Champions League Power Rankings: Arsenal, Bayern Munich, PSG unchanged at top with one league phase day left
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Champions League soccer is back this week for the last matchday of the league phase as Chelsea climb into top 10
The 2025-26 Champions League is back again this week for one of the most eventful matchdays of the season as all the 36 teams involved in the league phase will be playing on Wednesday at the same time. While Arsenal and Bayern Munich have already secured the top eight, most of the other teams will be involved to determine their position in the standings and if they will be playing the playoffs next months. Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt, Villarreal, Slavia Prague and Kairat Almaty are all already eliminated from the tournament. Let's take a look at our weekly power rankings:
They are still the best team around Europe, but the side coached by Mikel Arteta is starting to show some issues as they lost 3-2 against Manchester United over the weekend only a few days after winning at San Siro against Inter and clinching a top eight spot. There are no real concerns at the moment but they need to be more cynical from now on as they can't miss the opportunity this season to win at least the Premier League for the first time in more than 20 years.
I was not expecting to see them lose their first Bundesliga match of the season over the weekend against Augsburg. Vincent Kompany's side are still one of the best teams around Europe and, like Arsenal, there is no reasons to be worried about them yet. They are still eight points ahead of Borussia Dortmund and have already clinched the top eight in the UEFA Champions League. Next up: knockout stages.
Meanwhile, we've got the new leaders of the Ligue 1. It was just a matter of time to see them at the top of the French league standings and here we are. I was expecting to see them improving in the last weeks and it has happened. The match against Newcastle on Wednesday will determine if they will get to the knockout stages directly or through the playoffs.
Lamine Yamal's stunning goal against Real Oviedo made us realize once again why he's one of the best players around Europe and he's a big reason why I strongly believe Barcelona are one of the teams to beat this year. They are at the top of the LaLiga standings despite last week's defeat and they will need to win their last match against FC Copenhagen in the league phase to end up in the top eight. They can make it.
