
OneFootball
Lewis Ambrose·28 September 2023
📈 Power Rankings: Alonso goes top, big names drop, two new clubs

OneFootball
Lewis Ambrose·28 September 2023
It’s Power Rankings time once again, with a familiar name at the head of the pack but a few new sides in the top 10.
Now, we know Newcastle had a superb week but the Power Rankings need a bit more than that. It’s been a great few days but immediately before the international break they lost three in a row and this excellent run is not quite enough yet to launch themselves into our top 10.
Instead, Spurs keep their place after an impressive draw at Arsenal, coming from behind twice to frustrate their north London rivals. They do drop though, since Gabriel Jesus let them off the hook in the first half, they couldn’t claim all three points and they had no midweek game (unlike others above them) as they were already out of the EFL Cup.
Four wins in a row in the league, including their biggest ever win at Ajax, and a win in the Champions League against Celtic to kick off their European campaign, the Eredivisie champions are doing alright.
Arne Slot’s side just continue impressing.
Liverpool are now up to five league wins in a row following their opening weekend draw with Chelsea, plus Europa League and EFL Cup wins after falling behind to LASK Linz and Leicester in those respective competitions.
The Reds have now come from behind to win 3-1 in four different games this season, as well as winning by the same scoreline against West Ham in midweek. Deservedly second in the league, things are going very well indeed.
Sitting 2-0 down to Celta Vigo with 10 minutes to go in midweek, Barcelona rallied to score three times and claim all three points.
But was it a case of getting away with it? It seemed so on Tuesday, when they once again went behind (this time twice) to Mallorca and could only salvage a point. Last season’s record-breaking defensive performances are nowhere to be seen as Xavi leans more into the attack but Barça appear to be struggling with the transition.
Who had Girona unbeaten and top of LaLiga seven games in? It’s now six wins in a row and the goals are flowing — they have a league-high 18 from seven games, even though no player has scored more than three.
Dangerous, hungry for possession, producing end-to-end football. We like it a lot.
A Madrid derby defeat to Atlético de Madrid was a huge blow for Carlo Ancelotti’s side at the weekend and handed them their first setback of the LaLiga season.
A convincing response on Wednesday saw them beat Las Palmas 2-0 but there is still plenty of room for improvement in the Spanish capital.
Inter have also suffered a first defeat of the season as they gave up a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 to Sassuolo in midweek.
They remain top of Serie A but the gap has now been closed by city rivals Milan and the defence that had conceded just once in its opening five Serie A matches now looks a little less impenetrable.
A huge 7-0 win against Bochum (Bayern’s third in a row by that scoreline against that opponent) saw Harry Kane shine at the weekend, with the striker scoring three and assisting two in his first truly superb performance for his new club.
The size of the win also took Bayern top of the Bundesliga on goal difference and they now boast the ridiculous record of 18 goals scored and just four conceded across their first five league games of the season. With recent wins over Manchester United (3-2) and Preussen Münster (4-0) in the Champions League and DFB-Pokal too, there’s plenty to be bullish about in Bavaria.
Manchester City are six from six in the Premier League, equalling their best ever start to a campaign and opening a gap to the rest already in this new season.
Still, the quadruple is already off the table with Wednesday’s EFL Cup defeat to Newcastle United. Erling Haaland watched the full 90 minutes from the bench and will be more important than ever over the next couple of weeks with the spine of the team losing Rodri to suspension.
Top of the tree. Xabi Alonso is being linked with the Real Madrid job and it’s easy to see why: Leverkusen are on fire.
With four Bundesliga wins, plus a draw in Munich, they look like one of Europe’s most complete and most in-form teams, excelling from back to front and playing entertaining, front-footed, possession football. More please!
Live
Live