Champions League Week 5 Power Rankings: Arsenal tumble, Dortmund on the rise

The Champions League power rankings have shifted again after Week 5. Find out where Arsenal, Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid rank.

Tottenham’s elimination from the Champions League was the big news this week. Spurs’ exit is compounded by North London rivals Arsenal already reaching the last 16.

However, the Gunners stumbled with top spot in Group A on the line against PSG. By contrast, Premier League champions Leicester qualified as Group G winners.

AS Monaco and Barcelona also progressed after winning their respective groups. Juventus, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen joined them.

Here are the updated rankings:

16. Napoli

A goalless draw at home to Dinamo Kiev didn’t do much for Napoli in Group B. The Serie A side boasts plenty of quality in the final third, but couldn’t make it count against Ukrainian opposition.

It’s a familiar story for Napoli. Attacking players such as Marek Hamsik, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens must deliver more often.

15. Bayer Leverkusen

While Spurs have faltered, Bayer Leverkusen have quietly nudged into the last 16. The Bundesliga outfit did it by earning a creditable 1-1 draw away to CSKA Moscow this week.

Versatile forward Kevin Volland got the goal. But he’s just one of many dynamic players in the Leverkusen attack.

Midfield playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu, winger Julian Brandt and striker Javier Hernandez ensure this team is never lacking for creativity and goals.

Those players can make a difference at home to group leaders Monaco next time out.

14. Porto

They may be old hands in Europe’s premier club competition, but Porto couldn’t keep pace with Leicester. The 2004 winners are now facing a scrap to confirm second place in Group G.

Porto have enough experience to ensure qualification ahead of FC Copenhagen, though. Goalkeeper Iker Casillas underpins a miserly defense. Things are as strong further forward, where Otavio and Andre Silva can create and score goals.

Yet like Napoli, Porto need more from their main players. But they should still do enough to qualify at home to a Leicester side with nothing left to play for in Week 6.

13. Benfica

Porto have stuttered, but their Portuguese rivals Benfica are showing plenty of savvy. They top Group B after drawing 3-3 in Besiktas — no easy task.

However, Benfica sit 13th in the rankings because they blew a three-goal lead in Turkey. They can’t afford to be so generous in their final group match with everything still to play for.

12. Bayern Munich

It’s hard to fathom what’s gone wrong for Bayern Munich in Group D. The five-time winners have already ceded top spot to Atleti with one game left.

Losing in Madrid on the second matchday wasn’t much of a shock. But getting beaten 3-2 by FC Rostov in Russia rates as a major surprise.

Sure, Bayern had some injuries. Most notably goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and winger Arjen Robben. Yet there still should have been enough quality on the pitch for Munich to leave Russia with all three points.

Somehow though, a squad boasting the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, and managed by Champions League master Carlo Ancelotti, isn’t clicking.

Bayern are consigned to second in their group and are second in the Bundesliga. Ancelotti has plenty of work to do.

11. Sevilla

For a team showing enviable flair and technique going forward, Sevilla have failed the big tests this season.

They were beaten at home by Barca in La Liga earlier this month, when they might’ve proved themselves legitimate title contenders. Similarly, they lost to Juventus on home soil with top spot in Group H at stake.

Juve left Seville with a 3-1 win. Sure, referee Mark Clattenburg didn’t cover himself in glory, but Sevilla just didn’t have the know-how to compete with Juve.

This is a squad loaded with attacking quality. Schemers such as Ganso and Franco Vazquez can unlock any defense in the competition.

However, manager Jorge Sampaoli must teach his players to keep their heads when the pressure’s on.

10. Manchester City

Another team still lacking in Champions League smarts is Manchester City. The Citizens have qualified from Group C, but they’ve made hard work of it.

A 1-1 draw in Germany against Borussia Monchengladbach condemned them to second. But a win would’ve carried the fight for first place to the final round of matches.

The stalemate in Monchengladbach was not the ideal way to build on the superb win over Barcelona last time out. But City have had a habit of dropping points they shouldn’t in this group. The 3-3 draw at Celtic Park is the prime example.

Those results will haunt manager Pep Guardiola if his side is handed a nightmare draw in the knockout phase.

9. Arsenal

Speaking of being haunted by a bad draw, few teams know the cost of finishing second better than Arsenal. The Gunners haven’t got past the last 16 in six seasons. Being left with tough draws after failing to win their groups has been the main reason.

So it’s doubly frustrating that Arsenal couldn’t beat PSG at home with first place on the line. Manager Arsene Wenger is culpable for his team selection.

Inexplicably, Wenger started Olivier Giroud at center-forward. The French target man has been scoring off the bench recently, but his static style makes the Gunners slow and predictable.

Giroud’s place in the starting XI, along with a host of other changes, meant Arsenal played like strangers at the Emirates. Still, they were 2-1 up after Giroud scored from the spot and Marco Verratti turned into his own net.

Yet it was no surprise when Lucas Moura’s header went in off Alex Iwobi. It means PSG own top spot on away goals in the head-to-head against the Gunners.

Wenger shouldn’t count on the Paris club dropping points at home to Ludogorets in their final group match. If Arsenal draw one of Europe’s powerhouses again, Wenger ought to look back on his choices in Week 5 with bitter regret.

8. Real Madrid

The holders aren’t quite firing on all cylinders, but Real Madrid could still reach the last 16 as group winners. It will demand playing better than they did in Portugal against Sporting Lisbon.

Los Blancos left Portugal with a 2-1 win, but were far from convincing. Karim Benzema’s winner three minutes from time proved this squad still has the same resolve that helped them win last season’s tournament.

But the 11-time winners haven’t hit their stride as an attacking force. Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale can all do more. Greater consistency is also needed in a midfield missing Brazilian anchorman Casemiro.

Real will need to be sharper in every area for the group decider against Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabeu.

7. Paris Saint-Germain

As long as they don’t drop points against Ludogorets, PSG will win Group A. It will be a worthy achievement since the team has struggled to come to terms with new manager Unai Emery’s methods.

One thing Emery has been able to rely on is the goals of Edinson Cavani. The Uruguayan No. 9 netted again against Arsenal, before squandering several chances to win it.

Profligacy in north London aside, Cavani is on an exceptional scoring run, per the tournament’s official Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ChampionsLeague/status/801546577680748545

As well as a prolific striker, PSG still boast a terrific midfield. Thiago Motta, Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi are as good a trio as there is.

Emery can also call on Polish hard man Grzegorz Krychowiak, while Angel di Maria and Adrien Rabiot are still to come back from injury.

This is a squad to be feared in the knockout stages.

6. Juventus

Juventus are another squad no team will relish facing in the last 16. The Turin club is loaded at every position.

There’s technique and power in the middle, thanks to Hernanes, Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanic. The superb but brittle Claudio Marchisio even made a goalscoring return from his latest injury in the 3-1 win over Sevilla.

There’s also width aplenty, provided by winger Juan Cuadrado and full-back Dani Alves. But it’s in defense where this group is still strongest.

Leonardo Bonucci is a linchpin, and Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli are also formidable when healthy.

It’s frightening to think a team this stingy at the back can also count on Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala in attack. When those two are fit, it will take a brave fan to bet against the Old Lady.

5. Leicester

Leicester stunned England when they won last season’s Premier League title. Now the Foxes are shocking an entire continent after marking their debut Champions League season by winning their group.

City saw off Club Brugge 2-1 at the King Power Stadium to make certain of top spot in Group G. Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez struck the goals for a team that looked a lot more like last season’s vintage.

Leicester defended valiantly and attacked at pace on the break. Turbo-heeled striker Jamie Vardy looked more comfortable supported by Okazaki’s relentless running, rather than Islam Slimani’s aerial threat.

What worked domestically last season is working wonderfully in Europe, as these numbers from Squawka prove:

Leicester will really stun audiences if they upset a member of the old guard in the last 16.

4. Borussia Dortmund

There isn’t a more entertaining side in Europe’s top club tournament this season than Borussia Dortmund. The free-scoring Bundesliga boys helped set Champions League history by beating Legia Warsaw 8-4 at the Westfalenstadion.

It’s the most goals ever in a single match in this tournament. But that shouldn’t surprise anyone who has followed Dortmund this season.

They’ve made getting goals in bunches a habit under manager Thomas Tuchel:

It’s little wonder Dortmund find the net so frequently. Especially since the squad is brimming with forward-thinking maestros.

Tuchel’s attacking roll call reads like a who’s who of prolific talents. There’s Mario Gotze, Shinji Kagawa, who scored twice against Legia, and Andre Schurrle.

Then there’s Ousmane Dembele, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and another two-goal hero, Marco Reus.

Tuchel has this platoon of playmakers and fleet of forwards playing a daring and attractive possession-based game. It’s been good enough to keep them above the holders in Group F.

Dortmund will probably concede against Real at the Bernabeu. But they’re also sure to score themselves.

3. AS Monaco

Tottenham’s conquerors are one of those sneaky good teams big clubs will want to avoid in the next phase. Monaco are well-drilled to follow a tried and trusted formula for success in Europe.

They are disciplined and rugged in defense and quick and direct on the break. Those qualities doomed Spurs after Djibril Sidibe and Thomas Lemar scored.

There are powerhouse athletes at every position of manager Leonardo Jardim’s team. He’s converted full-back Fabinho into an imposing all-purpose midfielder. Tiemoue Bakayoko is the destructive minder next to Fabinho.

There’s also workhorse full-backs Sidibe and Benjamin Mendy bracketing ruthless central defender Kamil Glik.

Monaco are now masters at frustrating teams and striking on the counter. Those are traits tailor-made for knockout football.

Next: Tottenham Need to Re-assess After Monaco Defeat

2. Atletico Madrid

Some teams just have a knack for progressing through European tournaments. Atletico Madrid are one of them. The beaten finalists in 2014 and 2016 have already won Group D, six points ahead of Bayern.

Beating PSV Eindhoven 2-0 at the Vicente Calderon confirmed top spot. Fleet-footed French forwards Antoine Grizemann and Kevin Gameiro bagged the goals.

The former just loves scoring in this tournament, according to WhoScored.com:

Griezmann and Gameiro’s lightning pace and perceptive movement make Atleti lethal on the break. But it’s in defense where this team still makes its bones.

Manager Diego Simeone has turned keeping clean sheets in the Champions League into an art form:

https://twitter.com/ChampionsLeague/status/801553658571870214

Simeone’s squad is struggling in La Liga. But Atletico are performing in Europe like they’re determined to go one better than last season.

1. Barcelona

How do you stop a side featuring Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi up front? I’d ask for answers on a postcard, but there isn’t really an answer for slowing down the best forward line in the competition.

Celtic couldn’t do it, with Messi scoring twice under the lights in Glasgow. The pint-sized No. 10 is ominously at his lethal best this season:

But if Messi doesn’t get you, Suarez will. If you keep the former Liverpool man quiet, Neymar is sure to strike. You get the idea.

Barca have sauntered through Group C and will take some stopping in the next phase and beyond.