The worst teams in the Champions League so far

The 2025/2026 Champions League season has passed its first four rounds of matches, and some teams have been terrible.

We are all loving the new format of the competition which began last season and has continued this term.

Some changes will need to be made to it as we continue, but overall, it has been clear that the new tournament format is far more exciting.

Fans who buy Champions League tickets always want to see how their team is performing in the overall table.

This unified table often gives us an idea of who the best clubs on the continent are and we all love to know this information.

It helps to win football banter and other arguments in the game, so it is not a surprise that we are talking about the teams struggling in the competition.

A look at the standings after four matches have been played by all the clubs shows that Arsenal and Bayern Munich could meet in the final this season if they are not paired to face each other earlier.

The Gunners have been making much progress in the competition over the last few seasons and were in the semifinal last term.

Bayern has made a ridiculously good start to this season as they continue to set and break their own records.

Their recent win against PSG with ten men shows they are truly one of the favourites to win the competition for their top flight.

However, a look at the bottom of the table shows the worst teams in the tournament so far and some of them are clubs we had expected to do well.

The Champions League is a tough league, and because we now have a unified table, it is not difficult to find the worst performers in the tournament.

There are about four more matches to play and some of these teams can recover and fight back for a place in the playoff, but a majority of them do not seem to have an idea of what is required to do well in Europe.

In this article, we discuss the worst performers in Europe’s elite club competition this season.

Ajax

Ajax is one of the most successful clubs in European football, and it was refreshing that they qualified for the tournament again this season after several years out.

Although we never expected them to be as good as their team in the 2018/2019 season which beat Real Madrid and Juventus to reach the semifinal of the competition, we did not expect them to be this bad.

The Dutchmen have simply been in terrible form and are bottom of the UCL table after four games, losing all and conceding 14 goals, while scoring just one.

Benfica

It was a surprise to see Benfica sack Bruno Lage after just a few bad games and replace him with Jose Mourinho.

Interestingly, Lage had led Benfica to qualify for the Champions League by knocking out Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, which led the Turkish club to sack the manager.

Benfica fans were excited to have Mourinho back as their manager, but it is now clear that his best days as a manager are behind him.

The gaffer does not have answers to their European slump, which is a surprise because he has always done well in Europe and has one of the best squads in the competition, outside the top European teams.

After four games, Benfica has zero points and is only second from bottom because Ajax has a worst goal difference.

Juventus

Juventus made some late changes to their squad in the last transfer window, ensuring that Igor Tudor has the firepower he needs to find success.

However, the Croatian led them to a winless three-game spell before he was sacked and replaced by Luciano Spalletti.

Tudor could have done some things differently to find success, but the responsibility is on Spalletti now.

A look at the table shows that Juve has three points from their opening four games, but they have won none.

They have three draws and a defeat so far, which is clearly not good enough and comes as a surprise if you consider the quality of the players in their squad.

There are more matches for them to save their European season, and everyone who buys Juventus tickets expects better performances from them.

Napoli

As Italian champions, we expected so much from Napoli in Europe this season, even though their manager has not really done well in continental football in the past.

Antonio Conte is a very good coach, but in the past, he has struggled to make an impression in Europe, and the gaffer continues to struggle in Naples.

While his team can retain their domestic league crown, their Champions League form remains questionable and they have been easily one of the worst performers in Europe so far.

Napoli has just a win in their first four matches, which puts them in the 24th spot in the table, far from good enough from the defending champions of Italy.

Villarreal

Villarreal surprised many with their fantastic run of form in La Liga last season and that earned them a place in the Spanish top five.

They have continued to do well in the league this season and are third after 11 domestic games.

However, in Europe, they have simply failed to crack on and do well, which is sad to see.

They have faced some tough opponents this term, but overall, we still expected a much better performance from them in the Champions League.

They have surprisingly not won a single game in the competition so far after four matches and it seems clear that they will have to focus on domestic football and give up on progress in Europe.

Bodo/Glimt

After their impressive rise as a top team in Norway over the years, Bodo/Glimt qualified for the Champions League this term.

They are one of the teams that we expected to be exciting to watch this season, but playing in Europe and fighting for their league crown has been overwhelming for the Bodo club.

They are still one of the finest teams to watch, but their opponents have respected them and beaten them mostly.

Bodo needs a team that will underestimate them and they will prove them wrong, but their opponents so far have shown that they know how dangerous the Norwegians are and this has led to them struggling.

Olympique Marseille

Marseille was the second-best club in France last season, which earned them Champions League qualification.

For several years, we have all believed that PSG is simply the best team in France and no other club comes close to matching them.

However, OM could have proven us wrong this term by also enjoying a fine European run, but after four games, they have just a win and three losses.

It does not seem like they are good enough for the European stage, but with the quality of players in their squad, they certainly should be performing better.