The road to Madrid is well under way, with all 36 teams two matches into their league-phase campaigns and goals galore across Europe. Matchday two alone produced a record-breaking 78 goals across 18 matches. Paris Saint-Germain are the defending champions after winning a second successive European Cup in May, beating Arsenal on penalties in the final in Budapest. Luis Enrique’s side have looked a class apart over the past 18 months or so, but they are likely to face stiff competition for a third straight title.
So who is best placed to challenge PSG for European supremacy at this point? Our power rankings will be updated throughout the competition to track the contenders and weed out the pretenders.
Previous update: September 8, 2026.
On the outside looking in
Minnows Viking earned a stunning draw against Bayern Munich on matchday two.
This season’s power rankings look a little different. Rather than ranking all 36 teams from 1 to 36, we are mimicking the competition’s league phase by ranking the top 24 contenders, with the other 12 teams left on the outside looking in.
That does not mean none of these 12 will progress. There is always a shock name or two in the knockout rounds. However, this dozen are currently the least likely teams to progress past the opening round.
Several have already enjoyed success this season. Azerbaijani newcomers Sabah beat Slavia Prague in their first home match at this level, while both Norwegian clubs have made their mark. Viking earned a 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich, before Bodo/Glimt beat Borussia Dortmund 24 hours later. Still, all of them face a long road towards a place in at least the play-off round.
Some of the other minnows, such as LASK and Slovan Bratislava, look a little out of their depth. There is also concern that neither Turkish club will make it through, with Galatasaray and Fenerbahce having collected just a single point between them so far.
Our doomed dozen: AEK Athens, Bodo/Glimt, Fenerbahce (⬇️), Feyenoord, Galatasaray (⬇️), LASK, Lens, Lille (⬇️), Sabah, Slavia Prague, Slovan Bratislava, Viking.
24. Napoli ⬇️
Napoli are already in danger of missing out on the knockouts for a second successive season.
Given Antonio Conte’s woeful record in continental competition, it perhaps should not have surprised anyone when Napoli crashed out of the league phase last season. Many were still shocked by the then-Serie A champions’ failure to secure a place in the top 24. Conte has since moved on, with Massimiliano Allegri brought in following his own departure from AC Milan.
Things have not started well for Allegri. He has won only three of his six Serie A games in charge, and his side are still looking for their first point in the Champions League after defeats to Arsenal and Villarreal. The second of those will concern Allegri most. Napoli have Sabah and Viking to come as the final two games of the league phase, but they first need to get within touching distance of qualification for those games to matter.
23. Villarreal ⬆️
Villarreal look much better equipped to make some noise in the Champions League this season.
Villarreal were one of the biggest disappointments of last season’s Champions League. The Yellow Submarine mustered just one point from their eight games to finish second-bottom of the 36-team league-phase table. This time, they are already making a much better fist of things.
They lost to Borussia Dortmund on matchday one but were unfortunate not to come away from Germany with a draw. They built on that performance with a victory over Napoli, which included some superb finishing from Inigo Perez’s side. With Slavia Prague and Sabah still to come before Christmas, Villarreal should be well in the qualification hunt heading into the New Year.
22. Porto ⬇️
Porto came into the competition with high hopes but have suffered back-to-back defeats to begin their campaign.
Porto are back in the Champions League after two years away, following Francesco Farioli’s side’s triumph in Liga Portugal last season. The Italian coach made Los Dragoes one of the toughest teams to beat in Europe after taking over in the summer of 2025, but they have work to do if they are to make a mark on continental competition this time around.
A defeat to Manchester City on matchday one was expected. Farioli will be frustrated, however, at how his side threw away a second-half lead against Real Betis, eventually losing 3-2 in Spain. Their home games against PSV and Napoli now feel like must-wins.
21. PSV ⬇️
PSV would have hoped to have taken more than a solitary point from their opening two matches.
PSV produced thrashings of Napoli and Liverpool during last season’s league phase, yet still came up short in their bid to reach the knockout rounds. There is already a fear that a repeat could be on the cards for the Dutch champions after they picked up just one point from their opening two fixtures.
A home draw with Shakhtar Donetsk was followed by a narrow defeat at RB Leipzig, where Ivan Perisic’s missed penalty came back to bite Peter Bosz’s side. PSV have one of the easier sets of league-phase fixtures on paper, but they need to start taking advantage of that kind draw sooner rather than later.
20. RB Leipzig ⬇️
Leipzig bounced back from losing at Como on matchday one to beat PSV in their subsequent fixture.
Leipzig missed out on European football altogether last season but are back at the top table after a third-placed finish in the Bundesliga. Their return got off to an embarrassing start, however, as newcomers Como thrashed them in their first continental outing of the campaign.
Fortunately for manager Martin Demichelis, his side bounced back to secure a narrow win over PSV, thanks to Brajan Gruda’s second-half strike. With Real Madrid and Manchester City next on the European agenda, that victory was desperately needed to keep morale high at the Red Bull Arena.
19. Shakhtar Donetsk ⬆️
Arda Turan has led Shakhtar to a win and a draw in their opening two matches of the league phase.
Little was expected of Shakhtar Donetsk on their return to the Champions League, as the Ukrainian side continue their nomadic existence amid Russia’s invasion of their homeland. They have made Stamford Bridge their home for European games this time around, and they christened their new west London base with a victory over AEK Athens on Wednesday.
That win came off the back of a more than creditable draw away at PSV. With Slovan Bratislava and Fenerbahce still on their schedule, four points already gives Shakhtar an excellent base from which to plot a route into the knockouts.
18. Club Brugge ⬆️
Nicolo Tresoldi announced himself on the European stage with a hat-trick to take down Inter at San Siro.
Club Brugge have qualified for the knockouts in each of the first two years of the new Champions League format, and they will feel confident of making it three from three. They bounced back from an opening-night loss to Aston Villa to win a thriller against Inter at San Siro.
Boyhood AC Milan fan Tresoldi stole the headlines with his hat-trick, while the pace and trickery of winger Carlos Forbs caused the Inter backline all sorts of problems. With a relatively kind set of fixtures to come, the Belgian side should be confident of a top-24 finish already.
17. Stuttgart ⬆️
Deniz Undav was on the scoresheet as Stuttgart made it two wins from two in Bratislava.
Sebastian Hoeness continues to work wonders with Stuttgart, whom he has taken from the Bundesliga’s relegation play-off to qualifying for the Champions League twice in the space of three seasons. Undav has emerged as the club’s talisman up front, while Angelo Stiller and Jamie Leweling behind him are attracting interest from Europe’s biggest clubs.
According to Opta, Stuttgart have been handed the easiest set of fixtures of any of the 36 qualified teams, and they have taken advantage of a soft start by defeating both Viking and Slovan Bratislava. Atletico Madrid and Inter will provide sterner tests before the end of November, but a place in the knockouts is already within touching distance for Hoeness’ side.
16. Real Betis ⬆️
Isco netted the winning goal for Betis as they came from behind to beat Porto on matchday two.
Back in the Champions League for the first time in over 20 years, Real Betis finished fifth in La Liga last term. They continue to reassert themselves as a force to be reckoned with in Spain under Manuel Pellegrini.
They have made early noise in Europe too, recording back-to-back 3-2 wins over Lille and Porto. That puts them well in the mix for a knockout place and potentially a bye to the last 16. They must maintain that momentum through their next four fixtures, as they will not fancy going into their final two matches, against Arsenal and Bayern Munich, still needing points to qualify.
15. Como ⬇️
Como came back down to Earth at Feyenoord following their fantastic start to the competition.
Como are Champions League debutants who were not even playing top-flight football three years ago, but they are not in the competition merely to make up the numbers. The Serie A upstarts have shown a knack for taking down Italy’s biggest clubs over the past two seasons, and Cesc Fabregas’ side now have their sights set on Europe’s very best.
They began in style by thrashing RB Leipzig on matchday one, but defeat at Feyenoord on Wednesday offered a brutal reality check. Manchester United are next, and victory over the Red Devils would put the newcomers in a great spot to qualify, given they have Lens and AEK Athens to come before November is out.
14. Sporting CP ⬆️
Sporting have made a perfect start as they aim to reach the knockout rounds for a third successive season.
Sporting are becoming part of the Champions League furniture. They went all the way to the quarter-finals last season, after surprisingly earning a top-eight finish in the league phase before producing an epic comeback to beat Bodo/Glimt in the last 16.
The man who masterminded that run, Rui Borges, remains in charge, and he is once again working his magic. Sporting are among the teams to have won both of their opening two games, following victories over Galatasaray and Lens. With LASK and Shakhtar Donetsk next on their schedule, the Lisbon-based outfit could find themselves on the cusp of a top-eight finish well before they face Barcelona and Manchester City in January.
13. Roma ⬇️
A disastrous final 10 minutes cost Roma dear in their defeat to Real Madrid.
Roma are back in the Champions League for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Gian Piero Gasperini has worked wonders to restore the Giallorossi as one of the major forces in Italian football. Under the former Atalanta boss, the capital club have become incredibly difficult to beat, and they looked set for a statement result on matchday two when they led Real Madrid 3-1 entering the final 10 minutes.
However, some bizarre substitutions led to the home side conceding three late goals at Stadio Olimpico. That leaves them on just one point from their first two games, following a draw at Fenerbahce. A home game against Slovan Bratislava should offer Gasperini and his players the perfect chance to bounce back at the first time of asking.
12. Borussia Dortmund ⬇️
Dortmund’s strong start to the season came to a juddering halt with defeat at Bodo/Glimt.
Borussia Dortmund earned a reputation as European football’s ultimate finishing school, when the likes of Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Achraf Hakimi passed through on their way to superstardom. Elite graduates have dried up in recent years, so the Bundesliga giants looked to youth over the summer. Niko Kovac now has a squad with almost unlimited potential.
That potential has helped them enjoy a strong start to the Bundesliga season, but their Champions League campaign is already on the rocks after they succumbed to defeat in the Arctic Circle against Bodo/Glimt. On the plus side, they already have a victory over Villarreal to their name, while a matchday-three meeting with Sabah offers an ideal chance to get back to winning ways.
11. Manchester United ⬇️
United’s wastefulness in front of goal proved costly in their loss to Atletico Madrid.
Michael Carrick guided Manchester United back into the Champions League during his impressive interim spell in charge in the second half of last season. His start to life as permanent boss has not wholly gone to plan, however, with the Red Devils having won just two of their opening nine games in all competitions.
One of those victories came in the Champions League, as they routed competition newcomers Sabah at Old Trafford. The subsequent defeat at Atletico Madrid exposed a lack of cutting edge and top-level experience within the squad. Two tricky games against Como and Roma are up next, though it remains to be seen whether Carrick will still be in charge by the time the latter fixture comes around.
10. Inter ⬇️
Inter have suffered back-to-back defeats to open their new Champions League campaign.
Inter were perhaps the biggest underperformers in last season’s Champions League. The beaten finalists from 2025 were dumped out in the play-off round, after being beaten home and away by Bodo/Glimt. Cristian Chivu settled things down from that disappointment and secured a domestic double by the end of his first year in charge, but things have not improved from a European perspective yet.
Opta ranked Inter as having the second-easiest set of fixtures among all 36 league-phase sides. After being edged out by Real Madrid on matchday one, however, the Nerazzurri slipped to a 4-3 home loss to Club Brugge, leaving them in the lower reaches of the table. They have time to turn their campaign around, but any suggestion that they could make another deep run already looks questionable at best.
9. Aston Villa ⬆️
Villa are once again showing off their European credentials under Unai Emery.
It was all change at Aston Villa over the summer, as six starters from their triumphant Europa League final departed. Unai Emery is overseeing what is likely to be a season of transition, as he builds a new team that mostly consists of new signings. Some of those fresh faces arrived carrying injuries, but belated momentum now seems to be building at Villa Park.
In the Champions League, things could not have gone much better. Emery’s side followed up an away win at Club Brugge with a 6-0 thrashing of Fenerbahce. They will be confident of making it three wins from three when they host Viking next, before travelling to Camp Nou to take on Barcelona in late November.
8. Atletico Madrid ⬇️
Atletico bounced back from their loss to Liverpool by seeing off Manchester United at the Metropolitano.
Against the odds, Atletico Madrid battled their way to the Champions League semi-finals last season before being edged out by Arsenal. Diego Simeone will believe his side is capable of yet another deep run this time around, even though they fell to defeat at Anfield on matchday one.
Atleti bounced back in impressive fashion by beating Manchester United in their second fixture. A clash with Bayern Munich remains on the horizon for early November, but the rest of their games look winnable. That means a place among the automatic qualifiers for the last 16 should be well within reach come January.
7. Liverpool ⬆️
Bradley Barcola kickstarted his Liverpool career with a hat-trick in the win over LASK.
Despite going a round further than in the 2024-25 season, Liverpool undoubtedly went backwards in terms of performance levels in the Champions League last term, before being knocked out by PSG for the second successive campaign. The hope is that Andoni Iraola will return some exciting, attacking football to Anfield after replacing Arne Slot, but any improvements have been minor so far.
The Reds are sitting on two wins from two. They first came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid at Anfield, before scoring six in Austria to beat LASK. Barcola used that game to get his Liverpool career up and running with a hat-trick. With one of the kinder sets of fixtures in their back pocket, Iraola’s side should be confident of a top-eight finish already.
6. Manchester City ↔️
Erling Haaland’s second-half brace was not enough for City as they fell to defeat against PSG.
There is perhaps no team more desperate to win the Champions League this season than Manchester City. With a heavy sanction for their financial rule-breaking likely to come from the Premier League, the only realistic hope Enzo Maresca’s side have of maintaining their place among Europe’s elite is by winning the biggest competition on the continent.
Wednesday’s defeat to PSG was a reminder of the level this new-look City need to reach, and fast, if they are to make a deep run. Their second-half performance offers hope for how to counter the very best sides in Europe, and it will be interesting to see how they fare against Barcelona in early December.
5. Real Madrid ↔️
Antonio Rudiger rounded off an epic comeback for Madrid at Roma on matchday two.
Real Madrid have fallen woefully short of expectations in the Champions League over the past two seasons. They have now turned to Jose Mourinho in a bid to bring silverware, both domestic and continental, back to the Bernabeu. However, the pressure is already on the Portuguese coach after some indifferent displays in the opening weeks of the campaign.
That pressure looked set to reach boiling point on Wednesday when Madrid went 3-1 down to Roma. Los Blancos then scored three times in the final 10 minutes to rescue victory from the jaws of defeat, making it two wins from two following their earlier victory over Inter. Still, major improvements are needed if Mourinho’s side are to make a run to at least the semi-finals.
4. Bayern Munich ⬇️
Michael Olise’s red card proved costly for Bayern as they surprisingly dropped points away at Viking.
As last season’s Champions League wore on, Bayern Munich emerged as many fans’ favourites, before they fell short against PSG following one of the great semi-finals in competition history. Led by their swashbuckling attacking trio of Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz, the Bundesliga giants had previously swept all before them, including Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
Things have not quite clicked into gear in the same way this time around, as Bayern failed to beat Viking on matchday two. Vincent Kompany’s side came from 2-0 down to take the lead in the second half, only for Olise’s red card to leave them a man down. They eventually conceded a last-minute equaliser to the Norwegian minnows. Olise will now miss the matchday-three meeting with Arsenal, in what promises to be a measuring-stick game for both teams.
3. Arsenal ⬆️
Arsenal have not been at their best through their opening two matches, but have got the job done on both occasions.
Beaten finalists in May, Arsenal’s determination to finally get their hands on a first European Cup is likely to reach fever pitch this season. That is especially so if, as expected, they run away with the Premier League title race once Manchester City’s sanctions are confirmed. Mikel Arteta has a defence and midfield capable of going all the way, but questions remain over the potency of the Gunners’ attack, after they failed to land a big-name forward over the summer.
The first step is to replicate their perfect league phase from 2025-26. They are two from two so far, despite not being at their best against either Napoli or Lille. A trip to Bayern Munich is next, and Arteta’s side will be keen to lay down a significant marker in Bavaria.
2. Barcelona ↔️
Lamine Yamal was at his supreme best during Barca’s comeback win over Galatasaray.
It has been 11 years since Barcelona last won the Champions League, but there is a feeling that if any team can dethrone PSG this season, it is Hansi Flick’s side. The Blaugrana have dominated La Liga over the past two seasons under the German coach, but have fallen short on the continent, in part due to their high defensive line and the open nature of their midfield.
There is a belief that the signing of Rodri will be a game-changer in that regard, given there is no better player in the world than the Spain captain at snuffing out counter-attacks. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha have begun the new season in flying form in front of goal, with Yamal providing two sensational assists in the matchday-two victory over Galatasaray. With PSG up next, Barca’s credentials face the ultimate test.
1. Paris Saint-Germain ↔️
The two-time defending European champions produced a masterclass during the first half of their win over Manchester City.
Winners of the Champions League in each of the past two seasons, PSG are going in pursuit of a three-peat in 2026-27. They would become the first team not named Real Madrid to lift the European Cup on three successive occasions. The early signs are encouraging, as they followed up a thrashing of Slovan Bratislava with a statement win on the road at Manchester City.
Luis Enrique’s side were breathtaking as they raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first half. City posed them plenty more problems after the break, but the French champions held on for a 4-2 win. They now face Barcelona next, in what could prove to be a preview of the eventual final.