Champions League Power Rankings: Bayern Munich still number one over Arsenal, Liverpool facing big crisis

Ahead of another match day of Champions League soccer, there's a still the same number one in the table, Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich. The German side has been unbelievable this season as they are still unbeaten and are at the top of both the Bundesliga and Champions League standings. Elsewhere, both Real Madrid and Liverpool are struggling while Arsenal and PSG are also considered among the top candidates to win the most important European tournament. 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 now take a look at the European power rankings ahead of the fifth Matchday of Champions League soccer: 

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

1 - Bayern Munich

Let's start with the German team. They have started the 2025-26 season nearly perfectly as they won 17 out of the 18 matches played so far, and only an away draw against Union Berlin has prevented them from being the only team around the top European leagues to be perfect. It's obvious to consider them as they main candidates to win the Champions League as well because it's difficult to say who and how can stop them. 

2 - Arsenal

This might be their year, finally. Mikel Arteta's side are now at the top of the Premier League standings with a six-point margin on Chelsea and it looks like they can finally win a Premier League title for the first time since the 2003-4 season. However, we shouldn't ruled them out of the Champions League race either. Even if it will be more complicated, it's hard to imagine they can't prove themselves also on the international stage. 

3 - Barcelona

Barcelona, oh yes. They didn't have their best start outside the Spanish league but Tuesday's match against Chelsea will tell us much more about their European ambitions. They've got some incredible players and Lamine Yamal, who can make the difference when it comes to the knockout stages. Also, they are finally back at the Spotify Camp Nou, their home stadium after two years of renovations and it can definitively become a factor later this season. 

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. The feeling is that their real value will come out later this season and they need to cope with those injuries until then. How can a team not be affected when key players like 2025 Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele and African Player of the Year Achraf Hakimi are unavailable?

5 - Inter

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. Now, they will face Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund and those games will be important to see how they are evolving also internationally. The new manager Cristian Chivu will play against some of the best teams and managers around the world and it will be interesting to see how he will react. 

6 - Real Madrid

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 lost one and drew two matches in the last three games played, showing some issues at the club. While everything looked perfect during the opening weeks of the season, the situation now feels completely different, but they have the time and the potential to get back on track starting from this week's Champions League match. 

7 - Manchester City

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 still have players such as Erling Haaland who can make the difference later during the knockout stages, but they need to improve if they want to be included in the Champions League contention. 

8 - Liverpool

The most disappointing team of the season, at least until now. The team coached by Arne Slot who dominated the 2024-25 season in England and then made some outstanding transfer signings with players like Florian Wirtz or Alexander Isak. But the summer excitement was not reflected by the results in this first part of the season. There is growing pressure also on the coach and the team that need to get back on track as soon as possible before it will be too late. 

9 - Chelsea

Enzo Maresca's team had a solid start of the season and hope to consolidate their cycle that started last year when the English giants appointed the former Leicester coach. In his first season, they won the UEFA Conference League and clinched Champions League qualification. In his second year at the club they hope to continue in this direction and so far it looks like they can do it. 

10 - Newcastle

Despite losing their first home game of the league phase against Barcelona, Newcastle are still in a good spot to qualify directly to the Round of 16 of the knockout stages, but they need to improve in their consistency as they are currently in 14th place in the Premier League standings with 15 points after 12 matches. They can and they should do more. 

11 - Galatasaray

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 difficult to predict where they can end up and what's their potential but they are definitely a team to watch ahead of the playoffs or the knockout stages. On top of it, it's always difficult for a team to visit their home stadium in Istanbul with one of the most passionate fanbases in the world.  

12 - Atletico Madrid

Their first part of the season wasn't as great as we could have expected, especially considering they only won two Champions League matches, but they are only four points behind Real Madrid in the LaLiga standings after a difficult start of their league season. The match against Inter will be an interesting test for them. 

13 - Olympique Marseille

The side coached by Roberto De Zerbi is doing fantastic so far. They are only two points behind PSG in the Ligue 1 standings but they need to improve their performance in Europe as they only had one win in the opening four games, with three defeats against Real Madrid, Sporting CP and Atalanta in the last home game before the break. 

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 a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Arsenal in the North London Derby over the weekend. Their next challenge comes on Wednesday against PSG, hardly the team you'd want to meet in a moment like this.

15 - Borussia Dortmund

The 2024 Champions League finalists only won two games in the last five played in Germany, but they are in a good spot in Europe and can hope to at least play the playoffs that will take place before the knockout stages in February. 

16 - Sporting CP

With seven points after four matches, Sporting CP are in a good spot and they can potentially hope for a playoff scenario. They've got a talented team and players who can play at this level, while they are only three points behind Porto in the standings in Portugal. 

17 - Qarabag

The biggest surprise of the league phase so far. We all thought they were not even in contention for a place in the top 24, but they managed to win two matches and draw one in the opening four games and for this reason they can really hope to play at least in the playoffs. The match against Napoli will be another big test for them. 

18 - Napoli

Antonio Conte's team was affected by the fact they have to play every three days now, while last season they could only focus on one match per week, which helped them a lot to win the Serie A title in his first season at the club. Despite the challenges and the issues they had so far with some concerning injuries like the ones of Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, Napoli have to end up in the playoffs zone. 

19 - Juventus

The Bianconeri's start of the season was also disappointing and as a consequence they have decided to sack Igor Tudor and appointed Luciano Spalletti as their manager. Juventus are still winning less in the Champions League than domestically as they had one defeat against Real Madrid and three draws so far, but they need to get back to winning ways as they are currently out of the playoffs spots. They still have time, but they need to perform now. 

20 - Atalanta

Another Italian team that faced a managerial change. Atalanta have in fact decided to sack manager Ivan Juric, who replaced Gian Piero Gasperini at the club in the summer 2025 and appointed former Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino who will lead Atalanta in his first Champions League game against Eintacht Frankfurt. In reality, they aren't in a bad position, sitting 16th with two wins from their first four games.

21 - Bayer Leverkusen

A new manager like Kasper Hjulmand brought a rejuvenated air in the dressing room and at 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. They are not yet the team they were under Xabi Alonso, but they are getting closer to that level. 

22 - AS Monaco

The French team are still hopeful to play in the playoffs this season in the European tournament and they can make it as they currently are in 19th place with one win, two draws and one defeat in their opening four Champions League matches. 

23 - PSV

They only won one game so far in the league phase but it was an unforgettable one as the Dutch team managed to win 6-2 against Napoli in one of the most bizarre results of the tournament so far. A match that left some concerns at the side coached by Antonio Conte, but definitely put a light on PSV and the work they are doing. 

24 - Club Brugge

After winning their first home game of the season, they lost twice and drew 3-3 against Barcelona in their last home game before the international break. They are a talented team and that match proved it again, but they need to be consistent if they want to have hopes to qualify for the playoffs. 

25 - Eintracht Frankfurt

They've done the same European path of Eintracht Frankurt: Won the opening game but then lost twice before the away draw against Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. They are a difficult team to face but it's difficult to say if that will be enough for them to end up in the top 24 of the campaign. 

26 - Athletic Club

One win and three defeats in the opening four matches of the league phase. Not enough to have hopes to go further this season in the European campaign but they can definitely still turn things around with the team they have. 

27 - Villarreal

Similarly to Athletic Club, Villarreal only drew once against Juventus and then have three defeats in the three other games they played. It's a strange situation, especially considering their excellent league form, sitting third and only three points off the top.

28 - Union Saint-Gilloise

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 were not. Three defeats in a row and unlikely to end up in the playoffs as of now. 

29 - Pafos

The team from Cyprus are doing great actually and they are currently in 20th 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 also looking at the teams that are behind them. 

30 - Benfica

Despite the appointment of Jose Mourinho Benfica are currently in 35th place and out of the playoffs. Zero wins, zero draws, four defeats, two goals scored. We refuse to believe they can't do better. 

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, unlike the others mentioned above. 

32 - Olympiacos

This is another big disappointment of the Champions League season. The Greek team had some expectations ahead of the new season, but it doesn't seem they can compete to end up in the top 24. The club owner, Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Premier League side Nottingham Forest was also expecting more from them. 

34 - Copenaghen

Despite the home draw against Bayer Leverkusen in their debut match in September, they later lost to Qarabag, Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham. 

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.

36 - Ajax

One goal scored and 14 conceded, they sit bottom of the table, trailing clubs without anything close to their history. There's really nothing more to say.