Benfica sensationally finished ahead of Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Group H on the final gameweek in the group stage of the Champions League.
Away goals scored was ultimately what separated the top two in the section, with Benfica thumping Maccabi Haifa 6-1 and PSG beating Juventus 2-1 on Wednesday night; a disappointing campaign saw Juventus pick up just three points, but it was still enough for them to claim third and a spot in the Europa League.
Liverpool beat Napoli 2-0 on Tuesday evening to join the Italian giants on 15 points in Group A, but it was not enough to top the section, with the Reds instead qualifying in second, while Ajax claimed third courtesy of their 3-1 victory over Rangers, who had a disastrous group-stage campaign.
Porto have topped Group B, with the Portuguese giants beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 on Tuesday, while Club Brugge have qualified in second on 11 points courtesy of their goalless draw with Bayer Leverkusen, who have finished third in the section ahead of Diego Simeone's Atletico.
Bayern Munich finished with a perfect record in Group C, boasting 18 points from six matches, with the German outfit ending their group stage with a 2-0 victory over Inter Milan, who have qualified in second. Barcelona finished a disappointing campaign on a positive note, meanwhile, by beating Viktoria Plzen 4-2, and the Catalan outfit will drop into the Europa League once again.
Tottenham Hotspur managed to top Group D due to their 2-1 victory over Marseille, while Eintracht Frankfurt beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 to finish second, with the Portuguese giants ultimately finishing third.
Group E winners Chelsea finished their group stage with a 2-1 success over Dinamo Zagreb, while AC Milan secured second in the section courtesy of a 4-0 success over Red Bull Salzburg at San Siro.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, secured first spot in Group F with a thumping 5-1 win over Celtic, while RB Leipzig, who have qualified in second, beat Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0, but the Ukrainian side have still finished third in the section ahead of Celtic, who only picked up two points.
Group G winners Manchester City rounded off their group stage with a 3-1 victory over Sevilla, who have finished third to drop into the Europa League, while second-placed Borussia Dortmund were held to a 1-1 draw by Copenhagen in Denmark.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the final set of group matches in the 2022-23 competition.
DEFENCE
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Milan booked their spot in the round of 16 in style on Wednesday, recording a 4-0 win over Salzburg, and it was the team's attacking players that made the difference, but it is also true that their goalkeeper played a huge role in the victory.
Indeed, Ciprian Tatarusanu made six saves during a strong performance, while he was also dominant inside his own penalty box from set pieces, with the 36-year-old putting in a brilliant display for the Italian giants.
There are two Benfica defenders in this particular side, with their full-backs playing a huge role in what was a stunning win against Maccabi. Alexander Bah actually conceded the penalty that allowed the home side to score, but it was still a brilliant overall performance from the defender, who set up Petar Musa and Henrique Araujo in the second half with two excellent deliveries.
Alejandro Grimaldo, meanwhile, was on the scoresheet in the 69th minute with a brilliant free kick, while he made six tackles and boasted a pass success rate of 94% during his side's 6-1 win.
Benjamin Pavard is also included, with the 26-year-old on the scoresheet in Bayern's 2-0 victory over Inter, while he was also strong defensively, winning two aerial duels and making five tackles.
The back four is made up by Willi Orban, who was brilliant in his side's impressive 4-0 victory over Shakhtar. The 29-year-old played a leading role in Leipzig keeping a clean sheet, while he was also strong in possession, completing 55 of his 66 passes over the course of the match.
MIDFIELD
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Federico Valverde is enjoying a brilliant season for Real Madrid, and the Uruguay international was again in excellent form against Celtic on Wednesday night.
The 24-year-old provided the assist for Vinicius Junior to make it 4-0 in the 61st minute before getting his name on the scoresheet in the 71st minute, and it was a dominant performance from the midfielder, who also completed 58 of his 64 passes against the Scottish giants.
Joshua Kimmich also had to be included in midfield due to his display against Inter; it was the 27-year-old who set up Pavard for the opening goal of the contest at Allianz Arena, while he dominated the midfield, ending the match with a pass success rate of 90%.
Meanwhile, there is also a position for Steven Berghuis due to his performance in Ajax's 3-1 victory over Rangers in Scotland. The 30-year-old made the breakthrough in the fourth minute of the contest, while he made three tackles, had three shots and completed 34 of his 40 passes during a strong display.
ATTACK
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Ferran Torres has found it difficult to secure regular action for Barcelona this season, but he played the full 90 minutes against Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday and finished the contest with two goals. A strong performance from the 22-year-old also saw him end the match with an 89% pass success rate, as he combined impressively with his teammates, particularly Raphinha, who set up both of his goals.
Tomas Chory scored twice for the home side in the same match and is very unfortunate to miss out, but both Milan's Olivier Giroud and Man City's Julian Alvarez had to be included.
Giroud was in brilliant form against Salzburg, scoring twice and providing two assists, with the Austrian side finding it very difficult to deal with the 36-year-old, who was arguably the best performer across the board in the final round of group-stage matches.
Alvarez, meanwhile, led the Man City line against Sevilla, and the 22-year-old made the most of the opportunity by scoring once and providing two assists. Alvarez set up both Rico Lewis and Riyad Mahrez for their goals at the Etihad Stadium, while he registered in the 73rd minute off an assist from Kevin De Bruyne.
SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sports Mole's Champions League team of the week (4-3-3): Tatarusanu; Bah, Pavard, Orban, Grimaldo; Valverde, Kimmich, Berghuis; F Torres, Giroud, Alvarez
Matt Law
