UCL Power Rankings: PSG hold top spot as Como surge under Cesc Fabregas

PSG
It doesn’t matter who is in Luis Enrique’s lineup; PSG just go out and win soccer matches, and they did just that on an away trip to Spain. With a four-goal lead before the 20-minute mark, it’s impossible to view anyone other than PSG as the favorites to win this competition, even as Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia miss time due to injuries. — 4-0
2

Real Madrid
They can’t keep getting away with this. Trailing in the 75th minute, Real Madrid scored twice to join PSG as the only teams with a perfect record through four UCL matches. Madrid are flawed, but we know flawed Real Madrid teams thrive in European play. — 4-0
3

Barcelona
Barcelona managed their emotions while earning a shutout victory over Aston Villa. Hansi Flick’s team are deep, but he’ll hope that depth isn’t tested too much more now that Rodri will miss some time. — 3-1
4

Arsenal
Another match where Arsenal did exactly what was expected of them. After going ahead 2-0 in the first half and holding off Slavia Prague in the second, results like this can’t be taken for granted, as other sides have struggled to make it look this easy. You just can’t ease off late and allow goals that could come back to bite you. — 8-1
5

Manchester City
Gianluigi Donnarumma is making things harder than they need to be for City, but they still have a heat-seeking missile in Erling Haaland to clean up any issues. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but a win is a win. 1 7-2
6

Bayern
For another side short on bodies due to injuries, going to Atletico Madrid and securing a win was a gritty result. Harry Kane may not have scored, but he showcased his Ballon d’Or credentials. Defenses can’t forget about him, or they’ll be picking the ball out of the net, even if it’s a goal the English forward created rather than scored. 1 2-0
7

Sporting CP
After suffering a setback on matchday three, Sporting weathered the storm to get right back to where they expect to be. This isn’t a team that will truly trouble the contenders, but Sporting are right in that next tier of squads who can make a few things happen, especially if they keep scoring when Luis Suarez isn’t involved. 2 3-1
8

Como
Sheesh, save some goals for everyone else! This team is electric, and it’ll be fascinating to see what they can accomplish under Cesc Fabregas with Nico Paz coming into his own. Como became the first team to score nine goals away from home in the post-European Cup era, and that attack is one to be feared. 4 7-1
9

Liverpool
Liverpool suffered their first league-phase loss in some fashion, allowing two goals in only six minutes and failing to come back. They’re still sitting fine in the table, but Andoni Iraola’s men have struggled to find any consistency so far this season. 4 4-2
10

Borussia Dortmund
Serhou Guirassy going off with an injury will be a cause for concern, but Dortmund got production from all over the pitch to see off a strong Real Betis side. The growth Fabio Silva has shown has been impressive, and it could bode very well moving forward. 3 3-1
11

Real Betis
Betis didn’t even reach 1.0 xG, as chances were hard to come by against Dortmund. They’ve been one of the surprises of the competition, but this match showed how wide the gap still is. 3 3-1
12

Aston Villa
Perfect no more, Aston Villa ran into a buzzsaw. These are the kinds of games you chalk up to experience when you’re Villa, but this is also when the gap between Europe’s haves and have-nots shows. 2 3-1
13

Atletico Madrid
Atletico are still trying to show they can hang with the true contenders, and registering only three shots on target against Bayern Munich isn’t the way to do that. Falling like a rock in the league phase to the point where they’re now behind LASK is a bad look. 2 1-2
14

Roma
Roma are allergic to two-goal leads, and everything unraveled at Old Trafford. After seeing this happen against both Manchester United and Real Madrid, something has to change. — 1-2
15

Inter
After losing the Milan derby, Inter needed a bit of good fortune, and they got just that in their win over Feyenoord. Inter are still worse off than last season’s Scudetto-winning team, but that doesn’t mean they can be ignored in the UCL. 1 2-2
16

Stuttgart
With a chance to truly establish themselves as a top-eight side, Stuttgart struggled away from home. After a good campaign so far, they’ll hope this is just a blip rather than the start of a new trend. 1 2-1
17

Club Brugge
Through Nicolo Tresoldi, all things are possible, as the young German found the net yet again to lift this dark-horse side higher in the table. They’re playing with confidence, and it could very well pay off. — 3-1
18

Galatasaray
Aleksey Batrakov’s UCL form of four goals from five shots is 100% unsustainable, but it helped Galatasaray pick up their second win of the campaign. While the Turkish side still struggle away from RAMS Park, winning home matches could be just enough to secure a place in the knockouts. 6 2-2
19

Fenerbahce
Under a new manager, Fener finally turned some of their draws into a victory. There’s too much talent in this side for the struggles they were having, so it’s good to see them claim a strong result at home. 4 1-1
20

PSV
Ricardo Pepi may be back, but he wasn’t healthy enough to start for a PSV side that need a boost in the goal-scoring department. They’ve struggled on all fronts to start the season, but losing at home to Brugge is something they wouldn’t have expected. 2 1-2
21

Shakhtar Donetsk
The failure to take their chances in this one will loom large for Shakhtar. It was a winnable match, and you can’t let too many of those slip away in such a tight race for knockout berths. 2 1-2
22

Porto
Facing a struggling Napoli squad, Porto secured their first UCL victory of this campaign. They didn’t put together their best game, but they’ll take it. 4
23

Manchester United
I don’t know what this team is. They looked cooked for most of the game while fans protested the club’s ownership, but by the end of the match, they were celebrating with Matheus Cunha before he was sent off for a late challenge. It’s too early to call it a turning of the tide under Michael Carrick, but United had their best performance of the season. 4 1-4
24

LASK
After putting up four goals in a beatdown of Slovan Bratislava, the Austrian side are becoming a bit of a bogey team in this competition. With 10 goals in four matches, they could make life rough for some of the bigger sides on the fringes of the knockouts. 6 2-2
25

RB Leipzig
Antonio Nusa will keep the German side in games, and while losing late to City will hurt, these are also the kinds of matches that can boost a team’s confidence. 5 1-3
26

Napoli
A late red card capped a day to forget as things went from bad to worse for Napoli, who now have three losses in four matches. 5 1-3
27

Feyenoord
Facing a struggling Inter side, Feyenoord had a chance, but their youth ended up being their undoing. Inter scored two goals from a combined 0.05 xG, and while, yes, sometimes the ball just finds the back of the net, this was a strange turn of events for sure. 1 1-3
28

Bodo/Glimt
Picking up a point at home is fine, as Bodo have shown that teams coming to Norway need to be prepared for the fate that awaits them. Unfortunately, it isn’t leading to many wins yet, and that’s something they’ll need. 1 1-2
29

Villarreal
In a match that was over before it started, Villarreal’s goal difference took a heavy hit. Sure, it was PSG, but with only one win through four matches and a goal difference getting worse by the day, reaching the knockout stages could be tough. 7 1-3
30

Viking
As things stand, Viking and their dual coaches are in a knockout spot. It will be a long road from here, but it’s important to win the games you’re supposed to win 2 1-2
31

Sabah
Like Slovan Bratislava, Sabah are overmatched in this competition, but there’s always next season. —
32

Lens
Lens show why it’s so hard to sustain a challenge for the French title. They were a strong team last campaign, but after losing players and their manager, this looks nothing like that side in yet another heavy loss. 7 4-4
33

Slavia Praha
Not that they could’ve expected much, but it still stings to show up and get passed in circles for 90 minutes. — 0-3
34

AEK Athens
A valiant effort trying to hold off Real Madrid at home, only to come up short. It’s all about the memories they’ve made along the way. — 1-3
35

Lille
French sides outside of PSG are disappointing in this competition, and Lille are no different. With no wins and only four goals scored in four games, they could be among the first teams eliminated from contention for the knockout stages. — 0-3
36

Slovan Bratislava
Four games, one goal scored and 17 conceded. It’s an absolute nightmare for Yaya Toure’s side. — 0-4