Champions League Power Rankings: Chelsea slide; Arsenal remain at the top

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The 2025-26 Champions League season will be back in two weeks after six matchdays of the league phase took place from September to December 2025, but the top European leagues aren't going on break in the meantime. Arsenal and Manchester City are ready to fight for another Premier League title while Bayern Munich are once again dominating the Bundesliga standings. Elsewhere, Juventus are getting back to the top of the Serie A standings while Real Madrid seem to have solved their problems. Let's take a look at our weekly power rankings:

1. Arsenal (--)

Week after week, I'm more convinced this is going to be the year when they will finally lift a trophy. Mikel Arteta's side have a six-point advantage on Manchester City in the Premier League standings and lead the league phase table in the Champions League. If they don't win at least one of those in the next five months, it will be a failure.

2. Bayern Munich (--)

The German Bundesliga will be back this week after the winter break and we can expect Bayern Munich to continue to score, having recorded 55 goals scored in 15 games played so far in the league. Averaging 3.6 goals per game, they have to be considered one of the best teams of the season.

3. Manchester City (--)

Despite the home draw against Chelsea over the weekend that slowed down their pursuit of Arsenal, the feeling is that they will continue to show their strong form, while the future of the Spanish manager Pep Guardiola will be a big topic in the coming weeks. This might be the last six months of him at City despite a contract running until 2027, and they have to make the most out of it.

4. Barcelona (--)

The team coached by Hansi Flick won 2-0 in each of the last four games played in all competitions, showing a big improvement in defense, something that they have always struggled to achieve in the past months. Next up: the Spanish Super Cup.

5. PSG (--)

Once the 2025 AFCON is over, PSG will also welcome back Achraf Hakimi, who finally recovered from his injury and will be a big boost for the team coached by Luis Enrique in the coming weeks, when both Ligue 1 and Champions League will enter their key phases.

6. Inter (+1)

Inter are performing incredibly well in the past weeks, showing some great football and also winning a lot of games, as it happened over the past weekend against Bologna. It will be another key week as the Nerazzurri will also meet Napoli on Sunday at San Siro for what is likely to be a crucial test for the title race.

7. Real Madrid (+2)

Xabi Alonso's job was in danger a month ago, but the Spanish coach was able to turn things around and adjust it all. Over the weekend, the Blancos won 5-1 against Real Betis and Gonzalo Garcia scored his first hat trick with the team. This is getting interesting.

8. Atletico Madrid (-2)

The biggest issue about Diego Simeone's side this season has been the inconsistency of results. Too many times Atletico Madrid had some ups and downs that prevented them from being at the top of the standings and trying to put pressure on both Real Madrid and Barcelona for the title race. I was expecting a bit more from them after last summer.

9. Atalanta (+1)

Raffaele Palladino did what he was asked to. He took over Atalanta and quickly changed the situation after a disappointing start under Ivan Juric. The 1-0 win over AS Roma this weekend marked the beginning of a new era as Palladino won against the side coached by Gian Piero Gasperini, the former Atalanta coach who left in the summer of 2025 after a decade at the club.

10. Liverpool (+1)

It's not so much a reflection of their improvement, but after what has happened in recent days with Enzo Maresca's departure, they simply cannot be ranked below Chelsea.

11. Chelsea (-3)

Ah, here we go again. In my previous rankings, I asked the Chelsea board to stick with Enzo Maresca at least until the end of the season. I guess they didn't read it.

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12. Olympique Marseille (--)

If there is one team that can beat PSG, that's the side coached by Roberto De Zerbi. I won't be surprised if he's on the radar of many clubs this summer or even Manchester United right now.

13. Newcastle (--)

Eddie Howe's side are slowly coming back but this season is not going as we were expecting last summer. Too many ups and downs don't pay off when it comes to the Premier League and this is why they are now in ninth place.

14. Borussia Dortmund (--)

The Bundesliga will be back this week and Dortmund will try to close the gap with Bayern Munich, but that's just not going to happen. However, they should focus more on the Champions League's last two games of the league phase as they still have chances to end up in a good spot.

15. Galatasaray (--)

After what they have done in the summer, there are high expectations, especially in the Champions League but they might not be over as they are currently looking to sign Italian midfielder Davide Frattesi from Inter in the winter transfer session. If that happens, it will be another signal of their desire to impress.

16. Napoli (+1)

Their position in this ranking is strictly related to their disappointing Champions League campaign as Antonio Conte's team are performing incredibly well in the Serie A standings despite some big injuries that continue to affect the roster.

17. Juventus (-1)

After some good results, the Bianconeri drew 1-1 against Lecce over the weekend, but the cycle under Luciano Spalletti started off well. They should extend his deal beyond the summer and start working with him to rebuild the team. He's the right manager for this club.

18. Bayer Leverkusen (--)

I'm not sure what we can expect from them in the second part of the season and the winter break. I'm sure they made the right decision to sack Erik ten Hag and to appoint Kasper Hjulmand, but they need more stability in 2026, after so many changes in the roster and in the coaching staff.

19. Sporting CP (--)

They have been performing well this season, but Porto look unstoppable, with Francesco Farioli's side winning 16 matches, drawing once, and remaining unbeaten in the Portuguese league so far.

20. PSV (+1)

They are doing great. In the league: 15 wins, one draw, only one defeat and a 15-point gap on Feyenoord.

21. Tottenham (-1)

I thought Thomas Frank was the right man to turn things around, but I'm not sure at this point if he can achieve what he hoped for at the club. Both Enzo Maresca and Ruben Amorim were sacked this year, and I'm not surprised if he's next.

22. AS Monaco (--)

Another challenging season for AS Monaco. The good old days seem really far away but maybe with the right manager this team can still be back at the top.

23. Benfica (--)

They found the right manager but I'm not sure he will stay forever. What if Manchester United call Jose Mourinho back this summer?

24. Club Brugge (--)

Can they avoid selling their best player to AC Milan this year? I guess not, as their striker Nicolò Tresoldi was at San Siro to watch the Rossoneri facing Hellas Verona.

25. Copenaghen (--)

I didn't think they could make it for the playoffs of the league phase but their away win against Villarreal will give them a shot.

26. Qarabag (--)

They surprised everyone in the opening matches of the league phase but that was it. Not enough to hope to see them again in the playoffs.

27. Eintracht Frankfurt (--)

They have conceded 30 goals in 15 Bundesliga matches. With such a record, they can't hope for much more than that.

28. Union Saint-Gilloise (--)

Their focus now will be on the league as they have no chances to qualify for the play-offs.

29. Athletic Club (--)

I was sure they were going to become the surprising side of the league phase. That's right, I was.

30. Villarreal (--)

I still can't understand how they can be the most surprising team in LaLiga, currently sitting third behind only Barcelona and Real Madrid, yet at the same time are one of the most disappointing sides in the Champions League.