Every club ranked: Which clubs are over and underperforming in the Champions League this season?

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Look away Man City fans 

©TM/IMAGO

It was a thrilling match-day seven in the Champions League, with the standings taking shape ahead of the crucial final matches next week. There were 59 goals scored across the 20 fixtures in the league phase’s penultimate week, with Barcelona’s late 5-4 comeback at Benfica and PSG’s 4-2 turn around against Manchester City the pick of the bunch. However, both the Parisians, and the 2023 champions City could still be in danger of exiting at the first stage of the competition.

Whilst nine teams are already officially eliminated, three more must go next week and Pep Guardiola’s team are currently residing in 25th position which would see them crash out. They play 20th-placed Club Brugge at the Etihad next week knowing a victory will likely see them secure a play-off place.  Only the top eight qualify without the burden of a play-off, and six of those places are still up for grabs, with Liverpool and Barcelona the only sides guaranteed a top-eight finish. Manchester City are currently the biggest underachievers in the Champions League, but which clubs have been overachieving? Using Transfermarkt’s market values, we’ve compiled an alternative table based on how clubs are performing in the league phase table in relation to the market value of their squad. 

Which clubs are overperforming the most in the Champions League? 

Using the aforementioned criteria, Brest are the best performing club in the Champions League based on their actual position compared to where they rank for market value. The Ligue 1 side have the 30th most valuable squad in the competition (€120m) but they are currently sitting in 13th place, which represents a difference of +17. As the graphic below illustrates, three teams then have a difference of +1. Feyenoord are second, sitting in 11th place despite having the 22nd most valuable squad. Another Ligue 1 club ranks third with Lille having the 23rd most valuable squad but they sit 12th. Whilst Celtic, who have now guaranteed themselves a play-off place spot in the top 24 also boast a +11 difference – they are 18th despite having the 29th most valuable squad. 

Atlético Madrid and Atalanta are also enjoying excellent campaigns and are both +9 places higher in the actual Champions League table than they are when the clubs are ranked by market value. The Spanish side are fifth whilst the Italians are seventh.  Monaco and Club Brugge represent +8 differences, placed in 10th and 20th in the actual table, but with the 18th and 28th most valuable squads respectively. In total 19 clubs are overperforming their market value position, with four sides residing in the exact position their market value would determine.

Which clubs are underperforming the most in the Champions League? 

Manchester City are enduring a dismal Champions League campaign with the 2022/23 winners sitting in 25th position in the league phase table after seven games. City have the most valuable squad in the world on Transfermarkt at €1.23b, yet they are sitting 24 places lower than they should be based on that criteria. RB Leipzig picked up their first points in a 2-1 win against Sporting on Wednesday, but still sit in 30th place and have been eliminated despite having the 13th most valuable squad in the competition. 

PSG‘s 4-2 win against Man City was crucial in their hopes of avoiding crashing out, but they are still 22nd in the table despite having the sixth most valuable squad in the competition, representing a -16 difference. RB Salzburg, Sporting, Juventus and Bayern Munich have also underwhelmed in this season’s Champions League and have a -8 difference from their actual positions compared to their squad market values.