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Ranking All 36 Teams After Champions League Matchday 1
The Champions League’s much-anticipated return was celebrated by a bumper three-day festival of opening round action.
Only two of the 18 matches staged ended in stalemates, with 16 winners wildly celebrating an early triumph and as many losers left licking their wounds.
While the opening round lacked the major upsets often associated with Europe’s premier competition, there were still an array of tantalizing duels that showcased the continent’s leading performers.
With that in mind, here Sports Illustrated’s ranking of all 36 Champions League clubs—which focusses on performance and standing in the competition rather than the physical league phase table— following the conclusion of Matchday 1.
36. Slovan Bratislava
Slovan Bratislava lost all eight of their league phase matches on their last Champions League appearance, and they’re on course to repeat the feat after a bruising 6–1 defeat away at Paris Saint-Germain. A bad managerial debut in the league phase for Yaya Touré.
35. Bodø/Glimt
The Norwegian underdogs were the success story of last season after several impressive scalps, but they were very much humbled at the hands of Bayern Munich. A 5–0 defeat leaves them bottom of the standings.
34. RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig would have been hopeful traveling to competition debutants Como for their first match, but the Germans left Italy with their tails between their legs after being completely outplayed in a 4–1 loss.
33. Sabah FK
Sabah’s mere presence in the Champions League is astonishing and their 4–0 defeat remains a momentous occasion in the club’s short history. However, massive improvements are obviously required going forward.
32. Feyenoord
Feyenoord are not the first side to concede five to Barcelona this season—in fact, they’re the fourth—and sometimes one must accept being outclassed by some generational forwards in red-hot form. Manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst did not enjoy his return to Camp Nou.
31. Napoli
Losing 1–0 to Arsenal is hardly the biggest of sins, but the scoreline hardly tells the tale of Napoli’s dismal display. They conceded 4.05 expected goals to their visitors and managed just five shots at the other end of the field during a third successive defeat.
30. Viking FK
Viking FK can take solace from not being the worst Norwegian side in the Champions League this week, but the debutants were hardly inspiring themselves during a deserved 3–1 defeat at Stuttgart.
29. LASK
Another one of the Champions League’s debutants suffered defeat midweek as LASK failed to take advantage of a favorable opener. A trip to AEK Athens offered hope of a point or more, but the Austrians couldn’t make their mark in a 1–0 loss.
28. Inter Milan
Inter Milan’s overall performance during their 2–1 defeat away at Real Madrid was perfectly reasonable, but their loss was entirely self-inflicted. Two seismic defensive errors gifted Los Blancos their goals and created a mountain too large to climb.
27. Porto
Porto did well enough to frustrate Manchester City for long periods of the 2–0 defeat on home soil, but they were indebted to some heroic goalkeeping from Diogo Costa to keep the score down. In the final third, they failed to register a shot on target.
26. Galatasaray
Without the injured Victor Osimhen in their ranks, Galatasaray struggled to throw their weight around away at Sporting CP. Despite taking an early lead, they ended up losing 3–1 courtesy of a tame performance in Lisbon.
25. Slavia Prague
It was a cruel, cruel night for Slavia Prague as they stumbled to an agonizing late defeat on their own patch. Having led 2–1 heading into stoppage time, despite being down to 10 men, they conceded goals in the 91st and 93rd minute to surrender their advantage.
24. Lille
One of four teams to be beaten 3–2 during the opening round, Lille’s loss, much like that of Slavia Prague, was partially caused by a red card. Ethan Mbappé was sent off in the 56th minute after all five goals had already been scored, making a comeback extremely difficult for Les Dogues.
23. Club Brugge
There was plenty to like about Club Brugge’s attacking performance against Aston Villa in Tuesday’s early kickoff, but their defending was truly shocking. Yann Sommer was entirely culpable for the Belgians conceding their third of the evening, racing off his line before being beaten to the ball by Nicolas Jackson.
22. Villarreal
Villarreal can at least point to improvements despite their opening round defeat. Having lost away to Borussia Dortmund 4–0 in last term’s league phase, their 3–2 defeat on Tuesday was a much closer affair from which they could have stole a point.
21. Atlético Madrid
For the second season running, Atlético Madrid opened their league phase campaign with a narrow defeat at Anfield. They were arguably better than Liverpool during an even first half, but the home side elevated their game after the break to take all three points.
20. PSV Eindhoven
Peter Bosz’s PSV Eindhoven are usually a joyous watch no matter the result, but their attacking ambition eluded them during a disappointing 1–1 draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk. They mustered just two shots on target during a generally low-quality affair.
19. Roma
Roma have made a phenomenal start to the season and a draw away at Fenerbahçe in their opening Champions League match is a decent enough result. That being said, they were far from their best in Türkiye, and must up their level in future matches.
18. Fenerbahçe
Fenerbahçe were probably the marginally better side during their 1–1 draw with Roma, and a hard-fought point is certainly not the end of the world. Archie Brown became the first Englishman to score for the Turkish side in the Champions League with his second-half leveler.
17. Shakhtar Donetsk
After a season away from the Champions League, competition regulars Shakhtar Donetsk will be pleased with their 1–1 draw away at PSV. They were good value for their point.
16. AEK Athens
AEK Athens were hardly superb on their Champions League return despite LASK being one of the competition’s weakest sides. However, one moment of genius clinched three crucial points as Răzvan Marin scored a sensational free kick.
15. Manchester City
The stats from Manchester City’s 2–0 win over Porto were somewhat misleading. Despite creating some quality opportunities and coming out on top courtesy of Erling Haaland’s clinical brace, it was a very unconvincing showing from Enzo Maresca’s side.
14. Lens
As mentioned, Lens required a great escape in their 3–2 win at Slavia Prague, and there will be frustrations over the level of their performance against a team that played the second half with a player less. Still, a win is a win, and this was certainly a memorable one.
13. Real Madrid
Despite clinching victory over another Pot 1 side, Real Madrid’s performance in the 2–1 victory over Inter was hardly reassuring. Yes, they created a load of chances, but they also conceded plenty as José Mourinho narrowly overcame his former employers.
12. Real Betis
Real Betis enjoyed a dream start to their first Champions League campaign since 2005–06 with their 3–2 win over Lille. For the second time in the space of a week, Troy Parrott was their hero as he netted the winning goal, while center back Marc Bartra also bagged a brace.
11. Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy was at the heart of the victory over Villarreal. The Guinea international scored twice for BVB before netting a very unfortunate own goal in second-half stoppage time—all of which happened in the space of 13 minutes.
10. Aston Villa
After a tough start to the campaign, Aston Villa desperately needed their victory away at Club Brugge. It was a thrilling, end-to-end match that exposed defensive frailties in both camps, but Unai Emery’s men were worth their win.
9. Arsenal
Arsenal’s profligacy almost proved costly in Naples, but their in-form captain delivered three precious points. Martin Ødegaard’s fourth goal of the season, if we include the Community Shield, extinguished his side’s frustrations during a tricky away day.
8. Stuttgart
The caliber of Stuttgart’s first opponents must be considered when assessing their performance, but it remained a terrific display from Sebastian Hoeneß’s side. In the end, Ermedin Demirović was the hero with his first-half hat trick in the space of 12 minutes.
7. Liverpool
Questions are still being asked of Liverpool’s defense, which looked decidedly shaky against Atlético, but their second-half showing deserves enormous credit. The Reds were completely on top of their visitors after the restart and deservedly managed victory.
6. Sporting CP
After reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League last season, Sporting have made a strong start to the new European campaign. The Lisbon giants showed their ruthless streak in the 3–1 victory over Galatasaray, who are never simple opponents.
5. Manchester United
Of course, Manchester United will face much sterner tests than Sabah over the coming months, but this was a feel-good performance which yielded four goals and ensured a winning return to the Champions League. What’s not to like?
4. Como
Serie A audiences are well aware of Como’s quality as Cesc Fàbregas continues to inspire them to new heights, but those outside Italy will soon come up against their class. Leipzig were the victims on this occasion as Como secured an emphatic 4–1 win on their competition debut.
3. Paris Saint-Germain
After a disappointing start to their domestic season, reigning European champions PSG really needed a thumping win over Slovan—and that’s what they got. Ferran Torres scored three of their six goals as he claimed a first match ball for his new club, while Ousmane Dembélé also netted twice.
2. Barcelona
Barcelona took their tally to 22 goals in five competitive matches this season as they thrashed Feyenoord 5–1. Raphinha was once again in dazzling form as a makeshift No. 9, scoring his third brace of the term, and Lamine Yamal joined in with a goal and two assists. Nobody can stop this Barça offense right now.
1. Bayern Munich
After drawing an extremely rare blank last weekend at Hamburg, Bayern responded by firing five unanswered goals past Bodø. This could have been an awkward fixture for one of the competition favorites, but Harry Kane and Michael Olise were in particularly confident mood as they dismantled their visitors.
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Ewan Ross-Murray is a soccer writer for SI FC. He boasts years of experience following his First Class Honours in Journalism from the University of Leicester, producing a variety of content from match reports and news pieces to more extensive features on an array of topics. With Scottish, Welsh and English heritage, Ross-Murray’s soccer influences are far-ranging, but his primary focus is on the Premier League and Champions League.