“Less than four months after Paris Saint-Germain lifted their inaugural Champions League title by thrashing Inter, the 2025-26 edition is upon us. The 36-team league phase of Europe’s premier club competition kicks off on Tuesday, with Arsenal facing Bilbao’s Athletic Club in one of the two early kick-offs. There are plenty of other highlights this week too, with Bayern Munich facing Chelsea in a rematch of the 2012 final, Liverpool coming up against Atletico Madrid and Newcastle United hosting Barcelona. So, how do we assess each of the teams involved in the first round? This is our definitive — but also entirely subjective, and extremely debatable — ranking. …”
NY Times/The Athletic