WCR Top 25 - August 22, 2023
There wasn’t a lot of movement in the top half of the rankings this week after a weekend that saw all of the top eight clubs in the world win. In fact, of those eight clubs, the only ones that did not win by multiple goals was top-ranked Manchester City, who secured a close 1-0 victory at home over rising power Newcastle United, and Arsenal, who squeaked by Crystal Palace by the same score.
In fact the only movement in the WCR Top Ten was the elimination of RB Leipzig from the group. Leipzig dropped two notches after falling 2-3 to Bayer Leverkusen in toughly-fought match. This result allowed Atletico Madrid to return to the Top Ten for the first time since last season.
Most of the excitement in the rankings took place near the bottom of the rankings, where two clubs fell out and two clubs that are playing Scottish clubs in European competitions this week moved into the rankings.The clubs that dropped out are RB Salzburg, who falls despite scoring an impressive road victory this week, and Chelsea, who neither won nor impressed. Taking their places will be Aston Villa, after a week's absence, who compete this week in UECL qualifiers against Hibernian, and PSV Eindhoven, who will take on Rangers in a UCL qualifier in the upcoming week.
All of the rankings are below. If you don’t like the list, please feel free to check out our methodology page, which includes links to all of the source data we are using.
1. Manchester City (Eng) (100 pts) (4 first place votes) (LW 1) - It was a dogfight all the way, but Manchester City went to penalties for the second time in a week, and this time came out victorious to defeat Sevilla 1-1 to win the UEFA Super Cup. Then, in a match that was much more close than exciting, City used a 31’ goal by Julián Álvarez and then superior ball control to slide by with a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United at home. Things should ease up for City for a while, beginning with their next Premier League match, which will be on Sunday at Sheffield United.
2. Bayern Munich (Ger) (93 pts) (LW 2) - Werder Bremen stuck pretty close to Bayern for three-quarters of the match, but after Harry Kane scored his first Bayern Munich goal, the rout was on and the Bavarians ended up winning 4-0 to start off their Bundesliga season. The next match for Bayern will be their home debut against Augsburg on Sunday.
3. Liverpool (Eng) (90 pts) (LW 3) - Liverpool looked like they were sleepwalking early on, even giving up a goal to Bournemouth early in the match, but they went on to take control and score a comfortable 3-1 victory at home. The competition should be a little tougher next week when the Reds travel to St. James’ Park to take on Newcastle United in the late Sunday match.
4. Real Madrid (Esp) (90 pts) (LW 4) -In a match that paralleled Napoli’s (see below). Real Madrid gave up an early goal, but went on to win 3-1 over Almería thanks in large part to a brace by a superstar. In Real Madrid’s case, that superstar was Jude Bellingham. That gives Los Blancos two away victories to start the season. They have a chance for a third one on Friday night when they stay on the road to face Celta Vigo.
5. Arsenal (Eng) (82 points) (LW 6) - Arsenal slipped past Crystal Palace by a 1-0 score, this week looking better in the second half. That was enough to keep them in their current location in the rankings. They will look to fare even better next week when they play in the friendly confines of Emirates Stadium hosting Fulham.
6. Inter Milan (Ita) (78 pts) (LW 5) - A Lautaro Martinez brace and Yann Sommer clean sheet allowed Internazionale to get off to a good start this Serie A season with a 2-0 victory at home against Monza. Inter’s first road match of the new Serie A season will take place next Monday night at Cagliari.
7. Napoli (Ita) (77 pts) (LW 7) - In a common occurrence this weekend, Napoli gave up an early goal to Frosinone before waking up and scoring three, including a Victor Osimhen brace, winning 3-1 over last season’s Serie B champions. The defending Serie A champions will play their home opener on Sunday night against Sassuolo.
8. Barcelona (Esp) (66 points) (LW 8) - It took Barcelona some time this season to score their first goal, following up scoreless match in the opener with a match that remained scoreless until Pedri’s 82nd minute goal. They ended up scoring another one, though, and in the end the scoreline read that it was a 2-0 home victory over Cadíz at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. Barça will be away from “home” the next few weeks, beginning with this coming Sunday’s visit to Villarreal.
9. Manchester United (Eng) (63 pts) (LW 9) - Without some missed opportunities and bad luck, United might have gotten a positive result this weekend, but in all honesty, it’s hard to say that Spurs didn’t deserve their 2-0 victory over the Red Devils. It’s also hard not to wonder if United might be in a little trouble this year after back-to-back meh performances. We’ll see how they respond at home on Saturday against Nottingham Forest, though success in that match would not answer all the questions.
10. Atlético Madrid (Esp) (60 pts) (LW 11) - Atletico moves up a notch despite settling for a 0-0 draw at Real Betis over the weekend. It certainly helps that the two clubs above them lost in the same weekend, and all were playing reasonably tough opponents on the road. This leaves Atleti with four points in their first two La Liga matches. Next up for the red, white and blue will be a Monday night date with Rayo Vallecano.
11. Borussia Dortmund (Ger) (57 pts) (LW 12)
12. RB Leipzig (Ger) (54 pts) (LW 10)
13. Newcastle United (Eng) (54 pts) (LW 13)
14. Porto (Por) (50 pts) (LW 14)
15. AC Milan (Ita) (36 pts) (LW 17)
16. Benfica (Por) (35 pts) (LW 15)
17. Paris St. Germain (Fra) (33 pts) (LW 16)
18. Brighton (Eng) (27 pts) (LW 18)
19. Palmeiras (Bra) (22 pts) (LW 19)
20. Brentford (Eng) (21 pts) (LW 21)
21. Juventus (Ita) (20 pts) (LW 22)
22. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (20 pts) (LW 23)
23. Real Sociedad (Esp) (14 pts) (LW 20)
24. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (14 pts) (LW NR)
25. Aston Villa (Eng) (10 pts) (LW NR)
Also receiving points: RB Salzburg (Aut) (11), Lazio (Ita) (9), Chelsea (Eng) (7), Sporting CP (Por) (5), Feyenoord (Ned) (3), Sevilla (Esp) (3), West Ham United (Eng) (3), Roma (Ita) (2),Villarreal (Esp) (2), Lens (Fra) (1).