The new era of UEFA Women’s Champions League is off to a riveting start, and after two matchdays, the revamped league phase has delivered plenty of drama and unpredictability. The exciting football it promised has presented new questions for clubs, both contenders and hopefuls alike, with current title holders Arsenal stumbling and debutants OH Leuven snatching up points.
From historic debuts to dominant statements and last-minute game changers, there were plenty of highlight-worthy moments, including first Champions League goals for U.S. national team players Lily Yohannes and Alyssa Thompson. The new tournament format has set the stage for a wild ride to the final in Oslo, Norway.
But who are the teams that flexed their power, and which clubs are reevaluating after two rounds of league phase play? If you’re keeping track of where teams landed ahead of the tournament, check out our previous power rankings.
How to watch
Paramount+ will be a one-stop shop for all things Champions League, while CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network will have select matches and additional coverage. Each day’s broadcast begins with UEFA Women’s Champions League Today on both Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network before the early kickoffs, while Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network will have an hour-long pre-match show before the later matches. Post-match coverage will air on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network, while CBS Sports Golazo Network will have a new edition of Scoreline to close out the day’s action.
CBS Sports’ new UEFA Women’s Champions League Today studio show will be anchored by Hannah Cash, while Jen Beattie, Janelly Farias, Darian Jenkins, Kelley O’Hara, and Ali Riley will serve as analysts. Chris Wittyngham will handle play-by-play duties and will be paired with Beattie and Jenkins, while Anita Jones will report pitchside and Christina Unkel will serve as the rules analyst.
Here’s where teams stack up after two rounds of the league phase:
1. FC Barcelona (+2)
The group scored 11 goals over their first two games, and there’s not exactly a weakness to pluck away at, but losing midfielder Patri Guijarro to a broken foot will absolutely change some of the chemistry moving forward. Still, with two dominant showings against teams where they had the overall better roster, they’re the best team in the tournament at the moment.
2. OL Lyonnes (–)
The French giants set the tone when they knocked current title holders Arsenal off their pedestal during matchday one and followed it up with a blowout win against St. Polten. Haitian international Melchi Dumornay was outstanding in Lyon’s tournament opener, and 18-year-old Lily Yohannes is making it harder to keep her on limited minutes
3. Wolfsburg (+3)
A lively start for the Frauen Bundesliga side. A pair of wins to begin their Champions League campaign. Midfielder Janina Minge proved an integral component to the attack with two goals, and it’s a crucial two wins with more challenging competition ahead of them.
4. Chelsea FC (–)
The Blues couldn’t quite find their footing against Twente during their opening match, but settling for a draw led to a performance with more bite against Paris FC. Alyssa Thompson showed no fear in her two consecutive Champions League starts, and the winger has officially made roster selection that much harder for head coach Sonia Bompastor moving forward after scoring her first goal for Chelsea.
5. Arsenal (-4)
The title holders got the honor of being first on the power rankings to start the tournament, but they’ve quickly fallen outside the “big four” concept. Lackluster form is haunting this side, and they just can’t seem to shake it off. Manager Renee Slegers will have to make adjustments to get the group to put together a full 90-minute performance instead of second-half spurts.
6. Real Madrid (+2)
Made a quick example of Roma on matchday one before skirting by a struggling PSG the following game. Still, in elite competition, a win is a win, but the potential loss of Linda Caicedo for an extended period will be a difficult adjustment to make. The Colombian international produced three assists, and her playmaking won’t be easy to replace.
7. Juventus (–)
The group will feel hard done by conceding a chaotic late-game goal on matchday two against Bayern Munich. Captain Cristina Girelli has even called for more VAR support for goal line technology, but a narrow loss doesn’t discredit the squad’s performance over two games. They handled business where they were able, and they’ll remain a difficult side to face down the stretch.
8. Manchester United (+4)
Back in the Champions League after a year-long absence, and the Red Devils are making the most of it. Two wins to start their tournament and have goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce to thank for maintaining the narrow wins. The USWNT keeper has become a face of the franchise and has five UWCL cleansheets from qualifying.
9. Atletico Madrid (+2)
The franchise is tapping into spooky season and rising from the dead. After some underachieving play in Liga F and missing out on more meaningful Champions League play, Atletico Madrid are back and with a vengeance. A statement win on opening day was worthy of praise, but they missed an opportunity to capitalize on a player advantage on matchday two.
10. Bayern Munich (-5)
The Bundesliga side was on the ugly end of matchday one highlights, looking like a team with no fight and no answers. They had a much better showing on their second day out, but not enough to truly shift perceptions. They’ll need more convincing performances if they want to climb back up the rankings.
11. Twente (+4)
An honorable start to the tournament by holding Chelsea to a draw, and looked poised for a run of two games with success. Unfortunately, they won’t rise any higher on the rankings after late game mental lapse that led to a loss.
12. OH Leuven (+6)
The most hopeful of the hopefuls, OH Leuven has emerged as the leader of the underdog pack. Two solid performances to open their tournament, including their first-ever league phase win, the Belgians are not going to lie down to those who underestimate them.
13. Paris FC (-3)
You simply cannot let your opportunities slip away from you, and Paris FC struggled with that as they kicked off their league phase. They were unable to maintain a lead against a debutant side and had no answers against a more experienced team, hard to see where the adjustments can be made.
14. Benfica (–)
The Portuguese side came out losers on the end of some respectable performances. Unfortunately, the road will only get harder from here as other teams are managing decent form, and there’s still Barcelona on the horizon.
15. Valerenga (+2)
The Norwegian club was unable to obtain any points out of their first games, but they did manage to score their first league phase goal thanks to Sara Horte. They were able to manage their goal differential, and if they can pull off any upset in the next round, anything can happen.
16. Paris Saint-Germain (-3)
A former great? A fall from grace? A spiral into irrelevance? How about all the above after a poor showing over the opening two rounds of the new league phase? There’s too much talent on this roster to underperform the way they have been, and that’s only going to start more questions about first-year head coach Paulo César.
17. Roma (-8)
A huge tumble down the rankings. This club had a chance to be underdogs but now they walk away in a whimper after a poor start to the tournament. They’re backed into a corner now, needing points and to chip away at goal differential, and the schedule will do them no favors.
18. St. Polten (-2)
No points, last in goal differential, and last in our power rankings now. Showed no signs of life and they might be flatlining before the tournament really gets cranked up.
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