As the season begins to slowly ramp up and tables have begun to shape up across the continent of Europe. Powerhouses are establishing leads and teams are climbing the ranks of European football. This article will be reviewing the ten most powerful teams as of the November international break.
10. AC Milan
After one of the most shocking campaigns in their history, missing out on European competition, AC Milan finished 10th and had a revolutionizing summer, getting rid of some of what were supposed to be their better players such as Theo Hernandez. They brought in a wealth of quality and experience: Adrien Rabiot, Luka Modrić, Christopher Nkunku, Pervis Estupiñan and so many more. Since then, they’ve maintained a title race with reigning champions Napoli and have only lost one unbelievable banana skin fixture in the league against newly promoted Cremonese. They’ve developed Christian Pulisic, the captain of the United States Mens National team, into the best player in the league and, before his injury, was voted player of the month in the Serie A. All of these ingredients have come together to make one of the most promising and weirdly underrated sides in Europe, that is only rarely discussed likely due to their lack of involvement in European competition (from their woeful finish from last season) and top profile departures leading to fewer eyes on the side.
9. Roma
AS Roma have been quietly doing the business in the Serie A this season. Unlike aforementioned Milan, their summer transfer window was a bit more quiet and they were also able to place 5th last season and make it into the Europa League. But as it stands they sit in joint top of the Italian top flight with 24 points alongside Inter Milan. They’ve had a stellar season so far with 8 wins out of 11 domestic league matches and 2 wins out of 4 in europe. They’ve managed to concede the least goals in the Serie A, a league renowned for its defensive brilliance, and have only had the tightest of losses in all competitions this season (three 1-0’s and one 2-1) which goes to show how competitive they are across the board. Their attacking power leaves a bit to be desired as they have yet to score more than 2 goals in a game, but they have made up for it by keeping a whopping 7 clean sheets this season, having played 15 games. They are certainly a team to keep an eye on especially in Europe as they could be a candidate to win silverware in the 25/26 season.
8. Napoli
Yes it is yet another Italian team on this list, but the Serie A’s competitive nature simply cannot be denied this season. Napoli are reigning champions of Italy, having beat out Inter Milan on the tightest of margins for their 2nd league title in the past 3 seasons. Whilst not top of the league currently, they sit only 2 points behind, level with AC Milan on 22 points. Their boisterous start to the season earns them a spot here but it most be noted they are goalless in their last three games, with a 2-0 loss to Bologna and back to back 0-0’s with Como and Eintracht Frankfurt. They have very difficult fixtures in their next few such as AS Roma, Juventus and Benfica, so we’ll get a very accurate picture of what the team is like this season but the fact that they’re getting results in all competitions and staying in the mix in the league, means they warrant a place here, especially with all the quality in their squad that knows how to get over the line and win trophies on a consistent basis.
7. Barcelona
A low spot and a far fall from grace for FC Barcelona who were in and amongst the top 2-3 teams in the world last season winning a domestic Treble and beating Real Madrid every single meeting last season. Now in the 25/26 campaign, they are struggling to get results in Europe, losing to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu and on the outside looking in in both the Champions League and the league. Yes, it’s a tight margin in LaLiga, only 2 points behind Real Madrid and they are still in the mix in all competitions, but you cannot compare the quality of football this season from Barcelona to this season. It has to be noted that Raphinha and Lewandowski have been out injured for quite some time alongside starting keeper Joan Garcia which makes a huge impact on the team and results, which can be seen with Barcelona’s win over Celta Vigo where Lewandowski had a huge influence. They may yet improve, but as it stands they lie well outside the top 5 teams in Europe.
6. Real Madrid
Real Madrid are a volatile football club this season. They’ve had unimaginable peaks: Rivalry triumph over Barcelona at home, various thrashings of sides in the league and Europea. But they’ve also had unacceptable performances and results such as the humiliation ritual against Atletico that ended 5-2 and the flattering 1-0 loss to a struggling Liverpool side. They’ve managed to get Mbappé back to his very best but the rest of the side can’t seem to get their act together, especially in the most high profile of matches. Luckily for them, they don’t seem to have a obviously difficult fixture until their titanic matchup against high flying Manchester City on December 10th which could help to mask some of the real happenings in the squad that is quite honestly dysfunctional. The manager is attempting to install order in the team to get the performances out of them on a consistent basis, largely in crucial games but the issues are deeply rooted within the squad with big names are rumored with a move away such as Vinicius and Rodrygo. Ultimately if they can’t manage to get firing on all cylinders, then there will be ramping pressure on the manager and most importantly the players to get results.
5. Inter Milan
Inter sit top of the Italian division and 3rd in the UEFA Champions League with a perfect record in 4 games. They’ve only conceded 1 goal in Europe (let’s not talk about domestic competition) and have scored a total of 37 goals in all competitions this season in 15 matches, a hugely impressive tally. Now, it has to be said that Inter have had an exceptionally straightforward UCL campaign, facing Kairat Almaty, Slavia Prague, Union Saint Gilloise and Ajax, with their upcoming daunting fixtures including Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal and Dortmund. Damn. Additionally, their next league match is against bitter rivals AC Milan who, with a win, would climb above them on the table. The next month or so will be a telling time period on the mettle of Inter Milan and if they continue to grab points like they have been, they could remain contenders in various competitions heading into the new year. Going back to their defensive league record, in all seriousness it is woeful. 12 goals conceded in 11 for the league leaders is not what you’d expect from Inter Milan who are normally defensively sound in the league especially. Ultimately, though, they’ve made a name for themselves this season and regardless of how they perform going forward, as of now they’ve instated themselves as a Top 5 team in Europe.
4. Manchester City
Erling Haaland FC is a blunt but not too far off description of Manchester City this season. The Norweigan giant has scored in all games but two this season, with a stunning 37 goals in 19 games for club and country this season. The nearest goalscorer this seasonis Phil Foden with 3 goals for Manchester City compared to Haaland’s 22. Now despite this reliance on the striker, Manchester City are running with it, riding their run of form to second in the Premier League, 4 points behind juggernaut league leaders Arsenal. City have already lost 3 Premier League games this season to strange opponents: Tottenham, Brighton and Aston Villa, but have managed impressive results, such as their most recent; a 3-0 against Liverpool putting them into the title race in the Premier League. The most terrifying prospect has to be an Erling Haaland injury, as without him you’d wonder where the goals would originate from. Once again, City won’t want to think about this and with a few tough fixtures on the horizon, they’ll be looking to feed the goal scoring machine.
3. PSG
Sure, this isn’t the PSG team of last year, but they still got it. Injuries in the wake of an exhaustive treble-winning season have significantly altered their results in the league and Champions League. Dembélé, Hakimi, and other crucial players have been missing at various points in the season which does end up taking a significant toll on performances, though they remain top of the Ligue 1, albeit only by 2 points. The Parisians just received their first loss in the Champions League loss against Bayern Munich at home which was handed to them by a beautiful brace from Colombian icon Luis Diaz who also amazingly went on to get sent off later in the match. They still remain 5th in the Champions League though surprisingly due to their amazing first 3 games, and as a result are still in the mix for not only automatic qualification but also top of the table. Once they gain form and assemble their team back to what was last season, they can rise even further in the ranks, but as it stands, a narrow top 3 finish will suffice for the European champions.
2. Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich are a reborn side. Last side they left much to be desired in European competition after whimpering out in the quarterfinals to Inter Milan and who only one the Bundesliga due to a lack of competition and just brute forcing accumulation of results. This season, they’ve brought in Luis Diaz and Jonathan Tah who have made them look a whole new team. They sit atop the Bundesliga with an iron fist, which isn’t too far off the status quo, but they also are current leaders of the Champions League with wins against the likes of aforementioned PSG and, yes while weak and nothing like their former self, Chelsea were completely and utterly ran over in Munich. Harry Kane cannot stop scoring and he’s up with Erling Haaland as one of the best strikers in the world, the kind that makes it seem odd when he doesn’t score rather than when he does. Weirdly, their perfect record in all competitions was stunted by Union Berlin with their underrated center back, Doekhi, scoring a brace and ending the match at a 2-2 draw. Bayern need a big test and their next match against the number one side in the world, according to my opinion, could be very decisive on how they’re viewed going forward as contenders for the Champions League and their standing in the European power rankings.
1. Arsenal
The best team in the world by far. The best defense in the world by far. The best midfield, on form, in the world by far. Top of the Premier League by 4 points. They’ve only conceded 5 goals all seasons in all competitions. If you dispute this claim that Arsenal is the best team in the world as of now, you’d be honestly grasping at straws. While they’re coming off the back of a 2-2 draw away at Sunderland, what would be seen as a solid result, they were expected to be a bit more conservative at the back and with leader-of-the-backline Gabriel newly injured for many weeks, they could struggle to maintain the defensive performances of the season going forward. They’ve only lost once all season, to a beautiful Szoboszlai free kick 1-0 away at Anfield against Liverpool and their next few games will shape their season. They have bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea as their next three and if they win all 3, especially with clean sheets, you’d struggle to see how they’d fall short in their path to winning silverware. With the depth and quality in the squad alongside the unstoppable form of the Gunners, it would be foolish to count them out from any competition. On top of their amazing performances thusfar, they’ve had a mountain of injuries, often forced to play unlikely players, such as 4th choice Mikel Merino at striker, due to all 3 strikers in the squad being out with injury. The true tests will certainly be right ahead for Arsenal, but based off their performances leading up until November, they have proven themselves to be the best team in the world and favorites for every competition they are playing in.