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Tie at No. 2 Real rules, while Lazio and Valencia jockey in Top 10
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- Spanish giant Real Madrid stays at No. 1, but the real battle is for No. 2 in the new CNN/World Soccer Top 10, the unique ranking of football clubs determined each Monday through voting by correspondents from CNN Sports and World Soccer magazine. Defending European champion Real Madrid retained the top spot for the second straight week after winning 3-2 at Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League and playing to a soggy, scoreless draw with Racing de Santander. Even on points in second this week are defending Italian double winner Lazio and Champions League runner-up Valencia of Spain. Lazio kept a high rank despite a rough week, kicking off its Italian title defense with a 2-2 draw against Atalanta and losing 2-0 to Arsenal on the road in the Champions League. Valencia, meanwhile, jumps seven spots to draw even with Lazio after edging Olympique Lyon 1-0 in the Champions League and smashing Las Palmas 5-1 on Sunday in domestic action. Down two ranks this week is English champion Manchester United, which has seen a turn for the worse in its form with a 3-2 loss to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League and 1-0 to Arsenal in the Premiership. Reigning South American champions Boca Juniors stays steady in fifth after beating Lanus 3-2 to top the Argentine table ahead of an injury-hit River Plate, which dropped out of the rankings after a loss to Chacarita. Rising two spots is Paris St. Germain, which was denied a win Saturday in a 1-1 draw with promoted En Avant Guingamp but fared better in the Champions League last week, where it defeated Germany's Bayern Munich 1-0. That loss, coupled with a 1-0 defeat by Hansa Rostock in the Bundesliga, drops defending German double winner Bayern three ranks to seventh. All three of the remaining teams are new to the list this week, with two of them tied for eighth. Reigning Spanish titlist Deportivo comes in at eighth after a scoreless draw with Juventus in European action and defeating troubled powerhouse Barcelona 2-0 to take over the domestic league lead. Traditional Italian giant AC Milan also benefited from a victory over Barcelona, a 2-0 road win in the Champions League. Milan kicked off its Serie A campaign with another 2-0 victory, this one against Vicenza Rounding out the list is England's Arsenal, which enjoyed a great week with its wins over Lazio and Manchester United, prompting United manager Alex Ferguson to predict that the Premiership race would come down to a battle between the Gunners and his own Reds. Dropping off the list this week, in addition to River Plate, are Spain's Barcelona and Turkey's Galatasaray. Other teams receiving votes included Dutch leader Feyenoord and England's Leeds.
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