UEFA Champions League Power Rankings: Barca, Real Madrid Score Impressive Road Wins; Man City in great difficulty

1 Liverpool — The first team qualified for the knockout stages, although Liverpool are not at their best, they have had no problems getting the job done in the Champions League. Worry will start to set in because it might be a little too easy for them to maintain this situation, but the victories speak for themselves. 2 Barcelona — Even when Robert Lewandowski doesn’t score, Barcelona gets the job done. This team is unreal and there is nothing like it being out of a game. 3 Arsenal +1 By scoring their first goal from open play in over two matches, Arsenal were able to show that they are a contender for the Champions League title and Bukayo Saka is one of the best players in the world. 4 Between -1 Conceding your first goal in the Champions League and failing to secure your place in the round of 16 will be a disappointment for Simone Inzaghi, but it happens. They remain the top contenders for victory in the entire competition. 5 Bayer Leverkusen +1 Leverkusen’s adjustments after falling to Liverpool were a welcome sight, and defeating Inter is a real victory for Xabi Alonso’s side as they seek to qualify for a second consecutive European final. 6 Atalanta -1 Giving Real Madrid all they could handle, it was a good performance for Ademola Lookman, and for Atalanta it was one of those days where the chances didn’t really present themselves. 7 Lille — It took a little more than expected to defeat Sturm Graz, but once again Lille takes care of business and the French teams still stand quite high in the table. 8 Bayern Munich — It looked like Vincent Kompany’s side were set for worry without Harry Kane after going behind five minutes into the game, but moved forward quickly and all was well with five goals to show for it. Bayern aren’t out of the woods yet, but this will do the trick. 9 Atletico Madrid +5 Nine goals in their last two matches will go a little towards showing that Atletico Madrid are back. The strength of their competition for these victories may not have been the greatest, but it was enough to reach the round of 16. 10 Milan +2 Despite the 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 against Arsenal and being marked after each error made. They’re still a good team, just a team that will be happy to make it to the round of 16. 12 Real Madrid +3 A victory that came at a cost saw Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior all find the back of the net. Even though everything is going well, Mbappe also leaves the match in the first half due to injury, which is quite worrying for Carlo Ancelotti. 13 Villa Aston +3 Who had a Ross Barkley winner to propel Villa into the top eight on their bingo card? It’s not pretty, but Villa are getting results in Europe under Unai Emery. 14 Borussia Dortmund -1 Coming back to tie the game twice, Dortmund gave Barcelona all they could handle and it still wasn’t enough to get even a point. 15 Juventus +4 Draw FC finally ended their streak of four consecutive draws in all competitions and it was the first time an American had assisted an American in the Champions League 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 move up the table in this inaugural UCL campaign. 17 Paris Saint-Germain +5 Two assists from Achraf Hakimi helped to right the Parisian ship slightly. There is still work to be done but it all has to start somewhere. 18 Sports CP -8 Four consecutive defeats following Ruben Amorim’s departure for Manchester United are a sign of a slide that may not be broken any time soon. One of the dark horses in the top eight, Sporting could find themselves out of Europe altogether if things don’t change soon. 19 Manchester City -8 With only one victory in their last 10 matches, it’s difficult to say who this team is but it’s not the Manchester City we know. They might not even have a chance for the round of 16 after becoming one of the favorites to win the entire tournament. 20 Benfica -3 Creating enough chances to win, this is one of the most disappointing games Benfica have had in this phase of the league, and with the teams at the top not very separated, it’s a costly result. 21 Club Brugge +2 One team’s slide makes another’s fortune and that’s exactly what happened when Bruges beat Sporting CP at home. It’s a match that would have been considered a defeat and which will be decisive in bringing Bruges to the round of 16. 22 VfB Stuttgart +3 Needing a resounding victory, the German team managed to hang five on Young Boys to have a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. 23 Celtic -2 A draw against Dinamo Zagreb is not the best, but it is better to score points than not to get any. 24 Feyenoord +3 Santiago Gimenez is back with a goal and an assist, as are Feyenoord as they storm up the table and put the ball in the back of the net at ease. 25 PSV +5 Matches like a trip to Brest are ones the Dutch side must win to secure a place among the last 24 teams standing and losing could prove 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 their own against Liverpool, Girona gave everything they had, but as this tournament showed, everything they have is not enough to achieve victories. 28 Red Star — With them on the verge of a result against Milan, they will feel bad not to come away with a victory, but that is how Red Star’s campaign has gone. 29 Sparta Prague — An excellent start after going unbeaten in their first two UCL matches are now far behind Sparta and they are another team that could struggle to make the knockout stages. 30 SK Sturm Graz — They are 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 in charge of Bayern Munich. 32 Bologna +2 With their backs against the wall facing elimination, Bologna held on to earn a draw in Portugal, but they still need wins. 33 RB Salzburg — This is a tournament to forget for all Red Bull teams. 34 RB Leipzig -2 The first team eliminated from the playoffs is unlikely on the German side and that’s quite disappointing considering the talent and potential. 35 Young boys — On an emotional day after the death of Meschack Elia’s son, Young Boys were able to score an away goal to celebrate. 36 Slavic Bratislava — Well, one more game and three more goals conceded.