiburg (23), AC Milan (24), Atlético Madrid (25)
*All stats courtesy of fbref.com.
25. Lazio
Last week: 22 (D 1-1 at Hellas Verona)
That’s now three games in a row without a win and two straight Serie A games without generating more than 0.9 expected goals for Lazio, but they are unbeaten in their last five league contests. They welcome Atalanta to the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday for a matchup between the third and fourth-place teams in Serie A.
24. RC Lens
Last week: 19 (D 1-1 at Brest, D 1-1 at Lorient [W 4-2 in penalty shootout])
Lens avoided consecutive losses thanks to an 83rd-minute equalizer against Brest from Jonathan Gradit, who had never scored in his previous 108 games in the French top flight. Another unlikely hero, Angelo Fulgini, emerged in their Coupe de France clash with Lorient to give them a lead they would relinquish with just six minutes remaining. They were a perfect 4-for-4 in the ensuing penalty shootout.
23. Roma
Last week: (W 2-0 vs. Empoli)
Take out the Coppa Italia defeat to Cremonese, and Roma haven’t lost to anyone other than Napoli and Lazio since Oct. 6. They scored twice in the first six minutes against Empoli, becoming the third Serie A team to reach the 40-point mark. José Mourinho’s men own the second-best expected goals difference in the league too.
22. Porto
Last week: Not ranked (W 2-0 vs. Vizela, W 1-0 at Académico de Viseu)
Goals from Pepê and Mehdi Taremi against Vizela paved the way for Porto’s fourth straight victory and extended their unbeaten streak to 12. They are also into the semifinals of the Portuguese Cup after beating second-tier Académico de Viseu through an André Franco header. Three of their four losses have come against teams that participated in the Champions League group stage.
21. Brentford
Last week: Not ranked (W 3-0 vs. Southampton)
Unbeaten in the Premier League since October, Brentford are the 11th different English club to earn a spot in the top 25. They are seventh in both points and points per game following the comfortable win over Southampton with more victories than defeats against teams above them in the table. Saturday’s trip to Arsenal gives them the rare opportunity to collect wins over the Gunners and both Manchester clubs in the same campaign.
20. Brighton
Last week: 21 (W 1-0 vs. Bournemouth)
Just one Premier League team remains unbeaten across all competitions in 2023. That team is Brighton, whose maximum point total (88) is higher than Tottenham’s (87) and only three points lower than Newcastle and Manchester United’s (91). Karou Mitoma has scored in three consecutive games and netted the winner against Bournemouth in the 87th minute.
19. Eintracht Frankfurt
Last week: 20 (W 3-0 vs. Hertha Berlin, W 4-2 vs. Darmstadt)
Since returning from the World Cup, Randal Kolo Muani has played in five games for Frankfurt. He has produced eight goal involvements in those five appearances, five of which came in his team’s most recent pair of victories. The French international scored twice against Hertha Berlin and then produced two goals plus an assist as Frankfurt got past 2. Bundesliga leaders Darmstadt in the DFB-Pokal.
18. Union Berlin
Last week: 18 (W 2-1 vs. Mainz)
Just when it looked like their four-game winning streak was coming to an end thanks to Mainz’s penalty kick in the 79th minute, U.S. international Jordan Pefok – who hadn’t scored in his last 14 appearances – came to the rescue. Still perfect in 2023, Union Berlin visit Leipzig and Ajax in the next week.
17. Juventus
Last week: 16 (W 3-0 at Salernitana)
It is worth noting that Juventus have two wins with four goals scored and zero goals conceded in the two games Dušan Vlahović and Federico Chiesa played together. Vlahović picked up his first club goals since Oct. 15 in the victory over Salernitana, finishing with three goal involvements (2 goals, 1 assist). They welcome Fiorentina on Sunday before beginning their Europa League journey against Nantes.
16. Real Sociedad
Last week: 14 (L 1-0 at Valladolid)
Reigning La Liga Player of the Month Alexander Sørloth’s good fortune did not carry over into February as he hit the post with the best chance of the game in the loss to Valladolid. The defeat left Sociedad without a win in three games, though the last time they had lost to anyone except Barcelona or Manchester United was Oct. 30. Three of their last four defeats have come at home.
15. Marseille
Last week: 15 (L 3-1 vs. Nice, W 2-1 vs. PSG)
Nice’s eight shots on target were tied for the most allowed by Marseille this season as their 10-game unbeaten run came to an end. Ruslan Malinovskyi pulled a goal back – his first for the club – and got the decisive goal against PSG as well. The Coupe de France triumph was the club’s first home win over PSG since 2011.
14. Benfica
Last week: 12 (W 3-0 vs. Casa Pia, D 1-1 at Braga [L 5-4 in penalty shootout])
João Mário’s brace against Casa Pia left him tied for the Primeira Liga lead in goals (12) and goal involvements (16). Facing Braga in the Portuguese Cup quarterfinals, Benfica opened the scoring but were down to nine men by the end of extra time. They do not play again until they travel to Club Brugge on Wednesday for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
13. Tottenham
Last week: 17 (W 1-0 vs. Manchester City)
It is only fitting that Harry Kane became Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer by carrying Spurs to yet another home win over the team he tried to join not so long ago. Following losses to Arsenal and Manchester City, they’ve kept three clean sheets in a row and find themselves a single point away from a Champions League spot. Captain Hugo Lloris is expected to miss at least six weeks with a knee injury.
12. RB Leipzig
Last week: 10 (D 0-0 vs. Kӧln)
The scoreless draw was a fairly entertaining one with Kӧln hitting the woodwork with back-to-back shots at one point and Leipzig having a goal disallowed for an offside in the buildup. The clean sheet ended a run of seven straight games allowing exactly one goal. They host Union Berlin on Saturday to kick off a grueling seven-game stretch that also includes two meetings with Manchester City and a visit to Borussia Dortmund.
11. Borussia Dortmund
Last week: 13 (W 5-1 vs. Freiburg, W 2-1 at VfL Bochum)
Tied with Freiburg at halftime despite being up a man from the 17th minute onward, Dortmund scored four second-half goals to cruise to a season-high fourth straight win. The victory was made even sweeter by Sébastien Haller netting his first goal for the club. Captain Marco Reus came off the bench to net the winner in the DFB-Pokal round of 16.
10. Real Madrid
Last week: 8 (L 1-0 at Mallorca, W 4-1 vs. Al Ahly)
First, there was Nacho’s own goal. Then came Marco Asensio’s missed penalty that he was only taking because Karim Benzema was unavailable. In the end, Real Madrid failed to put any of their 19 shots on target and suffered their third league defeat of the season as a result. They face Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal in the Club World Cup final after beating Al Ahly of the Egyptian Premier League in the semifinals.
9. Inter Milan
Last week: 11 (W 1-0 vs. AC Milan)
Inter were so effective in limiting their rivals’ attack that Lautaro Martínez had more shots (5) than AC Milan’s entire team (4) and two more shots on target (3) than every other player in the game combined (1). Martínez headed home the game’s only goal off a corner kick, giving him seven goals in his last eight games. They have the fewest draws (1) and the second-most wins (14) in Serie A.
8. Newcastle United
Last week: 7 (D 1-1 vs. West Ham)
Though Newcastle’s last Premier League defeat came way back in August, they’ve now dropped points in four of their last five league contests with three of those games coming against teams in the bottom half of the table. Callum Wilson snapped a goal drought that lasted more than three months, and they are just five points out of second place.
7. Bayern Munich
Last week: 9 (W 4-2 at Wolfsburg)
Bayern finally looked like themselves again, netting three goals in the opening 19 minutes. After Joshua Kimmich was sent off in the 54th minute, Jamal Musiala ripped the Wolfsburg defense apart to finish off the scoring for the Bavarians. Thomas Müller made his 427th Bundesliga appearance for the club, tying the legendary Gerd Müller for the most by an outfield player.
6. Paris Saint-Germain
Last week: 6 (W 2-1 vs. Toulouse, L 2-1 at Marseille)
PSG’s lead is up to eight points after a comeback win over Toulouse gave them back-to-back Ligue 1 victories for the first time in 2023. Sergio Ramos conceded the penalty that opened the scoring in their Coupe de France defeat to Marseille and then headed home an equalizer right before halftime. They face three of Ligue 1’s top six teams and Bayern Munich in their next five games.
5. Manchester United
Last week: 5 (W 2-1 vs. Crystal Palace, D 2-2 vs. Leeds United)
The red card to Casemiro made the ending against Crystal Palace more exciting than it needed to be, but the Red Devils were ultimately able to avoid dropping points against Palace for the second time in less than a month. The Leeds performance made it abundantly clear just how important Casemiro and Christian Eriksen are to this team. Jadon Sancho’s first Premier League goal since Sept. 1 got them the point their second-half display deserved.
4. Manchester City
Last week: 3 (L 1-0 at Tottenham)
City have scored exactly one goal in their last three games away from home and now face over 100 charges from the Premier League relating to the alleged violation of financial rules. Erling Haaland did not register a single shot in the loss to Spurs, which was their fifth consecutive defeat via shutout at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They host Aston Villa Sunday before playing five road games in a row in three different competitions.
3. Barcelona
Last week: 4 (W 3-0 vs. Sevilla)
Surprisingly, neither the 0.1 expected goals Barcelona allowed nor their expected goals advantage of 2.6 against Sevilla were season-bests. Jordi Alba and Raphinha both finished with a goal and an assist as the Blaugrana extended their lead at the top of the La Liga table to eight points. They enter Sunday’s trip to Villarreal and the first leg of their Europa League playoff tie against Manchester United on Thursday having not lost a game outside the Champions League since Oct. 16.
2. Arsenal
Last week: 1 (L 1-0 at Everton)
The trip to Goodison Park was arguably the first time Arsenal actually got outplayed by an opponent. Everton had the better chances before going ahead, and the resilience the Gunners have displayed so often was nowhere to be found. They remain the odds-on favorites to win the Premier League, but they are showing a vulnerability that did not exist in the first half of the season.
1. Napoli
Last week: 2 (W 3-0 at Spezia Calcio)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen are the only two Serie A players with more than 15 goal involvements. Osimhen is up to 19 (16 goals, 3 assists) after scoring twice in the win over Spezia, and Kvaratskhelia ended with a goal and an assist to bring his total to 17 (8 goals, 9 assists). Welcome back to the top spot.