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Manchester United are currently ranked as the ninth-best team in the world.
The data experts at Opta have devised a formula to decipher the list, in which they consider multiple measures to give each team their ‘Elo-Rating’.
Each result from each team gives them points, which are calculated from the score line, fixture location, ranking of opponents and competition in which the game was played.
Erik ten Hag’s side sits inside the top 10 and jumped up one place from last week’s rankings, thanks to their 4-1 success against Real Betis in the Europa League.
A stalemate at home to Southampton in the Premier League this weekend held United back from jumping further up the list.
Bayern Munich currently sits at the top of the rankings, with Manchester City in second.
Arsenal and Liverpool also sit above United in the top 10, in sixth and seventh place, respectively.
Serie A leaders Napoli sit in third, with Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid in the top 5.
Paris Saint-Germain sit one place above United in eighth, with German outfit, RB Leipzig, making up the top 10.
United have enjoyed a good season since their disastrous start to Erik ten Hag’s maiden campaign.
Back-to-back league defeats opened Ten Hag’s reign, but United have produced a fine run of form since then, losing just four of their next 24 Premier League games.
United have also progressed in Europe, with half a foot in the Europa League quarter-finals after their comfortable first-leg victory against Betis last week.
On top of this, Ten Hag has delivered United’s first trophy in six years by winning the Carabao Cup, and they are favourites to progress to the FA Cup semi-final stage, too.
United face an exciting end to the season, still firmly alive in the two cup competitions and having important league games to secure a top-four finish and Champions League football next season.
If Ten Hag does guide United back to European’s top table next season, coupled with a trophy already in the bag, it will mark a hugely successful first season in Manchester for the Dutchman.
