The European season has truly begun and we have already seen quite a few surprises in the 2018/19 season. We have already witnessed some shockers with the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid having lost to Leganes and Sevilla, in La Liga. On the other hand, German giants, Bayern Munich were shocked by Hertha.
There has been a bucket load of upsets in the Premier League as well. Manchester United has had a terrible start to their campaign having lost to Brighton and a draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Interestingly, the Wolves have also drawn with City while Tottenham Hotspur succumbed to Watford.
Even Chelsea was shocked last week as they drew with West Ham. United was knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Derby County on penalties and that has been one of the biggest upsets of the European season, thus far.
Even in the Champions League, we saw Manchester City lose to Lyon and this shows that no team is big or small in football. However, there are a few teams that have been labelled as the powerhouses and a few teams labelled as the underdogs.
Enough of all that, as we shall now have a look at the top 5 clubs in Europe at present.
Honourable mentions: Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid
#5 Bayern Munich
The German club has established itself as one of the best clubs in Europe and is a team to watch out for in the Champions League. They always enter the UCL with high expectations, only to be knocked out in the latter parts of the tournament. They have been knocked out by Real Madrid on 3 occasions in their last 5 Champions League campaigns.
They have always made it to the semi-final and quarter-final, only to lose in a heartbreaking fashion. They have won the Champions League on a few occasions, the most recent one back in 2012/13. The Bavarians have dominated the Bundesliga and are the most successful team in its history.
They have a goalkeeper like Manuel Neuer and rock-solid defenders like Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Joshua Kimmich and David Alaba in their squad. Their midfield strength is superb and includes Renato Sanches, James Rodriguez and Thiago Alcantara. Their forwards are Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.
With such players in their squad, it would be a sin if the Niko Kovac managed squad wasn't included in this list.
#4 Manchester City
The Premier League club has risen to become one of the world's best teams and they dominated the Premier League, last season. They accumulated a whopping 100 points, Manchester United with 81 was their nearest competitor and that shows the domination they displayed. This was a great achievement, considering that Premier League is the most competitive league and that they were able to wipe out all other teams.
However, they have never been able to replicate their Premier League success in the Champions League and have always faltered. A couple of weeks back, they were stunned by Lyon, who defeated them 2-1. They will look to make a strong comeback and prove to everyone that they are capable of performing in the UCL.
They are generally known for their offensive style of play and it is obvious that they play with such a mentality. They have gotten forwards like Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane, to go with attacking midfielders like Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Bernardo Silva. That is a huge list of attacking players and even their manager, Pep Guardiola likes to play an attacking brand of football.
They also have midfielders like Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Fernandinho. Their defense boasts of the likes of Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker and John Stones. With a goalkeeper like Ederson, they are one of the most balanced and complete teams in Europe.
#3 Juventus
The Old Lady is unarguably the best club in Italy and were one of the biggest clubs in Europe. However, with Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival, they look like a club that can be called 'The Best'. With Ronaldo's arrival, they have become Champions League title contenders from a team that could go to the semi-finals and quarter finals.
They are Serie A giants and have been dominating it for the last 7-8 years. In the Champions League, they have qualified for 2 finals in the last 4 events and lost out to Barcelona and Real Madrid.
This time around, they seem to have the ability to win it. They bought Cristiano Ronaldo, which not only weakened their rivals, Real Madrid but it has also given them a big-match player.
Their squad is filled with talent with the likes of Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, Douglas Costa and Mario Mandzukic in the attacking department and a midfield comprising of Miralem Pjanic and Sami Khedira. Their defense boasts of Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Sandro, Leonardo Bonucci and Mehdi Benatia. Their goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny is also rock solid between the poles.
On the whole, the Massimiliano Allegri managed squad looks balanced and perhaps, they could win the Champions League with the squad they boast.
#2 Real Madrid
The Madrid based club might have been on to of the ranking but Ronaldo's departure has left them on the 2nd spot. They have been playing top quality football in the CL for the last 3 years and have won it for the last 3 years. However, Los Blancos have been terrible in the La Liga and it has looked like they have solely concentrated on the Champions League.
In stark contrast, they have been devastating and lethal in the UCL and played some eye catching football. Their UCL triumph in 2017/18 will go down as one of the best tournament victories. They defeated PSG, Juventus and Bayern Munich in the knockout stages before defeating Liverpool in the final. That was a really difficult set of fixtures and one must admire it.
They have 2 of the best goalkeepers in the world with, Keylor Navas and Thibaut Courtois in their squad. Their defensive strength is unparalleled with Sergio Ramos, Rafael Varane, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal. They have top-notch midfielders like Luka Modric, Isco, Toni Kroos and Casemiro. Their forwards include Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior.
The Julen Lopetegui managed squad is very squad even after the departure of Ronaldo but, they just seem to lack the cutting edge.
#1 Barcelona
The Lionel Messi led team is a footballing powerhouse and have won 3 of the last 5 La Liga trophies. The Spanish team has enjoyed league success but it has been a while since they have tasted success at Europe. Their last CL triumph was in 2014/15 and since then, have only seen bitter rivals, Real Madrid lift the CL.
However, this season winning the Champions League seems to be their top priority. This has affected their La Liga prowess a bit as they have struggled. They lost to Leganes and drew with Athletic Bilbao in successive weeks. Their Champions League campaign has started on a bright note after their convincing victory against Dutch side, PSV.
Their squad is deadly and even their backups could also give oppositions a run for their money. Marc Andre Ter Stegen is one of the best goalies in the world and he guards the goal for Barcelona. Defenders like Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Jordi Alba intimidate opposition teams and they have midfielders like Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Philippe Coutinho and Arturo Vidal.
The Ernesto Valverde managed club has world class forwards like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele and Malcom. With such players in their squad, it is obvious that they are the best team.