Champions League 2024-25 Power Rankings: Arsenal announce themselves as title contenders by effectively eliminating Real Madrid but Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich are reeling after Inter’s catenaccio masterclass

Champions League 2024-25 Power Rankings: Arsenal announce themselves as title contenders by effectively eliminating Real Madrid but Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich are reeling after Inter’s catenaccio masterclass

GOAL rates each remaining team’s hopes of winning this season’s tournament after the first batch of quarter-final matches

Are Real Madrid already out?! That’s the question everyone is asking after the Champions League titleholders were torn to shreds by a rampant Arsenal side at the Emirates on Tuesday evening. The nature of that stirring victory also had some people wondering whether the injury-plagued Gunners are good enough to finally get their hands on the European Cup.

However, to do so, Mikel Arteta’s men will not only have to kill off Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu (always a tough task!), it also looks like they’ll have to go through potential first-time winner in Paris Saint-Germain, who have opened up a 3-1 lead over Aston Villa in their quarter-final tie thanks to another exhilarating exhibition of attacking prowess. Of course, Barcelona’s fearsome forwards were arguably even more impressive in destroying Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday evening, while under-rated Inter once again reminded everyone how difficult they will be to shake off by upsetting Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena thanks to a masterclass in catenaccio.

So, where do we stand now after the first batch of quarter-final games? Which sides are likely to bow out next week and who looks capable of going all the way? GOAL ranks the remaining teams in terms of their chances of outright victory based on their form, opponents, momentum, pedigree and quality…

Getty Images Sport8Borussia Dortmund ↔Borussia Dortmund have undoubtedly improved since replacing Nurin Sahin as coach with Niko Kovac. Truth be told, they couldn’t have gotten much worse. Consequently, there was a little bit of optimism surrounding BVB going into the first leg of their quarter-final clash with Barcelona.However, all hopes of Dortmund defying the odds and reaching the last four are now over after a demoralising 4-0 loss in Catalunya. Had the visitors even scored once – and they really should have given the amount of chances they created – they’d still have an outside shot of pulling off a miracle at Signal Iduna Park.However, the second leg will now be about nothing more than restoring some pride – and even that will be difficult, given Robert Lewandowski always seems so intent on punishing his former club at every opportunity.

Getty Images Sport7Real Madrid ⬇️Real Madrid are Real Madrid. They somehow always find a way to win. So, nobody wants to write them off just yet. But let’s be real here: there’s just no way Madrid are going to turn around a 3-0 first-leg deficit against Arsenal at the Santiago Bernabeu – because the dreadful nature of their performance in north London on Tuesday night was not a one-off.Barcelona have already brutally exposed los Blancos’ structural flaws on two occasions this season and let’s also not forget that Carlo Ancelotti’s side wouldn’t have even reached the knockout stage of the Champions League had it not been for the ridiculously forgiving nature of the farcical new format.Indeed, Madrid have now lost five of their 11 games in this season’s tournament and even accounting for the fact that strange things happen at the Santiago Bernabeu, it’s just impossible to foresee such an imbalanced and injury-affected team progressing to the semi-finals. It really does feel like the end of the Ancelotti era is approaching.

Getty Images Sport6Aston Villa ⬆️For a short while on Wednesday evening it appeared as if Aston Villa might be about to pull off one of the biggest results in the club’s history, and had they made it to half-time with their 1-0 lead intact, they might well have done.Unfortunately, Unai Emery’s side conceded twice either side of the interval and then, even more painfully, right at the death to leave themselves with a mountain to climb back at Villa Park.The 1982 European Cup winners have, of course, already beaten Bayern Munich at home this season but nullifying PSG’s fluid front three looks a tall order for a team that has done well just to make it this far.

Getty Images Sport5Bayern Munich ↔A very rare off-night for Harry Kane arrived at a most inopportune time for Bayern Munich, who created plenty of openings against Inter, including one gilt-edged opportunity that their star striker wasted when Tuesday night’s game was still scoreless.The situation is not irretrievable for the Bavarians. Coach Vincent Kompany is taking encouragement out of the fact that Bayern were well on top for the opening 30 minutes of the game. The problem is, though, that Inter’s wonderfully well-drilled defence isn’t going to be any easier to break down at San Siro.Furthermore, while Bayern’s creator-in-chief Jamal Musiala will be once again sidelined for the second leg, Inter could be buoyed by the return to full fitness of influential wing-back Federico Dimarco, who spent the entire evening at the Allianz Arena on the bench.

Getty Images Sport4Arsenal ⬆️The longer this season went on, the worse things seemed to get for Arsenal, as they lost one key player after another to injury while being knocked out of both domestic cup competitions and falling further and further behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race.Mikel Arteta’s men kept going, though, just as they did in Tuesday’s stirring rout of Real Madrid. Even after opening up a barely believable but fully deserved 3-0 win, Arsenal continued to suffocate Kylian Mbappe and his colleagues in the closing stages of a staggeringly one-sided contest.Bukayo Baka’s return was obviously a major help, as was Declan Rice channelling David Beckham for not one but two free-kicks, but it was the intensity displayed by each and every player that gives the galvanised Gunners real hope of making it all the way to Munich.

Getty Images Sport3Inter ⬆️After Inter eliminated Feyenoord in the last 16 with impressive professionalism, coach Simone Inzaghi argued his side deserves more respect. And the man had a point. Even though the Nerazzurri reached the final in 2023, when they were incredibly unfortunate to lose to Manchester City in Istanbul, they were still being overlooked as potential winners of this season’s competition.Tuesday’s win over Bayern Munich changed all that, though. The Bavarians hadn’t lost a Champions League game at the Allianz Arena for four years but Inter claimed a crucial 2-1 aggregate lead thanks to a combination of brilliant defending and lethal counter-attacking.Of course, even if the Serie A leaders finish the job at San Siro next week, they’re still likely to have to deal with Barcelona in the semis, but as their brilliant centre-back Alessando Bastoni pointed out: Inter may not have the strongest squad in the tournament but they can “cause huge problems for anyone”.

Getty Images Sport2Paris Saint-Germain ⬆️Is this Paris Saint-Germain’s best chance yet to win a European Cup? It’s certainly starting to look like it. With the state-sponsored side having ditched their obsession with bling-bling buys in favour of signing players of real potential, PSG have become legitimate Champions League contenders under the leadership of Luis Enrique.They’re also as resilient as they are talented, which is a significant development at a club that has been for so long associated with bottling big games. After proving their mettle to overcome Liverpool at Anfield, PSG came from behind in thrilling fashion to defeat Aston Villa 3-1 at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday evening.The tie’s not over, of course, but with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia & Co. on fire up front, it’s hard not to see the French champions scoring at least once in the second leg in Birmingham.

AFP1Barcelona ↔Barcelona are by no means perfect. Even for neutrals, their high defensive line is a constant source of stress. There’s always the feeling that it could be broken by a well-time run at any moment. However, the risk is very much worth the reward as far as Hansi Flick is concerned and it’s hard to question his approach right now – not when Barcelona are winning so many games and playing such fantastic football.The Liga leaders and Copa del Rey finalists are also effectively through to the last four of the Champions League after dismantling a dreadful Dortmund team with predictable ease in Catalunya on Wednesday evening, with their fantastic front three of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal once again looking utterly unstoppable.A potential semi-final meeting with Inter would represent a fascinating contrast in styles and could prove a tricky obstacle for Barca to overcome, but they’ve not lost a single game in any competition since the turn of the year and thus remain our team to beat in this season’s Champions League.