barca-12.jpg
Getty Images

There is just one round of games to go in the Champions League group stage after a thrilling two days of action. Here's the pick of the individual performances from Matchday 5, with 12 teams having punched their tickets to the knockout stages:

GK: Nick Pope, Newcastle

Nick Pope will have as much right as anyone to feel aggrieved that his hard work was undone by Paris Saint-Germain's added time penalty, a rocket by Kylian Mbappe that he was never going to get close to. That was the sort of shot that was required to beat the Newcastle goalkeeper in the Parc des Princes, where he delivered six saves, none better than the flick of his right arm to deny Bradley Barcola.

The method by which PSG drew level might have been contentious but when Newcastle give up 3.8 non-penalty expected goals (npxG) and 61 touches in their own penalty area, they can hardly say that they put themselves in a position where variance couldn't get them. Ultimately, if it had not been for Pope's excellence, this game would have got away from them much earlier.

RB: Lewin Blum, Young Boys

An elegantly taken goal from the right corner of the box might have been Lewin Blum's stand out moment of the match but what was no less impressive was the front-footedness with which the 22-year-old defended. Crvena zvezda can be quite the threat down the flank, Young Boys' right back negated that by stepping up aggressively to challenge his wingers, negating the most dangerous moments at source.

"As a defender, it's always important to keep a clean sheet," said Blum. "It's certainly the first objective and then I got a goal as well, so two objectives completed -- plus the fact we won. Perfect. It couldn't have gone better."

CB: Mats Hummels, Borussia Dortmund

Three straight team of the weeks now for Hummels, who has quelled the big beasts of the group of death, guiding Borussia Dortmund to the last 16. The 3-1 win in Milan was another showing of robust defensiveness. Nine clearances, 16 of 18 duel wins and 10 tackles is pretty exemplary stuff, particularly against as experienced an opponent as Olivier Giroud.

export-2023-11-29t141830-424.png
Hummels' touch map in the Borussia Dortmund penalty area and its immediate confines during Champions League matches. Note the sheer number of clearances he has made from the most dangerous spots in the pitch. TruMedia

Hummels may not have the goal contributions or big moments of Alvaro Morata, Jude Bellingham or Mbappe but he might have been more important than any of those players in guiding his side to where they are right now. Given what was expected of Dortmund, you might just argue that Hummels has been the player of the tournament so far.

CB: Denis Vavro, Copenhagen

They may not have run into a full strength Bayern Munich side going at full tilt but Copenhagen will still feel they defended quite excellently to hold one of the tournament favorites to just nine shots (and a late penalty that might well have been if VAR had had its way). Most impressive in the visitors' rearguard might just have been DEnis Vavro, just ahead of his team mate Kevin Diks.

The 27-year-old ended the match with a gaudy nine clearances, five recoveries two interceptions, a blocked shot and a 100 percent record in his aerial duels. Now Copenhagen have a vital point that means they might not have to beat Galatasaray to reach the last 16, a remarkable achievement given they are sharing a group with Manchester United.

LB: Joao Cancelo, Barcelona

I promise we're not just picking the goalscorers at full back! It's just hard not to select Cancelo. His brilliant run and finish was more the work of Thierry Henry than your standard left back, the equalising goal one of four shots he registered on the Porto goal. He was no less effective as a provider, laying on five chances for his team mates, including the assist for Joao Felix.

CM: Declan Rice, Arsenal

There was nothing particularly out of the ordinary in Rice's performance at the Emirates Stadium. That is why it was so impressive. Some players are Mr. 7/10s for their team, the sort whose quiet efficiency you can set your watch by. Rice has taken that quality to a far greater level, since his £105 million move to north London he has been a lock for a performance at or around the 9/10 grade without anyone particularly noticing or commenting.

Take his quiet intervention on the edge of the Lens third in the seventh minute. For a moment it looked like the French side would break away on a dangerous counter. A telescopic Rice boot not only quelled that potential attack but got Arsenal in another dangerous spot. With their record signing in this mood, the Gunners can play the game exactly where they want.

CM: Joao Mario, Benfica

There are few things more joyous than when the Champions League engages full narrative mode. You know the moments, like when a former player, heralded as the next big thing by new ownership before swiftly being dumped into a career spiral, returns with a 34-minute hat trick? Admittedly that might not be the most prevalent of scenarios but that makes it all the sweeter when it comes along, especially for Joao Mario.

You sensed that Benfica and their No. 20 in particular did not take too kindly to Inter leaving out eight starters with an eye on the game against Napoli at the weekend. Ultimately, however, that decision was vindicated with a remarkable second half fightback to draw that has one thinking what on earth has happened to Benfica? They have betrayed no evidence of a great fall off in domestic competition but in Europe they look a shadow of the side who had dark horse credentials a year ago. Has the talent drain gotten too fast with the likes of Enzo Fernandez now at the club so briefly that it is scarcely possible for Benfica to bed them in, let alone prepare a succession plan?

RW: Bukayo Saka, Arsenal

Not for the first time this season, a case could be made for any of several Arsenal forwards getting into this side but it's Bukayo Saka that just about shades Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli. Three months ago the 22-year-old had never kicked a ball in the Champions League. Now he is the competition's leading assist provider with four, his seven goal contributions also a high watermark.

His stand out moment? Take your pick. For some it will be the swift running that carried Arsenal up the field on their way to the fifth. Others might favor his goal. For this column, however, his close control and whipped pass into Jesus' path for the second was the highlight of the night. This competition isn't supposed to look as easy as Saka is making it.

CAM: Hakim Ziyech, Galatasaray, c/o, Andre Onana, Manchester United

don't make the rules and one thing we strongly believe here at CBS Sports is that multiple free kick goals makes you an absolute lock for our team of the week, even if we have to play you out of position. Frankly, it constitutes a penciling in for the team of the group stage. And like the handball rule, we intend to apply this with rigorous consistency no matter what common sense might tell us about two goals that were effectively handed to Ziyech by Andre Onana.

On a more serious note, a word not just for the vicious whip with which Ziyech hit his first goal but also the ingenuity of Mauro Icardi and Abdulkerim Bardakci, who peeled out of the wall to create an avenue for their teammate's shot. Equally, this is hardly some never before seen free kick wheeze, the minute Galatasaray placed two men in the wall Onana should have seen it coming.

LW: Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain

It might have taken 96 minutes for Kylian Mbappe and PSG to find the goal they so desperately needed in the Parc des Princes but you could not accuse their talisman of not doing enough work of his own. He ended the night with four chances created, 1.07 expected assists (a gaudy amount for a single game), five shots and 1.68 xG (0.79 of which came from his late penalty).

While Mbappe might have been rather less impressed with his own cutting edge, and that of his teammates, he might at least feel that he got PSG into game-changing positions often enough that their equalizer was inevitable.

ST: Ciro Immobile, Lazio

Given some of the depths they have plumbed in their worst displays in the group stage, it is quite remarkable that Lazio are through to the last 16 with a game to spare, all the more so at the expense of a really impressive Feyenoord side (future Europa League winners?). The limitations of Maurizio Sarri's side were apparent for the first 82 minutes against Celtic, a fair few openings and a good display by Matteo Guendouzi, but precious little to really test Joe Hart.

Enter Ciro Immobile. The substitute's first goal was scrappy but the sort of predatory finish that few others in this game looked like providing. Three minutes later came a quite brilliant second, the veteran drifting just behind the defense, outmuscling one Celtic defender before sending another sprawling with a great shot fake. Hart had no chance to get to Immobile before the ball was rolling into his bottom corner.