UEFA Champions League Power Rankings: Manchester United, PSG lay eggs; Barcelona, Juventus on pace to advance – CBS Sports

 1.

Bayern Munich

—

Came alive late and put Salzburg to bed with their clinical attack. It just goes to show how quickly this team can turn it on. Ruthless. 

2.

Manchester City

—

Ferran Torres continues to deliver as City are quietly on the verge of a round of 16 spot. Sure, it’s an easy group, but they are taking care of things with some unfamiliar names.

3. Liverpool —I questioned the Diogo Jota signing by Liverpool when they made it. I now just question my own judgment. His hat-trick was absolutely superb, and he’s been brilliant. 

4.

Barcelona

—

Barca continue to get results while looking quite average. Not convincing enough to be thought of as a contender.

5.

Juventus

+1

Winning the games they are supposed to in an easy group, but they are similar to Barca in that they just don’t blow you away. Blowing out Ferencvaros is no accomplishment. 

6.

Chelsea

+2

Don’t look now, but Chelsea have five straight clean sheets in all competitions. The year 2020 just gets weirder and weirder. 

7.

PSG

-2

No Neymar, no Kylian Mbappe, lots of problems. Lost the semifinal rematch against RB Leipzig and were thoroughly outplayed. They could be in some real trouble.

8.

Borussia Dortmund

+1

That’s the Dortmund we expect to see most weeks. Erling Haaland continued his form in front of goal and they have retaken the lead in Group F. 

9.

Borussia Monchengladbach

+7

I’ve been telling you, this team has so much potential. At this rate, I think they are almost a lock to advance. Inter Milan are in serious trouble as a result. 

10.

Manchester United

-5

That’s the Red Devils I expected to see at this stage. You know, an inconsistent bunch that looks like a UCL contender one day and then they look like group of guys at the park on Sunday. 

11.

RB Leipzig

+2

Benefited from a weakened PSG squad, but credit is due for taking three massive points. If they can get a point against PSG later this month, they’ll be well situated to advance.

12.

Atletico Madrid

-2

Struggled early but really should have won that game. Everything will be fine as long as they beat Lokomotiv at the end of the month. If not, uh oh. 

13.

Lazio

-2

Feels like they blew an opportunity to solidify themselves as the favorite in the group, but that’s not a bad point in the end. They still have plenty of work to do.

14.

Sevilla    

+1

Fully in command to move on to the round of 16 after a stunning comeback against Krasnodar. Those slow starts will come back and bite them if they continue, just like in La Liga.

15.

Porto

+3

Can almost start making plans for the round of 16. The play has been impressive and Luis Diaz is something else. The defense is really coming alive.

16.

Ajax

+3

Needed that one and got it, and now they are the favorite to finish in second. That draw against Atalanta may be their life saver at the end of this group stage.

17.

Istanbul Basaksehir       

+11

What a way to get your first win in the cup. This is a team that has shown its potential but hadn’t put it together until Wednesday. They believe they can move on from a tough group but still an uphill battle.

18.

Real Madrid

+3

Had to beat Inter Milan at home and they got the job done. But in all fairness, they owe Achraf Hakimi a thank you letter for that assist to Karim Benzema. He knows he doesn’t play for Real anymore, right?

19.

Club Brugge

-3

Not much they could do defensively against Dortmund, but they had their chances up top. Still have a shot at advancing, but the sharpness in attack needs to be there. Trying to do too much.

20.

Shakhtar Donetsk

-4

That was some whooping they took from Gladbach, and you just have to wonder how that will impact them moving forward. They will have time to correct those issues, but now they probably have to get something on Matchday 4.

21.

Atalanta

-9

That almost felt like two losses because of what it does to their goal differential. On a positive note, it would only impact a tiebreaker in head-to-head with Liverpool. A clear path to the round of 16 still there.

22.

Olympiacos

—

They were never going to win at Manchester City. On pace to go to Europa League since Marseille have been so bad. Pretty much backing their way into UEL.

23.

Rennes

—

Painfully average without Eduardo Camavinga. Without him, they have absolutely no chance of sniffing the round of 16. 

24.

Lokomotiv Moscow

-1

A solid point against Atleti but were thoroughly outplayed. Fortunate but have to show better if they are going to even finish third.

25.

RB Salzburg

—

Really gave Bayern a fight for 80 minutes, and that 6-2 loss isn’t reflective of just how close it really was. They are still so dangerous. 

26.

Inter Milan

-6

Three matches and not one victory means Inter may be headed for a group stage exit just like last year. You have to figure that costs Antonio Conte his job, no?

27.  Krasnodar — Fought hard at Sevilla and deserved that lead, but the defense simply did not have enough. Heart-breaking defeat, but an admirable performance.  28. Zenit+1Decent point from the Russian side, but at this point it seems like their ceiling is third place. Two goals in three games just isn’t going to cut it, especially against defenses that aren’t anything special. 29. Marseille -3A proud club that should be embarrassed at their performances. Almost wish we could just put Lyon in their place for the rest of this. A shame that such a big club has performed like this. 30. Dynamo Kiev — Simply not good enough in the first hour against Barcelona, and mistakes cost them. All about finishing in third now. 31. Ferencvaros   —These players can at least say they got to play against Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when it is all said and done, but making Europa would be quite an accomplishment.  32. Midtjylland    — They’re toast. One goal in three games and nearly conceded three a match. Performing just as I expected, but there is no shame in what they’ve done in their first taste of UCL. A great experience for them.