WCR Top 25 - February 28, 2023
We have a new (returning) number one this week, as Germany’s Bayern Munich returns to the top spot after its huge victory over Union Berlin on Sunday. That race is still tight, but at least there are only two teams tied for the lead this week instead of three.
One new team arrives in the Top Ten, as Manchester United moved up a notch following Europa and League Cup victories over Barcelona and Newcastle United, respectively. PSG also moved up a bit after thrashing Marseille over the weekend. PSG, Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund each moved up two spots this week. The main reason for Newcastle and Dortmund’s rises were the failures of Inter Milan and Porto, who both fell to teams that they should have beaten over the weekend (Bologna and Gil Vicente, respectively).
Two teams were replaced in the Top 25 this week. As noted above, Marseille fell hard to PSG this weekend. Hard enough, in fact, to drop out off the list. Red Bull Salzburg join Marseille on the outside looking in after falling out of the Europa League to returnee Roma, who comes in at number 22. The other debutante this week is Bayer Leverkusen (Ger). I’m not sure what Leverkusen did to make it to the Top 25, but there they are.
As noted last week, the rankings are coming from FiveThirtyEight. We will use the data they have collected for additional features starting this week. Enjoy!!!
1. Bayern Munich (Ger) (2) - Bayern returns to the top spot after a weekend that saw it crush Union Berlin 3-0 in a match that was basically over by halftime. This allowed the logjam to ease up a bit at the top of the Bundesliga table. Bayern will be at VfB Stuttgart this weekend to play a team that is just barely keeping its head above the relegation zone.
2. Manchester City (Eng) (1) - City’s 1-1 draw with Leipzig in the Champions League was a bit of a surprise, but they are still in good shape to advance following the return match. In Premier League action, City was able to keep pace with the leaders by scoring a comfortable 4-1 victory over Bournemouth. This week, Manchester City will travel to face Bristol City in FA Cup action before hosting Newcastle United on Saturday.
3. Barcelona (Esp) (3) - It was a horrible week for Barcelona as they were knocked out of European competition with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United and then got shocked in a 1-0 loss to Almeria in La Liga. They still have a seven point lead in La Liga, though, so they are still holding on to the third spot. That could change soon, though, as Barcelona is scheduled to meet Real Madrid in a Copa del Rey match at the Bernabeu on Thursday night before hosting Valencia in league action on Sunday.
4. Real Madrid (Esp) (4) - In a bit of a Jeckyll & Hyde act, Real Madrid looked like world beaters in scoring five unanswered goals in a 5-2 victory over Liverpool at Anfield at midweek, but could only pick up one point on Barcelona in a 1-1 draw against crosstown rivals Atletico. As just mentioned, Real will have a much anticipated Copa del Rey match against Barcelona on Thursday before hitting the road to take on Real Betis on Sunday night, in a match that could be quite good.
5. Arsenal (Eng) (5) - The Gunners have looked vulnerable of late, but a Gabriel Martinelli goal just after halftime saw them squeak past Leicester City in a 1-0 match over the weekend. Arsenal has two PL matches this week at home, first against Everton and then against Bournemouth. Arsenal will be heavily favored in both matches, but we all saw what happened last time against Everton, so you never know.
6. Napoli (Ita) (6) - The team from the south continued its roll this week with a pair of 0-2 victories away. The first one occurred against Eintracht Frankfurt and will go a long way towards seeing Napoli through to the Champions League quarterfinals. The second was against Empoli, allowing Napoli to earn an incredible 18-point advantage in the Serie A table.
7. Paris St. Germain (Fra) (9) - After it’s thrilling defeat of Lille a few weeks ago, PSG had more of a laugher this week with a surprise 3-0 victory over Marseille. Next up for the perennial French champion is Nantes on Saturday night.
8. Liverpool (Eng) (7) - After a brilliant fifteen minutes in the Champions League, Liverpool’s week went straight to hell. They gave up five straight goals to lose 2-5 at home to Real Madrid in that competition before settling for a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace in PL action. Like Arsenal, Liverpool will have two home PL fixtures this week, facing Wolves on Thursday before hosting Manchester United in what could prove to be a huge match for both clubs on Sunday.
9. RB Leipzig (Ger) (8) - Leipzig played two matches against clubs still alive in the Champions League this week, and had a pretty fair showing in both. At midweek, Leipzig drew with Manchester City 1-1 to keep their hopes alive in the Champions League. RBL went on to score a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt over the weekend to keep within four points of the leaders in the German Bundesliga.
10. Manchester United (Eng) (10) - It was a red-letter week for the Red Devils as they were able to beat Barcelona 2-1 at Old Trafford to advance to the round of sixteen in the Europa League before winning the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United on Sunday. In the current week, United will host West Ham in an FA Cup match before traveling to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Sunday.
11. Benfica (Por) (11)
12. Brighton (Eng) (12)
13. Chelsea (Eng) (13)
14. Newcastle United (Eng) (16)
15. Ajax (Ned) (14)
16. Borussia Dortmund (Ger) (18)
17. Inter Milan (Ita) (17)
18. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (19)
19. Porto (Por) (15)
20. Atletico Madrid (Esp) (20)
21. Zenit St. Petersburg (Rus) (21)
22. Roma (Ita) (NR)
23. Lille (Fra) (22)
24. Celtic (Sco) (25)
25. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (NR)
Bubbling Under (alphabetically): AC Milan (Ita), Marseille (Fra), RB Salzburg (Aut), Sporting CP (Por), West Ham United (Eng)
Next Five (alphabetically): Athletic Bilbao (Esp), Brentford (Eng), Feyenoord (Ned), Juventus (Ita), Real Sociedad (Esp)