Even though we're barely into the Champions League this season (depends on how you define being halfway through the group stage), the favorites for the European title are always decided every year at the very outset. Real Madrid has always been at the forefront when it comes to choosing the prime challengers for the European crown, but this season probably represents our best chance at going all the way in a decade.

The usual suspects are Barcelona (yet again), Manchester United (last year's finalists), Bayern Munich, Chelsea, AC Milan and of course, Real Madrid. Arsenal and Inter Milan may have won in this gameweek, but they have been in absolute disarray this season, so they probably can be glossed over at this point.

The one thing that is common to all the frontrunners mentioned above is that they won, with clean sheets to boot (apart from Bayern), but each of their performances had a number of talking points.

Lets start off with Los Blancos, of course. Real Madrid banished any demons that facing Lyon may have brought up with a 4-0 romp. Curiously enough, Ronaldo didn't manage to trouble the scorers again, but the team gelled well, and seemed to work together, so much so that Khedira and Ramos managed to chip in with (rare) goals in the second half.

Team rating: 9.0 - A stylish and clinical performance.

Barcelona can never be too far away when it comes to Real Madrid's challengers, can they? They hosted Viktoria Plzen, a Czech side that probably could be forgiven for their frequent nerviness throughout the match. The Camp Nou crowd is far from being accommodating, but the same couldn't be said about Barca themselves. A sublime first goal, with some fancy interplay between Messi and Iniesta resulted in a goal for the latter, and an 83rd minute penalty (earned by Messi and slotted in by Villa) apart, Barca didn't really go for the jugular at any point.

Team rating: 7 : Dominated proceedings, without truly moving out of first gear.

Bayern Munich have been in incredible form this season. Over a thousand minutes went by without their defense leaking in a goal, while their attack has been sublime so far, despite Robben missing out. They played away at Napoli, and it proved to be just as tough as anyone could've predicted. The promising Toni Kroos got Bayern off to a flyer, slotting in a goal with barely a couple of minutes on the clock. However, it'd only go from bad to worse from there. Badstuber turned in a somewhat menacing cross from Maggio into his own goal with half an hour on the clock, and Mario Gomez missed a penalty after the break following a Cannavaro handball. Both sides asked questions to the opposing defenses, without truly doing enough. Ribery and Hamsik, both considered to be their respective teams' creative outlet, were rather anonymous.

Team rating: 5.0 - A rusty and unconvincing display from a team touted as a huge favorite this time.

Chelsea played Belgian champions Genk at home yesterday. It goes without saying that all eyes were on a certain Fernando Torres from the very moment his name was announced in the team lineups. The match warmup was marked by a rather comical prayer from David Luiz - hand on Torres' head, closed eyes and a mumbled blessing (?) were all part of the deal. What's more, it worked, as Torres scored a couple of well taken goals, and was menacing throughout! The Londoners thumped in 5 past the hapless Belgians, to round off a successful night.

Team rating: 9.0 - No Mata, no matter. Chelsea managed to be fluid and dynamic without the former Madrid youngster, while Torres is going to be crucial to their chances this time.

Italian champions AC Milan managed to rack up a regulation 2-0 win against BATE Borisov, with their midfield managing to put up a rare spell of dominance sustained through 90 minutes. Ibrahimovic scored (yet again) with a clinical finish, while Kevin Prince Boateng thumped in a screamer from just outside the box in the middle of the second half.

Team rating: 8.0 - A fully deserved victory, but what remains to be seen is whether Milan can go all the way when they depend so heavily on Ibracadabra for both goals and inspiration.

Finally, we come to last years' finalists and English champions - Manchester United. They played away at Otelul Galati, minnows from Romania who'd been expected to be cannon fodder for United. As it turned out, the Manchester team found clear cut chances hard to come by, both out of their volition and the resolve of the Romanians. Neither team really got any kind of rhythm going, and matters weren't helped by a card-happy referee either. It ended in a 2-0 victory for the English team, with Rooney slotting in two second half penalties.

Team rating: 4.0 - a poor display from United was salvaged by two penalties. Their midfield had little sense of cohesion, and their forwards stayed isolated upfront for extended periods.

There's a long way to go for the end of this European campaign, but if this week was anything to go by, the signs are rather encouraging for Madrid. What remains to be seen is whether there is a dark horse lurking in the shadows again this season - Napoli and Manchester City can prove to be formidable opponents on their day, while one never knows when Inter and Arsenal finally get their act together!

What do you have to say about the entire assessment of Madrid's European foes? Do you fear any team apart from the ones I've mentioned? Keep the comments coming in!