Champions League awards at midway point of the group stage

The Champions League group stages are halfway there, and with a sample size considerable enough to pass judgment on the tournament's clubs and players, here's a look at some honours at the midway point.

Best player - Neymar

Among a litany of brilliant individual group stage performances, Neymar's stands out. His arrival in the French capital has transformed Paris Saint-Germain into a tournament favourite, with the fleet-footed Brazilian notching a goal and Man of the Match displays in each of Les Parisiens' three victories while forming the tournament's most unplayable front-three with Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani.

Honourable mention: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

Best club - Paris Saint-Germain

Unai Emery's charges just aren't beating teams, they're destroying them. A 5-0 victory against Celtic in Glasgow was the performance of the tournament before PSG bettered it two weeks later by triggering Carlo Ancelotti's sacking with a 3-0 drubbing of Bayern Munich. On Wednesday, the Ligue 1 behemoth was at it again, outclassing a spirited Anderlecht side that showed plenty of punch with a 4-0 result. A dozen goals scored, none against. My word.

Honourable mention: Barcelona, Manchester City

Biggest surprise - Besiktas

Sitting pretty atop Group G with a perfect three for three, Istanbul giant Besiktas has run rampant through the trio of trendy teams in its underrated group of death. Wins at Porto and Monaco sandwiched a 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig as a capricious attack anchored by Cenk Tosun, Anderson Talisca, Ricardo Quaresma, and reclamation project Ryan Babel continues to entertain.

Honourable mention: Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Basel

Biggest disappointment - Borussia Dortmund

Really, it's a coin flip between Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund and perennial challenger Atletico Madrid. Both were handed difficult groups and have looked inexplicably poor, and both had dismal draws in matchday 3 against continental minnows. Dortmund dropped points at Apoel on Tuesday before Atletico trudged through a ghastly performance at Qarabag on Wednesday.

Honourable mention: Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Monaco

Breakout star - Cenk Tosun

On the heels of a career-best 20 goals last season with the two-time defending Turkish champion, Cenk Tosun is making a name for himself in Europe while spearheading Besiktas' attack. The 26-year-old's brace and MOTM performance against Monaco was a stunning outing that followed a pair of immense displays against Porto and Leipzig.

Honourable mention: Alphonse Areola (PSG), Dimitri Oberlin (FC Basel), Kieran Tierney (Celtic)

Best match - PSG 3-0 Bayern Munich

The bigger the statue, the harder it falls, and when PSG eclipsed Bayern 3-0 at the Parc des Princes, the shockwaves of a continental monolith's collapse were felt across Europe. Tournament specialist Ancelotti lost his job as doubts surfaced concerning the Bavarian giant's current state.

Honourable mention: Chelsea 3-3 Roma, FC Basel 5-0 Benfica

Favourite moment - Lukaku consoles Svilar

Lionel Messi's first-ever goal against Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon and the subsequent moment the players shared was amusing, but the best moment of the group stages to date happened between a pair of Antwerp-born Belgians.

After gifting Manchester United a goal in a 1-0 result Wednesday, Benfica's Mile Svilar, 18 - the youngest 'keeper to play in the Champions League - was consoled post-match by countryman Romelu Lukaku.

Honourable mention: Messi-Buffon, Edin Dezko's stunner vs. Chelsea

Best XI

Alphonse Areola (PSG); Dani Alves (PSG), Pepe (Besiktas), John Stones (Manchester City), Daley Blind (Manchester United); Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig); Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Neymar (PSG); Harry Kane (Tottenham)

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)