FULL TABLE: Dortmund, Brest lead as Arsenal, PSG, Madrid struggle in UCL

Match Day 2 of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League saw a frenzy of action take place across Europe as matches were played on Tuesday and Wednesday.

With the addition of a league phase this season, there has been a major format change that sets the way for thrilling competition.

Fans saw exciting encounters that emphasised the ferocity and unpredictable nature of European football as teams competed for first place and a spot in the knockout stages.

Traditional titans, Bayern and Real Madrid both suffered 1-0 defeat away on Wednesday night to Aston Villa and Lille.

In the same way, AC Milan has not earned a single point from their first two games.

Liepzig and Girona experience a similar destiny.

Following two days of play, teams are starting to define their worth, with some clubs shining brightly while others struggle to find their rhythm.
Matches on both days saw teams fighting hard to collect crucial points, with Borussia Dortmund and Brest continuing their unbeaten streaks, leading the pack.
Brest and Dortmund take the lead

With a dominant performance over the course of two games, Borussia Dortmund has emerged as one of the early favourites and is currently leading the rankings.

They have surpassed their opponents and are currently in pole position, looking comfortable heading into the Round of 16. They have a dominant 6 points and an impressive +9 goal difference.

Brest, with a +5 goal difference and 6 points as well, are not far behind.

Given that Brest has a powerful attacking lineup and is among the league's finest, their unbeaten streak is especially noteworthy.

Liverpool, Leverkusen, and Benfica maintain pace

Liverpool, Leverkusen, and Benfica have all gotten off to fast starts, taking six points from their first three games. Benfica has a +5 goal differential because to their solid defending, while Leverkusen and Liverpool have persevered with +5 and +4 goal differences, respectively.
These three groups have not let up on the front-runners and are still very much in the running for the top berths in the subsequent stage.

Villa, Juventus, City continue to pursue

Juventus and Aston Villa, who are tied for sixth place, are also among the top seven.

Man City is slightly behind with four points and still has a +4 goal difference, while Villa and City also have +4 and +3 goal differences, respectively.

Although these teams have played well, they will need to maintain their momentum in the upcoming weeks in order to guarantee their straight qualification to the Round of 16.

Play-off positions during the knockout phase

There is a growing competition for the play-off berths in the knockout phase. Teams like Sparta Praha and Inter Milan (4 points, +4 GD) (4 points, +3 GD) have put themselves in good positions to secure a play-off berth.
Atalanta, the reigning Europa League winners, have four points with +3 GD.

Sporting CP, a Portuguese team, has 4 points and +2 GD.

There's still plenty to play for as Arsenal, despite a rough start, managed to scrape together 4 points with a balanced 2 goal difference.

Monaco, meanwhile, has four points and +1 GD, placing them in 14th place on the standings.

Notably, with just three points and negligible positive goal differentials, teams like Bayern Munich and Barcelona—who many had predicted to be further up the standings—now languish in the middle of the table. Barca has + 4 GD and Bayern has +6 GD.

Losing Giants: Milan, PSG, and Real Madrid

The conventional heavyweights in Europe are off to a slow start.

With goal differentials of +1 and -1, respectively, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are tied for third place with three points each.

Particularly PSG will be worried about their performance following a drab first two rounds.

Additionally on three points are Lille (-1), Celtic (-2), Club Brugge (-2), Feyenoord (-3), and Athletic (-3).

Stuttgart and PSV are tied for the precarious 24th place with 1 point and (-2 GD) apiece.

Teams in danger of elimination

A number of teams are finding the competition harsh; Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys are near the bottom. Both teams have had difficulty; they have a combined -8 goal differential and 0 points.

In order to stay in the running, teams in vulnerable positions like Salzburg (0 points, -7 GD) and Sturm Graz (0 points, -2 GD) will need to make major gains in their remaining games.

With one point apiece are Bologna (-2), Shakhtar (-3) and GNK Dinamo (-7).

Liepzig, AC Milan, Girona, and Crvena Zvezda are all without a point.

Complete table analysis following Day 2 of play

Spots that automatically qualify:

Borussia Dortmund: +9 GD (1st) + 6 points

Brest: +5 GD (2nd), 6 points

Benfica: 6 points, +5 GD (3rd)
Leverkusen: 6 points, +5 GD (4th)

Liverpool: 6 points, +4 GD (5th)

Aston Villa: 6 points, +4 GD (6th)

Juventus: 6 points, +3 GD (7th)

Manchester City: 4 points, +4 GD (8th)

Knockout phase play-off places:
Inter: 4 points, +4 GD (9th)

Sparta Praha: 4 points, +3 GD (10th)

Atalanta: 4 points, +3 GD (11th)

Sporting CP: 4 points, +2 GD (12th)

Arsenal: 4 points, +2 GD (13th)

Monaco: 4 points, +1 GD (14th)

Bayern München: 3 points, +6 GD (15th)

Barcelona: 3 points, +4 GD (16th)

Real Madrid: 3 points, +1 GD (17th)

Lille: 3 points, – 1 GD (18th)

Paris Saint-Germain: 3 points, -1 GD (18th)

Celtic: 3 points, -2 GD (20th)

Club Brugge: 3 points, -2 GD (21st)

Feyenoord: 3 points, -3 GD (22nd)

Atleti: 3 points, -3 GD (23rd)

PSV: 1 point, -2 GD (24th)

Elimination places:
Stuttgart: 1 point, -2 GD (24th)

Bologna: 1 point, -2 GD (26th)

Shakhtar Donetsk: 1 point, -3 GD (27th)

GNK Dinamo: 1 point, -7 GD (28th)

Leipzig: 0 points, -2 GD (29th)

Girona: 0 points, -2 GD (30th)

Sturm Graz: 0 points, -2 GD (31st)

Milan: 0 points, -3 GD (32nd)

Crvena Zvezda: 0 points, -5 GD (33rd)

Salzburg: 0 points, -7 GD (34th)

Slovan Bratislava: 0 points, -8 GD (35th)

Young Boys: 0 points, -8 GD (36th)

Looking ahead
As we move into the next round of fixtures, teams like Dortmund and Brest will be looking to maintain their perfect start, while struggling giants like Real Madrid and PSG will need to rediscover their form quickly.

With many teams tightly packed in the middle of the table, every point will be crucial as the race to the knockout stages heats up.