The moral of this week's Champions League story is that, for all the money spent and strength of the league as a whole, there are no exceptional teams from the Premier League right now.
Six English clubs made it to the round of 16 of the Champions League. An impressive feat, but one that will soon be forgotten if the second legs follow a similar pattern to the first ones.
None of the six Premier League teams won their first-leg ties, with just Arsenal and Newcastle drawing; the other four lost, and three lost badly.
If we were to predict the outcome of the second legs with the information gathered from the first legs, we would expect Arsenal and Liverpool to be the Premier League's only two representatives in the quarter-finals.
That would be underwhelming for a league wanting to dominate this tournament, and it highlights that despite the competition within England's top flight being as high as ever, there are no standout teams ready to take Europe by storm.
Star player - Fede Valverde
This award has rarely been so competitive; there were three standout players who each deserve a mention. Lewis Hall was immense at left-back for Newcastle United and did a brilliant job at keeping Lamine Yamal quiet for 90 minutes whilst causing problems at the other end.
Then there was Michael Olise, who scored two stunning goals and provided an assist in a world-class display against Atalanta.
One man just edges it, though. Fede Valverde's first career hat-trick was better than he could have ever imagined.
The all-action midfielder and captain on the day ran the show from the off as Real Madrid thrashed Manchester City 3-0, producing one of the great individual performances of the Champions League campaign so far.
Valverde was everywhere on Wednesday evening, helping Real build from deep positions, making runs into the box to support the attack and supporting Trent Alexander-Arnold in his defensive duties.
But whilst his all-round game was top class, he will be remembered most for three sensational goals. After two classy finishes in the first 30 minutes, Valverde completed his hat-trick just before half-time, and he saved the best goal for last.
A delightful dinked pass from Brahim Diaz still left the Uruguayan with work to do, but he conjured up some magic of his own.
Valverde flicked the ball over Marc Guehi's head before volleying home into the bottom corner in remarkable fashion. It was a world-class goal by a world-class player, one who has so often been Real's saviour.
Surprise package - Galatasaray
Galatasaray knew they had to bring both high intensity and quality in the final third if they were to secure an essential first-leg lead before a daunting trip to Anfield next weekend.
They did exactly that on Tuesday night as they once again beat Liverpool in Europe to keep their Champions League dream very much alive.
The atmosphere was as you would expect from the Galatasaray fans, and the players did a great job of making the most of the crowd's deafening support - playing with an intensity that made it almost impossible for Liverpool to get a foothold in the game.
The frantic nature of a match that felt like a basketball game at times (minus all the scoring) played into the home side's game plan.
In Europe against a superior opposition, Galatasaray know their best chance is to create a chaotic game, leaving space on the counter for their dangerman Victor Osimhen, and that is exactly what they did.
Osimhen was a handful all night for the Liverpool defenders, and although he didn't take any of his chances, he played a vital role in Gala's 1-0 win.
That is because the one goal came from Osimhen brilliantly directing a header towards Mario Lemina, who dived in at the front post to power the hosts ahead.
After the chaos of the first half, Galatasaray produced a more measured second-half performance to limit Liverpool's chances, and their only disappointment will be not going to Anfield with a bigger advantage.
Nonetheless, it was a performance to be proud of and one that gives Galatasaray hope of pulling off one of the greatest two-legged victories in their history.
Read more about how Galatasaray stunned Liverpool
Team of the Week - Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich have built a reputation this season. Seeing them go from one of the favourites in Europe to the standout team to beat.
The Bavarians showcased exactly why they are now the favourites to win the competition when they demolished Atalanta 6-1 in a statement performance on Tuesday night.
The star of the show was Michael Olise, but there were countless great individual performances from Bayern.
Luis Diaz and Serge Gnabry were the other two attackers behind Nicolas Jackson, and they were a constant threat to Atalanta's backline.
After scoring Bayern's third goal, Gnabry was replaced by Jamal Musiala, and the exciting German made an impressive impact off the bench before scoring Bayern's fifth goal of the game.
It was an exceptional attacking display by a forward line that was missing talisman Harry Kane, but they didn't let it show.
Bayern are so fluid in forward areas and ruthless when chances come their way. The brilliant Olise and Kane then bring the X-factor to the best attack in Europe.
What will please Kompany just as much, though, will be how his side has improved defensively from last season, finding a way to be an expressive attacking side that is also hard to break down.
The partnership of Jonathan Tah and Dayot Upamecano at the back is a strong one, too, especially with Upamecano finally looking like a player Bayern can rely on.
The fact that Bayern scored six goals in a Champions League knockout without anyone being too surprised tells you everything you need to know about the strength of Kompany's side.
They deserve the title as favourites for Champions League glory, but with their quarter-final spot all but secured, they mustn't take their foot off the pedal now. Historically, complacency however big or small, will prove costly in this great competition.
Moment of the week - Kinsky subbed after horror 15 minutes
When Tottenham's interim manager, Igor Tudor, made the surprising call to drop number one keeper Guglielmo Vicario and bring in backup keeper Antonin Kinsky, it was a popular decision with their supporters.
However, for those from the outside looking in, it felt like a strange decision to throw a young keeper into the deep end in what would be Kinsky's Champions League debut.
Those concerns were quickly justified as Kinsky slipped when attempting to clear the ball in the sixth minute, allowing Julian Alvarez to put the ball on a plate for Marcos Llorente to tap home. Disaster.
A slip by teammate Micky Van de Ven allowed Antoine Griezmann to make it 2-0 minutes later, before Kinsky's horror debut went from bad to ugly.
The next mistake was worse than the first because it wasn't a slip; it was a complete misjudgement of the ball, which resulted in Kinsky kicking the air while attempting to clear his lines, allowing Julian Alvarez to tap into an empty net. It was a shocking mistake that capped off a nightmare debut.
The humiliation was compounded when Kinsky was subbed off in the 17th minute for Vicario with Spurs 3-0 down and the tie all but over.
Tudor's handling of the situation before and after the game was abysmal, and you have to feel sorry for a keeper who will forever be remembered in Madrid for 15 minutes from hell.