We're reaching the business end of Champions League play and with only two matchdays remaining in the league phase, only Liverpool and Barcelona have qualified for the knockout stage and things are getting tight at the top. With another loss, Manchester City facing Paris Saint-Germain will be a critical tie as City sits 22nd and PSG sits 24th. Only the top 24 teams will advance to the next stage of Champions League play meaning that some of the world's biggest clubs are in danger of being knocked out of the tournament altogether.
Gone are the days during which teams drop down to the Europa League so anyone who misses the top 24 will crash out of Europe entirely which would be quite a disappointment. Juventus secured a landmark victory on the back of a Weston McKennie goal but let's see how that impacts power ranks:
| Rank | Team | Change | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | -- | The first team qualified for the round of 16, even when Liverpool aren't at their best, they haven't had issues getting the job done in Champions League play. Concern will begin to creep in that it may be a little too easy for them to keep this up but the wins speak for themselves. |
| 2 | Barcelona | -- | Even when Robert Lewandowski doesn't score, Barcelona just get the job done. This team is unreal and there isn't such a thing as them being out of a match. |
| 3 | Arsenal | +1 | Scoring their first goal from open play in over two matches, Arsenal were able to show that they're contenders for a Champions League title and Bukayo Saka is one of the best players in the world. |
| 4 | Inter | -1 | Conceding their first goal in Champions League and failing to secure their spot in the last 16 will come as a disappointment for Simone Inzaghi, but it happens. They are still top contenders to win the entire competition. |
| 5 | Bayer Leverkusen | +1 | The adjustments from Leverkusen after falling to Liverpool have been a welcome sight, and defeating Inter is quite a victory for Xabi Alonso's side who look to make a second consecutive European final. |
| 6 | Atalanta | -1 | Giving Real Madrid all they could handle, it was a good showing for Ademola Lookman, and for Atalanta, it was one of those days where chances didn't quite fall their way. |
| 7 | Lille | -- | It took a little more than expected to see off Sturm Graz, but yet again, Lille take care of business and the French sides are still standing tall quite high up the table. |
| 8 | Bayern Munich | -- | It seemed like Vincent Kompany's side were set to worry without Harry Kane after going behind five minutes into the match but fast forward and all is well with five goals to show for it. Bayern aren't out of the woods yet but this will do. |
| 9 | Atletico Madrid | +5 | Nine goals in their last two matches will do a bit to show that Atletico Madrid are back. The strength of their competition for these wins may not have been the greatest but you just have to make it to the knockouts. |
| 10 | Milan | +2 | Fighting through injuries, this could be one of Milan's best results this season to come back and win without Alvaro Morata, Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. |
| 11 | Monaco | -2 | Monaco may have seen their ceiling facing Arsenal and getting scored on after each mistake that they made. This is still a good team, just one that will be happy to make the last 16. |
| 12 | Real Madrid | +3 | A win that came at a cost saw Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior all find the back of the net. While that all is good, Mbappe also leaving the match in the first half due to injury is quite concerning for Carlo Ancelotti. |
| 13 | Aston Villa | +3 | Who had a Ross Barkley winner to push Villa into the top eight on their bingo card? It's not pretty but Villa are getting the results in European play under Unai Emery. |
| 14 | Borussia Dortmund | -1 | Coming back to level the match twice, Dortmund gave Barcelona everything that they could handle and it still wasn't enough to secure even a point. |
| 15 | Juventus | +4 | Draw FC finally broke their streak of four consecutive draws in all competitions and it took the first time ever that an American has assisted an American in Champions League play with Weston McKennie scoring via a Tim Weah cross. |
| 16 | Brest | +2 | An excellent goalkeeping performance from Marco Bizot keeps Brest's good run going as they charge up the table in this inaugural UCL campaign. |
| 17 | Paris Saint-Germain | +5 | Two assists from Achraf Hakimi helped slightly right the ship for the Parisians. There's more work to do but everything has to start somewhere. |
| 18 | Sporting CP | -8 | Four consecutive losses after Ruben Amorim departed for Manchester United is a sign of a tailspin that may not be broken soon. One of the dark horses to make the top eight, Sporting could end up out of Europe entirely if things don't change soon. |
| 19 | Manchester City | -8 | With only one win in their last 10 matches, it's hard to tell who this team is but it's not the Manchester City that we know. They could fail to even have a chance for the last 16 after coming into things as one of the favorites to win the entire tournament. |
| 20 | Benfica | -3 | Creating enough chances to win, this is one of Benfica's most disappointing matches that they've experienced in this league phase, and with teams at the top not being separated by much, this is a costly result. |
| 21 | Club Brugge | +2 | One team's slide is another's fortune and that's just what happened with Brugge knocking off Sporting CP at home. It's a match that would've been chalked up as a loss and one that'll be massive in getting Brugge to the knockouts. |
| 22 | VfB Stuttgart | +3 | Needing a statement victory, the German side got it hanging five on Young Boys to stand a chance to advance to the knockouts. |
| 23 | Celtic | -2 | Drawing away to Dinamo Zagreb isn't the greatest but picking up points is better than not securing any. |
| 24 | Feyenoord | +3 | Santiago Gimenez is back with a goal and an assist and so are Feyenoord as they storm up the table putting the ball in the back of the net at ease. |
| 25 | PSV | +5 | Games like an away trip to face Brest are ones that the Dutch side needs to win to secure a place in the last 24 teams standing and losing could prove to be costly. |
| 26 | Dinamo Zagreb | -2 | Not being able to take care of business at home is why this team could miss out on the top 24. |
| 27 | Girona | -1 | Holding firm while facing Liverpool, Girona gave it all they had but as this tournament has shown, everything they have isn't enough to pick up wins. |
| 28 | Crvena zvezda | -- | Coming close to securing a result against Milan, they'll feel hard done to not come away with a victory but this is how Crvena zvezda's campaign has gone. |
| 29 | Sparta Praha | -- | An excellent start after going undefeated in their first two matches of UCL play is now far behind Sparta and this is another team that could struggle to make the knockout stages. |
| 30 | SK Sturm Graz | -- | They're scoring goals now but need to stop conceding to turn these fun performances into results. |
| 31 | Shakhtar Donetsk | -- | Filed under happy to be here, it was a fun few minutes leading Bayern Munich. |
| 32 | Bologna | +2 | With their backs against the wall facing elimination, Bologna held firm to pull out a draw away in Portugal but they still need victories. |
| 33 | RB Salzburg | -- | It's a tournament to forget for all of the Red Bull sides. |
| 34 | RB Leipzig | -2 | The first team knocked out of contention for the knockouts is an unlikely one in the German side and this is quite a disappointment considering the talent and potential. |
| 35 | Young Boys | -- | On an emotional day after Meschack Elia's son died, Young Boys were able to score an away goal to celebrate. |
| 36 | Slovan Bratislava | -- | Welp, another match and another three goals conceded. |
