With FIFA’s extended 16-day international break over, club soccer roared back to the forefront over the weekend. The action didn’t disappoint, especially in Europe, where some of the game’s biggest teams and players wowed fans before the spotlight shifts to a full slate of UEFA Champions League matches midweek.
Before those matches kick off, here’s where the world’s best clubs rank seven weeks into the 2026-27 season:
Now 3-1-1 after Saturday’s stirring 4-3 triumph away to Mainz, Leverkusen is all alone in 4th in the Bundesliga.
(Photo by Pau Barrena/Getty Images)
Life is good on the blue side of Rome, with Lazio still unbeaten (4-0-1) and even on points with Serie A leaders and Scudetto holders Inter.
Like Brighton, Brentford is what the standings say they are: a Champions League qualifier on goal difference if the Premier League season ended today.
It’s hard to argue with an 8-0 record, which is what Porto has in Liga Portugal so far. They’ll go for a first Champions League win on Wednesday, across the Spanish border against Betis.
(Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
The Blues look good under first-year manager Xabi Alonso, who oversaw Chelsea’s biggest win of the season on Saturday, a 5-1 smackdown of usually plucky Bournemouth. Led by English playmakers Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers and Brazilian striker João Pedro, the London club is well-positioned to compete for a top 3 finish for the first time since 2021-22.
In fairness, Freiburg probably could be even higher on this list. It’s no accident that they’re leading the Bundesliga ahead of both Dortmund and Bayern five matches in. The “Breisgau Brazilians” stayed unbeaten on Sunday despite playing the final 26 minutes of their 2-1 win over Schalke with 10 men.
Real Betis is even on points in La Liga with second-place Atleti and one clear of Real Madrid in fourth, with a 6-1-1 record so far. They trounced Osasuna 5-2 on Sunday. Is Betis the real deal? We’ll find out as soon as Saturday, when the Heliopolitanos welcome table-topping Barcelona to Estadio La Cartuja in Seville.
Given the hardware-laden history of some of the names on this list, Brighton looks like an outlier. But there’s no arguing with the Seagulls’ results in the notoriously unforgiving Premier League. With four wins and a tie in its first six outings, including that eyebrow-raising demolition of Arsenal, BHA is deservedly all alone in third place — ahead of regular top-six contenders like Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle and Tottenham.
(Photo by Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Spain’s second-place team is a point clear of its cross-capital rivals Real Madrid — which it beat 2-1 on Sept. 20 — after eight La Liga games. Diego Simeone has just two losses across all competitions so far, one in its Champions League opener in Liverpool. Atléti hosts Manchester United on Tuesday in its second match of the league phase.
With three Serie A titles in the last six seasons, Inter has been Italy’s most dominant squad this decade. Led by Argentine striker Lauturo Martinez, the European silver medalists in 2023 and 2025 are again leading the race for the Scudetto six games into the current term. The host start could continue. The Nerazzurri play three of their next four games at the San Siro, including winnable Champions League matches this month against Belgium’s Club Brugge and Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk.
(Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
It feels wrong to have Man City atop this list given the financial scandal that has engulfed the Abu Dhabi-backed club in recent weeks. But hey, (alleged) cheating works. While it remains to be seen if the Sky Blues will even remain in the Premier League if they lose the case again on appeal, Sunday’s 3-0 demolition of Liverpool at Anfield confirmed that City, now a perfect 6-0 to start the new Prem season, is the best team in the best domestic circuit in the world.
Enzo Maresca’s side also opened their UEFA Champions League campaign last month with a 2-0 victory away to Porto. The Cityzens host two-time defending European titlists Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in one of the marquee contests of the first round.
