PSG Dominates ESPN's First Champions League Power Rankings With Nine of 19 Votes

Nine out of 19 votes for the same team. That's practically a landslide, and it's exactly what happened to Paris Saint-Germain when a panel of 19 ESPN journalists sat down to imagine who will lift the Champions League trophy next June 5 in Madrid. The league phase draw is already behind us, with 36 teams and schedules of every shape and color, and before the first matchday even kicks off comes the season's first Power Ranking: a snapshot of who's in charge and who still has something to prove.

The reigning champion tops the list without any real argument. PSG never fell below fourth place on any of the 19 ballots, which is about as close as you get to the textbook definition of "team to beat." The goal here is historic: nobody has won three straight titles since Real Madrid did it from 2016 to 2018. The transfer market didn't give PSG everything it wanted (Yan Diomande left for Real Madrid, Bradley Barcola ended up at Liverpool), but Luis Enrique still has Ousmane Dembele, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as his guarantees. That said, the team arrives bruised after losing at home to Monaco, and matchdays 2 and 3, away at Manchester City and at home against Barcelona, will reveal a lot more than the opener against Slovan Bratislava did.

Right behind PSG comes Arsenal, with five votes for first place and the sense that this could finally be their year. Mikel Arteta won the Premier League for the first time in more than twenty years and beefed up the roster with Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa and Christos Tzolis. The problem is the schedule: arguably the toughest draw out of Pot 1, with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Napoli all on the docket.

The Rest of the Top 5

Bayern Munich rounds out the trio of clear-cut favorites. With Michael Olise running the show, Harry Kane (who scored 64 goals last season) up top and Luis Diaz also putting up huge numbers, Vincent Kompany's side has a relatively clear path thanks to a Bundesliga that isn't offering much resistance.

Barcelona comes in fourth despite losing Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski and Marcus Rashford. The arrival of Rodri as a defensive midfielder has shifted the balance for Hansi Flick's team, and the numbers back it up: four straight wins and a goal difference of 17 to 2. The question mark, as is almost always the case with this Barca side, remains the defense.

Real Madrid rounds out the top five, with Jose Mourinho back in a competition where he's already won the Champions League with Porto (2003-04) and Inter (2009-10). Now he'll have to face both of his old clubs: Inter in the opening matchday and Roma before the end of January. A shaky start in La Liga, with a nail-biting win over Espanyol and a loss to Betis, is only adding to the doubts.

Manchester City, Inter, Liverpool, Atletico Madrid and Manchester United round out the top 10, in that order. There are still question marks hanging over Enzo Maresca's City after Rodri's departure, while Simeone is searching for a version of Atletico that can get back to a final for the first time in over a decade. On that note, one line sums up the usual demands the Argentine coach places on himself:

Once again it falls on Simeone to reach for all of his usual motivational tools if the third-best team in Spain wants to take a real step forward in Europe.Diego Simeone

Manchester United, led by Michael Carrick, closes out the rankings. Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Galatasaray, Roma, Como, Chelsea, Aston Villa and RB Leipzig also picked up scattered votes, names that could climb into future updates ahead of each matchday.