European Power Rankings: Champions League matchday 5 shakes up the best teams in Europe

The last week in European football has shown that the hierarchy of the game is changing. Barcelona’s second exit from the Champions League group stages in as many years has been confirmed and, for the first time since the current format has been in place, Spain will only have one representative in the knockout stages.

The Premier League, meanwhile, looks likely to have all four of its teams progress once more, underlining its status as the continent’s dominant league, albeit only Manchester City have gone through with the ease expected.

After this eventful week, here's how the best teams in Europe shake up in the European Power Rankings:

10. Barcelona

Previously: 10th (no change)

If you’re going to stake the very future of a club on a transfer window in which hundreds of millions of euros have been spent on players, you better at least make the knockout stages of the Champions League. Barcelona haven’t and they now face a renewed crisis. Although they sit second in La Liga, they have failed to win their most meaningful matches of the season against the best teams in Europe.

9. Tottenham 

Previously: 9th (no change)

Only the lacklustre nature of Barcelona means that Spurs don’t drop further down the power rankings. Things are starting to look distinctly shaky at Tottenham: Winless in their last three games, they lie third in the Premier League but have lost their last two domestic matches, while a 1-1 home draw against Sporting CP on Wednesday means that they will be knocked out of the Champions League if they lose at Marseille next week. Much better is expected.

8. Chelsea 

Previously : 8th (no change)

Graham Potter has made a broadly positive start at Chelsea, but results at present are a little uninspiring. Sure, they are undefeated under the former Brighton boss and have made progress in Europe after a slow start in the Champions League, but the Blues remain prone to underwhelming performances. This is evidenced by a goalless draw at Brentford last week, followed by a 1-1 home draw against Manchester United that failed to get the pulse racing until the final minutes.

7. Liverpool 

Previously: 6th (down one)

It’s difficult to know quite what to make of Liverpool at the moment. Jurgen Klopp’s side have shown they are capable of the brilliance that took the Premier League title to the wire last season against an excellent Manchester City team, while also producing junk like the 1-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest last weekend. The Reds did respond well with a 3-0 midweek win over Ajax, but that was just their second away win of the season.

6. PSG 

Previously: 7th (up one)

The Parisians produced the best attacking performance of the Champions League group stage as they swept away Maccabi Haifa 7-2 in midweek. It may have only been Maccabi Haifa, but the signs are there that the trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are buzzing in attack, regardless of their off-field problems. If PSG could just learn how to defend set pieces they might just give themselves a chance. 

5. Arsenal

Previously: 3rd (down two)

Arsenal drop back to fifth place after their 1-1 draw with Southampton last weekend. The Gunners deserved nothing more from the match and, in truth, such a result seemed to be coming given that they struggled past PSV and Leeds in their previous couple of fixtures. Mikel Arteta’s side face a testing period in the run up to the World Cup. If they can come through this strongly, their rivals will see them as truly one of the best teams in Europe.

4. Napoli 

Previously: 5th (up one)

It’s been another great week for Napoli. Last Sunday, they overcame Roma 1-0 away from home to re-establish their three-point lead at the top of Serie A, while in midweek they hammered Rangers 3-0 at home to effectively seal top spot in their Champions League group, barring a miracle in Liverpool next week. Napoli don’t have a history of going very far in Europe’s top competition - they’ve never made it past the second round -  which limits them to fifth place for now.

3. Bayern Munich

Previously: 4th (up one)

Striker? Who needs a striker? Bayern Munich are climbing again after a powerful couple of matches over the last seven days. Of course, the more notable of these was a 2-0 away win against Barcelona, which simply served to underline the dominance that they enjoy against the Catalans now - they’ve scored 15 times against Barca since they last conceded. Prior to that, they beat Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga – a key result that whittled Union Berlin’s lead at the top from four points to one.

2. Real Madrid

Previously: 2nd (no change)

Sitting steadily in second are Real Madrid, although a 3-2 midweek loss in the Champions League against Leipzig certainly counts against them. It was the second successive European game they have failed to win and it means they approach their final clash with Celtic needing three points to secure top spot, although those should be secured comfortably enough. In LaLiga, they continue to lead Barcelona by three points after a comprehensive, albeit late, win over Sevilla last weekend. 

1. Manchester City 

Previously: 1st (no change)

City continue to set the level in Europe, as they locked down first place in their Champions League group with an uncharacteristically bland scoreless draw against Borussia Dortmund. Nevertheless, getting the job done with a week to spare is a welcome bonus that will allow them to focus more on the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s side are hot on the heels of Arsenal in the top flight after a 3-1 win over Brighton, with Erling Haaland of course bagging a brace. A midweek injury niggle to his star man, though, does give the manager some food for thought.

European Power Rankings will be updated on a weekly basis. Writer Robin Bairner will assess the best teams in Europe based on a mixture of their most recent performances and dominance in their respective division and the Champions League.