Champions League Power Rankings: Barcelona, ​​Aston Villa and Juventus rise; Real Madrid stumbles

1 Manchester city +2 There’s no way to come back from a Champions League disappointment, just like ripping off 28 shots and seeing four different players find the back of the net. Welcome back Ilkay Gundogan, who scored his first City goal since leaving for Barcelona. 2 Liverpool +3 Under Arne Slot, Liverpool will show up, score more goals than their opponents and do whatever it takes to manage the game. It is a way to win a lot of games and is made easier by having Mohamed Salah in the team. 3 Juventus +3 When their goalkeeper was sent off, Juventus showed impressive grit and Dusan Vlahovic went into takeover mode to secure a win. This is what good teams do and every week Juventus shows that they are quite capable under Thiago Motta. 4 Barcelona +4 By making good use of a draw, Barcelona was able to increase the score on Young Boys and leave Monaco’s disappointment behind. Bonus points for Robert Lewandowski who scored a brace. 5 Arsenal +4 Arsenal’s defense is top-notch, limiting PSG to an xG of 0.39. Even if the attack isn’t firing on all cylinders, it wouldn’t matter because Mikel Arteta has players of great stature. 6 Real Madrid -4 No Kylian Mbappe (to start the match), some problems for Real Madrid. It’s bad to lose to Lille, but this isn’t something that will sink Los Blancos either. They now see their 36-match unbeaten run end in UCL play. 7 Below +3 Inter rotated and still managed to blow Crvena zvezda off the pitch. Although the Serbian team is much stronger at home than away, it is still impressive to trail four. 8 Bayer Leverkusen +3 There are three teams left in UCL play that have not conceded a goal and Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen is one of them. The German side is handling the step up in European competition well. 9 Bayern Munich -8 Vincent Kompany’s first defeat as Bayern Munich manager is unfortunate, but Unai Emery has his number. 10 Aston Villa +6 Jhon Duran will be the best reliever in the game. When he came off the bench and changed the game, he was able to give Villa the win and it was deserved after Unai Emery’s game plan. 11 Atalanta +1 The Europa League winners are ready for the big stage with a two-goal lead over Shakhtar and are keeping the pressure on to secure a clean sheet. An excellent start indeed. 12 Paris Saint Germain -8 Concerns are creeping in over Gianluigi Donnarumma’s performance against Arsenal. While PSG will make the knockouts, failing to score a goal against top opponents could end their run there. 13 Benfica +1 The Kerem Akturkoglu show continues. Since joining Benfica he has scored four goals and two assists in all competitions as this is shaping up to be quite a balanced side. 14 Borussia Dortmund +1 After that seven-goal performance, Dortmund will petition Kasper Schmeichel every week. Karim Adeyemi has been fantastic and after being a shock finalist in the Champions League, things could be bubbling again for Dortmund. 15 Lisbon Sports Club -2 It could have been worse considering the pressure Sporting’s defense put on PSV throughout the match, but it could also have been a lot better considering the tough games Sporting will play later. You take the draw, but you’re not happy about it. 16 Atletico Madrid -9 It’s one thing for a vintage Diego Simeone defense to go out the window, it’s another entirely when Atleti can’t attack after how much has been invested in Julian Alvarez and Conor Gallagher. 17 Brest +2 The surprise package of the tournament with six points from two games, Brest are enjoying their first Champions League. campaign. 18 Lille +4 Saved a penalty in the first half to beat Real Madrid in front of their home faithful. What a result for Lille to take the first points in the competition phase. 19 Monaco +1 Monaco went down 2-0 and came back for a draw. That’s enough after you already have a win in the first match of the UCL game. Four points is something anyone would take. 20 Sparta Praha +5 Another surprising team putting in a strong performance, Sparta draws Stuttgart and ensures they are in a good spot to advance to the play-off round. 21 RB Leipzig -4 RB Leipzig went a man ahead, had the Juventus goalkeeper sent off and still found a way to lose. Not great. 22 PSV +1 It’s good to bounce back against Sporting CP and Jerdy Schouten could have one of the goals of the tournament when it’s all said and done. 23 Celtic -3 The real Celtic are somewhere between the one Slovan Bratislava sent and the one who fell to Dortmund, but Brendan Rodgers needs that balanced side to emerge soon. 24 Milan -3 At this pace, struggling to coordinate attacks against Bayer Leverkusen, reaching the round of 16 could be an achievement for Milan. 25 Girona -1 Two own goals and a missed penalty in a winnable match are not enough. Girona has undergone many changes this season, but at the moment they are their own biggest enemy. 26 VfB Stuttgart +1 Attacking is good, but not if the opportunities cannot be converted. Stuttgart still plays like a fun team to watch, but that doesn’t always lead to results in the UCL. 27 Feyenoord +9 Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Feyenoord will have to send flowers to Girona for saving them from their own mistakes, but three points will go a long way towards making it into the top 24, even if they don’t perform well enough. 28 Dinamo Zagreb +6 What a way to bounce back from the defeat to Bayern Munich. It’s not the best match, because Zagreb would have liked to win, but getting a point is an important start. 29 ClubBruges — It wasn’t pretty, but Bruges got the job done and took three points. They gave themselves a chance. 30 Bologna -4 Another match to forget and Bologna have failed to score a goal in two UCL games so far. Panci button? 31 Young boys -3 Young Boys almost scored a goal which I guess counts for something? 32 Shaktar Donestk -2 Missing a penalty that would have secured the victory. Their first match, followed by a defeat against Atalanta, is not great. 33 Crvena zvezda -2 A match to forget in Italy, in what could be a long UCL of matches to forget for the Serbian side. 34 SK Strum Graz -1 Austria hasn’t had a great tournament so far, but it’s all about the fun they have along the way, right? Strum Graz is just here for the ride. 35 RB Salzburg -3 I knew Salzburg couldn’t defend themselves when they came to the UCL, but the attacking woes will see this team struggle to stay off the bottom of the table, a far cry from a side that used to be a pain in the ass to reach the last sixteen. 36 Slovan Bratislava -1 There is no shame in being overworked by Manchester City. It happens to most teams.