World Power Rankings

Team Limey comes crashing into Jonah Freedman's beloved Power Rankings control room this week, as our lovable Power Ranker is on vacation down under. No doubt he's checking up on the Perth Glory's and Queensland Roar's chances of breaking into a future top 10.

It's taken us every spare minute since we found out to try and decipher the complicated algorithms and coefficients Freedman uses to concoct his fortnightly table.

With continued success on both domestic and European fronts, Liverpool jumps to the top of Team Limey's table. It's unusual to place in the top spot a side which, so far this season, has done little spectacular, but The Reds' play has been steady. They've become consistent winners even if their margins of victory are relatively small and their style hasn't been particularly flamboyant. Yet, convincing wins over Everton and PSV suggest they are on the up.

Bayern Munich and Juventus slip out of the rankings. The Bavarians continue to do well in the Champions League, with a draw at home to Lyon. The Bundesliga is another story, where straight defeats to Werder Bremen and Hannover have Bayern is off to their worst Bundesliga start in 31 years. Juventus dropped out after a shocking draw at home to BATE Borisov (no we hadn't heard of them either) and inconsistent form in Serie A.

Note: All rankings, records and statistics are through Oct. 2.

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World Soccer Power Rankings

1 Previously: 5	Liverpool Liverpool's much lauded (and expensive) strike force has finally started showing signs of kicking into gear. A decent partner for Fernando Torres was seen as Liverpool's missing link last season. The Anfield faithful got their first taste of the famous, slightly awkward-looking goal celebration as Robbie Keane after captain Steven Gerrard netted his 100th Liverpool goal in the Reds' 3-1 Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven this week. A perfect record in the Champions League and a first-place tie with Chelsea atop the EPL, thanks to a Torres man of the match performance in the Merseyside derby, puts the Reds at No. 1.
2 Previously: 1	Chelsea Despite the horror show of a toothless 0-0 draw in Transylvania against Champions League debutants CFR Cluj-Napoca -- in which Didier Drogba was taken off in a stretcher -- Chelsea only falls to No. 2 thanks to solid domestic form. A 1-1 home draw with Manchester United showcased the dogged fighting spirit Chelsea will need if it hopes to regain the EPL crown. Meanwhile, a 4-0 win at Portsmouth in the Carling Cup was impressive against a team most pundits fancy for a top-half finish. José Bosingwa looks an inspired buy, providing real attacking zeal down the flank while still staying solid on defense.
3 Previously: 4	Real Madrid A 2-1 win at UEFA Cup and European Super Cup-holders Zenit St Petersburg and four straight La Liga wins, including a 7-1 demolition over bottom club Sporting Gijon, sees Los Blancos only one point off La Liga pace setters Valencia and Villiarreal and one place higher in the Rankings. Ruud Van Nistelrooy's winner gave Real its first Champions League away win in seven attempts. With that streak broken, can Real bring home the European Cup for the first time since 2002?
4 Previously: --	Villarreal Villarreal sits a place above Real Madrid in the Primera División, but a place below here. Life's tough sometimes. The town's population of 48,000 is less than the capacity of Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, yet its team took a point home following a 0-0 draw with the English giants. British opposition are getting sick of the sight of the team from this small town near Valencia, as the Spaniards followed up with a 1-0 home win over Glasgow Celtic.
5 Previously: 7	Manchester United Above Villarreal on goal difference in Champions League Group E is Manchester United. United started like a steam train in their 1-1 draw at Chelsea, but were denied three points by a late Salomon Kalou goal. This seemed to reinvigorate the Red Devils from their early-season malaise, and wins over Middlesborough and Bolton have finally started them moving up the EPL table, though only as far as 11th. This upturn continued with a 3-0 win at Danish champions AaB Aalborg, with Dimitar Berbatov finally breaking out with two goals
6 Previously: 9	FC Barcelona Barca is winning the hard way. The Blaugrana were staring at a disappointing draw at Shakhtar Donetsk until a spectacular chip from Leo Messi in the 94-minute brought all three points back to Catalunya. There was a similar story in the Barcelona city derby, where Messi again rescued his side in injury-time with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Espanyol. Amid chaotic scenes at Montjuic, a flurry of flares and scuffles almost led to the game being called.
7 Previously: --	Lazio Our second new entrant sits on top of Serie A following a 3-1 win at Torino and a 3-0 home victory over Fiorentina. Mauro Zarate, who came over on loan from Qatari club Al-Sadd, was hardly big news in the summer, but the 21-year-old Argentine has scored six goals. He may have surprised the Italian media, but Team Limey witnessed his undoubted talents in a short spell at Birmingham City last year. Meanwhile, Zarate's strike partner Goran Pandev has scored four himself. Pundits have purred over the Romans' playing style, the Gazzetta dello Sport terming it "total football."
8 Previously: 2	Inter Milan A defeat in the Milanese derby and a Champions League draw at home against Werder Bremen have knocked Inter off their Serie A perch. It's been a rocky week for Jose's Nerazzurri. After a public faceoff with a journalist in which Mourinho revealed the exorbitant details of his pay packet, he's now attracted the displeasure of the most experienced coach in Italian football, Carlo Mazzone, who observed: "The Portuguese coach is showing his naivety. He thinks he is invincible, but here in Italy things are different to the way he thinks."
9 Previously: 6	Atlético Madrid Atlético is hanging on in the rankings by a thread thanks to their Champions League form. Fatherly chats around the dinner table from father-in-law Diego Maradona are no doubt behind Sergio Aguero's excellent start. His third goal in two Champions League games helped Atlético to a 2-1 win over Olympique Marseille, putting them top of Group D. The homecoming of Fernando 'El Nino' Torres to the Vicente Calderón is the pick of the next round of Champions League matches.
10 Previously: --	Boca Juniors Boca is the South American representative replacing reigning Copa Libertadores champs Quito of Ecuador after a 4-0 victory over Quito last week.
Honorable mentions: Arsenal, Valencia, Olympique Lyonnais, Zenit St. Petersburg, Hamburger SV, Schalke 04, Aston Villa, Hull City Dropped off: Juventus, Bayern Munich, LDU Quito