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Real Madrid won the 2016/2017 UCL title.
Los Merengues destroyed Juventus 4-1, becoming the first team ever to successfully defend the title since the current league format was created in 1992.
two months later, Madrid humiliated Barcelona 5-1 on aggregate to win the Spanish Super Cup, announcing themselves as the clear favorites for the Champions League once again.
Fast forward to November and things are looking different.
Real Madrid is struggling, sitting in third position in La Liga, ten points adrift of leaders Barcelona. On the European scene, it is not a pretty picture as well. Tottenham Hotspur put the defending champions to the sword at Wembley, and Madrid will end the group stage in second place.
This dip in form has seen other teams taking over the favorites tag.
#5 Bayern Munich
Bundesliga:
Played - 12 | Won - 9 | Draw - 2 | Lost - 1 | Goals For - 30 | Goals Against - 8
Champions League 2017/18:
Played - 5 | Won - 4 | Draw - 0 | Lost - 1 | Goals For - 8 | Goals Against - 4
Bayern Munich has always been among the favorites to win the Champions League in the last decade, and this year is no different.
A poor start to the season with a loss to Hoffenheim in the league and a demolition by PSG at the Parc des Princes indicated the end of an era for Bayern, leading to the departure of Carlo Ancelotti.
Treble-winning manager Jupp Heynckes was recalled to drag Bayern back into contention, and that is exactly what he has done.
Since reinstating Heynckes, Bayern has won all of their games (including a penalty shootout win in the DFB Pokal against RB Leipzig) and the team looks like a force to reckon with once again.
The humiliating defeat at the hands of PSG was a wake-up call, and the players have responded extremely well after that night.
Robert Lewandowski has found his shooting boots once again, as he has raced to the top of the league charts with 13 goals in 12 games.
In the Champions League, scoring has been a little more difficult with the team only scoring 8 goals from 5 games (a far cry from PSG's 24 goals in the same number of games).
A true test of their character awaits when they take on Paris Saint Germain once again at the Allianz Arena in Gameweek 6, posing the first real challenge of Jupp Heynckes' second reign as manager.
Bayern may very well end the group stage in second place unless they conjure up a massive win against the high-flying Parisiens.
A team that has been perennial contenders, Bayern can be expected to do well in the tournament once again but it does not look like they will have it easy.
#4 Real Madrid
La Liga
Played - 12 | Won - 7 | Draw - 3 | Lost - 2 | Goals For - 22 | Goals Against - 9
Champions League 2017/18:
Played - 5 | Won - 3 | Draw - 1 | Lost - 1 | Goals For - 14 | Goals Against - 5
Fourth position is a massive downgrade for a team that was tipped to win everything at the beginning of this season. Real Madrid has underwhelmed with their performances, both in the league and the Champions League.
The poor league form of Real Madrid has been a mystery. They have struggled to score goals, with the form of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema extremely concerning.
Isco is their top scorer (4 goals) and definitely has been their best player so far. He is the only one who has looked to make things happen with a sense of urgency that is just not visible in his teammates, unlike last season.
In the Champions League, things were going their way until Gameweek 4, when Tottenham sprung a surprise with a dominating victory over the defending champions.
Ronaldo has been in much better form in the Champions League with 8 goals from 5 games, but he needs better assistance in the bigger games if they are to make it all the way.
The defeat to Tottenham ensured that Real will end the group stage in second place, which could make life extremely difficult with excellent teams like PSG and Manchester City awaiting them in the next round.
Real Madrid needs to take it up a notch if they are to defend the UCL crown once again. They have the firepower, but the motivation seems to be lacking. Never count them out though.
#3 FC Barcelona
La Liga
Played - 12 | Won - 11 | Draw - 1 | Lost - 0 | Goals For - 33 | Goals Against - 4
Champions League 2017/18
Played - 5 | Won - 3 | Draw - 2 | Lost - 0 | Goals For - 7 | Goals Against - 1
After a horrid summer transfer window and humiliating defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona was not expected to do well. However, Ernesto Valverde's men have taken it up as a challenge, and are absolutely cruising right now.
In the league, Barcelona has won all of their games barring a draw against Atletico Madrid. They are on top, 4 points ahead of Valencia and 10 points ahead of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Although the manner in which the victories have been coming is not what the fans would love to watch, the methods of Ernesto Valverde have undoubtedly been effective.
The desire to win seems to be back among the players, with the team grinding out wins, playing without flair and being direct instead.
Lionel Messi has been in outstanding form as usual, with him accounting for 40% of the goals. Luis Suarez has been below par, but he can be backed to deliver the goods in due course. All in all, a strong start from the team.
The most surprising aspect of Barca's game under Valverde has been how solid their defence has been.
They have conceded only 5 goals in all competitions, the least in Europe's top 5 leagues.
The defence had been the weak link for Barca in the last decade, hence this transformation is a welcome one. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen has been in impeccable form with Samuel Umtiti and Gerald Pique solid as well.
In the Champions League, Barca was extremely impressive against Juventus at the Camp Nou, running out 3-0 victors with a brace from Messi.
They have not been as impressive in the other matches with back-to-back 0-0 draws for the first time ever in the Champions League and a laboured victory away at Sporting Lisbon.
Barca seems to be struggling to win away in Europe, which is a concern to be addressed for Valverde. However, they have topped their group which may provide them respite from facing any major teams in the next round.
Barcelona has been defensively strong and has played to get the result, but they need to improve if they are to win the Champions League.
The goalscoring burden on Messi needs to shared by others, and the midfielders need to start creating more chances. Nevertheless, Barcelona looks to be one of the stronger candidates to win the trophy this time around.
#2 Manchester City
Premier League
Played - 12 | Won - 11 | Draw - 1 | Lost - 0 | Goals For - 40 | Goals Against - 7
Champions League 2017/18
Played - 5 | Won - 5 | Draw - 0 | Lost - 0 | Goals For - 13 | Goals Against - 3
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have been absolutely breathtaking this season. They have drawn one match in all competitions, bulldozing teams with ease both in the league and in the Champions League.
The Citizens have been ruthless in the league sitting eight points above second-placed Manchester United just after 12 games.
40 goals scored and a paltry 7 goals conceded shows that they have all their bases covered, be it in defence or attack.
The goal-scoring has not been a burden on any single person, with Sergio Aguero (8 goals), Gabriel Jesus (8 goals), Raheem Sterling (7 goals) and Leroy Sane (6 goals) all contributing.
John Stones has improved to marshall the defence, along with a resurrected Fabian Delph at left-back and Kyle Walker at right-back supporting ably.
They have conceded only 10 goals in all competitions and midfield is arguably the best in Europe this season, with David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne pulling the strings in the centre of the park.
Manchester City look like an extremely well-oiled machine, and Pep Guardiola would believe that he can repeat his treble heroics while at Barcelona with this young team.
The Champions League season so far has been a piece of cake for Manchester City, with easy wins in all games.
The possibility of facing Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 looms though and would be a stern test for Guardiola's men.
But, back Manchester City to announce themselves as a footballing superpower this season, with a Champions League triumph high on the cards.
#1 Paris Saint-Germain
Ligue 1
Played - 13 | Won - 11 | Draw - 2 | Lost - 0 | Goals For - 43 | Goals Against - 9
Champions League 2017/18
Played - 5 | Won - 5 | Draw - 0 | Lost - 0 | Goals For - 24 | Goals Against - 1
When PSG paid £198m to obtain the services of Neymar and followed it up with a £163m transfer (currently a loan move) for Kylian Mbappe, these were moves that were questioned, and are moves that can be answered only on the field.
As we can see 3 months later, the spending spree has paid off handsomely.
Paris Saint-Germain has been absolutely clinical from the start of the season. They have been exciting to watch, announcing their intentions to win the Champions League in a vivid manner.
Neymar, Mbappe, and Edinson Cavani have formed arguably the best front three pairing in world football, battering teams that have come in their way.
The 3-0 thrashing of Bayern Munich made it clear that PSG is not fooling around this season. With a record 24 goals scored in the group stage along with just 1 goal conceded with still a match to be played, PSG has been cruising in the Champions League.
Cavani has been their top scorer both in the league and the Champions League, whereas Neymar and Mbappe have contributed with goals and assists.
Their defence looks solid as well, with only 10 goals conceded in all competitions; just 1 in the Champions League.
PSG has a squad that can strive for greatness. They have been disappointing in Europe in the last few season, exiting around the quarter-final mark in the last few seasons.
But, after excellent additions to the squad, they seem to have the squad depth and quality to lift the trophy in Kiev in 2018.
PSG are the team to beat in the Champions League this season.
