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Champions League Power Rankings: PSG shine in matchweek 1

By James Dudko

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 12: Kylian Mbappe of PSG during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic Glasgow and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) at Celtic Park on September 12, 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 12: Kylian Mbappe of PSG during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic Glasgow and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) at Celtic Park on September 12, 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) /
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Cristiano Ronaldo angry ask referee penalty during the match between Real Madrid and Apoel Nikosia at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on 13rd September, 2017.(Photo by Juan Carlos Lucas/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo angry ask referee penalty during the match between Real Madrid and Apoel Nikosia at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on 13rd September, 2017.(Photo by Juan Carlos Lucas/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /

4. Real Madrid

Beating Apoel 3-0 at home was a routine start for the holders. The significance for Real came from Ronaldo’s return.

Suspended domestically, the forward who just loves scoring in the Champions League picked up where he left off last season. A typically well-taken brace saw Ronaldo make a faster start to the group stage than he managed in the last campaign, per Squawka Football:

Ronaldo is the catalyst for Real’s recent dominance of Europe. Yet no man is an island, as the saying goes, and Los Blancos‘ prolific No. 7 is well supported.

A midfield quartet of Luka Modric, Casemiro, Isco and Toni Kroos offers the kind of balance most teams can only dream of.

Even after a sluggish start to their defence of La Liga’s title, albeit sans Ronaldo, it’s still hard to look past Los Merengues in the Champions League.

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