The 2026-27 UEFA Women's Champions League is officially underway with the league phase. While Matchday 1 offered glimpses of chaos from underdog squads, it also reminded us that some programs are exactly who we've come to know them as. That's why it's the perfect time to roll out my UWCL power rankings.
In year two of the newly expanded format, with an 18-team, six-game league phase that emulates the Swiss model, surprises are bound to happen. With the top four teams advancing to the quarterfinals and eight teams heading to a future knockout playoff gauntlet, six remaining teams will eventually pack up and go home.
But for now, where do those teams lie amongst the most powerful? Does a debutant scoring against an experienced dark horse place them alongside UWCL title winners? Does a team considered UWCL royalty thumping on a less experienced long shot mean that they are among the most powerful sides in the competition?
That's the beauty of power rankings. There's no right or wrong answer to these. Only conversation and opinions. After every match week of UWCL league-phase fixtures, you can track the latest trends among the clubs throughout the tournament with the power rankings.
Who rises and falls will depend on performances, or lack thereof. Individual standout performances will also matter and be measured alongside everything else.
Fans can watch all the action across CBS Sports platforms. Paramount+ will live stream matches all season, while select fixtures also broadcast on CBS Sports Golazo Network and CBS Sports Network.
| Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Kerolin announced her Champions League arrival with flash, flair, and finishing. The reigning title holders already look like a team ready to race back to the final. | NR | 0-0 |
| 2 |  | An absolute goal scoring clinic by the French champions against lower ranked competition. Melchie Dumornay remains a Ballon d'Or front runner, and Marie Katoto is as clinical in front of goal as ever. | NR | 0-0 |
| 3 |  | Bayern Munich remain dark horses, but that pedigree will lose its shine if they're unable to control games where they have the lead. Thankfully, they're operating like a well-oiled counter-attacking machine. | NR | 0-0 |
| 4 |  | The WSL champions nearly had a disastrous start to the tournament, but they're too deep in the roster to count out. Massive performances by Aoba Fujino and Yui Hasegawa to help turn the tide just in time.a | NR | 0-0 |
| 5 |  | Lucy Bronze can't be back quick enough for this Blues side. Still, manager Sonia Bompastor can look ahead to bigger fish to fry now that the club managed to scrape all the points against debutants. | NR | 2-0 |
| 6 |  | The Gunners won but at what cost? A late-game penalty conversion gets them all the points but doesn't erase a completely disjointed opening-round performance. | NR | 1-0 |
| 7 |  | Questions around former manager Filipa Patao's departure were answered when Ivan Baptista took over the club and won the league once more. There's even less doubt the squad could make a run in UWCL after an upset led by Marit Lund. | NR | 0-0 |
| 8 |  | If Inter are this year's Cinderella story, then we all need to get our best party slippers. Punching above their weight against others with experience is nothing to sniff at, and if Brittany Raphino keeps making an impact on limited minutes, watch out. | NR | 0-0 |
| 9 |  | Linda Caicedo remains the face of the club for a reason and as she captains the team, others will need to step up. Acquiring Felicia Schroder has already paid off with an early goal but can't win Champions League on promising stats alone. | NR | 0-0 |
| 10 |  | PSG may be far from their UWCL glory days, but they're still searching for the path back. An early stumble out the gate was smoothed over thanks to Sakina Karchaoui, but not convincing enough to show they're back in the mix as contenders. | NR | 0-0 |
| 11 |  | Adding Evelyn Viens is already showing major value after the Canadian international got on the scoreboard against Barcelona. Still, a dark horse with a gap in level in front of them for now. | NR | 0-0 |
| 12 |  | In the future, there will come a week where Roma show why they belong in the Champions League. And till that week comes, they'll stay lower in the ranks. | NR | 0-0 |
| 13 |  | Hopeful that the Belgian squad can improve from their exciting debutant season last campaign. Seems like we will still have to wait and see despite best efforts by Jada Conijenberg in front of goal. | NR | 0-0 |
| 14 |  | The Danish side let points slip away in the dying minutes against a contender but showed enough resolve and overall discipline to put the rest of the league phase on notice. A team to take seriously. | NR | 0-0 |
| 15 |  | Sure it's only one game into the competition, but Juventus' delayed response in game one wasn't great, but if Alba Redondo and Amaiur Sarriegi can combine quicker in games, they'll climb back up the rankings. | NR | 0-0 |
| 16 |  | A valiant effort by the debutants to make things difficult against a more experienced side. They'll need to find their finishing if they want to climb the rankings. | NR | 0-0 |
| 17 |  | The Swedish side have played the role of plucky underdogs but recent performances have them looking like they need to regroup. Now they need to figure that out without starting goalkeeper Jennifer Falk after a red card.s | NR | 0-0 |
| 18 |  | Sometimes the victory is showing up and doing a hard job. Tough ask to face OL Lyonnes to start the tournament, but now it will be about how the team respond. | NR | 0-0 |