Champions League Week 1 Power Rankings

Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were the most impressive winners from the first week of this season’s Champions League.

Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund all enjoyed huge victories, while holders Real Madrid left it late to rally at home to Sporting Lisbon.

There were mixed fortunes for the Premier League as Arsenal drew in Paris and Leicester made the most of their debut in the competition. However, Tottenham were humbled by Monaco in front of a huge Wembley crowd.

Here are the top 16 after the first round of group matches:

16. Bayer Leverkusen

Going 2-0 up then blowing the lead at home to CSKA Moscow marked a less than ideal start for Bayer Leverkusen. Roger Schmidt’s team has talent in attacking areas, including goalscoring maestro Hakan Calhanoglu and ex-Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez.

But plugging a leaky defence is a tall order for Schmidt before the trip to Monaco on matchday 2.

15. Juventus

Sevilla are no novices in Europe. You don’t win three-straight Europa League trophies by being green. Still, Juventus would have been expected to brush the La Liga club aside at home.

After all, the Turin side has added prolific striker Gonzalo Higuain and classy schemer Miralem Pjanic to an already powerful squad. Instead, Juve failed to find their spark in front of goal and were held to a flat 0-0 stalemate.

The goalless draw hardly suggested the Old Lady is better equipped to win a first Champions League since 1996.

14. FC Basel

FC Basel are old hands in Europe. Yet, they were still caught cold on home soil by Bulgarian champions Ludogorets.

The visitors broke at pace and always had men over on the flanks. Basel’s defense was also given the run around by Brazilian forward Jonathan Cafu.

It took a late equalizer from Renato Steffen to spare the hosts’ blushes. A point is never to be sneered at, but more should be expected from a side with Basel’s European experience.

13. Besiktas

Turkish side Besiktas earned one of the more creditable points on matchday 1 by drawing at the home of Portuguese champions Benfica. Ironically, it was Benfica loanee Anderson Talisca who was the hero, equalising via a sweet free-kick. His strike is said to have cost his parent club €1 million.

It’s a solid start to Group B for Besiktas. The midfield is well marshaled by rugged and intelligent holding player Gokhan Inler. Further forward, aging winger Ricardo Quaresma can still turn any match with his flair and pace.

Not many will welcome the trip to the Vodafone Arena in Istanbul, giving Besiktas a possible edge in Group B.

12. FC Copenhagen

Speaking of creditable points, Danish outfit Copenhagen earned one in Porto. The Estadio do Dragao is one of Europe’s most formidable venues, but Copenhagen merited their point.

Former Cardiff City flop Andreas Cornelius grabbed the equalizer for the 10-man visitors. It could prove priceless in a group currently headed by Leicester.

11. Lyon

Lyon didn’t even need star striker Alexandre Lacazette to start their Champions League campaign in spectacular fashion. The Ligue 1 side still had a few young creative talents to conjure plenty of magic in the final third.

Chief among them was 22-year-old midfield gem Corentin Tolisso. Both he and fellow precocious youth Maxwel Cornet were on the scoresheet. Jordan Ferri also found the net.

This was an exciting display from a side brimming with exuberant potential. Juventus and Sevilla should beware.

10. Arsenal

The critics may have found plenty of fat to chew from Arsenal’s shaky showing against Paris Saint-Germain in Group A. But for all their faults, the Gunners still left the French capital with a very useful point.

It was Alexis Sanchez who cancelled out Edinson Cavani’s swift opener. While the Chilean still looked lost as a center-forward, big players are defined by what they do in the biggest games. Sanchez delivered in Paris.

Arsenal still need to improve, but this was the one game manager Arsene Wenger might have feared in the group. He’d be right to feel delighted with the point.

9. Atletico Madrid

Sure, Atletico Madrid left PSV Eindhoven with a solid 1-0 win. But last season’s beaten finalists were far from impressive in the Netherlands.

In fact, Atleti rode their luck more than once as erratic refereeing from Martin Atkinson threatened to turn the game into a farce. PSV had a legitimate goal chalked off and should have been awarded a penalty after a clumsy challenge from Diego Godin.

There were some positives, though. The Saul Niguez winner was well struck. Meanwhile, the forward partnership between cheetah-fast Frenchmen Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro showed signs of life.

8. Real Madrid

Los Blancos have won this tournament two out of the last three years because of their match-winners up front. They proved their worth again at the Bernabeu on Wednesday when attacking talisman Cristiano Ronaldo struck a thunderous late free-kick to answer Bruno Cesar’s earlier goal for Sporting.

Then it was Alvaro Morata’s turn to net the winner. His late finish added gloss to an evening during which Real struggled to click.

7. Napoli

Travelling to Dynamo Kyiv is never easy, and not many teams come away with a win. But Napoli managed it, even without former primary goal-getter Higuain.

His replacement, Polish target man Arkadiusz Milik, helped himself to a brace. Even sans Higuain, this is a side loaded with quality. Playmaker Marek Hamsik and explosive winger Lorenzo Insigne ensure Milik is never lacking for support.

Napoli have flattered to deceive in Europe during recent seasons, but this was an excellent start to their latest campaign.

6. Monaco

Tottenham had all the expectation and 80,000-plus fans cheering them on at Wembley Stadium. Yet, they still didn’t have the nous to get by a tough and cagey Monaco outfit.

The French club are resolute defensively and sneaky-good on the break. Manager Leonardo Jardim has built them to snatch impressive results away from home.

So it proved when Bernardo Silva and impressive midfielder Thomas Lemar put the visitors two up. Spurs fought back, but Monaco had a little too much know-how.

5. Leicester

If you need one match to explain Leicester’s remarkable recent success, look no further than their Champions League debut. The 3-0 away win over Club Brugge in Group G summed up the Foxes perfectly.

Consider how those goals were scored. The first came from a long throw Marc Albrighton eventually turned in. Riyad Mahrez doubled the lead with a stunning free-kick, before wrapping up the scoring from the penalty spot.

In open play, Leicester offered little. But they rarely need to in the tried and trusted formula manager Claudio Ranieri has crafted.

This is a team that trusts discipline in defense and the art of smash-and-grab up top. Mahrez, quiet for most of the night, embodies the latter quality.

So does jet-heeled striker Jamie Vardy, who had the Brugge defense on edge all night.

Every game it seems like the Foxes need to do more. But this team isn’t going to change its modus operandi any time soon.

4. Manchester City

Manchester City’s awesome start under manager Pep Guardiola should worry the best in both the Premier League and Europe. After four wins out of four domestically, City hit classy German outfit Borussia Monchengladbach for four in the Champions League.

It helped to have Sergio Aguero, suspended in England’s top flight, back. He hit a hat-trick, while young understudy Kelechi Iheanacho again found the net.

But Guardiola may have been most pleased by the opportunity to give playing time to some quality summer imports. In particular, German midfield general Ilkay Gundogan was superb pulling the strings, while winger Leroy Sane looks like a highlight reel all by himself.

Guardiola hasn’t even revealed his strongest XI yet. The rest of Europe should be worried.

3. Bayern Munich

Ancelotti has won this tournament three times as a manager. It will take a brave man betting against the Italian making it four this season.

This Bayern squad is so loaded with quality, it just seems like a matter of time before they lift Europe’s top prize again.

The Bundesliga giants flexed their attacking muscle against Rostov. As usual, strikers Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller starred, with both scoring.

They are among the most intelligent movers in Europe. Lewandowski’s power and subtle runs dovetail well with Muller’s wanderlust and deceptive pace.

As if they weren’t enough, Arturo Vidal runs a midfield that can’t be matched for energy, tenacity and skill. It will take some team to stop Bayern in Europe this season.

2. Borussia Dortmund

Maybe Ancelotti’s men will find themselves undone by a foe closer to home. Dortmund hit six in Poland to lay down quite a marker on the first matchday.

Attacking midfielder Mario Gotze and striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were among the goals. But it was the performance of assured midfield pass-master Julian Weigl that really stood out, per Squawka:

The 21-year-old has become essential to manager Thomas Tuchel’s approach. Dortmund are more possession-based under Tuchel than they were under the more direct Jurgen Klopp. Few midfielders take care of the ball as well as Weigl.

Dortmund possess the forward talent and daring ideals to be the team to watch in this season’s competition.

1. Barcelona

Obviously, there aren’t many teams more pleasing on the eye than Barcelona. Seven goals were rattled in to destroy Celtic, and the best forward line in the game accounted for six of them.

Lionel Messi got a hat-trick, Luis Suarez came off the bench to bag a brace, while Neymar lifted in a beautiful free-kick. Just what fans have come to expect from this terrific trio.

Yet, as much as we may try and believe otherwise, this team is more than the sum of its forward line. It has to be when Andres Iniesta still runs midfield.

It has to be when the supporting ranks feature Arda Turan and bright young schemer Denis Suarez. Then there’s resourceful playmaker Andre Gomes and the ultra-versatile Ivan Rakitic, a one-man midfield crackerjack set.

Try and look for a weakness in this squad and you might cast an eye over the defense. Good luck convincing yourself, though. Especially when Gerard Pique has been joined by young and athletic Frenchman Samuel Umtiti. Especially when Sergio Busquets is still the minder at the base of midfield.

There are plenty of quality sides in this year’s tournament. But if Barca stay consistent, they could make their progress a procession to another European crown.