UCL Power Rankings: Arsenal stay top despite loss to Villa

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Champions League is back this week for the sixth matchday of action, the last one before the end of the 2025 and it's going to be a crucial one as the teams are still battling for a spot in the knockout stages. Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Barcelona look strong this week despite some ups and downs, while clubs such as Manchester City and Inter improved their performances after their Champions League defeats in the last matchday. 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+.

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1. Arsenal (--)

Arsenal lost their second Premier League match of the season over the weekend away against Aston Villa, but it doesn't really change their position because they are still by far the best team around Europe right now. They are two points ahead of Manchester City in the Premier League standings and are the only team that have won all five matches in league phase of the UEFA Champions League, beating Bayern Munich 3-1 in the last home game.

2. Bayern Munich (--)

Speaking of Bayern Munich, they are dominating the Bundesliga standings with an eight-point margin over RB Leipzig and with only one defeat in all competitions so far, against Arsenal. They are showing to be alongside Arsenal the most consistent and talented roster around Europe, and players such as Luis Diaz and Harry Kane are making the difference. On top of it, 17-year old Lennart Karl is emerging as one of the best young talents in the European leagues and will likely make it into the World Cup roster with Germany in the summer 2026.

3. Barcelona (--)

If Barcelona are still in this position, its mainly because there are other teams doing worse, especially their historic rivals Real Madrid that are struggling as Hansi Flick's team are now leading LaLiga standings with a four-point margin on the team coached by Xabi Alonso. They've got Lamine Yamal, Pedri is finally back and Ferran Torres is shining with 13 goals scored in 19 matches so far.

4. PSG (--)

Strangely enough, they are not leading the Ligue 1 standings, as Lens are currently leading the table by one point. Luis Enrique's team suffered a lot from injuries of key players, like Ousmane Dembele and the latest one to Achraf Hakimi, who will be out for several weeks. They were dominant last season but it's taking more time for them to be back at their level this season. They still have time.

5. Manchester City (+1)

Without even noticing it, Manchester City are now fully back in the Premier League contention after Arsenal's defeat at Aston Villa. Pep Guardiola knows that after the changes they made this summer, it could have taken some time to reach the current form. Ah well, Erling Haaland is still on fire and scored 20 goals in 20 matches in all competitions with the Citizens. Once again, a goal machine.

6. Inter (+1)

The Nerazzurri are still doing well, despite a week when they lost twice against AC Milan and Atletico Madrid and are back on track with some positive results. In the last week, Inter won against Pisa, Venezia and most notably 4-0 against Como at San Siro over the weekend. Facing Liverpool in the middle of a crisis looks like a perfect opportunity to have a shot in the top 8, as they will meet Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund after the Christmas break.

7. Chelsea (-2)

It seemed that Chelsea were among the top teams after winning 3-0 against Barcelona in their latest Champions League match at Stamford Bridge. But since then things went in a completely different direction as the team coached by Enzo Maresca failed to win all the three games played as they lost 3-1 to Leeds United, drew 1-1 against Arsenal and then drew 0-0 over the weekend against Bournemouth.

8. Atletico Madrid (+2)

Atletico Madrid are facing some ups and down in the last weeks. After winning against Inter in the last minute of the Champions League's match at the Metropolitano, Diego Simeone's side won against Real Oviedo before losing twice against Barcelona and then over the weekend against Athletic Club. They are still in a good spot in both LaLiga and Champions League standings but need to react.

9. Real Madrid (-1)

Things are going really down for Xabi Alonso and Real Madrid. Only one win in the last five LaLiga games, four points behind Barcelona in the standings and a concrete risk of sacking for the former Bayer Leverkusen manager. A defeat against Manchester City could cost him the job.

10. Newcastle (+1)

Eddie Howe's team are doing better now and won four of the last five Premier League games, showing a lot of improvements. The feeling is that they can be even better and the Champions League's tie against Bayer Leverkusen will be crucial for their European campaign ahead of the knockout stages.

11. Liverpool (-1)

What is going on here? If things were not difficult enough, Mo Salah has decided to speak openly about his future and hinted he might leave after the AFCON this winter. Arne Slot decided to exclude him from the squad traveling to Milan for the Inter game on Tuesday and it sounds like a farewell for the Egyptian star.

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12. Galatasaray (--)

The Turkish side are at the top of the domestic league and also in a good spot to end up in the top 16 of the league phase's table. They have a strong team, an incredible fanbase and a lot of potential to create issues for most of their European rivals.

13. Olympique Marseille (--)

Roberto De Zerbi's team is doing fantastic. They are five points behind Lens in the Ligue 1 standings and also won 2-1 in their 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 and hope to land in the top 16.

14. Borussia Dortmund (+1)

It's a positive moment for the 2024 Champions League finalist as they won three of the last four games and will meet Bodo/Glimt this week, a big opportunity to clinch a spot for the next phase.

15. Tottenham (-1)

Well well well. If things looked great for Spurs in the opening weeks of the new season, now it all looks much different. Only one win in the last four games, and they are in a difficult spot right now in both domestic and European standings.

16. Napoli (+1)

Antonio Conte's side are finally back on track. It took them some more time than expected and despite some big injuries such as the ones of Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, the Azzurri are now at the top of the Serie A standings after winning 2-1 over Juventus at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday.

17. Sporting CP (-1)

After drawing the Derby against Benfica on Friday, the Portuguese team will meet Bayern Munich on Tuesday, a key but also challenging match for them to hope to have a chance ending up in the top 8.

18. Atalanta (--)

Raffaele Palladino took over the club after Atalanta decided to sack Ivan Juric and he immediately had an impact but the 3-1 defeat against Hellas Verona was too disappointing. They will now face Chelsea at home, a match that would definitely change the look of their first part of the season.

19. Bayer Leverkusen (+1)

Who could believe Bayer Leverkusen werer able to win 2-0 away against Manchester City? New managers like Kasper Hjulmand can bring a rejuvenated air to the dressing room and to the team after the disappointing start under Erik ten Hag.

20. Juventus (-1)

Despite having a good start since he was appointed, Luciano Spalletti's spell at Juventus saw their first defeat against Napoli over the weekend when Spalletti made his comeback at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The game against Pafos in Turin needs to bring a change.

21. AS Monaco (--)

This is going to be a key week for the French side as they will face Galatasaray before facing Olympique Marseille this weekend. Ah, and Paul Pogba is back.

22. PSV (--)

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. Club Brugge (--)

They have the talent needed, but it doesn't seem to be enough for this season. 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

24. Qarabag (-1)

A strong start for them, we all hoped they could be a great story, but maybe we overestimated them.

25. Eintracht Frankfurt (--)

Losing 3-0 to Atalanta in the last matchday 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. The Barcelona one will be a key one for them this week.

26. 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.

27. Union Saint-Gilloise (-1)

They still have hopes after the 1-0 win again Galatasaray in the latest Champions League match. We all thought they could have been a surprise after winning the opening match against PSV, but they still have chances.

28. Villarreal (--)

Villarreal drew once against Juventus and then have four defeats in the five games they played. The opposite of their league form, as they are sitting third only behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.

29. Benfica (--)

Jose Mourinho's last chance will likely depend on the game against Napoli that will take place this week in Lisbon as the other two will be against Juventus and then Real Madrid.

30. Pafos (--)

The team from Cyprus are doing more than we could expect and they are in 25th place after their first historic Champions League win against Villarreal. Next up: Juventus away.

31. Slavia Prague (--)

They are not at the level of the other teams in the tournament but we could see that coming quiet easily.

32. Olympiacos (--)

No wins so far, three defeats and two draws in the opening five Champions League matches. 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. Too late to have some hopes.