It has been another eventful midweek of UEFA Champions League action with matchday six of the league phase bringing our first eliminated teams in RB Leipzig, Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava. Liverpool continue to lead the way and are more or less guaranteed top eight status while Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain but picked up big wins towards the bottom of the standings. Stade Brestois 29 continue to impress as plucky underdogs while Bayer Leverkusen beat Inter to join Real who saw off Atalanta BC to end the two remaining unbeaten runs outside of Arne Slot's Reds. There were also noteworthy wins for Juventus, Barcelona and Arsenal.
This is our pick of the best players from this midweek, featuring a handful of French representatives as well as another U.S. Men's National Team member after PSV Eindhoven's Malik Tillman last time out:
GK: Marco Bizot, Brest
Man of the match as Brest continued to defy the odds and beat PSV 1-0 on Tuesday, the veteran Dutch goalkeeper put in the performance of his continental career to keep his compatriots at bay for 90 minutes. The 33-year-old was on hand to deny Tillman, Olivier Boscagli and Luuk de Jong (twice) while also thanking his woodwork at times as Bizot saw it out for a valuable first clean sheet at Stade de Roudourou and second this league phase to delight Les Pirates' fans and head coach Eric Roy.
RB: Achraf Hakimi, PSG
Tuesday was a good evening for French clubs as Paris Saint-Germain picked up some important points on the road away at Red Bull Salzburg who are close to joining fellow RB-owned club Leipzig in crashing out in the league phase. The Morocco international picked up two key assists in teeing up Goncalo Ramos and Desire Doue for two of Les Parisiens' three goals in cold Austria to give Luis Enrique and his men hope of reaching at least the knockout phase with a 3-0 win after a slow start this year.
CB: Nordi Mukiele, Leverkusen
The Frenchman was heroic late on as the Germans cracked Inter's rock-solid defense by a single goal which Mukiele provided towards the end thanks to Martin Terrier's assist. The versatile 27-year-old is on loan from PSG and although primarily a right back, is capable of playing in the middle which is why he is being shifted into a central role for the purpose of this XI. Xabi Alonso's Werkself picked up three massive points which have them now on the verge of a knockout phase berth and Mukiele contributed at both ends here.
CB: Auston Trusty, Celtic
Author of an encouraging clean sheet in an otherwise forgettable goalless draw with Dinamo Zagreb, the USMNT star paired well with compatriot Cameron Carter-Vickers to ensure a valuable point for the Bhoys. The Scottish giants are inside the top 24 by two points and could well stay there with just two games to go and if that prove to be the case, the 26-year-old Trusty helped to play a key part in it.
LB: Nuno Mendes, PSG
This midweek was one for the marauding fullbacks with three PSG-owned faces featuring thanks to Nuno Mendes' inclusion. The Portugal international got forward well -- as he has done for much of the league phase so far -- and added the vital second goal with a lovely swept finish after being played in by substitute Doue. Like Hakimi, Mendes will need to be on top form across Paris' two final games with Manchester City visiting Parc des Princes before a decisive trip to Germany to take on VfB Stuttgart. It was do or die for Luis Enrique's Parisiens in Austria and the 22-year-old was one of the heroes in Salzburg.
CDM: Fabian Rieder, Stuttgart
Three assists in any game merits celebration and the Switzerland international saved one of his best performances for his compatriots by laying on goals for Yannik Keitel, Enzo Millot and Chris Fuhrich. Given the importance for the Germans, who are trying to break into the top 24 just behind PSG, this was a huge 5-1 win over Young Boys for more than just the final score. With Les Parisiens one of their two remaining opponents, Rieder and Stuttgart now potentially have their fate in their own hands.
RM: Bukayo Saka, Arsenal
With two goals and an assist in a 3-0 win over Monaco, the England international was one of the outstanding performers on Wednesday as he returned the favor to Kai Havertz after being teed up himself by Gabriel Jesus. The win takes the Gunners up into the top three with a strong chance to confirm a top-eight finish considering their remaining games against Dinamo Zagreb and Girona. Saka now has four goals and two assists so far and could be in the mix to be top scorer if he can add a few more goals en route to the knockout phase.
LM: Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid
The Brazilian superstar helped to underline his credentials as the defending champions' main man with a goal and an assist on a night when Carlo Ancelotti's big-name trio showed up and all scored. It was Vini Jr. who teed up Jude Bellingham while Kylian Mbappe did also score before going off injured and those contributions ended up leading Real to edge Atalanta 3-2 in Italy with the five-goal thriller arguably the pick of this midweek's games. The Spanish giants were at the wrong end of the standings ahead of the game with the Italians but put on a show to come away with the points and the South American was crucial in that effort.
CAM: Michael Olise, Bayern Munich
What a start to life the France international is enjoying with Bayern Munich after two more goals and an assist in a 5-1 rout of Shakhtar Donetsk took the 22-year-old up to nine goals and five assists across all competitions. Having only arrived this summer from Crystal Palace, Olise has shone regularly in the Champions League and even did enough to put Jamal Musiala's goal and assist in the shade here.
ST: Lois Openda, RB Leipzig
Unlucky to be on the losing side, the Belgium international will not be on the Champions League stage much longer after Leipzig were eliminated by Villa on Tuesday. Openda did his best to singlehandedly drag the Bundesliga outfit through another matchday with a goal and an assist in the 3-2 loss but the 24-year-old's effort were for nothing as McGinn, Jhon Duran and Ross Barkley goals led the Premier League side through.
ST: Santiago Gimenez, Feyenoord
The Dutch giants needed three points after PSG put them under pressure by winning in Salzburg and the Mexico international duly obliged with one goal and an assist in a 4-2 thrashing of Sparta Praha. Feyenoord are now up to 18th and three points inside the top 24 with just two games remaining and Gimenez was key in ensuring that here. However, Bayern Munich and Lille are two tough remaining games for the Dutch outfit.
