Another week of Champions League action is in the books, and there were two particularly enthralling games fought by both LaLiga giants. First, Real Madrid outlasted Atalanta 3-2 on Tuesday night to get their first win in the Champions League since October, while Barcelona outgunned German giants Dortmund – finalists last season – in another 3-2 result.
There were plenty of other big fixtures elsewhere, too, such as Juventus sending 2022/23 champions Manchester City further into a tailspin with a 2-0 victory and Liverpool squeaking by LaLiga underdogs Girona 1-0.
Let’s take a look at where Real Madrid stand among the favorites after finally getting back in the win column, while also objectively taking stock of all the other Champions League contenders in 2024/25.
8. Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen needed late heroics from defender Nordi Mukiele to beat Inter Milan, but that is a massive win that indicates they are one of the favorites from Germany in this Champions League campaign – not Dortmund.
Even though Leverkusen beat Inter head to head, I’m not sure they are a better team than the Nerazzurri. They haven’t been at their best in the Bundesliga this season, with cracks showing in the side that went undefeated last season.
Still, if I had to stick to just eight contenders, Leverkusen would have to be on it. Florian Wirtz is a legitimate game-changer in the lineup – and so is Victor Boniface, whose absence looms larger than many may think.
7. Atalanta
Atalanta honestly outplayed Real Madrid for much of the match, and while that should not take any credit away from how the Merengues are able to step up on the big stage in the Champions League, the tough loss for La Dea is further confirmation that the Serie A leaders are fully legit contenders in 2024/25.
Gian Piero Gasperini has his squad playing as hungry as any in European football this season, and I don’t know who isn’t smitten with Nigerian international Ademola Lookman after another great big-game performance – against Real Madrid, no less.
Atalanta probably aren’t anyone’s serious Champions League title contender, but they are absolutely on the shortlist of the best teams in the tournament right now.
6. Inter Milan
Inter Milan ran away with the Serie A title last season and were in the Champions League Final in the previous campaign, but they are so up-and-down right now that they are difficult to trust as true contenders.
Their loss to Bayer Leverkusen was a reminder of that fact. Inter have a host of quality pieces in midfield, a world-class group of strikers, a top goalkeeper in Yann Sommer, and a sturdy defense led by Alessandro Bastoni.
But there is something missing. Inter should have star power with Lautaro and Marcus up front, but Lautaro has a tendency to run cold at the worst times. And in midfield, Inter don’t really have a game-changer beyond the couple of marauding runs into the box that Federico Dimarco is able to make.
5. Bayern Munich
Normally, Bayern Munich like to see themselves in the top three of the best teams in the Champions League, but it’s hard to trust them at that level, even after Michael Olise helped them sink five on a somewhat dangerous Shakhtar Donetsk.
Bayern just have too many questions marks in midfield and defense, and even in the attack, they are too reliant on Harry Kane. Now, they managed to score five against Shakhtar without him, but that was Shakhtar.
I’d like to see more stability from Bayern against stronger opponents. It’s hard for them to wash away the stain of their blowout loss to Barcelona, and while Barca beat up on Real Madrid worse than they beat up on Bayern, they need to have a signature win; PSG doesn’t count, seeing as how they are in the elimination places.
4. Arsenal
With a brace and an assist against impressive underdogs Monaco, Bukayo Saka is continuing to cement his status as one of the most underrated superstars in Europe and a legitimate Ballon d’Or candidate this season alongside the likes of Vinicius Junior and Mohamed Salah.
Arsenal are up to third in the Champions League table behind only Liverpool and Barcelona, and because of that, it’s actually hard to sell that Real Madrid should be higher than them in the power rankings.
But a lot of that has to do with pedigree and the fact that Real Madrid, despite a blowout loss in El Clasico, have been more impressive in LaLiga than Arsenal have been in the Premier League.
Arsenal still have a shot at the title against Liverpool, and Saka is crushing it with four goals and two assists in five games. But beyond Saka, Arsenal don’t have the attacking firepower to compete with the three elite teams in the competition.
3. Real Madrid
Real Madrid have that something special about them which no other team in world football can touch, and they are the reigning champions of Europe for a reason. Furthermore, with Kylian Mbappe, Endrick, and an older Arda Guler, they should be even stronger this season.
Even their injury-ravaged defense has one silver lining in the form of young center back Raul Asencio, who has been the most composed player on the team in the back four.
These defensive issues are largely papered over by Thibaut Courtois’ greatness, as against Atalanta, and the fact that Real Madrid have game-changing superstars. And as much as Kylian Mbappe is painted as a problem, he is an asset to the team now and will be an even bigger one down the stretch.
So in that sense, Real Madrid are only going to go up from here. The problem is the fact that their best performing defender right now is a U23 player with limited experience. They are a ticking time bomb defensively, which teams like Barcelona and Liverpool already proved they can exploit.
2. Barcelona
After dropping points against Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo, Las Palmas, and Real Betis in LaLiga, Barcelona now have a tenuous hold on first place over Real Madrid, largely erasing whatever non-psychological benefit they derived from their 4-0 head-to-head victory.
Barcelona have the best attacking quartet in world football in Dani Olmo, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, and Lamine Yamal, but, on paper, Real Madrid should have an even stronger one in Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, and Rodrygo Goes.
What makes Barcelona a stronger team than Real Madrid is the defense. Inaki Pena is basically a lateral move from where Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been since the end of the 2022/23 season, while the back four is excellent.
Even without Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen due to injury, the Barcelona defense has been arguably the best in Spanish football. When Alejandro Balde, their worst starter, is better than Real’s best senior starter, you have to take note.
I will say that it’s hard to pick Barcelona as favorites to win the Champions League over Real Madrid when comparing their recent track records in the competition, but with Barca ahead of Real by some distance in the UCL and also ahead in LaLiga with a big head-to-head win, it would be impossible to justify ranking Los Blancos any higher than third.
1. Liverpool
Liverpool are quite clearly the most accomplished and complete team in European football so far this season. They are winning the Champions League right now and are well beyond the rest of the pack in the English top flight.
Mohamed Salah should be the Ballon d’Or frontrunner right now, and I would also have Luis Diaz on the shortlist, not far behind Vinicius Junior in a blind ranking of the best left wingers in world football at this very second.
Throw in the breakouts of Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch in midfield in front of a Virgil van Dijk-led defense, and you have a Liverpool side with very few weaknesses compared to their peers.
A 1-0 win over Girona is far from convincing when Real Madrid just picked them apart 3-0, but Liverpool tore Los Blancos to shreds in their last meeting to pretty much guarantee that they are, until further notice, the Champions League favorites.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.