The first teams through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League were confirmed this week as the second half of the group stage got underway.

Group E duo Chelsea and Sevilla became the first clubs to book their places in the last 16, and they were swiftly followed by Barcelona and Juventus later on Tuesday.

Defending champions Bayern Munich and Manchester City joined them in the knockout stages with two games to spare on Wednesday, but Liverpool missed the chance with a shock home defeat at the hands of Atalanta BC.

Real Madrid overcame Inter Milan at San Siro to boost their hopes of qualifying from Group B, while there were also wins for the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Ajax and Lazio.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League team of the week for matchday four.

Bayern's 3-1 win over Red Bull Salzburg flattered them a little, with the Austrian outfit guilty of missing a string of presentable chances, but those they did get on target usually found Manuel Neuer in the way, including a stunning double-save at one stage.

The German keeper could do nothing about Salzburg's goal, but that double-save alone - two of 10 he made throughout the match - is enough to earn him a spot in this team.

Barcelona were missing some big names for their trip to face Dynamo Kiev, while their defensive injury crisis saw them name Oscar Mingueza in their starting lineup, but the 20-year-old fared well, even contributing an assist to go with his clean sheet.

Indeed, there were a number of notable centre-back performances this week, forcing us into a back three. Even then, the likes of Cristian Romero and Vedran Corluka are unfortunate to miss out.

Corluka's Lokomotiv Moscow teammate Murilo Cerqueira does make the cut, though, having helped to keep Atletico Madrid at bay at the Wanda Metropolitano, including a crucial clearance off the line.

Juventus made hard work of battling past Ferencvaros in Turin and ultimately needed a 91st-minute winner to book their place in the last 16, with Juan Cuadrado responsible for assisting both of their goals to beat Sergino Dest to the right-back spot.

Borussia Monchengladbach have been one of the most impressive teams over the last two matchdays, and another big win against Shakhtar Donetsk earns them two of the back five, with both Oscar Wendt and Nico Elvedi getting on the scoresheet in addition to keeping a clean sheet.

Two Manchester men populate central midfield this week, with Bruno Fernandes once again proving the standout star for Manchester United in their win over Istanbul Basaksehir. The Portuguese playmaker scored two - including a stunning first - gave up the chance of a hat-trick from the penalty spot and also registered an assist which was chalked off by the offside flag.

Phil Foden fired another reminder to Pep Guardiola of why he should be starting more often, scoring the only goal of the game against Olympiacos and being involved in the creation of many other chances Man City failed to take.

Barcelona's biggest absentee in Kiev was Lionel Messi, but Martin Braithwaite proved to be the unlikely man to step into his boots with his first ever Champions League goals, scoring twice in Ukraine to help fire Barca through.

There were a host of players in contention for the forward spots this week, with David Neres, Dusan Tadic, Eden Hazard, Kingsley Coman, Ciro Immobile, Joaquin Correa, Breel Embolo and Munir El Haddadi all worthy of honourable mentions.

However, it is a Borussia Dortmund duo who complete our XI this week, with Jadon Sancho arguably the star of the show courtesy of his stunning free kick and additional assist to silence critics over his form so far this season.

Despite that, it was still Erling Braut Haaland who stole the headlines with yet another brace, which saw him become the fastest player to 15 Champions League goals in the competition's history - he now sits on 16 in just 12 games.