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Deportivo on the move Top three spots remain unchanged in Top 10
Updated: Monday February 26, 2001 5:38 PM
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- Defending European champion Real Madrid made it two weeks in a row at No. 1 Monday in the CNN/World Soccer Top 10. The current Spanish league leader stayed on top after a pair of 2-2 draws, first against Lazio in the Champions League and then against defending Spanish champ Deportivo La Coruna. The Group D leader has clinched early qualification for the next round of the Champions League. English titlist Manchester United stays second after stretching its Premiership lead to 16 points with a 6-1 thrashing of second-place Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday. In the Champions League on Tuesday, a late own goal by Wes Brown denied United an early place in the quarterfinals in a 1-1 tie with Valencia at Old Trafford. Defending Argentine and South American champions Boca Juniors remain third despite continuing to struggle, looking lucky to grab a point at home to Newell's Old Boys in a last-ditch 2-2 draw. After a one-week absence from the list, Deportivo returns all the way up at No. 4 after drawing Madrid and defeating group leader Galatasaray 2-0 in the Champions League. Italian Serie A leader AS Roma rises one rank from fifth after beating Vicenza 2-0 on Sunday and defeating Liverpool 1-0 on Thursday -- a result that saw Roma ousted from the UEFA Cup 2-1 on aggregate. Based on that result and the defeat of Birmingham City in the final of the English League Cup, Liverpool jumps up a spot to sixth. Dropping from fifth to seventh is defending Brazilian and Copa Mercosur champion Vasco da Gama, which lost out to Flamengo in the semifinals of the Carioca state championship. Rising two spots to eighth is Bayern Munich, which turned in another inconsistent week, rolling past Spartak Moscow 3-0 in the Champions League before drawing Cologne 1-1. Rejoining the Top 10 along with fellow Spanish side Deportivo is ninth-ranked Valencia, which stayed second in Champions League Group A by drawing United and narrowed the gap in Spain with a 3-1 win over Villareal. Closing out the list is Italy's Juventus, fresh from a 3-0 victory over AC Milan. Other teams receiving votes included Leeds (England), Barcelona (Spain), Sturm Graz (Austria), Lazio (Italy), River Plate (Argentina) and Galatasaray (Turkey). The CNN/World Soccer Top 10 is a unique ranking of football clubs determined Mondays through voting by correspondents from CNN Sports and World Soccer magazine.
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