UWCL Power Rankings: Barca and Lyon dominating, Alyssa Thompson making noise for Chelsea

The 2025-26 UEFA Women’s Champions League returns with Matchday 3 action and plenty at stake. The new era of the tournament got off to an exciting start with a reformatted league phase that presents a bit of unpredictability moving forward. While a handful of clubs are riding high with perfect two-game records, others are still navigating how to lift themselves higher in the tournament table.

With the league phase approaching its halfway point, most matches feel like a must-win for teams aiming to secure their place in the next round. Even with the high stakes, some teams are in better shape than others, despite some results that may have been too close for comfort.

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 following Matchday 2, check out our previous 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 (–)

Suffered a historic loss in Lifa F to Real Sociedad and was the first loss sustained by the club since 2023. The rare feat was brief, though, and Barcelona are right back to dominating other Liga F clubs and will step back into UWCL games off a big 8-0 win against Deportivo La Coruna.

2. OL Lyonnes (–)

The French giants are rolling domestically and still performing well after two league phase matches. They’re on a seven-game winning streak in France, and Haitian international Melchie Dumornay looks unstoppable right now.

3. Chelsea (+1)

U.S. women’s national team forward Alyssa Thompson has needed little time to get acclimated to WSL play, and if anything, the league needs to get acclimated to the winger because she keeps showing up in big games for Chelsea.

4. Wolfsburg (-1) 

Took a brief stumble domestically, but still returned to Champions League play relatively intact. There might be question marks around Lineth Beerensteyn and if she’ll start after only playing a short time against Eintracht over the weekend, but it’ll take a full team performance against Lyon.

The Champions League title holders have work to do while it’s still early in the league phase. They’ll be hopeful to drive with the momentum of a come-back draw over the weekend against Chelsea when they take on Bayern, and they’ll have to make adjustments with Katie Reid out for the season.

6. Real Madrid (–)

The Madristas have made a quick name for themselves in league phase play. They are still rivals to Barcelona domestically and coming off a Liga F win, but the bigger victory is on the availability report. Linda Caicedo is back on the pitch and scoring goals after a hamstring injury last month.

7. Manchester United (+1)

The Red Devils are trending in the right direction as they’re back in the Champions League. Two good opening performances in league phase play will be what they lean on despite returning to the tournament off a narrow domestic loss against Aston Villa. 

8. Juventus (-1)

The Serie A side are quickly getting a reputation as a tough team to go against, but that might work against them during the league phase. The Italian squad will need to figure out how to work smarter, not harder, if they want to separate themselves. 

9. Bayern Munich (+1)

Got off to a very rough start to open their Champions League campaign, but may have corrected the course in time. They’re back to dominating domestically in the Frauen Bundesliga, and if they can topple tournament title holders Arsenal, it’ll be a big statement.

10. Atletico Madrid (-1)

Atletico’s form has been rather unpredictable in Liga F, and they’ll have a test when league phase play resumes. In a real case of the pointing Spider-Man meme, Atletico Madrid will need a better performance against Juventus if they want to be considered legitimate UWCL contenders. 

11. Twente (–)

Twente will relish the opportunity to bounce back into the UWCL after decent performances that saw them only secure one point over two games. They’re going toe-to-toe with Ajax domestically, but Benfica won’t be a simple walk in the park.

12. OH Leuven (–)

Everyone’s favorite debutants are back in the Champions League mixer with their biggest test yet. If the Belgians can manage even a respectable scoreline against Barcelona, the underdogs will keep turning heads. 

13. Benfica (+1)

The Portuguese champions are on top at home, but have struggled in league phase play. There’s an opportunity to get back into things against Twente, especially if Lucia Alves has a good game.

14. Paris Saint-Germain (+1)

The Parisians are back to punching above their weight in France, but still second best to Lyon for now. They’ll need a far bigger response in the Champions League following two poor league phase performances if they want to prove they’re legitimate this season.

15. Paris FC (-2)

Will the real Paris FC please stand up? This is quite possibly the streakiest team domestically. Paris FC just can’t seem to figure things out, and they’ll need to adjust quickly with an eager Real Madrid on the horizon.

16. Valerenga (-1)

The Norwegians will settle for second place in the Toppserien, and they’ll quickly fall out of contention in the Champions League if they don’t manage to snag some points.

17. Roma (–)

Despite making huge strides in Serie A and leading the league, Roma have quickly fallen into a Champions League hole. They’ll be eager to get points off an equally desperate side in Valerenga. 

18. St. Polten (–)

A run of 11 straight group stage and league phase defeats doesn’t quite drum up a loud vote of confidence. If they take down Chelsea, it’ll be a massive upset.