THE PERFORMANCE INDEX RATING (Europe’s top 5)
Bayern Munich is still topping the chart in all the areas that count; with their closest competitions coming from England (Manchester City and Liverpool).
Inter Milan has also been throwing their hat into this race.
We are past the midseason in all the Top 5 leagues.
Can these leading clubs hold on or improve their position before the release of the “GOLD LIST” ranking at the end of the season?
Liverpool interrupted the top three from being made up of defending league champions. Liverpool beat Inter Milan by 0.28 points to take third place behind Manchester City and Bayern Munich.
Despite adding to their quality in attack over the summer, Atletico Madrid is sitting in 26th in the ranking list (out of the 98). This is far from what many would’ve expected from a reigning Spanish La Liga champion.
Lille is the reason Atletico Madrid isn’t the most disappointing of the defending champions.
After winning their first title in a decade, Lille has done an awful job to defend theFrench Ligue 1. They sit in 46th.
THE RECENTLY-PROMOTED
The best performing club and the worst performing club are both from the Italian Serie A.
Empoli (Italian Serie A)
The best performer of the recently-promoted teams in Europe’s T-5 leagues is Empoli (Italian Serie A. Empoli (39th) ranks 9 positions above Lille.
Rayo Vallecano (Spanish La Liga) is the next best performer of the recently-promoted teams (48th).
Salernitana (Italian Serie A)
Seeing two recently-promoted teams at the bottom isn’t shocking.
Salernitana (Italian Serie A) and Greuther Furth (German Bundesliga) occupy the bottom two spots. Burnley (English Premier League) is right above those two.
POINTS PER GAME AMONG THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
Manchester City (2.48 points per game) is the most out of reigning champions from Europe’s top leagues. Bayern Munich’s 2.45 points is next amongst the champions in the top 5 leagues, but it is Sporting CP that comes second (0.01) behind Manchester City when the top 7 leagues are counted.
POINTS PER GAME
Manchester City (English Premier League) | 2.48
Sporting CP (Portuguese Primeira Liga) | 2.47
Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga) | 2.45
Inter Milan (Italian Serie A) | 2.41
Ajax (Dutch Eredivisie) | 2.40
Atletico Madrid (Spanish La Liga) | 1.71
Lille (French Ligue 1) | 1.45
GOALS AMONG THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
When it comes to goalscoring, no one is doing it like Bayern Munich,
Bayern Munich’s 3.25 goals per game is the highest amongst the teams in Europe’s top 7 leagues. And in pure goalscoring numbers, Bayern Munich leads the way with 65 goals.
AVG GOALS SCORED
Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga) | 3.25
Ajax (Dutch Eredivisie) | 3.05
Inter Milan (Italian Serie A) | 2.41
Manchester City (English Premier League) | 2.39
Sporting CP (Portuguese Primeira Liga) | 1.84
Atletico Madrid (Spanish La Liga) | 1.71
Lille (French Ligue 1) | 1.36
LILE AND ATLETICO MADRID ARE THE ONLY REIGNING CHAMPION THAT IS CONCEDING MORE THAN A GOAL A GAME ON AVERAGE.
Lille conceded the most goals on average (1.36). Atletico Madrid follows them with 1.24.
AVG GOALS CONCEDED
Lille (French Ligue 1) | 1.36
Atletico Madrid (Spanish La Liga) | 1.24
Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga) | 0.95
Inter Milan (Italian Serie A) | 0.77
Sporting CP (Portuguese Primeira Liga) | 0.63
Manchester City (English Premier League) | 0.61
Ajax (Dutch Eredivisie) | 0.25
Bayern Munich has on 80% of their matches in the German Bundesliga to make them the most successful of the defending champions in Europe’s t-5 leagues.
(Only Porto has had more wins on average than Bayern Munich in Europe’s top 7 leagues.)
AVG WON BY THE REIGNING CHAMPIONS
Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga) | 80.00%
Sporting CP (Portuguese Primeira Liga) | 78.95%
Manchester City (English Premier League) | 78.26%
Ajax (Dutch Eredivisie) | 75.00%
Inter Milan (Italian Serie A) | 72.73%
Atletico Madrid (Spanish La Liga) | 47.62%
Lille (French Ligue 1) | 36.36%
1. Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga)
It is always a massive footballing achievement when you win the domestic title.
Bayern Munich’s consistency in Germany has possibly downplayed their success when they become league champions.
Bayern Munich is still the highest-rated football club on our performance index.
In the German Bundesliga, they are scoring 3.25 goals and conceding 0.95 goals per game. No one is catching up at this rate.
2. Manchester City (English Premier League)
MANCHESTER CITY is still on track to keep the Premier League title for another season. Manchester City has conceded 14 goals in the Premier League while dropping 55 goals into the opposition’s net. They are leading the Premier League title race by picking up 2.48 points.
3. Liverpool (English Premier League)
2.18 points per game and 2.64 goals scored per game.
Liverpool is second in the Premier League title race. They have two games in hand but a point ahead of third-place (Chelsea), and a game in hand but 9 points off from the leaders (Manchester City).
4. Inter Milan (Italian Serie A)
Inter Milan is 4 points in the lead and has a game in hand in the Italian Serie A title race. 53 points from 16 wins in 22 matches played. Inter is scoring 2.41 goals per game and conceding 0.77 goals.
5. Borussia Dortmund (German Bundesliga)
If anyone is going to stop Bayern Munich from another German Bundesliga title, it will be Dortmund. They’ve already lost a quarter of their league games, and that is a lot of games to lose if you’re chasing a team like Bayern Munich.
6. Paris Saint-Germain (French Ligue 1)
Paris St. Germain’s 11 point lead in the French Ligue 1 after 22 of the 38
matches is partly due to the fact that the chasing pack has been tripping off each other. 2.41 points per game and 2.09 goals per game in the French Ligue 1.
7. Real Madrid (Spanish La Liga)
Real Madrid is looking to keep the La Liga title in Madrid (but with them). Four points in the lead after 22 of the 38 matches played. There is a lot more to go and to do but from what we have seen so far, Real Madrid isn’t letting that many points drop out of their hands.
8. AC Milan (Italian Serie A)
AC Milan is four points from the top of the league table in Serie A as things stand. It’s currently a three-horse race for the Scudetti, and AC Milan is part of that three. (Napoli and Inter Milan are the other two).
9. Chelsea (English Premier League)
Chelsea has been slipping out of the Premier League title race in recent rounds. They are picking up slightly less than 2 points a game after 24 matches (1.96).
As the UEFA Champions League holders, more is expected from this Chelsea side than they’ve put out so far. There is still enough time in the season to turn things around for the ideal end.
10. Napoli (Italian Serie A)
Napoli is four points from the top of the Italian Serie A standings. They are part of a three-horse race that is currently brewing in the Italian Serie A title race.
They’ve won 65% of their matches by scoring 1.87 goals per game. That will need some improvement to stay as a contestant for the Scudetti. 
12. Atalanta (Italian Serie A)
Atalanta’s consistency in recent years remains. With a game in hand, Atalanta is somehow in the Italian Serie A title race.
CAN A TEAM FROM SEVILLE STOP REAL MADRID FROM BEING SPANISH CHAMPIONS?
Sevilla is four points from the top of the La Liga standings and 6 points from their city rival Real Betis.
Both clubs are occupying the top three spots in the current La Liga standings.
13. Sevilla (Spanish La Liga)
14. Real Betis (Spanish La Liga)
17. Nice (French Ligue 1)
Nice is next in line in the Ligue 1 title race but Marseille has a game in hand to take the second place away. What Nice has this season is the manager of the reigning champions on their side. (Christophe Galtier)
98. Salernitana (Italian Serie A)
Scoring 0.64 goals scored per game while conceding at a rate of 2.41 goals per game, Salernitana from 22 matches played have managed to hit the double-digit mark of 10 points.
GOLD LIST RATING (EUROPE’S TOP 5 DOMESTIC LEAGUES)
| Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga) – 347.30 points
2| Manchester City (English Premier League) – 290.78 points
3| Liverpool (English Premier League) – 271.64 points
4| Inter Milan (Italian Serie A) – 271.36 points
5| Borussia Dortmund (German Bundesliga) – 241.65 points
6| Paris Saint Germain (French Ligue 1) – 239.86 points
7| Real Madrid (Spanish La Liga) – 229.05 points
8| AC Milan (Italian Serie A) – 215.43 points
9| Chelsea (English Premier League) – 201.04 points
10| Napoli (Italian Serie A) – 199.78 points
11| Bayer Leverkusen (German Bundesliga) – 191.30 points
12| Atalanta (Italian Serie A) – 184.05 points
13| Sevilla (Spanish La Liga) – 161.73 points
14| Real Betis (Spanish La Liga) – 161.14 points
15| Lazio (Italian Serie A) – 158.35 points
16| Strasbourg (French Ligue 1) – 153.68 points
17| Nice (French Ligue 1) – 152.09 points
18| Fiorentina (Italian Serie A) – 146.32 points
19| Roma (Italian Serie A) – 144.35 points
20| West Ham United (English Premier League) – 143.61 points
21| Hoffenheim (German Bundesliga) – 141.10 points
22| Juventus (Italian Serie A) – 138.96 points
23| Rennes (French Ligue 1) – 138.95 points
24| Verona (Italian Serie A) – 136.74 points
25| Manchester United (English Premier League) – 135.55 points
26| Atletico Madrid (Spanish La Liga) – 133.43 points
27| Marseille (French Ligue 1) – 130.05 points
28| RB Leipzig (German Bundesliga) – 129.25 points
29| Montpellier (French Ligue 1) – 124.77 points
30| Arsenal (English Premier League) – 124.57 points
31| Freiburg (German Bundesliga) – 117.90 points
32| Lens (French Ligue 1) – 117.41 points
33| Barcelona (Spanish La Liga) – 116.10 points
34| Monaco (French Ligue 1) – 114.18 points
35| Villarreal (Spanish La Liga) – 113.45 points
36| Sassuolo (Italian Serie A) – 109.70 points
37| Tottenham Hotspur (English Premier League) – 109.60 points
38| Union Berlin (German Bundesliga) – 108.85 points
39| Empoli (Italian Serie A) – 104.09 points
40| Valencia (Spanish La Liga) – 100.91 points
41| FC Koln (German Bundesliga) – 100.25 points
42| Leicester City (English Premier League) – 98.60 points
43| Torino (Italian Serie A) – 96.45 points
44| Nantes (French Ligue 1) – 96.45 points
45| Lille (French Ligue 1) – 95.45 points
46| Lyon (French Ligue 1) – 93.81 points
47| Frankfurt (German Bundesliga) – 91.20 points
48| Rayo Vallecano (Spanish La Liga) – 89.48 points
49| Real Sociedad (Spanish La Liga) – 87.10 points
50| Angers (French Ligue 1) – 84.38 points
51| Mainz (German Bundesliga) – 83.65 points
52| Wolves (English Premier League) – 82.24 points
53| Bologna (Italian Serie A) – 79.36 points
54| Brest (French Ligue 1) – 78.27 points
55| Aston Villa (English Premier League) – 77.52 points
56| Crystal Palace (English Premier League) – 74.86 points
57| Udinese (Italian Serie A) – 74.86 points
58| Bordeaux (French Ligue 1) – 74.73 points
59| Brighton (English Premier League) – 70.95 points
60| Celta Vigo (Spanish La Liga) – 70.86 points
61| Espanyol (Spanish La Liga) – 70.86 points
62| Athletic Club (Spanish La Liga) – 70.73 points
63| Osasuna (Spanish La Liga) – 64.64 points
64| Southampton (English Premier League) – 64.14 points
65| Monchengladbach (German Bundesliga) – 64.00 points
66| Granada (Spanish La Liga) – 61.91 points
67| Spezia (Italian Serie A) – 59.22 points
68| Sampdoria (Italian Serie A) – 58.96 points
69| Brentford (English Premier League) – 58.39 points
70| Leeds United (English Premier League) – 55.48 points
71| Hertha Berlin (German Bundesliga) – 54.40 points
72| Bochum (German Bundesliga) – 53.85 points
73| Reims (French Ligue 1) – 53.18 points
74| Elche (Spanish La Liga) – 53.09 points
75| Everton (English Premier League) – 51.85 points
76| Clermont (French Ligue 1) – 47.05 points
77| Metz (French Ligue 1) – 46.59 points
78| Arminia Bielefeld (German Bundesliga) – 46.05 points
79| Stuttgart (German Bundesliga) – 44.40 points
80| Wolfsburg (German Bundesliga) – 42.50 points
81| Augsburg (German Bundesliga) – 42.05 points
82| Troyes (French Ligue 1) – 41.36 points
83| Watford (English Premier League) – 40.25 points
84| Getafe (Spanish La Liga) – 40.14 points
85| Venezia (Italian Serie A) – 36.91 points
86| Mallorca (Spanish La Liga) – 36.81 points
87| Cagliari (Italian Serie A) – 36.61 points
88| Cadiz (Spanish La Liga) – 34.14 points
89| Newcastle United (English Premier League) – 33.71 points
90| Lorient (French Ligue 1) – 30.86 points
91| Alaves (Spanish La Liga) – 28.77 points
92| Levante (Spanish La Liga) – 27.76 points
93| Genoa (Italian Serie A) – 25.74 points
94| Saint Etienne (French Ligue 1) – 24.29 points
95| Norwich City (English Premier League) – 23.32 points
96| Burnley (English Premier League) – 23.22 points
97| Greuther Fürth (German Bundesliga) – 21.45 points
98| Salernitana (Italian Serie A) – 16.45 points
