Manchester United are considered one of the ten best teams in the world, according to Opta’s latest rankings.
Opta’s Top 10 Teams
Data firm Opta has a ranking of over 10,000 men’s football teams. Leeds United, Ipswich Town, Celtic and Lincoln City are 43rd, 86th, 153rd and 188th respectively.
Here are the top teams from Opta’s Global Power Rankings:
- Real Madrid
- Inter Milan
- Liverpool
Man Utd’s Rise in the Rankings
Manchester United sneak into the top 10 ahead of Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Sporting, as well as Borussia Dortmund, Brighton and Newcastle United. They are the form side in Europe’s strongest, most competitive league and are on track to comfortably finish third.
The ranking marks a turnaround from finishing 15th last season. It also comes after their League Cup humiliation.
Other Teams in the Spotlight
Inter Milan suffered a wobble in March as injuries took their toll, dropping points in three successive Serie A outings after their dumping out of the Champions League. Cristian Chivu’s men got their Scudetto charge back on track after the international break with a resounding 5-2 victory over Roma.
Aston Villa’s high ranking might surprise some, considering their underlying statistics. One of Villa’s great strengths has been to overperform in that regard.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool looked anything but the seventh-best team in Europe in their dismal 4-0 defeat to Manchester City at the weekend. Even this dysfunctional, underperforming Liverpool side are fifth in the Premier League and into the last eight of the Champions League.
Real Madrid are staring down the unthinkable prospect of a second successive trophyless campaign.