No changes in the Bonus Points this week so there aren’t any huge moves in the rankings. That may change this week after the Copa Libertadores reaches the semifinal stages and the South American clubs hit the Super Bonus Point stage, but again, that’s next week.
This week is a celebration of championships. Nobody knows that better than Manchester, England, which saw United clinch the Premier League championship and City win the FA Cup. Of course, there were others in both league and cup competition as Barcelona and Ajax won their respective league championships and Lille set itself up for the domestic double by winning the Coupe de France.
Even in competitions in which championships were decided made news this week by coming to an end. Borussia Dortmund ended its championship Bundesliga season this weekend and Porto ended its undefeated season in the Liga Sagres.
There’s less action this coming weekend and most of the exciting action will involve relegation, but you won’t read about those here. Nope, here we just have the best.
As a note, we’ll likely be a day or so late next week because I’m flying to Dublin this weekend and arriving early Monday morning. We’ll get the rankings up as soon as we can, though. That’s enough about next week. On to this week’s rankings!!!
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – May 16, 2011
1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – It was on the road and it was following a draw but a 1-1 final with Blackburn Rovers was enough to start the Red Devils celebrating the Premier League championship. Coming Up: Manyoo will finish off its Premier League campaign on Sunday at home against Blackpool, who’ll be looking to fight off relegation.
2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – In two league matches this week, Barcelona picked up two points by following up a 1-1 draw with Levante with a 0-0 draw with Deportivo La Coruña. That was enough to clinch the championship of the Primera División for Barça, though. Coming Up: Barcelona finishes up its La Liga season on the road against Málaga on Saturday.
3. Real Madrid (Esp) (3) – Real Madrid picked up six points this week to move within four points of Barcelona. Too bad there’s only one match left for each club. Real beat Getafe 4-0 at midweek and outscored Villarreal 3-1 over the weekend. Coming Up: Real Madrid’s season ends at the Bernabeu on Saturday against Almeria.
4. AC Milan (Ita) (4) – At midweek, Milan fell 1-2 to Palermo to be eliminated in the semifinals of the Coppa Italia. In league action, however, the Serie A champions continued to roll with a 4-1 victory over Cagliari. Coming Up: In a match of huge European importance, Milan will take on Udinese on Sunday in its season finale.
5. Borussia Dortmund (Ger) (6) – Dortmund’s season came to an end with a 3-1 victory over 2.Bundesliga bound Eintracht Frankfurt. Coming Up: Season over.
6. Chelsea (Eng) (5) – In a match that turned out to matter little, Chelsea mattered even less, drawing 2-2 with my beloved Newcastle United. Coming Up: This Saturday’s match with Everton won’t matter much either except as a farewell to the 2010/11 season.
7. Porto (Por) (7) – Porto completed its undefeated Liga Sagres season this weekend with a 2-0 victory over Maritimo. Coming Up: Porto’s last match of the season will be Wednesday’s Europa League final in which it will face with fellow Portuguese club Sporting Braga.
8. Lille (Fra) (8) – Lille got closer to its second leg of its domestic double, the Ligue Un championship, by defeating St.-Étienne 2-1 at midweek. Over the weekend, Lille beat Paris St.-Germain 1-0 to win the first leg of that double, le Coupe de France. Coming Up: Lille has a pair of league matches this week, hosting Sochaux on Wednesday and against Paris St.-Germain, again, this coming weekend.
9. Inter Milan (Ita) (9) – Unlike its cross-town rival, Inter Milan advanced to the final of the Coppa Italia with a 1-1 draw with Roma in the second leg of the semifinals, giving it a 2-1 aggregate victory. In Serie A action, Inter drew 1-1 with Napoli to keep its second-place position. Coming Up: On Sunday, Inter Milan finishes its Serie A season at home against Catania.
10. Arsenal (Eng) (11) – The Gunners move up a notch in the rankings despite losing at home to Aston Villa 1-2 this past weekend. Coming Up: Arsenal stays in London, heading to Craven Cottage, to finish its season against Fulham on Sunday.
12. Vélez Sarsfield (Arg) (10) – Vélez Sarsfield moved a little closer to the Copa Libertadores semifinals, and the accompanying Super Bonus Points, by defeating Libertad 3-0 at home. On Sunday, however, Vélez fell 2-3 to Lanús to move a little closer to the pack in the Argentine Clausura. Coming Up: The return leg of the Copa Libertadores semifinal takes place against Libertad in Paraguay on Wednesday night. The next Clausura match for Vélez Sarsfield will take place at home on Sunday against Gimnasia La Plata.
13. Benfica (Por) (14) – Benfica finished its season this weekend with a 3-3 draw at home against União de Leiria in the Liga Sagres. Coming Up: Season completed.
14. Bayern Munich (Ger) (13) – Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga season also ended this weekend, though Bayern managed to do it with a 2-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart. Coming Up: Season completed.
15. Valencia (Esp) (15) – Like Barcelona, Valencia settled for two points in two matches this week. Valencia followed up a 2-2 draw with Espanyol with a goalless draw at home against Levante. Coming Up: Valencia’s season comes to an end on Saturday against Deportivo La Coruña.
16. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (16) – Leverkusen managed to hold onto the second Bundesliga ticket to next season’s Champions League group stage by defeating Freiburg 1-0 in its 2010/11 finale. Coming Up: Season completed.
17. Manchester City (Eng) (17) – City also secured its spot in next season’s Champions League by defeating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0. In bigger news, City won the FA Cup by defeating Stoke City 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Coming Up: The team in light blue will make up its Premier League match against Stoke City on Tuesday. On Sunday, Mansee will finish its season against Bolton Wanderers.
18. Marseille (Fra) (20) – Marseille was able to stay with Lille at midweek by beating Brest 3-0 at midweek but lost some ground over the weekend when it could only manage a 2-2 draw against Lorient. Coming Up: Marseille will host Valenciennes on Saturday looking for a victory and some luck.
19. Napoli (Ita) (18) – The southern Italian club failed to move into second-place in Serie A by settling for a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan. Coming Up: It won’t be easy for Napoli as it takes on Juventus on the road in its season finale.
20. Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr) (19) – The Ukranian Premier League champions drew 1-1 with Vorskla this past weekend. Coming Up: Shakhtar will host Dnipro this coming weekend in its Premier League finale.
21. Fluminense (Bra) (21) – No matches this past week. Coming Up: The 2011 Brazilian Serie A starts up this weekend an a classic should start it up when Fluminense hosts São Paulo.
22. Udinese (Ita) (24) – Udinese kept itself in pole position for the final Serie A Champions League spot by defeating Chievo 2-0. Coming Up: In its biggest match in seasons, Udinese will host Serie A champions AC Milan on Sunday in its season finale.
23. Fenerbahce (Tur) (BU) – Fenerbahce remains in first place of the Turkish Süper Lig by defeating Ankaragücü 6-0, extending its goal differential lead over second-place Trabzonspor. Coming Up: A victory over Sivasspor on Saturday likely will give Fenerbahce its eighteenth Süper Lig title, breaking the record for first place that it currently shares with Galatasaray.
24. Villarreal (Esp) (25) – It was a bad week for the Yellow Submarine, who drew 0-0 with relegation-bound Almeria and lost 1-3 to Real Madrid. Whatever; Villarreal are still going to the qualifying round of next season’s Champions League. Coming Up: Villarreal’s season comes to a close on Saturday against Osasuna.
25. Dynamo Kyiv (Ukr) (BU) – The club from the capital put a 5-1 butt kicky on Volyn in its home finale in the Ukranian Premier League. Coming Up: Dynamo’s Premier League finale will be Saturday at Illychivets.
Bubbling Under: Celtic (Sco), Liverpool (Eng), Lyon (Fra), Rangers (Sco), Tottenham Hotspur (Eng).
Next Five: Atlético Madrid (Esp), Corinthians (Bra), Lazio (Ita), Panathinaikos (Gre), Trabzonspor (Tur).
Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:
22 May – (4) AC Milan at (22) Udinese
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