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#3 Paris Saint-Germain
Paris St. Germain, under the tutelage of German tactician Thomas Tuchel, have eked out their success by scoring a lot of goals while maintaining their defensive solidity and playing some fine football.
The serial French winners conceded 24 goals in a truncated Ligue 1 season while in the Champions League, PSG were even more frugal at the back. Tuchel's men topped a group containing 13-time champions Real Madrid while conceding just twice in six games.
In the knock-out rounds, PSG conceded three goals in four games to reach their maiden Champions League final. The French champions more than held their own against Bayern Munich, who plundered eight goals past Barcelona in the quarter-finals with some incredible football, eventually going down by a solitary unanswered goal.
Though Tuchel experimented with different formations during the early part of last season, they predominantly played their football in a 4-4-2 in the latter half of the campaign. The two full-backs stretch the PSG defence wide and also commit themselves up front with overlapping runs, but also track back when possession is lost.
Like most successful football teams, PSG can change formations mid-match depending on the match situation and the opposition.
Nevertheless, Tuchel strives to have five men behind the ball to contain opposition counter-attacks and another five to aid upfront, a tactic that makes PSG difficult to score against and was key in winning another Ligue 1 title, and reaching the Champions League final.
#2 Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid have one of the best defences in European football.
Despite a bevvy of expensive summer acquisitions, the Rojiblancos finished 17 points adrift of La Liga winners Real Madrid, but impressively conceded only two goals more than their illustrious cross-town rivals.
Under the experienced Argentine tactician last season, Atletico largely stayed true to the 4-4-2 formation that has taken them to two Champions League finals and a Liga title in the last six years. Though they struggled to score goals up front and the football isn't great at times, their traditional defensive resliience stood Atletico in good stead.
The narrowness of the formation means that Atletico have often had central midfielders deployed on the wings to lend width to the team. One such player is Saul Niguez, who has played in a bevvy of positions in midfield as well as in defence.
Of course, it helps that Atletico have one of the best custodians in world football in Jan Oblak, who played every Liga game last season. Kieran Trippier as right-back and Lodi on the other flank frequently featured. Felipe and Stefan Savic, who admirably filled in for the injury-prone Jose Gimenez, impressed in the centre of defence.
Atletico are one of the finest examples of football teams that do not employ a high press and have personnel who drops back from midfield. Even the forward line to help in maintaining the team's compact defensive shape and suffocate the opposition.
However, like another good defensive La Liga team (Sevilla), Atletico suffered up front, something that was exacerbated after the sale of Antoine Greizmann. If they manage to get a good counter-attacking football player like the Frenchman who could score goals aplenty, the Rojiblancos could put up a formidable challenge in all competitions this season.
#1 Real Madrid
The number one team in this list could perhaps be a surprise to many as Real Madrid have traditionally been known for their fire power and potency in the attacking-third, particularly during the period when a certain Cristiano Ronaldo wore the famed white jersey.
After a football season of struggle following the departure of the club's all-time top-scorer, Real managed a fabulous campaign under their inspirational manager Zinedine Zidane.
The Frenchman was wise enough not to make a futile search for an out-and-out replacement for Ronaldo and instead decided to address the team's oft-ignored defence, which kept a league-low 25 goals last campaign.
In the process, Real Madrid also made an admirable transition from a counterattacking football side to one that plays intellligent possession-based football.
Zidane doesn't have a strictly preferred formation; his football team played in various formations during the course of the season. But one aspect that was seen in whichever way the team lined up was their new-found defensive solidity and resilience.
Belgian custodian Thibaut Courtois finally showed the Madrid faithful what he was capable of after an underwhelming 2018-19 campaign.
Ahead of Courtois, the central defensive pair of captain Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane formed a formidable partnership. They were greatly aided by holding midfielder Casemiro who dropped back to form a three-man defence when the team was not in possession.
Toni Kroos did his usual stuff from a deep-lying midfield role, while left-backs Ferland Mendy and Marcelo, and right-back Dani Carvajal aided the team's attack that was admirably led by Karim Benzema.
Ramos, in particular, had a season to remember as he was also impressive at the other end where he scored 11 Liga goals, a tally that included six penalties.
If Madrid manage to acquire the services of a proven goal-scorer to complement the efforts of Benzema and experienced midfield personnel to take over from the likes of Kroos and Luka Modric, the capital side could continue their success under Zidane this season.
