The Champions League is halfway to the semifinals with Wednesday delivering wins for two of the competition’s favorites, a status that was vindicated in style. Barcelona in particular can start planning for semifinals in Milan or Munich after a thumping 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, Robert Lewandowski netting twice against his former side.
In the French capital, two brilliant goals from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvarastkhelia and a late third by Nuno Mendes saw Paris Saint-Germain overturn Morgan Rogers’ early strike, earning a 3-1 win that was more impressive on the pitch than it looks on paper. If there is still work to be done away to Aston Villa, Luis Enrique’s men look more than capable of doing it.
On Tuesday, Arsenal took a stunning stride towards their first Champions League semifinal in 16 years, beating Real Madrid 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium. Declan Rice’s stunning brace of free kicks were worthy rivals to Doue and Kvaratskhelia for the week’s best goal, Mikel Merino’s to give Arsenal a three-goal cushion wasn’t too shabby either.
Nor, it should be noted, was Lautaro Martinez’s opener at the Allianz Arena. Thomas Muller canceled that out but Davide Fratessi struck to give Inter a vital 2-1 win over Bayern Munich on the road, propelling them up our rankings, which you can read in full below. As always, you can watch all the UCL action live on Paramount+.
UCL Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Change | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSG | +1 | This looks like the best team in Europe. It is undoubtedly the best to watch and a radical departure from the PSGs we have known before. They hunt the ball in packs, they share the load offensively rather than playing your turn, my turn ball. They seem to really care. In one way, they haven’t changed. The oft-used description of this PSG as a team without superstar seems a little disingenuous. I mean, have you seen Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha, to name but a few? |
|
2 |
Barcelona |
-1 |
There’s half an urge to poke at the problems in this team. If Serhou Guirassy had his shooting boots on, their quarterfinal might stand on a knife edge, and up next for Hansi Flick’s side — assuming they negotiate their commanding lead — is Harry Kane and Lautaro. They might need to outscore the opposition. No matter. They have Lewandowski, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Pedri. They probably will. |
|
3 |
Arsenal |
+3 |
Who needs a real striker? Mikel Merino, that’s the real stuff. It might not be easy in the eye watching the repurposed box-to-box dynamo lead the line, but the goals keep coming, six since being moved upfield. He might not need to score many more if Jurrien Timber and William Saliba remain as authoritative as they were Tuesday night. |
|
4 |
Inter |
+1 |
Now there’s a reasonable drop off. Any of the top three look like winners. Fourth-placed Inter are in the mix, not least because they are firmly in the driving seat after a 2-1 win away to Bayern. Inter tick a lot of boxes for a potential champion. They’ve got a strong defense, an incredibly experienced midfield (perhaps to a fault) and crucially, a game-changing striker. Lautaro is looking like one of the best players in the field, the sort who can be trusted to deliver again in the San Siro. |
|
5 |
Bayern Munich |
-1 |
Of course, that tie might have been so different if Kane had turned in early on. More often than not, they get more than one goal from their 20 shots and the positive view of the first leg is that a repeat performance in the San Siro should at least get them to extra time. Chasing the game, they created the chances they needed but Vincent Kompany’s side will be underdogs next Wednesday. |
|
6 |
Real Madrid |
-3 |
Look if any team is going to vibe their way to overturning a humungous deficit on home field, it’s probably Real Madrid. Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior are the forwards you’d want for this mission but it’s looking like they could do with the help of Tom Cruise, too. Even if Madrid did score the three-plus they need, their defense doesn’t look like it’s at all ready to keep a clean sheet. |
| 7 | Aston Villa | +1 | They’re not dead yet in this tie, not when Villa Park has already delivered some special European nights. It does, however, feel that PSG sussed them out in the second half, refusing to take the bait of the crosses they were offered. Emery’s template might not work next time out but he has the talent at his disposal to try other things. |
|
8 |
Borussia Dortmund |
-1 |
The Champions League’s last remaining quite bad team ran into their worst possible opponent, a Barcelona side who can do Bundesliga-style football far, far better than they can. Chances came their way but there was still a total talent imbalance at Montjuic. |
