subject: Champions League Power Rankings - Week One [print this page] We'll be providing you with the latest in power rankings for the 32 UEFA Champions League teams, every other Wednesday.
For this week, since there was only one game of Champions League action, we also looked at their domestic league records, but that's only just for right now.
Big surprise of the last Champions League date: Arsenal wiping out Braga 6-0, although the 0-0 draw between Rangers and Manchester United came close.
RANK
TEAM
RECORD
(W-D-L)
COMMENTS
1
Arsenal
1-0-0
Arsenal has been playing well as the Barclay's Premier League kicked off but their total domination over Braga, including Carlos Vela's great strikes show that this team may just have what it takes.
2
Real Madrid
1-0-0
Themerengues dominated over Ajax, a strong side, in their first Champions League match of the season, and so they deserve the second spot, but they need to do something about Marcelo. The man has slow reaction times and is not always in the game.
3
A.C. Milan
1-0-0
A.C. Milan, some of you may say, is over-rated here, but with Pato on offense, there is no such thing.
4
Bayern Munich
1-0-0
Complete domination over Roma, and Muller is only getting better.
5
Barcelona
1-0-0
They have Messi and Villa and the rest of them, and should be at first, but they lost to Hercules in La Liga, so fifth is more like it.
6
Valencia
1-0-0
Sure, trashing Buraspor is no great feat, but they did it in Turkey, despite losing their best player in transfers.
7
Lyon
1-0-0
They made it to the semis last year, and they started off strong by trumping the strong Schalke 04 side in their opener. Don't under-estimate.
8
Rangers
0-1-0
The draw to Manchester United was eventful and puts Rangers in the top 10. Don't expect them to stay there though.
9
Internazionale
0-1-0
The defending champions couldn't beat Twente?Maybe they should've hung on to Mourinho.
10
Manchester United
0-1-0
After drawing to Rangers, and with Rooney being a shadow of his former self, Manchester United are lucky to be the 10th spot.
11
Chelsea
1-0-0
Decent win against the Slovenian side but with their defensive posture, don't expect them to go very far.
12
Benfica
1-0-0
They beat out Tel Aviv, and they also just defeated Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese league, so maybe this time around, Benfica will go far. Then again, they might miss Di Maria.
13
Copenhagen
1-0-0
They won't stay here long, with a team composed of no-bodies, but they did play well against Rubin Kazan.
14
Shakhtar Donetsk
1-0-0
Solid defense and a strong offense won them an easy match against a side from Serbia, but they won't last long at 14th, despite being in a weak group.
15
Tottenham Hotspur
0-1-0
With a strong squad, including the likes of van der Vaart, dos Santos, and Crouch, this is a team to beat. Unfortunately, they couldn't beat Werder Bremen.
16
Werder Bremen
0-1-0
With Claudio Pizarro leading the offense, this Werder Bremen side should be a contender to rise out of the group stages but will they go beyond that?
17
Spartak Moscow
1-0-0
They are not a particularly great side but they defeated Marseilles in France, so that should earn them some points.
18
CFR Cluj
1-0-0
Who? Who cares? They beat Basel, so that counts for something.
19
Schalke 04
0-0-1
Their defeat was, quite frankly, shocking to anyone familiar with the Bundesliga, but I would expect a rebound, and soon.
20
Rubin Kazan
0-0-1
Boasting the likes of the Brazilian Carlos Eduardo on their squad, this team can shake things up in the group stages, but 20th is more or less where they belong.
21
Marseille
0-0-1
Witht he likes of Gabriel Heinze on their defensive line, they should've done better, but it was just the first game. For now, though, they're 21st.
22
Roma
0-0-1
Totti was great once. Now he's old. He should only play the first half. Until Roma realizes this, they'll be toward the bottom of the rankings.
23
Ajax
0-0-1
They were dominated by Real Madrid and showed few signs of bouncing back throughout the match.
24
Twente
0-1-0
Call 23 and 24, the Dutch corner. In all seriousness, the defending Dutch title champs have a very small squad and no key players on it. They just don't match up to the competition.
25
F.K. Partizan
0-0-1
They weren't dominated, just beaten. That's about all they could hope for.
26
Basel
0-0-1
They lost to CFR Cluj? Who?
27
Auxerre
0-0-1
This might be a little too rough, but at least they're not in the bottom five.
28
Zilina
0-0-1
Consisting mostly of Slovaks, and a random player from Argentina, this team won't go far. And Chelsea clobbered them.
29
Braga
0-0-1
6-0. Wow. We were all expecting so much more from this team that, on paper, looks good. Not anymore.
30
Panathinaikos
0-0-1
Their best player is... Nevermind, they're all pretty bad.
31
Bursaspor
0-0-1
They were wiped out by a team that just transferred away most of its best players. That's not good.
32
Hapoel Tel Aviv
0-0-1
You're joking, right?
By: Jorge VargasRead more power rankings at www.allmediany.com! Champions League Power Rankings - Week OneBy: Rose
