Matchday 2 of Champions League soccer has come to a close and there was enough action to last a lifetime during these past two days. From Newcastle United dominating PSG in the return of European nights to St. James' Park to late winners in matches galore, the contenders are really separating themselves. Julian Alvarez and Jude Bellingham are turning themselves into walking legends on the pitch but for teams like Paris Saint-Germain, concern is setting in.
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Many things go into ranking teams from contenders to those who are happy to be in the competition but it's time for the latest edition of Champions League power rankings which will continue after each matchday of the tournament. Check out the matchday one rankings here if you want to see where all the sides started off group stage play.
| Rank | Team | Change | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Manchester City | -- | It's always Alvarez these days as the Argentine is making himself undroppable for Pep Guardiola. In a tight spot after allowing RB Leipzig to score on the counter, City took care of business to retain their spot. |
2. | Bayern Munich | -- | Good teams win bad games and that's just what the German side did. It doesn't matter how rocky the road to perfection is, Bayern are on the way. |
3. | Barcelona | +1 | Gavi is suspended in Barcelona's next match and they could be without Robert Lewandowski who left with an ankle injury but it won't matter after another victory. |
4. | Real Madrid | +2 | I'm running out of superlatives for Bellingham. He's so impressive as a Galactico and it doesn't matter what the team does, he has been good enough to bail them out. It may not be sustainable but it sure is fun to watch. |
5. | Inter | +4 | An easy way to move up in power rankings is by avoiding defeat when everyone else loses and Inter did just that to get past Benfica. |
6. | Arsenal | -1 | It's tough to know how far to drop Arsenal. One away loss to Lens isn't the end of the world but if Bukayo Saka's injury is serious, that may do it for their Champions League hopes. |
7. | Real Sociedad | +4 | Could they be this season's Napoli, making a dark horse run to the later rounds of UCL play? If Brais Mendez keeps performing like this, they just might. We already knew that Takefusa Kubo was good but he isn't alone in this attack. |
8. | Paris Saint Germain | -5 | Dropped big time after getting crushed by Newcastle. We're close to crisis time in Paris. Everything is supposed to be built around Kylian Mbappe but only taking one shot for an xG of .02 won't get the job done. |
9. | Napoli | -2 | Losing a close match to Real Madrid isn't a bad result especially when Napoli did fight back to tie it at one point. Off-the-pitch issues don't seem to be impacting on the pitch results. |
10. | Atletico Madrid | +3 | Another case where just winning is all it takes. Feyenoord gave the Spanish side all that they could handle but it wasn't enough to cause an upset. As you were. |
11. | Lazio | +6 | Another jump that feels odd for a late winner but Lazio have quietly gotten the job done while simultaneously reminding me that Pedro hasn't retired yet. |
12. | Braga | +6 | A goal in the fourth minute of added time is when Braga's winner went into the back of the net. This team can't defend but they're quickly becoming one of the most fun sides to watch in UCL play. If a team slips up in Group C, they're crashing the round of 16. |
13. | Newcastle United | +2 | European nights are back at St. James' Park and they're better than ever. Struggling with where to place Newcastle while taking into account that they still allowed 23 shots to AC Milan to open UCL play, but this is a tough side at home. |
14. | Porto | -4 | Losing narrowly to Barcelona isn't a bad thing, just take care of business against the teams that you should beat. |
15. | RB Leipzig | -5 | It's Manchester City but Leipzig also didn't look great away in their first match. They'll make the knockout stage but they won't make much noise there. |
16. | Milan | -4 | You've got to beat this version of Dortmund in such a tight group. Milan are becoming a club where you don't know what you'll get out of them on any given day. |
17. | Lens | +4 | With one of the biggest upset wins of Champions League so far, Lens are able to crack our top 20. It remains to be seen if they can stay there but they're in a good position to advance from a poor group. |
18. | Galatasaray | +6 | Mauro Icardi is box office viewing. From missing a penalty to scoring a winner you can't take your eyes off of him as Icardi silenced Old Trafford. |
19. | Manchester United | -5 | They're probably fine in the long run but starting Sofyan Amrabat at left back is a cry for help. Not sure who that cry is to, however, when the transfer window is closed. |
20. | Feyenoord | -1 | Another valiant effort for Feyenoord but they weren't able to pull out the win here. Getting a victory already will go a long way but they won't have liked seeing Lazio's victory. |
21. | Sevilla | +1 | Sevilla dropped points from a winning position but one point is still better than no points. It could be enough to be well positioned for Europa League. |
22. | Borussia Dortmund | +2 | A good shutout but Dortmund need to be able to turn one point into three with Bellingham being on to bigger and better things now. |
23. | Union Berlin | -7 | The good: Union Berlin have scored their first ever goals in Champions League history and that can't be taken away from them. The bad: Everything else. A poor loss for Union, and they have no margin for error. |
24. | Benfica | -4 | Two matches, two losses. Despite only holding Inter to one goal, it's a false picture of the defense doing well as there were plenty of chances for that to balloon quickly. |
25. | RB Salzburg | -2 | While we usually find out during Champions League play how good Salzburg really are, the returns aren't great so far. |
26. | Crvema zeveda | +1 | Would've liked to pick up three points at home but one point is something they can build off of. |
27. | PSV | +1 | A valiant comeback to draw level with Sevilla but will it be enough to spark PSV's path to the knockout stages? |
28. | Young Boys | +1 | So close to their first ever away win in Champions League play but that wait will have to go a little longer. |
29. | Shakhtar Donetsk | +1 | A strong comeback that could do enough to push the Ukranian side into Europa League. |
30. | Copenhagen | -5 | It's Bayren Munich but to be a good European side from a smaller league, you've got to get a point out of games when you go ahead. |
31. | Celtic | -- | Following their opening match by dropping a late result to Lazio isn't a great look as Celtic doesn't seem to be up to the pace. |
32. | Royal Antwerp | -- | At least life in Antwerp is nice because their Champions League soccer isn't fun so far. Gotta hold on to leads. |
