Champions League - European Power Rankings

With no European action over the past seven days, it is no surprise to see Manchester United retaining their place at the summit of our Power Rankings. We take into account both domestic and European performances, plus the relative difficulty of each team's league, to find out who is the best team in Europe.

Alex Ferguson's side scored two domestic victories last week to help them edge towards the successful retention of their Premier League crown and, perhaps more importantly, the inaugural European Power Rankings gong.

United currently lead second-placed Barcelona by just under two points - a hefty defecit in Power Rankings terms - after Arsenal's defeat to Chelsea saw them slip into third. That win for Chelsea, coupled with a disastrous week for Internazionale which saw them pick up just a point from two games, means the Blues leapfrog the Nerazzurri into fifth.

Elsewhere, Bayern and Real Madrid swap positions down in 12th and 13th respectively while Lyon's win over Paris St Germain bumps them up to 17th.

EUROPEAN POWER RANKINGS

1 (1) Manchester United - 24.27
2 (3) Barcelona - 22.50
3 (2) Arsenal - 22.31
4 (4) Roma - 21.29
5 (6) Chelsea - 20.97
6 (5) Internazionale - 20.71
7 (7) Liverpool - 20.52
8 (9) Porto - 19.90
9 (8) Sevilla - 19.76
10 (10) Everton - 19.19
11 (11) Fenerbahce - 18.89
12 (13) Bayern - 17.94
13 (12) Real Madrid - 17.56
14 (14) Hamburg - 17.48
15 (15) Milan - 16.92
16 (16) Olympiacos - 16.88
17 (18) Lyon - 16.48
18 (17) Fiorentina - 16.43
19 (19) Werder Bremen - 16.17
20 (20) Rangers - 16.08

HOW IT WORKS
Scores are based on points per game in domestic league and European games.
Domestic points per game are multiplied by the league coefficient - either 4, 4.5 or 5 - with teams in stronger leagues getting more credit. Champions League (or Super Cup) victories are counted from the third qualifying round onward as three points for a win and multiplied by a coefficient of 5.

UEFA Cup victories are counted from the first round as three points for a win and multiplied by a coefficient of 4. Domestic and European totals are then added together. If a side has played in both Champions League and UEFA Cup, its European total is an average of the two scores.

League coefficients:

England, Spain, Italy = 5

Germany, Portugal, France = 4.5

Others = 4

Example: Manchester United

73 points from 31 Premier League games = 2.35 points per game.
Multiplied by league coefficient of five - 2.35 x 5 = 11.77
20 points from 8 Champions League games (including qualifying) = 2.50 points per game.

Multiplied by Champions League coefficient of five - 12.50
Total score = 11.77 + 12.50 = 24.27

Eurosport