5 teams that could dethrone Real Madrid as European champions

#2 Manchester City

Manchester City's blitzkrieg has taken the world by storm

Fourteen wins and a draw, in the hardest league in the world. The best start ever, to a Premier League campaign. Pep Guardiola is making a mockery out of the Premier League and his team is playing an exquisite brand of football while doing the same.

They have also topped their UEFA Champions League group with ease, winning all their games. All their summer signings are proving to be bargains and they are winning effortlessly. All records are on the verge of being broken, if they haven't been broken already.

Guardiola has not just transformed the way his side plays; he has transformed his players too. Nicolas Otamendi looks like a beast. De Bruyne is channelising his potential to become the best midfielder in the world.

In Ederson, he has finally found the composed ball-playing goalkeeper he has always wanted. He has even helped Raheem Sterling change from a show-pony to a match winner. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager sure is working wonders at the Etihad.

They have lost only two points and it's already December. No team has found a weak spot, a way to defeat Machester City. And yet, they are not placed first on this list, because the UEFA Champions League is not just about talent.

It's about nerves as much as it's about talent. The Citizens do not have an experienced go-to player, for the bigger stages of the tournament. And that could prove to be what decides it all, in the end.