Champions League Team of the Group Stage: Bellingham & Mbappe, Bonmati & Pajor in combined men’s and women’s best XI

Simon Mignolet was pivotal in Belgian side Club Brugge securing a place in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

The 34-year-old pulled off a total of 30 saves across six matches. Only Shakhtar’s Anatoliy Trubin stopped as many attempts as the Belgian, but whereas the Ukrainian conceded a total of 10 goals, only four managed to slip by Mignolet.

Thanks to him, Brugge picked up 11 points in the group to come in second place ahead of Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid.

French full-back Mohamed Simakan was a reliable figure on the right side of the RB Leipzig defence as they picked up wins against Celtic, Shakhtar and Real Madrid.

The 22-year-old scored one goal across six games and registered an assist against all three of his team’s opponents to help them progress as group runners-up.

Chelsea have been almost untouchable in the Women’s Champions League this season and Kadeisha Buchanan has been a rock in the defence.

They had to overcome Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Vllaznia to progress and they did so with relative ease.

Buchanan, 27, was always on hand to deal with the danger, winning tackles, making clearances and blocking efforts for the Blues as they conceded just one goal in their first five matches.

French centre-back Benjamin Pavard thoroughly impressed in the heart of the defence for Bayern Munich as they finished with a perfect record in the group stage.

He was solid at the back, sure, but he also chipped in with goals against Barcelona and Inter to help them on their way to six straight victories. He was particularly strong against the Serie A side in their final game of the round.

Portuguese full-back Joao Cancelo has been a revelation and proved crucial to Manchester City going unbeaten throughout the group stage.

He chipped in with three assists throughout the round to help his team finish five points clear at the top of their pool.

Aitana Bonmati has been sensational at times for Barcelona. With five goals and three assists, she has been decisive in her team but there is more to the 24-year-old than goals. She is always eager to get on the ball and useful on it, rarely inaccurate with her passing and a perfect fit for Barca’s playing style.

Time and time again Jude Bellingham has shown that he is one of the most promising players of his generation and his performances in the Champions League only enhanced that reputation.

He was the German team’s top scorer with four goals, including one against Manchester City, and the teenager ran the show with one strike and an assist as they trounced Sevilla 4-1 in Spain.

Barcelona midfielder Mariona Caldentey has been spectacular at times this season. The 26-year-old’s versatility allows her to chip in all over the pitch, either as a midfielder, winger or centre-forward and she looks strong in all three roles.

She has already scored four times in the Champions League this season and was the standout performer against Rosengard in October - scoring twice - and against Benfica when she netted one and set up two more.

With six goals to her name, Ewa Pajor is the top goal scorer in the first round of the Champions League.

Her exploits have helped ensure the German side progressed to the quarter-finals before the last round of group stage fixtures as they remain unbeaten in the competition.

French forward Kylian Mbappe is going from strength to strength. Before his Golden Boot-winning display at the World Cup, the 24-year-old was impossible to contain in the Champions League.

He scored seven goals to become the joint-top scorer in the group stage and added an extra three assists to set himself apart from the other most prolific man in the competition, Mohamed Salah.

Norwegian winger Guro Reiten has been consistently good for Chelsea in the Champions League.

She was particularly outstanding when she set up four goals in one game for the Group A leaders to help them through to the quarter-finals.