Champions League Power Rankings: Real Madrid jump up the rankings; Bayern Munich take top spot
CBSN
The UEFA Champions League will be back this week to wrap up round of 16 action
The road to the 2025-26 Champions League final, which will take place in Budapest on May 30, is now set, and the 16 best European teams will be back this week for the second legs of the round of 16 across Europe. Arsenal and Bayern Munich are still considered the favorites to win the tournament, but other big teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Manchester City are also in contention for the trophy. The 2024 and 2025 Champions League finalists, Borussia Dortmund and Inter, were both eliminated in the playoffs, while some other surprises shocked the world ahead of the crucial phase of the competition. Let's take a look at our weekly power rankings:
We have a new team at the top of our power rankings as Arsenal drop out of the top spot for the first time this season. The German side surprised many by winning 6-1 in the first leg of the Round of 16 against Atalanta, and they showed pretty clearly why they need to be considered as the best team around Europe, especially having a nine-point margin on Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. They can now focus on the European tournament in the last and crucial weeks of the season.
Mikel Arteta's team dropped one spot in the power rankings after drawing 1-1 in the first round against Bayer Leverkusen. I'm still expecting the Premier League leaders to be among the candidates to win the tournament this season, but they need to show something different in the second leg in London this week.
Barcelona only drew the first leg against Newcastle, but they are still in a good spot ahead of the quarterfinals. Hansi Flick's team is also one of the leaders in the LaLiga standings and we can expect them to be in the race for both tournaments until the very end. The club president Joan Laporta also won the latest elections and is ready to take over again for another term, cementing his status at Barcelona and the cycle led by Flick.
They haven't had a dream season like last year, but they are now in good form after winning 5-2 in the first leg against Chelsea. We can expect a lot from them in the coming weeks now that they are leading the Ligue 1 standings and are close to qualifying for the top eight in Europe as well.
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