Liverpool's incredible form in the 2024-25 Champions League continued on Wednesday evening, with the Reds recording a 2-0 victory over the reigning European champions Real Madrid at Anfield.
Arne Slot's side are top of the Champions League table, boasting 15 points from five matches, while Real Madrid sit down in 24th, only just in the playoff spots, with the capital giants losing for the third time in the competition this term.
Inter Milan are second, having beaten RB Leipzig 1-0 on Tuesday, while Barcelona moved into third spot in the division courtesy of a 3-0 success over Brest.
Borussia Dortmund, who beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 on Wednesday, are fourth, while Atalanta BC have also impressed in the competition this term, with their last victory proving to be a 6-1 success over Young Boys.
Bayer Leverkusen, who are sixth, beat Red Bull Salzburg 5-0, while seventh-placed Arsenal were huge winners in Portugal, recording a 5-1 victory over Sporting Lisbon, with the Green and Whites struggling in their first European match since Ruben Amorim's exit.
Elsewhere, AC Milan beat Slovan Bratislava 3-2, Atletico Madrid recorded a 6-0 win over Sparta Prague, Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0, while Manchester City were held to a 3-3 draw by Feyenoord.
Red Star Belgrade were big winners, beating Stuttgart 5-1, while Sturm Graz overcame Girona courtesy of a 1-0 success, and Aston Villa held Juventus to a goalless draw at Villa Park.
Lille were away winners, beating Bologna 2-1 in Italy, Celtic drew 1-1 at home to Club Brugge, Benfica were 3-2 winners over Monaco, while PSV Eindhoven beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 in a five-goal thriller in the Netherlands.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the fifth set of fixtures in the league phase of the competition, and it was incredibly difficult to pick this week due to the number of outstanding performers.
DEFENCE
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Manuel Neuer gets the nod between the sticks in this side due to his performance in Bayern's narrow win over PSG; the German was at his dominant best, making six saves in total, while he was also calm and composed in possession of the ball.
Liverpool's Conor Bradley is unfortunate to miss out on a spot in the side considering his display against Real Madrid, but there simply had to be space in the XI for both Marcos Llorente and Alex Grimaldo in the full-back positions.
Llorente scored once and provided two assists from right-back in Atletico's 6-0 victory over Sparta Prague, while Grimaldo scored once and provided one assist in Leverkusen's 5-0 victory over Salzburg; the 29-year-old had seven shots in total, while he made four tackles and completed 62 of his 70 passes during an outstanding performance.
Neuer is joined by Bayern teammate Kim Min-jae, with the 28-year-old outstanding against PSG, scoring the only goal of the match, while he made two tackles, won two aerial duels and boasted a pass success rate of 93%.
There also had to be a spot in the side for Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes, with the 26-year-old on the scoresheet in his side's excellent win over Sporting; Viktor Gyokeres found it difficult to make his mark against the Gunners, and Gabriel was one of the London club's most impressive performers during the huge win in Portugal.
MIDFIELD
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The outstanding midfield performance came from Charles De Ketelaere, with the 23-year-old in brilliant form for Atalanta in their 6-1 win over Young Boys; the Belgian scored twice and provided three assists, with Young Boys finding it incredibly difficult to deal with the midfielder on Tuesday night.
There is also a spot for PSV's Malik Tillman, with the 22-year-old hitting a brace in his side's 3-2 success over Shakhtar; the midfielder also won five tackles during an outstanding performance, with Tillman key to his side claiming all three points.
The midfield is completed by Timi Elsnik, with the 26-year-old providing two assists in Red Star Belgrade's victory over Stuttgart; Elsnik also won two aerial duels and made three tackles during a brilliant all-round performance, and there is no question that he was vital to his side securing a vital win on home soil.
ATTACK
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There was also a lot of competition in the final third of the field, with some outstanding performers being left out, including the in-form Robert Lewandowski, but there had to be a spot for Julian Alvarez, who starred for Atletico against Sparta Prague, scoring a brace in his side's 6-0 win, and he was unplayable on the night.
Florian Wirtz was the standout forward in the latest set of Champions League fixtures, with the Germany international scoring twice and registering one assist in Leverkusen's 5-0 victory over Salzburg; he had four shots in total and managed three successful dribbles, while the attacker also produced three key passes.
There is also a spot for Erling Haaland, who came up with a brace in Man City's 3-3 draw with Feyenoord; the Norway international made the breakthrough from the penalty spot in the 44th minute, before scoring again early in the second period, but the Citizens collapsed late on and were made to settle for a point.
SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Week (4-3-3): Neuer (Bayern); Llorente (Atletico), Kim (Bayern), Gabriel (Arsenal), Grimaldo (Leverkusen); De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Elsnik (Belgrade), Tillman (PSV); Alvarez (Atletico), Haaland (Man City), Wirtz (Leverkusen)
