Tournament Focus: Stats in Brief - The Champions League Group Stages So Far

At the midway point in the Champions League group stages it's fair to say most of the tables are shaping up as the 32 teams vie for a place in the knockout phase. That said, with Andre Villas-Boas' Zenit St. Petersburg the only side to maintain a 100% record so far there is still all to play for most of the teams, with only two - Maccabi Tel Aviv and Shakhtar Donetsk - failing to pick up a single point so far. Indeed, following Bayern's shock defeat to Arsenal it's a tournament that no team has really staked a legitimate claim to be considered the favourite in to now.

The top scoring team after three matches may come as a surprise in turn. It's not Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, but Roger Schmidt's Bayer Leverkusen, netting 9 courtesy of a rout over BATE Borisov, narrow defeat to the reigning champions Barca and sensational 4-4 draw with Roma, the latter undoubtedly ranking among the most entertaining encounters in this year's competition so far.

However, while the top scoring team at the tournament may be something of a surprise, the player to have found the net the most times is far less so, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 5 having had almost twice the number of shots (28) as any other player. His tally of 12 efforts at goal against Molde is the most in a single game in the tournament, notching the only 2 goals of that game, while when it comes to a team’s total shots Bayern mustered a high of 27 in their 5-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.

That game also witnessed the highest rated individual performance in the Champions League this season. Thiago Alcantara is the closest player to a perfect 10, earning a score of 9.96 having registered the assist for all three of Robert Lewandowski's goals on the night. That tally of 3 is enough to top the assist charts halfway through the group stages, though Thiago's average WhoScored rating of 8.84 is just pipped to top spot.

Zenit talisman Hulk has garnered the highest rating in the competition after three matches, with a score of 9.12. The Brazilian has scored three goals and registered two assists, as well as averaging 3 key passes, 4 shots and 5 dribbles per game to help the Russian's gain the maximum 9 points available.

Elsewhere Lyon's Mathieu Valbuena has created the most chances ahead of gameweek four (16), while Porto trickster Yacine Brahimi has completed the most dribbles (26) to gain a place in the team of the tournament so far (8.44 rating). The Algerian's tally of 10 against Chelsea is bettered only by Alexis Sanchez - 12 vs Olympiakos - in a single game thus far.

The defence in WhoScored's best XI, meanwhile, highlights just how effective the Paris Saint Germain backline have been. Laurent Blanc's men - along with group A rivals Real Madrid - are one of only two sides yet to concede after three matches. Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp takes his place in goal (7.50 rating), while it's right-back Serge Aurier that has garnered the highest score (8.41) of PSG's back four, having averaged a tournament high of 6.5 tackles per game.

With it all to play for when the action resumes this week, a number of standout players in the tournament so far can't afford to let their performances slip as they seek safe passage to the round of 16. Most of the tournament's big hitters are well placed to hit their target, though for the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in particular, there is still plenty to do between now and mid-December when the group stages come to a head.

Which big teams do you think will miss out on a place in the knockout phase of the Champions League? Let us know in the comments below