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The UEFA Champions League group stages entered its final round of fixtures after the recently concluded games in midweek from matchday five. Fans from all across the globe shared the thrill of yet another round of Europe's premier club competition as some of the big names in club football ensured their qualification to the knockout stages with a game to spare.
Barcelona, Manchester City, Besiktas and Tottenham Hotspur emerged as winners of their respective groups while defending champions Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Chelsea also booked their places in the next phase of the competition.
Here we take a look at the five main talking points from the action during midweek:
#5 Atletico Madrid are still alive in Group C
Atletico Madrid had everything to play for when they faced Roma at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium after their disappointing start to the campaign weighed down by the fact that they were without a win in their four Champions League outings.
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Diego Simeone's men were out to prove their mettle as a European heavyweight against Roma, who were also on a mission to secure their smooth qualification to the next stage.
However, an acrobatic strike from Antoine Griezmann and a late goal from Kevin Gameiro meant that Eusebio Di Francesco's side will have to wait until the final round of fixtures to ensure qualification.
Atletico not only have to win against group leaders Chelsea on matchday 6 but also hope that Qarabag deny Roma an outright victory when the two sides meet in Italy next month.
#4 FC Basel continue impressive record at home against English sides
Jose Mourinho's Manchester United stepped out to play at the Saint Jakob-Park stadium on the back of an impressive comeback win against Newcastle United in the Premier League. Paul Pogba who starred on his return from injury against the Magpies captained the side and they were in control of the situation in the group as they needed just a single point to make it to the next round.
However, Raphael Wicky's men had different ideas on the night and continued their impressive record at home against sides from the Premier League. On 14 occasions in the competition, no team from England has managed to keep a clean sheet against the Swiss champions and Michael Lang ensured that the record stayed with a strike that proved to be the winner in the 89th minute.
A game of two halves really as United dominated proceedings in the second half but failed to achieve anything to show for their early dominance. Mourinho will be unhappy with the shades of complacency showed by his players on a night in which the Red Devils should have taken all three points.
The result puts Basel in pole position to beat CSKA Moscow, who face United away from home, for qualification if they manage to beat Benfica in their last game.
#3 Ronaldo breaks yet another record
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his fine form in the Champions League this season by scoring a brace in Real Madrid's 6-0 thumping of Apoel FC in Group H. Real ensured qualification to the next round but failed to top their group after losing against Tottenham at Wembley and failing to beat them at home thanks to goals from Karim Benzema (2), Ronaldo (2), Luka Modric and Nacho.
The Portuguese superstar has now netted eight goals in five games and is currently the leading scorer in the tournament. In the calendar year of 2017, Ronaldo has scored an incredible 18 goals in the competition and surpassed his own record of 16 from 2015.
Despite his scintillating form in front of goal in Europe, Ronaldo has only managed a single league goal in eight appearances so far this season after missing the first four games due to suspension.
This is Ronaldo's worst start to a league campaign and his poor form has taken a toll on Real's performances in the league as they are already ten points adrift of arch-rivals Barcelona who are currently setting the pace for the league.
However, his performance in midweek is an indication that his scoring boots have not gone missing and he will take motivation from the same to inspire his side to win when they take on Malaga in the weekend.
#2 Besiktas; an unexpected rise to the top
Turkish champions Besiktas ensured qualification to the knockout stages for the first time since the competition was reformatted in 1992 with a 1-1 draw against Porto at home. Senol Gunes' men are unbeaten in the competition till now and have emerged as the dark horses of the tournament after their impressive performances in Group G against the likes of Monaco and RB Leipzig.
Besiktas fell behind to Felipe's goal on the night but equalised before the stroke of half-time through Anderson Talisca and went into the second half as the stronger side. The home fans were in full voice as their club created history by securing qualification as group winners with a game to spare.
Gunes' men will face RB Leipzig away from home in their last game and the result will have no impact on their status as winners of the group, however, Leipzig will require nothing short of a win to book their place in the last 16.
Not many people would have expected Besiktas to qualify for the knockout stages as group winners and the underdog tag acted as the perfect stepping stone for their successful campaign so far. Even though they will still be one of the less fancied sides in the competition this year, Besiktas will be looking to spring a few surprises.
#1 PSG and Neymar showing no signs of complacency
Paris Saint-Germain enjoyed a thumping 7-1 win over Celtic in Group B and booked their berth in the last 16 of the competition in a convincing manner. The club's world record signing Neymar was yet again instrumental for the Ligue 1 giants and mustered two goals to his name.
Unai Emery's men are determined to taste continental success this season and have been the best side in the competition so far by a country mile. PSG are the competition's meanest defence alongside Barcelona having conceded just a solitary goal in the five games.
However, their real strength has been the ability to outscore any side having already found the back of the net on 24 occasions - 8 more than Liverpool who are second on the list. PSG are also the only club along with Manchester City to enjoy a 100 percent record in the group stages this season and it is highly likely that they will qualify as winners of Group B at the end of the proceedings.
PSG will take some serious stopping if they are to miss out on Champions League glory this season and will face Bayern Munich on a high in their final game at the Allianz Arena after having already beaten the Bavarians in their previous meeting this season.
