Barcelona were fresh off a Spanish Supercup victory over arch rivals Real Madrid, but they slipped up the following weekend in La Liga, losing on Sunday night in the marquee matchup pf the weekend, 2-1 to tough customers Real Sociedad.
The defeat brings Real Madrid just one point within Barcelona in the La Liga table even after all of their controversy, dropped points, and the firing of Xabi Alonso, as they were able to rally from a 0-0 scoreline at the half to beat Levante 2-0 early on Saturday.
Barcelona may be cutting it close with Real in La Liga, but where do they stand in the Champions League power rankings heading into the coming UCL fixtures this week after the tough loss to La Real?
Here are the top contenders.
6. Real Madrid
As of right now, there are really only six teams in contention for the Champions League title this year, and Real Madrid, just like in La Liga, are right behind Barcelona and barely among them.
In a way, Real have nowhere to go but up, though it hard to trust them. Alvaro Arbeloa is obviously not as strong tactically as Xabi Alonso and is a bit of a yes man, but that is actually going to serve him well compared to Alonso.
Remember, most of these players singled out as miscreants by the fans have won multiple Champions League titles – and did so without Alonso. The question is not of quality but of unity. Can Real use the adversity to galvanize them to actually playing to their potential?
5. Barcelona
Since they are ranked behind Barcelona, the answer is thusly, no. Barcelona have their own issues with defensive consistency and an attack that isn’t quite playing up to its expected level, lacking in that killer instinct in front of goal beyond the veteran Robert Lewandowski.
But when Raphinha is clicking at his best across from the phenom that is Lamine Yamal, Barcelona are unstoppable. They have as good of a chance as anyone at winning the Champions League, but they are ranked behind most of the crowd because they are so maddeningly inconsistent from week to week.
4. Manchester City
With Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo, Manchester City are a much more dangerous version of the team that disappointed last season, and while their defense will continue to have question marks, it, too, has improved, specifically with Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal.
As can be seen domestically in the Premier League, the Citizens are a cut behind Arsenal and the very best teams in Europe, but they are among them and have some attacking X Factors like Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Semenyo, and Cherki who could carry them further than anyone would expect.
3. PSG
The return of injury issues for Ousmane Dembele has hurt PSG badly, and they are no longer considered THE Champions League favorites despite finally dominating European football without Kylian Mbappe last season precisely becaue the attacking fire power has faded.
Again, when Dembele is out or not otherwise 100 percent, it is a huge loss, and the young wingers in the French capital have taken a step back, hitting a wall. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been a massive disappointment, too, and while PSG are too battle tested and talented to be counted out as a top Champions League contender, they have fallen behind where they were last season.
2. Bayern Munich
While Bayern Munich have serious defensive questions and depth issues that are exacerbated if one key player is injured – and they do rely way too much on Joshua Kimmich in midfield – they are a tremendous team overall.
Bayern are dominating the Bundesliga again, and their attacking trio of Luis Diaz, Michael Olise, and Harry Kane has suddenly usurped the front lines in Barcelona and Real Madrid as the clear best unit in European football this season.
Actually, Bayern have an attacking quintet – or even a group of six. Veteran Serge Gnabry has been resurgent despite criticism from within, young Lennart Karl stepped up admirably with Jamal Musiala out injured, and now Musiala is officially back in the saddle again. Vincent Kompany’s group is scary and can blow any team out of the water.
1. Arsenal
Yet the Bundesliga is not the same testing ground as the Premier League, and Arsenal are, by far and away, THE dominant team in English football this season with Mikel Arteta ready to exorcise all the title demons this season.
Arsenal fans will want to be careful not to be presumptive, but the Gunners are flying high. The attacking players should give people worry, especially at the highest level of the Champions League, but, as the saying goes, defensive wins championships and Arsenal’s defense is scary good – and somehow even beyond the crew they had assembled last season.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.