Liverpool continued their sensational form in the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Girona on Tuesday night, with the result leaving the Reds top of the Champions League table on 18 points from six matches.
Barcelona are now second courtesy of their 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, while Arsenal are third thanks to their 3-0 success over Monaco at the Emirates Stadium.
Bayer Leverkusen beat Inter Milan 1-0, with the reigning Bundesliga champions now fourth, while Aston Villa are incredibly in fifth courtesy of their 3-2 success over RB Leipzig in Germany.
Manchester City sit down in 22nd spot, having suffered a 2-0 loss to Juventus on Wednesday, but Real Madrid moved into 20th due to an impressive 3-2 success over Atalanta BC in Italy.
Paris Saint-Germain are outside of the playoff spots in 25th, but the French giants did manage to beat Red Bull Salzburg 3-0, while Celtic picked up a point in a goalless draw with Dinamo Zagreb.
Brest beat PSV Eindhoven 1-0, while Club Brugge overcame Sporting Lisbon courtesy of a 2-1 scoreline; Bayern Munich were also impressive winners on Tuesday, recording a 5-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.
On Wednesday, Atletico Madrid beat Slovan Bratislava 3-1, Lille beat Sturm Graz 3-2, while Feyenoord were 4-2 winners over Sparta Prague; AC Milan were also victorious, beating Red Star Belgrade 2-1, while Stuttgart overcame Young Boys 5-1.
There were just two draws in the latest round of action, with the second of those proving to be the 0-0 which was played out between Benfica and Bologna in Portugal.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the sixth 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
Achraf Hakimi in action for Paris Saint-Germain on December 10, 2024© Imago
Lukasz Skorupski was the outstanding goalkeeper in the latest round of action, with the 33-year-old in brilliant form for Bologna against Benfica, making five saves in total, while he also won four aerial duels, with the stopper vital to his side claiming a point.
A three-man defence was always going to include Achraf Hakimi, with the 26-year-old PSG's standout performer in the team's 3-0 success over Salzburg on Tuesday night; Hakimi provided two assists, while he also had two successful dribbles and made two tackles during a brilliant all-round performance for the French giants.
Another PSG player also makes it, with Nordi Mukiele performing excellently for loan club Leverkusen in the 1-0 win over Inter; the 27-year-old netted the only goal of the match, while he had three shots in total during a strong performance.
The defence is completed by Celtic's Auston Trusty, as the 26-year-old was brilliant in his side's goalless draw with Dinamo Zagreb, winning five aerial duels and making three tackles, while he finished with a pass success rate of 95%.
MIDFIELD
Manuel Locatelli for Juventus on December 11, 2024© Imago
Manuel Locatelli was outstanding in Juventus' 2-0 success over Man City; the 26-year-old made six tackles, while he also completed 27 of his 32 passes, including two key passes, with the Old Lady winning the midfield battle on Wednesday night.
Jude Bellingham also had to be included considering his display for Real Madrid against Atalanta; the England international has been back to his best in recent weeks, and he was outstanding in Italy, getting his name on the scoresheet, in addition to completing five successful dribbles and finishing with a pass success rate of 86%.
There also had to be a spot for Fabian Rieder, who provided three assists in Stuttgart's huge win over Young Boys; the 22-year-old also made four tackles during an all-action display, and he was comfortably the best player on the field in the European affair.
The midfield is completed by another standout performer in this gameweek, with Michael Olise starring for Bayern; the 22-year-old scored twice and provided an assist in his side's 5-1 win over Shakhtar, with the Ukrainian outfit struggling to deal with him all night.
ATTACK
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior on December 10, 2024© Imago
Antoine Griezmann was unfortunate to miss out, having scored twice for Atletico in this round of fixtures, while Serhou Guirassy also deserves a mention due to his brace for Dortmund against Barcelona.
There had to be a spot for Vinicius Junior, though, and the Brazilian goes through the middle for the purposes of this side; he was back in the Real Madrid side against Atalanta after recovering from injury, and the attacker scored once and provided an assist, with Los Blancos picking up a huge three points on their travels.
Bukayo Saka also makes it for his star performance for Arsenal against Monaco, scoring twice and providing an assist for the Gunners in the showdown in North London; Saka was comfortably the best player on the field at the Emirates Stadium.
The final spot in the XI goes to Jamal Musiala, who scored once and provided an assist in Bayern's big win over Shakhtar; the Germany international had four shots in total, while he also managed five successful dribbles and provided three key passes during an outstanding overall performance in the Champions League.
SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
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Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Week (3-4-3): Skorupski (Bologna); Hakimi (PSG), Trusty (Celtic), Mukiele (Leverkusen); Olise (Bayern), Locatelli (Juventus), Bellingham (Real Madrid), Rieder (Stuttgart); Saka (Arsenal), Vinicius (Real Madrid), Musiala (Bayern)
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