Bayern Munich dropped more points to a team in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table, while Real Madrid won but were thoroughly unimpressive against local rivals Rayo Vallecano.
Liverpool, on the other hand, ripped Newcastle United to shreds in the Premier League days after finishing their 2025/26 Champions League campaign on a high note with a demolition of Qarabag.
Here are the latest Champions League power rankings after the weekend of European football action
5\. Real Madrid
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As talented as this Real Madrid squad is, the midfield lacks total control, the defense can be a sieve against better teams, and the attack is as dysfunctional as it comes.
Real Madrid snub better players on the bench like Rodrygo Goes for unproven commodities like Franco Mastantuono, while the Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior power struggle looks set to leave them trophyless.
So why are they even in the top five? Because they are still in the La Liga title race, because Mbappe and Thibaut Courtois are still two of the world’s best even in a difficult season, and because if Alvaro Arbeloa can somehow get this team to click, they should be the best in the world on paper.
4\. Liverpool
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Liverpool had a nightmare start to the 2025/26 season, but the big pieces are beginning to gel. Hugo Ekitike is playing as well as any striker in the Premier League right now, and Florian Wirtz is starting to repay what the Reds paid to Bayer Leverkusen for him.
It will take more time for Liverpool to return to being the best team in England, but Arne Slot is showing to the doubters that he is not completely out of touch and that the Reds are still as ruthless as they were in the 2024/25 season.
3\. Barcelona
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Barcelona don’t always make it comfortable, but when they are in the mood, they play the most beautiful and fluid attacking football on the planet with that perfect mix of the old school Cruyffisms and the new school Hansi Flick swashbuckling.
The Culers don’t have the defensive personnel to call themselves the No. 1 Champions League contenders right now, but out of all the teams, they are absolutely one of the three truly in the hunt.
2\. Bayern Munich
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In theory, Bayern Munich will be even more dangerous once Jamal Musiala is fully fit and clicking after returning from injury, as Die Roten have an embarrassment of attacking riches with Michael Olise and Harry Kane up top as two Ballon d’Or frontrunners.
That said, Bayern’s midifeld and defense are still too reliant on just a couple of players, while their performances against Augsburg and Hamburg show a vulnerability that did not exist in the seasons in which Bayern have won the Champions League.
1\. Arsenal
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[Arsenal](https://goonernews.com/) are the class of European football right now, and they have proven it time and time again. Everyone is just waiting to see Mikel Arteta fail, but when it matters most, the Gunners deliver.
They did again in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals, blanketing Chelsea with a typically flawless, borefest of a midfield and defensive performance before Kai Havertz woke up just to deliver the sucker punch in the dying seconds by rounding the Blues goalkeeper.
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.