📈 Power Rankings: The final top 10 of 2021 includes two new teams! | OneFootball

Is there still time for one last Power Rankings at Christmas? Of course there is.

10. PSV (No change)

A worse offensive record than Ajax, a much worse defensive record than Ajax. Yet a little more consistency means PSV enter 2022 with the Eredivisie standings in their own hands.

Unbeaten in seven league matches, a win on Thursday will see them top of the table come Christmas.

9. Arsenal (🆕)

This is, if we’re not mistaken, Arsenal’s first Power Rankings appearance of the season. It has been a long while but the Gunners have earned it.

An excellent run has seen them pick up 32 from a possible 45 points since losing their first three games of the season — only Liverpool and Man City have more in that time — and rise to fourth in the Premier League. With a League Cup semi-final also to come, things are looking up in north London.

8. Atalanta (👎 Last week: 7)

It has been a rough couple of weeks for Atalanta, who will need to regroup over the break.

After their Champions League exit, they’ve lost to Roma and drawn with Genoa. Only their superb form beforehand and inconsistency across Europe keep them in our top 10 for now.

7. Chelsea (👎 Last week: 6)

Has the Premier League title slipped away?

Chelsea have suddenly won just nine of the last 18 points available. As well as losing top spot in their Champions League group in that time. Things need to improve and it needs to happen quickly.

6. Juventus (🆕)

Don’t count Juventus out of the Serie A hunt just yet. After a slow start, Massimiliano Allegri’s side have now won four of their last five to rise to fifth in the table, while also winning their Champions League group.

The attack isn’t quite purring but the defence looks like an old-school, hard-nosed, mean Allegri backline again. They’re giving nothing away and that is always half the battle.

5. Liverpool (👎 Last week: 3)

Liverpool looked flawless just a couple of weeks ago but got away with a poor performances to draw at Tottenham on Sunday. The performance was no doubt impacted by absences and a number of close refereeing decisions going Liverpool’s way but that doesn’t mask the performance.

They snuck through in the EFL Cup in midweek on penalties after heavy rotation and you have to be concerned by how they will manage when Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah are away at the AFCON.

4. Real Madrid (No change)

We head into Christmas with the LaLiga title seemingly all wrapped up. Real Madrid will have to wait another five months to actually have it but even a disappointing draw against Cádiz in the week couldn’t slow them down.

They followed that up with a big win at Athletic, despite being ravaged by injuries and coronavirus cases, to make it 11 league games without defeat and go eight points clear at the top.

3. Inter (👍 Last week: 5)

Inter lost Antonio Conte, they lost Achraf Hakimi, they lost Romelu Lukaku. And they may well be just as good as they already were last season anyway.

11 unbeaten in Serie A, where they have now won seven in a row, the champions are looking like the favourites to win the title again.

2. Bayern Munich (No change)

A five-match winning run to end the year has put Bayern nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and they’ve done it in style. After scares against Mainz and Bielefeld and a close game against Dortmund (Bayern won all three but only ever by a single goal), the reigning champions won 5-0 at Stuttgart and 4-0 against Wolfsburg to round off another fine year.

They can’t be stopped.

1. Manchester City (No change)

Speaking of unstoppable, Man City are on their traditional winter run.

Eight Premier League wins in a row has seen them go top, stay top, and then open up a small gap at the top. Those wins have become increasingly convincing as their run has gone on and City now look like the favourite for another Premier League title.