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Bayern professionals in Lisbon: number one in Europe in August - and now?
Photo: Peter Schatz / imago images / Pool
Manuel Neuer, who thwarted Parisian big chances, Kinglsey Coman's header, the pictures of the cheering Bayern, and later Serge Gnabry and Joshua Kimmich, who lie dreamily on the lawn in the Lisbon stadium and look at the night sky: It has been around two months since Bayern Munich won the Champions League.
Since then, Hansi Flick's team has lost playmaker Thiago and 1: 4 against Hoffenheim, and the defensive in particular is no longer as impervious as it was before the summer break.
So are Munich no longer Europe's most successful football club?
The new Champions League season begins in the evening, at the end of which the answer will be given.
We are not that patient.
Since last season we have published our ranking of the 20 best football teams on the continent.
(Here you will find the last complete ranking list, here the compressed ranking for the final tournament in Lisbon.) Subjective criteria are included in the evaluation: How well does a team play technically and tactically?
How stable does it seem, and currently: How well has it strengthened itself on the transfer market?
There are also hard facts.
We determine a point average from the last 20 competitive games, and there are also points for successes in cup games.
Goals scored and conceded are also calculated.
At the end there are statistics that reflect the shape of a team and our editorial assessment.
By the way: Not being represented in the Champions League is not a knockout criterion.
There are teams that did not qualify for the competition, but we still count among Europe's best.
Which are they?
Here is the result:
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