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Reds return to top Big week puts Manchester United back at No. 1
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- Following a three-week run by Real Madrid, Manchester United returns to the top spot this week in the 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. The Reds had an impressive week, knocking off PSV Eindhoven in Champions League action, followed by an easy 3-0 win over Leeds in a Premier League match on Saturday. This week, they will travel to Anderlecht for a Champions League match and host Southampton in Premier League play. Real Madrid falls to the second spot following a 2-0 loss to Barcelona on Saturday. The defending European champions did pick up a win during the week as well, pounding Bayer Leverkusen 5-3 in Champions League action to clinch a berth in the second round. This week, Madrid will host Sporting Lisbon in European action and visit Real Sociedad in Spanish league play. Remaining third this week is Arsenal, which managed a draw in its Champions League visit to Lazio last week. The Gunners also picked up a win, 2-1 over West Ham on Saturday. Up next on the schedule are two home matches, a Champions League battle against Sparta Prague, followed by a Premier League game with Manchester City. The week's biggest jump was made by Valencia, which remained unbeaten in Champions League play with a win at Lyon, and then returned home to defeat Zaragoza and move to the top of the Spanish standings. Valencia's next two matches will be on the road, with a Champions League match against Olympiakos in Athens, followed by a domestic match at Osasuna. Boca Juniors drops one spot to fifth, though it did defeat Velez Sarsfield 3-1 in Argentine play over the weekend and extend its Apertura lead to eight points over rival River Plate. Barcelona continued its climb back up the poll with two impressive performances. Led by Rivaldo's hat trick, the Catalan side managed a 3-3 draw at Milan, then returned home and defeated rival Real Madrid 2-0 in Spanish action. This week, Barcelona must travel to Elland Road for a difficult Champions League match against Leeds and go to Mallorca in Spanish play. Juventus slips to seventh this week following a pair of draws. The Turin side managed a 1-1 draw in its Champions League match at Deportivo, then rallied for a draw at Milan in Serie A play. In Champions League action this week, Juventus will welcome Hamburg to Turin. Returning to the rankings at No. 8 is Bayern Munich, which regained its form with impressive wins over Paris St. Germain and crosstown rival 1860 Munich. Bayern will look to advance in the Champions League when it hosts Helsingborg, and try to stay on top in the Bundesliga when it travels to face Werder Bremen this week. AS Roma edges up one spot to ninth this week after a 3-0 win over Vicenza put it on top of the Serie A table. This week, Roma will travel to Portugal's Boavista for the first leg of second round UEFA Cup match. The final team in this week's rankings is Paris St. Germain, which hangs on after falling to Bayern Munich in Champions League action before rebounding to win at Toulouse in domestic play. PSG faces Rosenborg in a crucial Champions League match this week.
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