UEFA Champions League power rankings: Is Real Madrid unbeatable?

After a short break, the UEFA Champions League returns to action this week with the first legs of the quarter-finals.   

The group stage of European club soccer’s most prestigious tournament produced several upsets, while the round of 16 was pretty straight forward and unfolded as most pundits predicted. 

What will the quarterfinal round bring? We rank all of the eight remaining teams.  

1. REAL MADRID  

Path to the knockout stage: FIrst place in Group C; beat RB Leipzig in Round of 16.

Quarter-final opponent: Manchester City  

The Spanish giants have been virtually unbeatable this season. Los Blancos went a perfect 6-0-0 in the group stage of the Champions League and then brushed aside Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig in the last round. Real currently sits atop the La Liga table with an eight-point edge over FC Barcelona and has only suffered one loss in its last 36 games in all competitions. In total, they’ve only lost twice this season, both times to city rivals Atlético Madrid. They are the in-form club in world soccer right now. 

2. MANCHESTER CITY  

Path to the knockout stage: First place in Group G; beat FC Copenhagen in Round of 16.
Quarter-final opponent: Real Madrid  

Like Real Madrid, the reigning European champion went a perfect 6-0-0 in the group stage, led by Erling Haaland and Julián Álvarez who combined for nine goals. Denmark’s FC Copenhagen was easily dispatched in the Round of 16 by Man City courtesy of a pair of 3-1 wins. The Blues are unbeaten in 25 games (with 21 wins) in all competitions and haven’t lost since Dec. 6. They are one point back of Premier League leaders Arsenal and have reached the semifinals of the FA Cup, so the dream of a second consecutive treble remains alive.

3. ARSENAL  

Path to the knockout stage: First place in Group B; beat FC Porto in Round of 16.
Quarter-final opponent: Bayern Munich  

The Gunners breezed through the group stage (13 out of a possible 18 points) thanks to a dangerous attack led by Brazilian Gabriel Jesus (four goals) and a tough defence that conceded just four times. The London-based club survived a bit of scare in the Round of 16 as it needed a penalty shootout victory to overcome Porto in their tense second leg to advance. Mikel Arteta’s side sits in first place in the Premier League, tied on points with Liverpool and one point above Manchester City. 

4. FC BARCELONA  

Path to the knockout stage: First place in Group H; beat Napoli in Round of 16.
Quarter-final opponent: Paris Saint-Germain  

The Blaugrana managed to just beat out Porto for first place in their group and then bested Serie A’s Napoli in the Round of 16 courtesy of a 3-1 home win after the teams battled to a draw in the first leg. Xavi’s men have won 11 of their last 14 La Liga matches (with just one loss) but trail league leaders Real Madrid by eight points. So, the Champions League could be their only shot at winning a trophy this season. Brazil’s Raphinha has pulled the creative strings for Barca in the Champions League with a tournament-leading four assists. 

5. PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN  

Path to the knockout stage: Second place in Group F; beat Real Sociedad in Round of 16. 

Quarter-final opponent: FC Barcelona  

PSG is destined to win its third consecutive Ligue 1 title and sixth in seven seasons — the Parisians lead second-place Brest by 10 points and have won 18 of 28 league matches with just one loss. But the French giants barely survived the Champions League group stage, advancing to the knockout round via a superior goal difference than AC Milan. Kylian Mbappé poured it on in the Round of 16, scoring three of PSG’s four goals in their 4-1 aggregate win over Real Sociedad. 

6. BAYERN MUNICH  

Path to the knockout stage: First place in Group A; beat Lazio in Round of 16. 

Round of 16 opponent: Arsenal  

The Bundesliga giants went undefeated in the group stage (with five wins), albeit in a pretty easy group. They found the going much tougher in the next round, losing to Lazio in the first leg in Rome before overturning the deficit with a 3-0 home win in the return match. Bayern has won 11 straight Bundesliga titles, but its run of domestic dominance will end this year as the club has lost six times and trails undefeated front runners Bayer Leverkusen by 16 points with six games to go in the season, and could finish as low as third in the German league table. 

7. ATLETICO MADRID  

Path to the knockout stage: First place in Group E; beat Inter Milan in Round of 16.
Quarter-final opponent: Borussia Dortmund  

Atlético went unbeaten in the group stage (with four wins) thanks to the second-best attack with 17 goals. Antoine Griezmann ranks among the tournament’s top scorers with six goals while Álvaro Morata has found the back of the net five times. Los Colchoneros battled back from a 1-0 loss to Inter Milan in the first leg to win their Round of 16 series via a dramatic penalty shootout on home soil. But they’ve lost two of their last three La Liga matches and sit a distant third in the Spanish league table. 

8. BORUSSIA DORTMUND  

Path to the knockout stage: First place in Group F; beat PSV Eindhoven in Round of 16.
Quarter-final opponent: Atlético Madrid  

The Black and Yellows topped a tough group that included Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle thanks to their strong defensive play with just four goals against. Dutch side PSV Eindhoven didn’t offer much resistance in the Round of 16, as the Germans earned a comfortable 3-1 aggregate win. 

John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.