Champions League Team of the Week - Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Sandro Tonali

Xavi's side had actually seen their last-16 hopes ended ahead of their game with Bayern Munich, as Inter Milan thumped Viktoria Plzen 4-0 to qualify from Group C.

Barcelona were unable to give their supporters something to cheer against Bayern, though, with the German champions running out 3-0 winners at Camp Nou to secure first spot in the section.

In Group A, Napoli are in a strong position to claim first courtesy of their 3-0 victory over Rangers, while Liverpool moved onto 12 points due to a 3-0 win at Ajax, with the Italian side and English team qualifying for the knockout round of the competition.

There was a spectacular finish to Atletico Madrid's Group B clash against Bayer Leverkusen, with Yannick Carrasco missing a last-gasp penalty, which left the scores level at 2-2, eliminating both sides from the competition. Club Brugge and Porto have advanced from that particular group, with the former still top despite suffering a 4-0 home defeat to the latter in Wednesday's early start.

Tottenham Hotspur sit top of Group D despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Sporting Lisbon, who are second in the group, level on points with third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, with the German side beating Marseille 2-1, and all four sides can still reach the knockout round heading into the final set of fixtures.

Chelsea are through from Group E courtesy of their 2-1 victory over Red Bull Salzburg, while AC Milan are up into second due to their 4-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb.

In Group F, Real Madrid are through to the knockout round but suffered a 3-2 defeat to RB Leipzig on Tuesday, with the German side now just one point behind the reigning champions. Meanwhile, Shakhtar Donetsk are third on six points following their 1-1 draw with Celtic.

Manchester City's goalless draw with Borussia Dortmund was enough for them to secure top spot in Group G, while Sevilla beat Copenhagen 3-0 in the section's other match. Dortmund, like Man City, will play in the knockout round of this season's competition.

Lastly, in Group H, Paris Saint-Germain recorded a thumping 7-2 victory over Maccabi Haifa, while Benfica beat Juventus 4-3. PSG are currently top of the section but are level on points (11) with second-placed Benfica, with the two sides already advancing to the last-16 stage of the tournament.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the penultimate set of group matches in the 2022-23 competition.

DEFENCE

Lukas Hradecky gets the nod between the sticks due to his performance for Leverkusen against Atletico on Wednesday. The 32-year-old made nine saves during a brilliant display, and his star moment came in the final exchanges, when he kept out a penalty from Carrasco to secure his side a point.

Sevilla's Gonzalo Montiel and Napoli's Mario Rui feature in the full-back positions, with both players in brilliant form for their respective sides during the latest gameweek. Montiel was excellent in Sevilla's 3-0 win over Copenhagen, boasting a pass success rate of 91% and winning two aerial duels, while he found the back of the net for the La Liga outfit late on. Rui was equally good for Napoli against Rangers, providing the assist for Giovanni Simeone's second, and it was a strong all-round display from the left-back.

Alessandro Bastoni - said to be on the radar of a number of clubs - is also picked for his display in Inter's 4-0 success over Plzen; the centre-back actually set up Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the game's first goal, while he boasted a pass success rate of 94% and won three tackles.

Antonio Silva, meanwhile, captained Benfica to a 4-3 win over Juventus on Tuesday, and it was a brilliant performance from the 18-year-old, who opened the scoring in the 17th minute. Silva had a pass success rate of 91%, won four aerial duels and made two tackles during a standout performance in Portugal.

MIDFIELD

Sandro Tonali was a certainty in this side due to his performance for Milan against Dinamo Zagreb; the Serie A outfit recorded a 4-0 victory on Tuesday, and Tonali was central to the performance, setting up Matteo Gabbia for the opening goal, while he dominated the midfield battle.

There also had to be a position for Rafa due to his contribution against Juventus; the 29-year-old scored twice from six shots on Tuesday, while he also completed two successful dribbles, won two tackles and boasted an 89% pass success rate in a brilliant all-round performance in Portugal.

Otavio is also included, with the 27-year-old starring in Porto's 4-0 success over Club Brugge; the 27-year-old provided the assists for both of Mehdi Taremi's goals, and his all-action display was a key contributor to Porto recording an eye-catching result on Wednesday night.

ATTACK

The front three was very difficult to pick, shown by the fact that Serge Gnabry misses out despite providing three assists in Bayern's 3-0 victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Giovanni Simeone is also absent despite his brace for Napoli against Rangers, while Edin Dzeko's two-goal showing for Inter against Plzen is not enough to see the experienced striker included.

Mehdi Taremi leads the line, with the 30-year-old in sensational form for Porto against Club Brugge, scoring twice in a dominant performance. Taremi had five shots in total, while he won three aerial duels, with his two goals capping what was an excellent display from the Iran international.

Kylian Mbappe also had to be included due to his performance in PSG's 7-2 win over Maccabi Haifa; the France international scored twice and provided two assists, with the visitors simply unable to cope with the 23-year-old, who was part of a devastating front three for the French champions.

Neymar misses out despite his strong display in the same match, with Lionel Messi taking the final spot in the side; the Argentine, like Mbappe, managed two goals and two assists in Paris, while he had five shots in total during what was one of his best performances since arriving at the club from Barcelona.

SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Champions League team of the week (4-3-3): Hradecky; Montiel, Bastoni, A Silva, Rui; Tonali, Rafa, Otavio; Messi, Taremi, Mbappe