Champions League Panic Meter: Real Madrid, Manchester City in trouble; Bayern Munich in good shape

Several heavyweights sit outside the Champions League's top eight

The new-look league phase has officially caused plenty of drama in the UEFA Champions League, leaving several European heavyweights in perilous position with three games left to book a spot in the knockout rounds.

Even though the league phase guaranteed stiff competition for teams of all strength levels, few would have anticipated that Real Madrid and Manchester City would be in tricky spots after Matchday 5. They are far from the only ones, though, whose hopes of advancing might go down to the wire – Paris Saint-Germain are surprisingly outside the top 24, while RB Leipzig are somehow still waiting for their first point in the Champions League this season.

Those who are in the top eight at this point – including top sides like Liverpool and Barcelona and surprise contenders like Monaco and Atalanta – have the knockouts in their sights, but for the rest, there's still much work to do. There are reasons to panic for many teams sitting outside the top eight, but their worries definitely vary.