Ahead of this week's European fixtures, Manchester United have maintained their status as the best team on the continent following victory at the weekend.

We take into account both domestic and European performances, plus the relative difficulty of each team's league, to find out who is the best team in Europe.

With no European action over the past seven days, it is domestic results only that have shaped this week's Power Rankings table, meaning United retained top spot thanks to their comfortable Premier League win over Fulham.

But it was a poor week for the chasing pack as Arsenal slipped to a draw against Aston Villa and Barcelona lost to Atletico Madrid.

Nevetheless, both sides moved up the table, mainly thanks to the week's biggest losers - Internazionale. The Nerazzurri played twice, but still could not muster a win, drawing against Roma and crashing to defeat to Napoli.

Real Madrid's win over Recreativo de Huelva saw them climb two places into 10th, while Fiorentina jumped into the top 20 with a late win over Juventus.

EUROPEAN POWER RANKINGS

1 (1) Manchester United - 23.57

2 (3) Arsenal - 22.72

3 (4) Barcelona - 22.53

4 (2) Internazionale - 22.45

5 (5) Roma - 20.58

6 (6) Everton - 20.46

7 (7) Chelsea - 20.03

8 (9) Liverpool - 19.81

9 (8) Fenerbahce - 19.61

10 (12) Real Madrid - 19.20

11 (10) Milan - 18.89

12 (11) Porto - 18.79

13 (13) Bayern - 18.61

14 (14) Werder Bremen - 18.55

15 (16) Hamburg - 18.39

16 (15) Sevilla - 18.00

17 (17) PSV Eindhoven - 17.66

18 (18) Olympiacos - 17.48

19 (-) Fiorentina - 17.04

20 (19) Lyon - 17.02

HOW IT WORKS

Scores are based on points per game in domestic league and European games.

Domestic points per game are multiplied by the league coefficient - either 4, 4.5 or 5 - with teams in stronger leagues getting more credit.

Champions League (or Super Cup) victories are counted from the third qualifying round onward as three points for a win and multiplied by a coefficient of 5.

UEFA Cup victories are counted from the first round as three points for a win and mulitplied by a coefficient of 4.

Domestic and European totals are then added together. If a side has played in both Champions League and UEFA Cup, its European total is an average of the two scores.

League coefficients:

England, Spain, Italy = 5

Germany, Portugal, France = 4.5

Others = 4

Example: Manchester United

64 points from 28 Premier League games = 2.29 points per game.

Multiplied by league coefficient of five - 2.29 x 5 = 11.43

17 points from 7 Champions League games (including qualifying) = 2.43 points per game.

Multiplied by Champions League coefficient of five - 12.14

Total score = 11.43 + 12.14 = 23.57

Eurosport