LONDON (AP) - Bayern Munich’s resounding victory over Borussia Dortmund gave it the top spot in The Associated Press’ global soccer poll, and Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero leads the player vote.
City was second in the club rankings with 178 points, well below Bayern’s 205, after routing Tottenham 6-0.
Cristiano Ronaldo was second in the player poll after leading Portugal to the World Cup with four goals over the two-leg playoff against Sweden and opening the scoring in Madrid’s win on Saturday.
“It was the week where many people were convinced about who was the best player of 2013,” Leonardo Bertozzi of ESPN Brazil said. “Ronaldo carried the Portuguese national team to the World Cup with his hat trick against Sweden (in the second leg) and scored his 17th goal in the league for Madrid before getting injured against Almeria.”
Carlos Vela of Real Sociedad was third, 18 points behind Ronaldo, after scoring all four goals in the 4-3 win against Celta Vigo. Goetze was fourth, followed by Arjen Robben.
Former Dortmund player Mario Goetze gave Munich the lead in the 66th minute after coming off the substitutes’ bench. Robben and Thomas Mueller sealed the victory with goals in the 85th and 87th minutes as Munich moved seven points ahead of Dortmund.
“Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund leads me to believe no one is going to beat them any time soon,” Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said. “They look unstoppable right now, capable of adapting and beating any opponent.”
In City’s win, Aguero scored twice.
“Manchester City not only destroyed Tottenham, but they did it with great style. If the league was only played at the Etihad, they would be undefeated,” Alejandro Cisternas of El Mercurio in Chile said. “Aguero is the key man to City’s great performances, and Manuel Pellegrini is not mistaken when he says that he comes behind (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.”
The top three teams in the Spanish league all enjoyed emphatic wins: Atletico Madrid was third in the club vote after its 7-0 rout of Getafe and polled the highest of all Spanish clubs, with Real Madrid fourth after thrashing Almeria 5-0 and Barcelona fifth with a 4-0 victory over Granada.
Also in the player poll, Romelu Lukaku was fifth with 72 points after scoring two second-half goals in Everton’s 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.
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AP Global Football 10 rankings (week ending Nov. 26)
Players:
1. Sergio Aguero, 127 points.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo, 100.
3. Carlos Vela, 82.
4. Mario Goetze, 76.
5. Romelu Lukaku, 72.
6. Jesus Navas, 61.
7. David Villa, 40.
8. Arjen Robben, 39.
9. Olivier Giroud, 35.
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 33.
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Teams:
1. Bayern Munich, 205 points.
2. Manchester City, 178.
3. Atletico Madrid, 156.
4. Real Madrid, 120.
5. Barcelona, 85.
6. Arsenal, 81.
7. Juventus, 73.
8. Paris Saint-Germain, 67.
9. Chelsea, 39.
10. Parma, 29.
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