Buzz selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the latest round of action, including Vinicius Junior, Raphinha and Joao Neves.
Liverpool and Barcelona have both secured their spot in the knockout round of the Champions Leaguewhile nine teams have been eliminated following the penultimate round of matches in this season’s league phase.
Liverpool’s 2-1 success over Lille continued their perfect record in the competition, with the Reds top of the table on 21 points, while Barcelona beat Benfica 5-4 in a thrilling affair to book their spot in the next round with a game to spare.
Four teams have secured at least a spot in the playoffs as a seeded side, with Arsenal beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0, Inter Milan recording a 1-0 win over Sparta Prague, Atletico Madrid beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 and AC Milan overcoming Girona 1-0.
A further 12 teams have also secured a spot in the playoffs – Aston Villa, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus and Celtic are among those.
Aston Villa lost 1-0 to Monaco on Tuesday, Bayern were beaten 3-0 by Feyenoordwhile Juventus were held to a goalless draw by Club Brugesbut Real Madrid thumped Red Bull Salzburg 5-1 in a stunning performancewhile Celtic beat Young Boys 1-0 on home soil.
Paris Saint-Germain moved into 22nd spot in the table courtesy of a 4-2 success over Manchester Citywho are currently outside of the playoff spots in 25th, with Pep Guardiola‘s shock facing a shock elimination.
Elsewhere, Atalanta BC thumped Storm Graz 5-0, with the Italians in seventh, while Bologna were 2-1 winners over Borussia Dortmund; also on Tuesday, PSV Eindhoven beat Red Star Belgrade 3-2, while Stuttgart overcame Slavic Bratislava 3-1.
RB Leipzig beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 on Wednesday, while Shakhtar Donetsk recorded a 2-0 victory over Brest.
Here, Buzz selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the seventh set of fixtures in the league phase of the competition, and it was again difficult to pick this week due to the number of outstanding performers.
DEFENCE
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Feyenoord's Justin Bijlow is given the nod between the sticks, with the 27-year-old outstanding in his side’s 3-0 win over Bayern, making seven saves in total, while he was also dominant aerially during a fine performance.
There had to be a spot in the back three for Monaco’s Wilfried Singowho scored the only goal of the match in his side’s 1-0 success over Villa; the 24-year-old won two aerial duels, made two tackles and finished with a pass success rate of 84% in an excellent performance.
Club Brugge's Brandon Mechele also makes it, with the 31-year-old playing a major role in his side holding Juventus to a goalless draw on Tuesday night; the centre-back was defensively excellent, while he completed 45 of his 53 passes against the Italian giants.
The defensive unit is completed by Inter’s Alessandro Bastoniwho came up with the assist for Lautaro Martinez to find the back of the net against Sparta Prague; it was the Italian’s defensive performance that impressed the most, though, as he played a major role in keeping out the opposition.
MIDFIELD
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João Neves was excellent against Man City on Wednesday night, with the Portugal international playing a vital role in PSG’s statement win; the midfielder was on the scoresheet in Paris, while he made seven tackles and completed 55 of his 62 passes in a sensational display.
Charles De Ketelaere was another outstanding midfield performer, with the 23-year-old scoring once and providing one assist in Atalanta’s five-goal success over Sturm Graz; the Belgian played further forward on Tuesday, but he is included in a deeper position here.
Kevin is also included due to his excellent performance for Shakhtar against Brest; the 22-year-old was on the scoresheet in the European affair, while he managed six successful dribbles and made three tackles during a standout display in a wide area.
There also had to be a spot in the team for Jamie Lewelingwho was terrific against Slovan Bratislava, coming up with two goals from a wide position; the 23-year-old had six shots in total during the European clash, with the hosts simply unable to deal with him.
ATTACK
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Julian Alvarez, Luuk de Jong, Rodrygo and Santiago Gimenez scored braces in this gameweek, but all four had to be left out considering the performances of three other attackers in the latest set of fixtures.
Vinicius Junior had to be included considering his performance against Salzburg, with the Brazilian scoring twice in the second period of his side’s 5-1 success, while he was also heavily involved in the first goal, with the attacker at his best on Wednesday night.
Raphinhameanwhile, scored twice in Barcelona’s incredible comeback-win over Benfica on Tuesday night; the Brazilian was the player driving his team forward during their difficult periods, with the 28-year-old tracking back to help his side before making a difference down the other end.
There is also a hat-trick hero in this XI, with Vangelis Pavlidis scoring three times in Benfica’s clash with Barcelona, but it was not enough for the Portuguese outfit to secure a positive result in the nine-goal contest.
Pavlidis had seven shots in total during a brilliant performance, and the 26-year-old did not deserve to be on the losing side.
SPORTS MOLE’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Buzz’s Champions League Team of the Week (3-4-3): Biljow (Feyenoord); Mechele (Club Brugge), Singo (Monaco), Bastoni (Inter); Leweling (Stuttgart), Neves (PSG), De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Kevin (Shakhtar); Raphinha (Barcelona), Pavlidis (Benfica), Vinicius (Real Madrid)
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