Three best teams in the World

[Skills]

After Bayern, I have no idea. For once we have a large group of teams that are around the same level and all have strength and weaknesses that can make the difference depending on the opposition. So to me it's:

1- Bayern
2- Chelsea, City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and PSG.

Are atletico in the same class? Liverpool put them away twice in 2 weeks

 

[gerdm07]

Hard to decide #1 but top 4 is clearly City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Bayern. A huge tier drop until the next group. PSG has a bunch of big names but those 4 will hammer them in the business end of the season.

PSG already handled City in the CL group match pretty convincingly. I'm not sure why you think City would hammer them in April or May.

 

[JPRouve]

Are atletico in the same class? Liverpool put them away twice in 2 weeks

The games were close and the second one was played with 10 men for a while. I don't think that it separated them at all.

 

[bosnian_red]

PSG already handled City in the CL group match pretty convincingly. I'm not sure why you think City would hammer them in April or May.

It's the group stage of the CL. PSG at home had less possession, 6 shots totalling just 0.46 xG compared to City having 18 shots totaling 1.92 xG. Let's be honest, City dominated that game but didn't get the result. City also pretty comfortably dispatched PSG last season in the knockout stages.

Performance wise over the season, there is a clear top 4 (and going into last year with obvious understandings). PSG just don't really impress when they play and have struggled in every CL game they've played this season. Sure they have big names, but they're like United (just a bit less dysfunctional). Big names who play as less than the sum of their parts and rely on individual brilliance to get them results. They're not on the same level as City/Liverpool/Chelsea/Bayern.

 

[bosnian_red]

After Bayern, I have no idea. For once we have a large group of teams that are around the same level and all have strength and weaknesses that can make the difference depending on the opposition. So to me it's:

1- Bayern
2- Chelsea, City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and PSG.

Chelsea, City and Liverpool are definitely in the top tier and along with Bayern a clear tier ahead of the rest. Don't think PSG or either Madrid have shown anything where they can say they are in that top tier. Hell, Ajax has shown more as a team that they should be ahead of any club after the main 4. After Ajax, I'd say there's a big gap and then a big cluster of clubs who are either solid teams but not enough star quality, or a collection of big names but who don't play well together.

 

[harms]

Bayern is the best side in the world.

City & Liverpool would be the 2nd and the 3rd for me with Chelsea, Real Madrid and probably PSG close behind.

 

[bosnian_red]

For whatever it's worth, 538soccer SPI ratings (based on xG for and against over time generally) have them at:

1. Bayern - 94.1
2. City - 93.6
3. Liverpool- 91
4. Chelsea - 89.5
5. Ajax - 89.1
6. Real Madrid - 84.2
7. RB Leipzig - 84.1
8. Inter - 83.6
9. Atletico - 83.2
10. Barca - 82.7
11. PSG - 81.9
12. Napoli - 81.1
13. United - 80.9
14. Dortmund - 80.1
15. Porto - 80.0
16. Sociedad - 79.4
17. Sevilla - 78.8
18. Juve - 78.6
19. West Ham - 78.5
20. Salzburg - 78.2

Can't say I really disagree. United have been steadily dropping this season, after we were somewhere around 6th at the end of last season with our awful performances now. But pretty much has it as a big cluster of teams that is decent but inconsistent after the 5 best performing clubs in Europe that around around that 90 mark.

 

[JPRouve]

Chelsea, City and Liverpool are definitely in the top tier and along with Bayern a clear tier ahead of the rest. Don't think PSG or either Madrid have shown anything where they can say they are in that top tier. Hell, Ajax has shown more as a team that they should be ahead of any club after the main 4. After Ajax, I'd say there's a big gap and then a big cluster of clubs who are either solid teams but not enough star quality, or a collection of big names but who don't play well together.

I don't see it, to me Bayern are clearly ahead and the rest is difficult to separate. Take Liverpool as an example they have been unimpressive on more than one occasion and in the PL they are currently barely at a 50% win rate. I could accept to have some of the teams in a third tier though, Bayern are alone at the top.

 

[DWelbz19]

For whatever it's worth, 538soccer SPI ratings (based on xG for and against over time generally) have them at:

1. Bayern - 94.1
2. City - 93.6
3. Liverpool- 91
4. Chelsea - 89.5
5. Ajax - 89.1
6. Real Madrid - 84.2
7. RB Leipzig - 84.1
8. Inter - 83.6
9. Atletico - 83.2
10. Barca - 82.7
11. PSG - 81.9
12. Napoli - 81.1
13. United - 80.9
14. Dortmund - 80.1
15. Porto - 80.0
16. Sociedad - 79.4
17. Sevilla - 78.8
18. Juve - 78.6
19. West Ham - 78.5
20. Salzburg - 78.2

Can't say I really disagree. United have been steadily dropping this season, after we were somewhere around 6th at the end of last season with our awful performances now. But pretty much has it as a big cluster of teams that is decent but inconsistent after the 5 best performing clubs in Europe that around around that 90 mark.

Not sure I'd have Leipzig that high and PSG that low, but the rest looks generally about right.

 

[Red Royal]

For whatever it's worth, 538soccer SPI ratings (based on xG for and against over time generally) have them at:

1. Bayern - 94.1
2. City - 93.6
3. Liverpool- 91
4. Chelsea - 89.5
5. Ajax - 89.1
6. Real Madrid - 84.2
7. RB Leipzig - 84.1
8. Inter - 83.6
9. Atletico - 83.2
10. Barca - 82.7
11. PSG - 81.9
12. Napoli - 81.1
13. United - 80.9
14. Dortmund - 80.1
15. Porto - 80.0
16. Sociedad - 79.4
17. Sevilla - 78.8
18. Juve - 78.6
19. West Ham - 78.5
20. Salzburg - 78.2

Can't say I really disagree. United have been steadily dropping this season, after we were somewhere around 6th at the end of last season with our awful performances now. But pretty much has it as a big cluster of teams that is decent but inconsistent after the 5 best performing clubs in Europe that around around that 90 mark.

Wow Ajax up in 5th... more kudos to Ten Hag.

 

[bosnian_red]

Not sure I'd have Leipzig that high and PSG that low, but the rest looks generally about right.

PSG is more big names and hype than actual performances so far. The 2 games between PSG and Leipzig this season gave a cumulative xG of 5.44 for Leipzig and 5.21 for PSG, basically just showing there wasn't much between them in those games. Don't really disagree generally, Leipzig feel high and PSG even if I think they aren't very good despite the names feel low, but they really just don't play well on the pitch so far under Pochettino and aren't close to one of the top 5 teams.

 

[DWelbz19]

PSG is more big names and hype than actual performances so far. The 2 games between PSG and Leipzig this season gave a cumulative xG of 5.44 for Leipzig and 5.21 for PSG, basically just showing there wasn't much between them in those games. Don't really disagree generally, Leipzig feel high and PSG even if I think they aren't very good despite the names feel low, but they really just don't play well on the pitch so far under Pochettino and aren't close to one of the top 5 teams.

They're kind of xG merchants though because they play an insanely high and unsustainable type of attacking football. They're 5th in the Bundesliga and they're dead last in their CL group on 1 point, conceding 13 goals -- the most in the entire tournament, more than Malmo and Besiktas.

 

[Boavista]

They're kind of xG merchants though because they play an insanely high and unsustainable type of attacking football. They're 5th in the Bundesliga and they're dead last in their CL group on 1 point, conceding 13 goals -- the most in the entire tournament, more than Malmo and Besiktas.

Exactly, there will always be outliers/exceptions in such rankings. And Jesse Marsch's Leipzig are just like you said a gung ho xG merchant which might make them look good in a ranking based on just that, but in reality they're a lot worse or rather unpredictable than previous iterations. It's hard to say they've played badly in the CL, even in that heavy defeat against City but what good is that when the end result is so predictable. Salzburg under Marsch suffered the same shortfalls.

 

[ivaldo]

A CL win does not make them an elite team? Rather bizarre take.

Were they an elite team when they won it in 11/12 and followed it up by getting eliminated in the group stages and finishing 3rd, 16 points behind us, and 31 points behind the winners the following year? Seems a perfectly reasonable to me.

 

[SER19]

The standard of teams now is quite poor. City Liverpool Chelsea, psg and bayern are the best and then there's a big drop off, but even those best don't come close to top teams from the past.

Top level football's in a weak moment i think. Not great teams, 2 giants in Messi and Ronaldo on downhill and really being ripped of what little soul it still had by the oil clubs and ideas like super league

 

[Amadaeus]

Gives United a better manager and they will be one of the top three easily.

As it stands I don't believe there is a consistent best 3. Football is always changing. The best three can alternate between:

Manchester City, Liverpool, psg, bayern, Chelsea, and Madrid.

We will see how xavi manages Barcelona, but I can see them becoming part of the three. Atletico Madrio and Manchester United are other team that are trying to break into that 3.

 

[The Firestarter]

Were they an elite team when they won it in 11/12 and followed it up by getting eliminated in the group stages and finishing 3rd, 16 points behind us, and 31 points behind the winners the following year? Seems a perfectly reasonable to me.

There are exceptions I agree, but I'd say a CL win is rarely a fluke. The other exception in the last 20 years is Porto.

 

[JPRouve]

There are exceptions I agree, but I'd say a CL win is rarely a fluke. The other exception in the last 20 years is Porto.

It's a cup, it's not fluke but in isolation it tells you nothing. The CL is only telling if you are going far most years over a lengthy period of time.

 

[gerdm07]

It's the group stage of the CL. PSG at home had less possession, 6 shots totalling just 0.46 xG compared to City having 18 shots totaling 1.92 xG. Let's be honest, City dominated that game but didn't get the result. City also pretty comfortably dispatched PSG last season in the knockout stages.

Performance wise over the season, there is a clear top 4 (and going into last year with obvious understandings). PSG just don't really impress when they play and have struggled in every CL game they've played this season. Sure they have big names, but they're like United (just a bit less dysfunctional). Big names who play as less than the sum of their parts and rely on individual brilliance to get them results. They're not on the same level as City/Liverpool/Chelsea/Bayern.

I watched the match and even though City had 18 shots I only remember a couple being dangerous. And every other counter for PSG was usually one touch away from being dangerous and creating a chance. All I'm saying is if PSG meet Pool, City or Chelsea in the knockout stage, there is no way those teams are huge favorites.

 

[Drawfull]

Literally, decimate. Meet best.

 

[Tom Cato]

Manchester United
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