Ranking the 5 highest-rated teams in Europe's top 5 leagues this season
It's still early days into the 2021-22 season, but it's already been an exhilarating one, especially across Europe's top five leagues.
Bayern Munich are looking good for a tenth consecutive Bundesliga title. In France, a star-studded PSG team are expected to cruise to the Ligue 1 title despite seeing their 100% start to the season come to an end.
In La Liga, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad are separated at the top only on goal difference, with Barcelona five points behind.
In Serie A, record champions Juventus aren't yet in the top four after the first few games.
Meanwhile, in the Premier League, one of the tightest and most unpredictable title races in recent memory could ensue. Chelsea lead the table ahead of Manchester City and Liverpool. Manchester United aren't too far behind the early pacesetters either. Most of these top teams, with the exception of Barcelona, have also fared well in Europe this season.
WhoScored rates teams based on their performances in domestic competitions and Europe. On that note, here's a look at the top five teams in the continent's top five leagues this season as per WhoScored ratings:
#5 Real Madrid - 6.91
Real Madrid have had a bright start to their La Liga campaign, winning five of their opening eight games and scoring goals aplenty.
Their unbeaten start to the league season came to an end in a 2-1 defeat against Espanyol. But Madrid remain the team to beat in the Spanish top flight, thanks to the form of the evergreen Karim Benzema. The Frenchman has bagged ten goals and seven assists across competitions already.
Madrid started their campaign in Europe with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Inter Milan. But in their next game, they slumped to a shock 1-2 defeat at home to Champions League debutants Sheriff.
🤯 Real Madrid 1-2 Sheriff Tiraspol 🤯
Shots: 31-4
On Target: 11-3
xG: 3.21 - 0.35
Possession: 76-24
😲 Moldova's first ever side to play in the Champions League were 25/1 to win at the Bernabéu tonight!
#RealMadridSheriff #UCL https://t.co/FG8dBazFPc
Madrid's defeat to Espanyol in La Liga came just before the international break. So the break couldn't have come at a better time for Carlo Ancelotti's men, who have a tough run of games across competitions coming up.
#4 Napoli - 6.93
Napoli have been on a tear this season with a perfect record after seven games. They are the only team across Europe's top five leagues not to have dropped points in the league this season.
The Partenopei have scored 18 goals in this period and conceded only three, which explains why they are the early pacesetters in the Italian top flight. Luciano Spaletti's men have stumbled in Europe, though.
Napoli go to the October break with seven wins from seven games and @SKasiewicz imagines Diego Maradona would be proud of such a perfect start. football-italia.net/maradona-would… #FiorentinaNapoli #Napoli #SerieA #Calcio
They split points in a four-goal draw with Leicester City in their Europa League opener. They then slumped to a 2-3 home defeat against Spartak Moscow in their next game. Nevertheless, they are expected to come out of their group and make a deep run in the competition.
The southern Italian team will hope that their European frailties don't spill over to the domestic scene as they seek a first Serie A title in more than three decades.