Champions League 2025-26 Power Rankings: Awesome Arsenal knock Bayern Munich off top spot while Chelsea shoot up the standings after battering Barcelona - but Liverpool are in freefall

Anyone with any appreciation of the history of the Champions League - or even just European football in general - will have found it tough watching Ajax toil in this season's competition. We're talking about one of the game's great institutions. And yet they've looked completely out of their depth, as underlined by their miserable record of zero points from five games. 

Ajax did at least play a bit better against fellow strugglers Benfica on Tuesday, but they still ended up on the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline, and while they're not mathematically eliminated, there's no way back for the four-time European champions now, as there’s next to no chance that even three successive wins would be enough to nick a place in the top 24.

Chelsea-bound teenager Dastan Satpaev was on target as Kairat scored twice in the final 10 minutes of Wednesday's clash with Copenhagen, but it was a case of too little, too late for the Kazakhs, who came out on the wrong side of a 3-2 scoreline.

With a top-24 finish now almost certainly beyond Rafael Urazbakhtin's men, the target now will be picking up a first-ever win in the Champions League proper, against either Olympiacos or Club Brugge at the Central Stadium.

It's hard not to feel a large degree of sympathy for Bodo/Glimt. There are teams that have played a lot worse than Kjetil Knutsen's exciting side over the five matchdays to date and yet are better placed to finish in the top 24. 

Unfortunately, the Norwegian newcomers' understandable naivety is costing them dearly. As Knutsen admitted on Tuesday, his team took far too many risks in the second half of their crunch clash with Juventus, meaning they lost a game that their first-half performance proved that they really could have won. 

Sadly, there now appears to be no way back for Bodo/Glimt, who have just two points to their name and still have to play Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid.

There were plenty of positives for Slavia Prague coach Jindrich Trpisovsky to take out of Tuesday's scoreless draw with Athletic Club. The Czechs never stopped fighting, while Jindrich Stanek had an outstanding game in goal, making one sensational save after another. Trpisovsky acknowledged, though, that Slavia's failure to win has effectively ended their hopes of making the knockout stage, as their next two games are away to Spurs and at home to Barcelona.

Still, a final-round meeting with Pafos looks like a real opportunity to conclude a spirited campaign with the much-coveted win that's eluded them thus far because of the "enormous quality" they've come up against in Europe's elite cup competition.

It's rare that a manager is pleased with his players after a 4-0 defeat, but Marcelino was in surprisingly good spirits after Villarreal's hammering at Signal Iduna Park. "I'm not disappointed with my team," he insisted. "We worked well, but ultimately didn't get rewarded."

Quite what Marcelino felt Villarreal deserved to get out of the loss to Borussia Dortmund is anyone's guess, but what we do know is that nothing less than three consecutive wins will now suffice for the Yellow Submarine, which is in very real danger of sinking without a trace after taking just one point from five games. Still, if they were to overcome both Copenhagen and Ajax at home, they might actually have a mathematical shot at qualification going into their last game, in Leverkusen...

Olympiacos were outstanding against Real Madrid on Wednesday. They played some terrific football, broke the deadlock with a brilliantly-worked goal, and kept fighting right until the very end of the game.

Unfortunately, despite giving absolutely everything, it wasn't enough for the Greeks to even pick up a point. Olympiacos aren't giving up on qualification just yet, though. "Nothing is decided," midfielder Christos Mouzakitis told MEGA TV. "There are three matches left, and we will believe right until the end."

With just two points to their name, though, Olympiacos simply have to win away to Kairat on matchday six.

Ernesto Valverde pointed out after Athletic Club's 0-0 draw with Slavia Prague that "no game in the Champions League is ever easy". However, there are games that teams with knockout stage aspirations simply have to win - and Tuesday's clash at the Fortuna Arena was undoubtedly one of them.

The Basques were undeniably the better side, but their lack of a cutting edge was once again glaring, and four goals scored in five European games thus far tells its own story. Of course, all is not lost for Athletic, even if they lose at home to PSG next time out, but things are now looking really grim for a terribly toothless team.

Copenhagen were given a late scare by Kairat at Parken on Wednesday, but the Danes held on to claim a 3-2 victory that featured goals from 17-year-old Icelandic sensation Viktor Dadason and Jordan Larsson, son of Swedish legend Henrik.

"We obviously did not finish the game the way we had hoped," Jacob Neestrup told TV2 Sport, "but I choose to focus on the fact that we played a good match, won deservedly, and got ourselves on the winners’ board in the Champions League, which was important."

Indeed, Copenhagen's first win of the season means they can still qualify for the knockout stage, but it's not very likely. Maybe they could get something against Villarreal next time out, but it's hard to see them picking up points against either Napoli or Barcelona.

There was nothing particularly pretty or convincing about Benfica's 2-0 win over Ajax on Tuesday, but since when has Jose Mourinho ever cared about aesthetics?! After four consecutive defeats, the Eagles simply had to win in Amsterdam to keep their qualification hopes alive - and that's exactly what they did thanks to a thumping early strike from Samuel Dahl and Leandro Barreiro's late breakaway goal. 

Benfica are still going to need a miracle to make the knockout stages, though, as their final three games are against Napoli (home), Juventus (away) and Real Madrid (away). Mourinho believes nine points could be enough to qualify but, based on last season’s league phase, 11 is the bare minimum required to even be in with a shout.

Dino Toppmoller insisted Wednesday's showdown with Atalanta wasn't a "must-win game" for Eintracht Frankfurt, but it wasn't far off it for a team with just four points - which is why the coach was so deflated after the 3-0 loss at Deutsche Bank Park.

The Bundesliga outfit played a solid first half but, as Toppmoller confessed, his players looked nervous even before the loss of star forward Jonathan Burkardt, whose injury-enforced withdrawal "killed" their hopes of victory. Certainly, the way in which Eintracht collapsed after Burkardt went off does not inspire confidence ahead of their matchday-six trip to Barcelona.

Midfielder Hans Vanaken says it's not "impossible" for Club Brugge to finish inside the play-off places - but it will be difficult. The Belgians' 3-0 loss in Lisbon on Wednesday means they still only have four points, which is a bit of a problem as their next game is against high-flying Arsenal.

If they defend like they did against Sporting CP, they've no chance of getting anything out of that game - or even their subsequent clash with Kairat Almaty for that matter. 

Pafos' dream remains alive after Wednesday's dramatic draw with Monaco. The Cypriot titleholders twice came from behind at the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, with the 38-year-old David Luiz becoming the second-oldest goalscorer in Champions League history by heading home the first equaliser, before an own goal from Mohammed Salisu earned what Pafos coach Juan Carlos Carcedo rightly called "a fantastic point".

The odds are still stacked against the tournament debutants, though, as they'll need a positive result against either Juventus in Turin or Chelsea in London to give them something to fight for in their winnable final league-phase fixture against Slavia Prague.

Well, who saw that coming?! After three consecutive losses, USG went to Istanbul and defeated Galatasaray - who were coming off the back of three consecutive victories - to breathe new life into their Champions League campaign. 

USG have little hope of getting anything from their matchday-seven meeting with Bayern Munich, but they have home games either side of their trip to Bavaria, against Marseille and Atalanta. Beating both is a big, big ask, but if they can replicate the level of organisation and resilience they showed at RAMS Park on Tuesday, they've at least got a shot at reaching the knockout stage, and that's more than they would have expected when the league phase began.

Monaco coach Sebastien Pocognoli called his side's 2-2 draw with Pafos "one point gained" but, in reality, it was two precious points dropped. The Ligue 1 outfit enjoyed a dream start thanks to Takumi Minamino and even reclaimed the lead through Folarin Balogun after 26 minutes, but their second-half performance was shocking and does not bode well at all in terms of their qualification prospects.

As defender Mohammed Salisu said, Monaco "must get three points in the next game against Galatasaray" because they wrap up against Real Madrid and Juventus.

Qarabag coach Gurban Gurbanov saw no reason for disappointment after his side's 2-0 loss to Napoli on Tuesday. His team frustrated the Italian champions for well over an hour, while at the same time posing some problems at the other end of the field. "I'm very happy happy with the bravery show by my players despite the defeat," Gurbanov said. 

What's more, the defeat was by no means fatal to Qarabag's hopes of reaching the knockout stage. Having already claimed seven points from their first four games, the Azerbaijanis' destiny is still in their hands going into back-to-back home matches, against pointless Ajax and inconsistent Eintracht Frankfurt. Unbelievable as it may seem, there's actually a chance that Qarabag will travel to Anfield on January 28 already assured of a play-off place!

PSV are one of the most gloriously unpredictable teams in the competition. They were atrocious in their opening-round loss at home to USG and desperately lucky to pick up a point at Olympiacos on matchday four. However, Wednesday's historic 4-1 win at Anfield was even more impressive than last month's 6-2 rout of Napoli in Eindhoven.

However, as Ivan Perisic acknowledged after the win over Liverpool, PSV still have some "very difficult games to come", against Atletico Madrid, Newcastle and Bayern Munich, meaning that even with eight points already, qualification is by no means a given.

Galatasaray have played two Champions League games without Victor Osimhen this season and lost them both, underlining just how reliant the Turkish titleholders are on the Nigerian striker. With Osimhen once again sidelined through injury on Tuesday, Gala looked bereft of an attacking threat in their shock 1-0 loss at home to USG. 

It was, as veteran midfielder Ilkay Gundogan conceded, "a really bad night" for the Turkish titleholders and has seriously damaged their hopes of finishing in the top eight, as their next three games are against Monaco, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City. At this stage, the focus will probably just be on sealing a spot in the knockout stage - while obviously getting Osimhen back on the pitch as quickly as possible.

As expected, Roberto De Zerbi's Marseille have made for great TV this season, and the good news for those of us that want to see as much of the Italian and his team as possible is that their qualification hopes have been significantly boosted by Tuesday's 2-1 win over Newcastle.

After losing three of their previous four European games in what De Zerbi described as "chaotic circumstances", OM showed impressive composure to recover from the concession of an early goal at the Velodrome to claim a victory that sets them up beautifully for their final three games, against USG, Liverpool and Club Brugge. 

The real Kenan Yildiz is back - and in the nick of time for Juventus. At half-time in Tuesday's game against Bodo/Glimt in Norway, the Bianconeri were 1-0 down and staring humiliation in the face. However, the introduction of Yildiz, whose form had fallen off a cliff in recent weeks, sparked a second-half fightback that resulted in a crucial 3-2 win for Luciano Spalletti's side and featured morale-boosting goals for previously struggling strikers Lois Openda and Jonathan David.

With a first Champions League victory of the season secured, things are suddenly looking up for Juve, who can now look forward to successive home games against Pafos and Benfica with confidence restored - and Yildiz seemingly revitalised.

Even by Antonio Conte's standards, the meltdown that followed Napoli's dismal defeat at Bologna before the international break was quite something, with the combustible coach questioning whether some of his players were still listening to him. At that point, it really did look like Conte might quit - but maybe he was simply trying to provoke a reaction out of his team because, after beating Atalanta in Serie A the weekend, the Italian titleholders kickstarted their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win over Qarabag.

The latter victory was far from impressive, with Napoli once again relying on talisman Scott McTominay to get them out of trouble, but it moved the Partenopei to seven points, meaning a top-eight finish remains a possibility. However, while Conte claimed to be "very happy" with his players, we'll have a better idea of just how united they really are when they travel to Lisbon next month for a game against Jose Mourinho's Benfica that both sides really need to win.

A 5-3 loss at PSG means Thomas Frank's Tottenham have now conceded nine goals in their past two games. Still, while Sunday's north London derby defeat was an unmitigated disaster for the Dane, he was at least able to take a couple of positives out of the game in Paris - principally another goal for the much-maligned Richarlison, who scored a 'worldie' at the Emirates, and a badly-needed brace for Randal Kolo Muani.

So, while Frank still has plenty of work to do to win over sceptical Spurs supporters, his team should at least guarantee themselves a spot in the knockout stage by beating Slavia Prague at home in their next Champions League outing.

Sporting snuck into the top eight on Wednesday without anyone really noticing because of the heavyweight clashes elsewhere in Europe, so the obvious question now is, can they stay there? Well, the Portuguese champions are not short on attacking talent, with Geovany Quenda, Trincao and Luis Suarez all catching the eye again in the 3-0 win over Club Brugge.

However, Sporting's fixture list is about to get a whole lot tougher, as they must tackle Bayern Munich and PSG before meeting Athletic Club at San Mames on the final day of the league phase.

It's fair to say that Leverkusen's decision to ditch Erik ten Hag after just three games in charge has already paid off. Under new coach Kasper Hjulmand, the Germans have stormed up the Bundesliga standings and pulled off one of their best-ever away wins by beating Manchester City 2-0 at the Etihad on Tuesday.

Much has obviously been made of the fact that Pep Guardiola started with the likes of Erling Haaland on the bench, but as Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah pointed out, the visitors weren't at full strength themselves due to injuries. The only thing that really matters anyway is that in-form Leverkusen are now right back in the hunt for a play-off place, with games to come against Newcastle, Olympiacos and Villarreal. 

On Wednesday in Frankfurt, Raffaele Palladino picked up his first win as Atalanta's new coach - and in fine style too, as the Bergamaschi blitzed their hosts with three goals in the space of five sensational second-half minutes. Unsurprisingly, Ademola Lookman was key, with the Nigeria international once again looking mentally and physically sharp after his unsuccessful summer strike.

There's no guarantee that the 10 points Atalanta have already accrued will be enough to progress to the play-offs, but it does take a significant amount of the pressure off Palladino and his players, who should now be really looking forward to welcoming Chelsea to the New Balance Arena on December 9. 

After edging out Manchester City in a cracking Premier League contest at the weekend, Newcastle initially looked like maintaining their momentum in Marseille on Tuesday thanks to another goal from in-form winger Harvey Barnes. However, a rush of blood to the head from Nick Pope allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to turn the game on its head, thus denting the Magpies' hopes of a top-eight finish.

They'll almost certainly beat PSV at St. James' Park on matchday seven, as Eddie Howe's team are so strong in their own backyard. Newcastle, though, have struggled on the road this season, and their final fixture is against PSG at Parc des Princes. It, therefore, feels as if much will depend on next month's trip to Leverkusen, as a win at the Bay Arena would put Eddie Howe's team back on track to go straight through to the last 16.

Before Wednesday, Liverpool's collective crisis of confidence hadn't really affected their Champions League campaign (save for that solitary loss to Galatasaray), so the feeling was that the visit of PSV would provide Arne Slot and his struggling side with some respite from their domestic misery.

However, the Reds were humbled 4-1 at home by the Dutch champions, meaning a top-eight finish is now looking like a big ask for a team that's lost nine of its last 12 games in all competitions and faces back-to-back away games against Inter and Marseille. Truth be told, on current form, Liverpool will struggle to beat Qarabag at Anfield on matchday eight.

Who had Dortmund down to be the great entertainers in this season's competition? In Tuesday's rout of Villarreal, Niko Kovac's team scored four goals for the fourth time in five games. Granted, they were aided by the dismissal of Juan Foyth, but the Argentine was sent off for denying Dortmund a second goal and there can be no questioning the attacking threat posed by a forward line featuring Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi and Serhou Guirassy.

Another six points will be required for BVB to hold onto their automatic qualification spot for the last 16, but two of their three remaining matches, against Bodo/Glimt and Inter, are at the fortress that is Signal Iduna Park, where Dortmund have only lost one of their past 20 Champions League games. 

It's been a really rough week for Inter. After missing a penalty and umpteen other chances in a self-inflicted derby defeat to AC Milan, the Nerazzurri threw away a point against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday with the concession of an injury-time goal.

Looking on the bright side, Inter played well at the Metropolitano, and they deserved a draw. But Cristian Chivu's curious side have pretty much lost every big game they've played so far this season and that spells trouble, as Inter's last three Champions League games are against Liverpool, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund. Last season's beaten finalists could well end up counting their lucky stars that their first four games were so soft.

It felt fitting that Jose Maria Gimenez scored Atletico Madrid's late winner against Inter as the veteran Uruguay defender rather embodies the Rojiblancos' remarkable resilience. As coach Diego Simeone admitted, his team had to endure some seriously difficult moments against last season's runners-up, but a dogged and determined Atleti found a way to win - as they so often do.

It was a crucial victory, too, as it puts the Spaniards on nine points ahead of very tricky trips to Eindhoven and Istanbul before they return to Madrid to host Bodo/Glimt on matchday eight.

Not for the first time over the past 18 months, we expressed our concerns about Hansi Flick's dangerously high line ahead of Barcelona's clash with Chelsea on Tuesday - and the Catalans' 3-0 drubbing at Stamford Bridge showed precisely why. Ronald Araujo's first-half dismissal may have influenced the final scoreline, but Barca were already being played off the pitch by that point and the Uruguayan's red card was merely a reflection of the visitors' general defensive discomfort anyway.

The Blaugrana still have every chance of finishing in the top eight, as their final three fixtures are against Eintracht, Slavia Prague and Copenhagen, but they won't even go close to lifting the trophy unless Flick sorts out a defence that has yet to keep a clean sheet in this season's Champions League. Barca may be brilliant to watch, but that's partly because their so brittle at the back.

With 10 points from five games, Manchester City remain in a decent position to finish in the top eight. However, Pep Guardiola has made life more difficult for his team than it should have been by making 10 changes for Tuesday's shock loss at home to Leverkusen.

It felt like the Catalan was trying to prove a point to his first-team regulars by showing that they're replaceable, but the gamble backfired badly, with the second-string slumping to a 2-0 defeat at the Etihad that raises serious questions over City's strength in depth, and means their matchday-six trip to Real Madrid has suddenly taken on more significance. Lose at the Bernabeu - as they did last season - and there's a real risk of Guardiola's team ending up in the play-off round for the second consecutive year.

What to make of Real Madrid right now?... The Liga leaders are fifth in the Champions League standings with four wins from five games and Kylian Mbappe is clearly loving life under Xabi Alonso, with the Frenchman's fantastic four-goal haul against Olympiacos taking his overall tally this season to 22.

Rumours abound, though, that not everybody in the Madrid dressing room is as happy with the coach as Mbappe, with Vinicius Jr reportedly unwilling to sign a new contract with the club while Alonso remains at the helm. The bratty Brazilian was at least smiling again after setting up a couple of goals for Mbappe in the 4-3 in Piraeus, but the ragged nature of the team's overall performance did very little to suggest that all of Alonso's players are presently pulling in the same direction. 

The stirring 3-0 rout of Barcelona felt like a real statement of intent from Chelsea. We've long been critical of a club that's adapted such a scattergun approach to player recruitment but, in Estevao, their policy of hoovering up as many potential superstars as possible has definitely paid off. The Brazilian was so good on Tuesday that he won his war of the wonderkids with Lamine Yamal.

The challenge for Chelsea remains producing performances like this on a consistent basis - we're talking about a team that drew with Qarabag just a few weeks ago - and we still have doubts over the centre of their defence. By battering Barca, though, Enzo Maresca's men showed that their Club World Cup pummelling of PSG was not fluke. They're capable of beating anyone on their day and that makes them a legitimate Champions League contender.

There was to be no repeat of Bayern Munich's heroics in Paris in Tuesday night's 3-1 loss at Arsenal. The Bavarians may have scored a beautiful team goal through teenage sensation Lennart Karl, but it was the only 'big chance' they created all game - despite dominating possession.

Vincent Kompany will be far from despondent, of course, even if the Belgian will have been disappointed with the second-half showing. Bayern had to lose at some point this season and it shouldn't be forgotten that the on-fire Luis Diaz was suspended for the game in north London. The German champions will still coast into the last 16, as they play Sporting and USG at the Allianz Arena before finishing with a trip to Eindhoven to take on PSV, and, just like PSG, they're going to benefit in the long run from playing in a weaker domestic championship. 

Vitinha's hat-trick may have dominated the headlines, but there were more worrying signs from PSG's perspective in Wednesday's 5-3 win over Spurs. Luis Enrique's men may be the top scorers in this season's Champions League, but they've now conceded eight goals in total - more than any other side in the top 10, bar Borussia Dortmund.

PSG's three remaining fixtures aren't exactly 'gimmes' either (Athletic Club and Sporting CP away before hosting Newcastle at Parc des Princes) but a top-eight finish is still there for the taking. Let's not forget either that form at this stage of this season is not especially important, as PSG proved themselves last season. Due to their ability to rest players in Ligue 1, the defending champions should be in fine fettle once again come the business end of the campaign. 

We held off on calling Arsenal the best team in Europe because we wanted to see how they fared against undefeated Bayern Munich, but there can be no doubt now that Mikel Arteta's men are favourites to win not only the Premier League this season but also the Champions League. The Gunners were outstanding - again - in their 3-1 victory over Harry Kane & Co. at the Emirates, and although Luis Diaz was a big miss for the visitors, it's not as if Arsenal didn't have some top players of their own unavailable for selection.

What the game hammered home, though, is that no team in Europe has greater strength in depth than the north Londoners - and that's why they're presently perfectly placed to claim a first European Cup.