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6 of the Best Moments From a Rip-Roaring Week of Champions League Action

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With the Champions League group stage finally heading towards true crunch time, Europe's top performers stepped up their collective game this midweek, with the fourth matchweek proving arguably the best of the lot so far. 

Well, unless you support the Spanish contenders. Or the German ones. Or, erm, the Italian ones. Or Chelsea. 

Best Goal

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With 48 goals over the week's 16 games, this was a bit of a head-scratcher - but Napoli are Napoli, and the fact that they lost 4-2 to Manchester City doesn't take the gloss of their magnificent first goal. 

If you don't watch much of Serie A and haven't quite gotten the hype around the Serie A leaders, just watch Lorenzo Insigne's goal a couple of times. The movement, the first-time flick around the corner from Dries Mertens, the delicate finish. It's what they do week in, week out, but dialled up to 11. Sublime. 

Best Cursed Goalkeeper

Spare a thought, if you have one, for 18-year-old Benfica goalkeeper Mile Svilar. Under pressure after his side's first game against Manchester United a fortnight ago, in which he carried a free kick over his own line to concede the game's only goal, Tuesday night started well for him. 

At 0-0 in the first half, he became the youngest goalkeeper to save a penalty in the Champions League, and things looked rosy. Then Nemanja Matic took a shot from 25 yards and the ball rebounded back off the post, into the back of the diving stopper's head and into the back of the net. Halloween horror show.

Best Assist

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In a night of lovely flicks and dinks, it was Shinji Kagawa's majestic guided, first-time ball from the outside of his boot - a single touch slicing open the APOEL defence with a surgeon's precision to put Raphael Guerreiro in on goal - that was the best of the lot. 

It was the only moment of true quality in a disappointing game for Michael Bosz's side, who drew 1-1 with the Cypriots for the second time in a fortnight to leave themselves staring down the barrel of an early elimination from the competition. 

Best Record Breaker

Is Sergio Aguero quite good at football? Sergio Aguero is quite good at football. The Argentine hitman became Manchester City's all-time leading goalscorer when he put his side 3-2 up on Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo, with 187 goals in all competitions. 

It was at San Paolo that Aguero's father-in-law Diego Maradona won two Serie A titles and the UEFA Cup, with the City man giving the shirt in which he scored the record-breaking goal to his own son - Maradona's grandchild - after burying the World Cup winner's old team. 

Best Save

This is the last time I'll talk about Napoli-City. Promise. 

But Ederson's save from Jose Callejon in the 68th minute was brilliant. Absolutely, beautifully wonderful. Mertens had slid an inch-perfect ball through the City back-line to put the Spaniard in one-on-one, but the former Benfica stopper stayed big enough to give himself a chance to tip the powerfully-hit shot just over the bar when it came at him. 

It was from the resulting corner that Leroy Sane broke at pace to create Aguero's record-breaking goal, too. Vital doesn't quite cut it. 

Best...Just All of Spurs Bantering Off Real Madrid, Everywhere, All Over the Pitch

Imagine waking up on Thursday morning and being Real Madrid, knowing that you just got absolutely bossed by a team who - only last decade - signed Andy Booth on loan to save their season. A team who Mauricio Taricco played over 150 league games for. A team who started Goran Bunjevčević 47 times in only two seasons. A team who signed Gilberto, only to take him off at half-time on his debut. For Jamie O'Hara. A team who Jamie O'Hara played for 56 times. 

It wasn't just the win for Spurs, it was the manner of it. It was Mauricio Pochettino seeing Toby Alderweireld forced off with injury, looking to club-record signing Davinson Sanchez sat next to him on the bench, and going 'nah, let's bring Moussa Sissoko on'. 

It was Mousa Dembele coming on and spending his 25 minutes of game time absolutely kicking lumps out of Sergio Ramos - the world's most kickable man. It was Dele Alli putting Casemiro on his backside before banging a horribly deflected shot off Ramos and past Kiko Casilla. It was Spurs going ahead via a dodgy offside non-call against the kings of offside goals. 

It was everything. If this is Spurs - bring it on.