Champions League power rankings: Arsenal drop two while Man City are Prem's biggest risers
Champions League power rankings: Arsenal drop two while Man City are Prem's biggest risers
Your fortnightly assessment of where the contenders stand in the pursuit of European football's top prize
The biggest cup in club football: Who'll win the cup with the big ears this year?
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The Champions League certainly didn't disappoint this week, and it was a good matchday for the British teams with four of the five grabbing wins.
Arsenal's
perhaps unjust defeat to Dortmund was the only failure, but they're not
exactly letting the Premier League down with six points from three
games, and in fact, England's best four sides have won eight from twelve
games in Europe's elite club competition this season.
Remember,
the power rankings are done in order of anticipated likelihood to win
the competition and qualify for the next round, taking into account both
long-term results and recent performances.
The root of them is
that too much should never be read into any single result and there are
explanations on certain positions below:
Let us know your view in the comments section or on Twitter @MirrorFootball: 1. Bayern Munich (no change, won 5-0 v Plzen)
Arsene Wenger described them as the "super favourites" ahead of their dismantling of Manchester City, and that status is hardly going to change after a typically awesome 5-0 home in over Viktoria Plzen. The benchmark.
2. Barcelona (no change, drew 1-1 with Milan)
Not
at their best but that may also be because they're not exactly in any
trouble as regards qualifying from this group. Perhaps more importantly,
Leo Messi also chalked off one of those stats that are really no more
than coincidences, as he scored from open play away to an Italian team.
Barca
may not currently have the cohesion of Bayern, but they do have the
significant trump card of the Argentine - the type of individual the
Germans simply do not possess.
3. Real Madrid (no change, won 2-1 v Juve)
Carlo
Ancelotti may have a fair few tactical and structural issues, as the
opening two months of the season have repeatedly revealed, but they also
have Cristiano Ronaldo to solve almost any problem. He did so again
against Juventus.
Real's season may well come down to this crux:
will their flaws eventually outweigh the Portuguese's brilliance, or can
Ancelotti fix the flaws in time to truly fire?
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno
4. Borussia Dortmund (no change, won 2-1 v Arsenal)
A week that re-asserted their status.
After
a difficult start to this Champions League campaign, and a difficult
end to last season with the sale of Mario Goetze, Jurgen Klopp and his
side rose above so much to claim their first statement win of the season
and one that completely changes of the complexion of their group.
Even
if this was not the fullest display of their attacking brilliance, it
was a lesson in tactical sophistication. To a degree, Dortmund schooled
Arsenal.
Having first pinned them back with frenetic play, they
then sat, collected themselves and unleashed. They are a side at the
very forefront of football, and one that should again be in the latter
stages of this competition.
5. Chelsea (no change, won 3-0 v Schalke)
All
of a sudden, the concerns that followed the opening-day defeat to Basel
feel so far away. Chelsea completely took command of their group with a
win born of emphatic superiority over Schalke. The feeling is Jose
Mourinho's side are just starting to pick up speed.
6. Manchester United (no change, won 1-0 v Sociedad)
The second best performance of the David Moyes era so far, after the 4-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
That
is somewhat surprising given that it was the new manager's lack of
experience in the Champions League that was flagged as his most
significant flaw ahead of taking over. Instead, Europe has been where
United have been at their most lively and sparkling.
In contrast
to so many recent league games, there was an exciting unpredictability
about their attack again, as Moyes' side created a series of chances
from all angles - primarily, though, through Wayne Rooney and Shinji
Kagawa.
The only issue was an inability to kill the game off but,
unlike domestic displays, that was a result of their attack just being a
fraction off full cohesion rather than a complete lack of verve. It is
the sort of thing that comes with practice and integration - but that is
an issue in itself.
At the least, all of this offered
encouragement for Moyes to start playing a more proactive game in the
Premier League. They are fully on course in the Champions League.
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Manchester United v Real Sociedad
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7. Atletico Madrid (up one, won 3-0 v Austria Vienna)
Brushed past Austria Vienna and breezing through their group. The key is how they stand up to stronger forces.
8. Manchester City (up one, won 2-1 v CSKA)
A
few stutters remain and it was not exactly the most fulsome response to
the evisceration at the feet of Bayern Munich, but there was still
admirable resilience in the 2-1 win away to CSKA Moscow. For both of his
goals, Sergio Aguero showed the kind of opportunism, improvisation and
bravery that can be exacting at this level.
The most important
fact of all, however, is that this away win all but assures
qualification to the last 16 - a first for this squad.
9. Arsenal (down two, lost 2-1 v Dortmund)
On
many levels, it is difficult to be too critical of Arsenal. They didn't
exactly do too much wrong in the 2-1 defeat against Dortmund but just
came up against more sophisticated opposition. The bigger question,
though, is what kind of response it will derive and what it will do for
Arsenal's chances of qualification.
All of a sudden, it's a
dead-level three-way tie at the top of the group, and Arsene Wenger's
side have their toughest away games to come. Worse, even if they didn't
do much wrong in this match, the worry is whether it will disrupt their
recent confidence and cohesion to ensure they start to make more errors
in a much more difficult run of fixtures.
Ahead of that, it wasn't exactly the best message, although Arsenal were far from at their worst.
10. Paris Saint-Germain (up one, won 5-0 v Anderlecht)
Four
goals, two words: Zlatan Ibrahimovic. His third goal apparently went
past 100 kilometres per hour, and Paris Saint-Germain are full speed
ahead for the last 16. Ibra-cadabra: Zlatan shone again for PSG
AFP
11. Napoli (up two, won 2-1 v Marseille)
Recovered from a thoroughly poor defeat at Arsenal with a supremely competent win at Marseille.
That
places a certain emphasis on Dortmund to do the same in France, ahead
of the face-offs that will finally tilt this tight group.
Napoli have done their part and kept pace. A genuine danger.
12. Juventus (no change, lost 2-1 v Madrid)
The feeling is that Juve remain so much better than their recent record, the worry is how little they're showing.
Incidents
like Giorgio Chiellini's unfair red card in the 2-1 defeat to Real
Madrid hardly help, but Antonio Conte's side have also allowed them to
become so much more of an issue.
Now, they must rise above it all.
13. Milan (up three, drew 1-1 with Barca)
Very
far from their historic best, and some way off the continent's current
best, but displaying impressive resilience to force through this group.
The draw against Barca was a case in point.
14. Bayer Leverkusen (up seven, won 4-0 v Shakhtar)
After
such a deflating start away to Manchester United, Leverkusen have
finally started to illustrate their Bundesliga quality, claiming a
brilliant home win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
15. Schalke (down five, lost 3-0 v Chelsea)
Still
strong for a last-16 place but no longer so buoyant about where they'll
finish. Chelsea all too emphatically re-applied reality with a 3-0 win. Gelsen-hurting: Schalke players look dejected
Getty Images
16. Galatasaray (up four, won 3-1 v Copenhagen)
Predictably,
no problems against Copenhagen, but the key is that could go a long way
to helping them defy expectations by trumping Juventus to second behind
Real Madrid. At the very least, that group is enjoyably taut.
17. Olympiakos (up five, drew 1-1 v Benfica)
A
creditable draw away to Benfica to move into second behind PSG and
really convert that group, even if that match was itself was complicated
by ludicrous rain.
18. Zenit St Petersburg (up six, won 1-0 v Porto)
After such a disappointing start, the Russians dramatically reshape their table with a 1-0 win away to Porto.
19. Shakhtar Donetsk (down five, lost 4-0 v L'kusen)
A team shorn of much of last season's top quality is going to have to really rely on their home form, after a poor away defeat.
20. Benfica (down three, drew 1-1 with Olympiakos)
A poor start to this crunch double-header with Olympiakos. Much will be revealed during the next game in Athens. Benfica v Olympiakos
Getty
21. FC Porto (down six, lost 1-0 to Zenit)
A
hugely damaging defeat at home to Zenit St Petersburg means they now
have an awful lot to do. For all the potential of their young manager
Paulo Fonseca, that reaction hasn't quite been suggested in their
Champions League games so far.
22. Basel (down four, drew 1-1 with Steaua)
They
could win away at Chelsea but not Steaua Bucharest, and that could
prove crucial given they were unable to increase any pressure on the
Schalke team that beat them in Switzerland.
23. Celtic (up three, won 2-1 v Ajax)
If
the performances against Milan and Barcelona offered encouragement, the
home win over Ajax finally offered a platform to compete. Just two
points behind the Italians, they're right back in the mix.
24. CSKA Moscow (down five, lost 2-1 to City)
Put it up to City but highly likely to fall into the Europa League.
25. Ajax (down two, lost 2-1 to Celtic)
26. Real Sociedad (down one, lost 1-0 to Man Utd)
27. Austria Vienna (no change, lost 3-0 to Atleti)
28. Steaua Bucharest (up three, drew 1-1 with Basel)
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