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After the latest matchday of Champions League soccer, there's a new number one in the table, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal. The English side have been unbelievable this season and they also managed to win against Bayern Munich in the latest round of Champions League action, the first defeat of the season for the team coached by Vincent Kompany. Teams such as Inter or Barcelona are facing some ups and downs in their first part of the season, but they are definitely competing, while others, including Juventus or Jose Mourinho's Benfica, are going through a challenging season, despite their managerial changes. Let's take a look our Champions League Power Rankings five games in:

Don't forget -- you can watch the UEFA Champions League all season long with every game airing on Paramount+.

1. Arsenal (+1)

The new leaders. After winning 3-1 against Bayern Munich, they are leading the standings with five wins in five matches, which is why the Gunners deserve to be here. Also, after Sunday's 1-1 draw against Chelsea, they have a five-point margin on Manchester City in the Premier League. This might be their season, finally. 

2. Bayern Munich (-1)

They have started the 2025-26 season nearly perfectly as they won 18 out of the 20 matches played so far, but also lost to Arsenal last week, losing the crown of being the only team unbeaten in the top five European leagues. It's obvious to consider them among the main candidates to win the Champions League, but the defeat to Arteta's team showed the first doubts about this incredible team. 

3. Barcelona (--)

The team coached by Hansi Flick are finally back at the Spotify Camp Nou, their home stadium after two years of renovations, and it can definitely become a factor later this season. The 3-0 defeat against Chelsea last week showed they are still a team that have some blackouts, but they are the new LaLiga leaders after Real Madrid drew three matches in a row in the Spanish league. 

4. PSG (--)

The 2024-25 Champions League winners were deeply affected by injuries in this first part of the season, but this is something they can fix in the long term. Key players like 2025 Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele and African Player of the Year Achraf Hakimi are unavailable, and this is affecting their performances, as they are currently second in the Ligue 1 table after Saturday's defeat to AS Monaco. 

5. Chelsea (+4)

One of the best-looking teams around Europe. Enzo Maresca's side won against Barcelona in the Champions League last week and also drew 1-1 against Arsenal on Sunday, despite playing the majority of the match thanks to the silly red card by Moises Caicedo. They are improving fast. 

6. Manchester City (+1)

It's clear that when there is a team like Manchester City with their roster and a manager like Pep Guardiola, it's impossible not to consider them among the candidates for the title, but they don't look to be as strong as in the past, at least until now. They lost 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen at home last week but also won against Leeds United over the weekend, showing their inconsistency of results in this first part of the season. 

7. Inter (-2)

The 2023 and 2025 Champions League finalists kicked off their Champions League campaign with four wins in four games, but against teams that were not at their level. In fact, when they met Atletico Madrid on Wednesday last week, they lost 2-1 and showed they need some more work to be at the level of the past years. 

8. Real Madrid (-1)

The Spanish giants are always in the contention for a Champions League trophy, as their history has taught us. However, after a strong start to the season under the new manager Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid only won one of the last five matches played in all competitions, including three LaLiga draws against Rayo Vallecano, Elche and Girona, not the best teams of the league. Should Alonso start to worry? 

9. Liverpool (-1)

The most disappointing team of the season until now. The team coached by Arne Slot, who dominated the 2024-25 season in England, made some outstanding transfer signings with players like Florian Wirtz or Alexander Isak. The 4-1 home defeat against PSV in the last matchday of the Champions League showed that things are really going bad for Slot and his team that next week will face Inter at San Siro. 

10. Atletico Madrid (+2)

Their first part of the season wasn't as great as we could have expected but the home win against Inter showed they are still the team we used to know. They also gained some points in their domestic league and are currently only three points behind Real Madrid in the standings. 

11. Newcastle (-1)

Despite losing their first home game of the league phase against Barcelona, Newcastle are still in a good spot to qualify directly to the knockout stages, but they need to improve in their consistency as they are currently in 14th place in the Premier League standings with 18 points after 13 matches. They can and they should do more. 

12. Galatasaray (-1)

It's not surprising to see Galatasaray in this position, as they are a strong team with big ambitions after their summer business when they were able to sign Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen permanently. It's always difficult for a team to visit their home stadium in Istanbul with one of the most passionate fanbases in the world, but not for Union SG which won at their home stadium last week and surprised many. 

13. Olympique Marseille (--)

The side coached by Roberto De Zerbi is doing fantastic so far. They are only two points behind Lens in the Ligue 1 standings and also won 2-1 the last Champions League match against Newcastle, after three defeats against Real Madrid, Sporting CP and Atalanta. They are now back on track ahead of the next phase. 

14. Tottenham (--)

Thomas Frank's side have struggled in recent weeks and come from only one win in the last five Premier League matches, including another disappointing 2-1 home defeat against Fulham over the weekend. They also lost 5-3 to PSG last week, and conceded a total of 11 goals in the last three games. Too many. 

15. Borussia Dortmund (--)

The 2024 Champions League finalists won the last two matches against Villarreal and Bayer Leverkusen and they are now back on track in both Bundesliga and Champions League standings. 

16. Sporting CP (--)

With 10 points after five matches, Sporting CP are in a good spot and they can potentially hope for a top-eight scenario if they do well in the next three matches of the league phase of the Champions League. 

17. Napoli (+1)

Despite the challenges and the issues they had so far with some concerning injuries like those of Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, Napoli are now back in a good spot in both Champions League and Serie A standings. After the 1-0 win against AS Roma over the weekend, the team coached by Antonio Conte are leading the Serie A standings alongside AC Milan.

18. Atalanta (+2)

Raffaele Palladino took over the club after Atalanta decided to sack Ivan Juric and he immediately had an impact. The Nerazzurri lost to Napoli but then won 3-0 against Eintracht in his first ever Champions League match as manager before winning 2-0 against Fiorentina over the weekend. It took more time than expected but Atalanta are now back under the new coach. 

19. Juventus (--)

Juventus also decided to sack their former coach and hired Luciano Spalletti who is having some issues to make an immediate impact but the Bianconeri won two important matches against Bodo/Glimt away and then against Cagliari. Juventus will face Napoli this Sunday, a key game to determine the status of the team. 

20. Bayer Leverkusen (+1)

A new manager like Kasper Hjulmand brought a rejuvenated air to the dressing room and to the team after the disappointing start under Erik ten Hag. They are now fully back on track and are expected to qualify for the next round of the Champions League after winning 2-0 against Manchester City away. Another huge result for them. 

21. AS Monaco (+1)

They managed to win against PSG over the weekend, a key win for them after some disappointing results. They are behind in both Ligue 1 and Champions League standings, after the 2-2 draw against Pafos. However, Paul Pogba is finally back and played his first minutes with the team. 

22. PSV (+1)

Two wins so far in the league phase but both were unforgettable ones as the Dutch team managed to win 6-2 against Napoli in one of the most bizarre results of the tournament so far and then 4-1 at Anfield against Liverpool. Scoring 10 goals against the Serie A and Premier League title holders is just incredible. 

23. Qarabag (-6)

Maybe we overrated them a bit too much last time. After winning the first two matches of the league phase, they lost two and drew one. They are still hoping to land in a spot for the playoffs, but it's not guaranteed at all. 

24. Club Brugge (--)

After winning their first home game of the league phase, they lost twice, drew 3-3 against Barcelona and then lost 3-0 to Sporting CP last week. Their talented roster might not be enough for them this season. 

25. Eintracht Frankfurt (--)

Losing 3-0 to Atalanta might put an end to their playoff hopes as they will face Barcelona, Qarabag and then Tottenham in the last three games of the league phase. At least they are doing better in the Bundesliga, currently sitting in seventh place. 

26. Union Saint-Gilloise (+2)

After a great 3-1 win against PSV in their opening game of the league phase, we all thought they could become one of the surprises of the season. They weren't until the unexpected 1-0 win against Galatasaray. They still have hopes. 

27. Athletic Club (-1)

One win, three defeats and one draw in the opening five matches of the league phase. Not enough to have hopes to go further this season in the European campaign but they can still turn things around with the team they have, even if they face PSG, Atalanta and Sporting CP in the next three. 

28. Villarreal (-1)

Villarreal drew once against Juventus and then have four defeats in the five games they played. It's a strange situation, especially considering their excellent league form, sitting third and only two points off the top in LaLiga.

29. Benfica (+1)

Despite the appointment of Jose Mourinho Benfica are currently in 30th place and out of the playoffs. Next matches: Napoli, Juventus and Real Madrid. It will be difficult even for "The Special One."

30. Pafos (-1)

The team from Cyprus are doing more than we could expect and they are in 25th place after their first historical Champions League win against Villarreal. However, it's unlikely to see them ending up in the top 24 of the league phase.

31. Slavia Prague (--)

Slavia Prague are struggling but we could see that coming. They are not a team at the level of the other ones competing in the league phase and they are where they should be. 

32. Olympiacos (--)

Another big disappointment of the Champions League season. No wins so far, three defeats and two draws. They could definitely do better. 

33. Copenaghen (--)

Despite the home draw against Bayer Leverkusen in their debut match in September, they later lost to Qarabag, Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham before winning the last match against Kairat. That was great but too late. 

34. Bodo/Glimt (--) 

They gave Juventus all they could handle before losing late, but that's not going to get them anywhere in this competition. 

35. Kairat (--)

We all expected them to reach this stage of the tournament and, even though they were held to a 0-0 draw against Pafos, simply competing in the Champions League is already a historic achievement for the club. It could be worse...

36. Ajax (--)

One goal scored and 16 conceded, they sit bottom of the table with zero points. One of the biggest, most historic clubs in the world, an iconic logo in the sport, with nothing to show. There are no words.