The moral of this week's Champions League story is that clubs with great individuals can always produce one-off performances and results when they are at the races, no matter what has come before.
Real Madrid and Liverpool proved that this week with performances that reminded the world of their threat as European forces. You can have a bad week, month or even year, but class is permanent, and the Vinicius Juniors of this game belong on centre stage.
Star player - Gabriel Jesus
Injuries have held Jesus back for the vast majority of his Arsenal career. However, incredibly, as soon as he returns to full fitness, he finds a way back into their starting XI, no matter who Arsenal had been playing in his absence. That is simply because when he is fully fit and at his best, Jesus is one of the most complete strikers in world football.
Could he score more goals consistently? Absolutely, he could, and that is a part of his game he needs to improve on. However, when he plays, Arsenal look like a more coherent attacking threat and when he finds a purple patch like he seems to be coming into now, Jesus will get you goals.
In Arsenal's impressive 3-1 win on Tuesday night, Jesus scored a clinical brace and produced an all-around top-quality display to earn player of the match. Jesus' link-up and hold-up play was first class throughout, and when his moments came in the first half, he showed the instinctiveness of a natural number nine, something that will have impressed his critics.
Team of the week - Real Madrid
As is always the case, there were quite a few candidates for this award - the Champions League is the pinnacle of football, so we never fail to see great performances from Europe's elite. The standout performance this gameweek, though, has to go to Real Madrid. Context is important for why they are, however.
Real were in a mini crisis coming into Tuesday night's clash at the Bernabeu after parting ways with Xabi Alonso before being stunned in the Copa Del Rey by lowly Albacete in Alvaro Arbeloa's first game as head coach.
Arbeloa steadied things in LaLiga last weekend as Real cruised to a routine win but few could have seen Real's performance against Monaco on Tuesday evening. It was a display headlined by individual moments of quality by stars Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.
However, it was one of the best team performances from Los Blancos in years. It is easy to forget that throughout Real's dominant years in this competition in the past two decades, they were always a collective. With only one or two exceptions, the star players worked as hard off the ball as on it, and the side always had balance.
Mbappe's introduction to that side has at times created an imbalance despite the obvious world-class quality he possesses. Losing the midfield trio of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric has also left a huge void to fill in midfield.
So with all that in mind, to come out from minute one and press Monaco relentlessly, outclassing them in and out of possession? Arbeloa deserves big praise for it. He managed to get through to a group of superstars in a way Alonso, for whatever reason, was unable to, and the result was emphatic. It felt like this team of superstars became a collective once more.
On the ball, Real played some lovely one-touch football (take Mbappe's second goal as a prime example) and off it, you had a press led by Mbappe (for the first time in his career) that was coherent and effective throughout the side.
The front three of Franco Mastantuono, Vini Jr. and Mbappe were all on the scoresheet in what was a 6-1 thrashing and statement win. Time will tell if this was just a one-off performance or the start of something very exciting.
Surprise package - Bodo/Glimt
Despite being so used to being the favourites domestically, Bodo/Glimt become the underdogs whenever they play in the Champions League. Ahead of Tuesday's early kick-off against European giants Manchester City, they were even bigger underdogs than normal.
Even after City's underwhelming Manchester derby defeat last weekend, a trip to Bodo felt like the perfect opportunity to get back into form heading into a crucial run-in. Their hosts had other ideas, however. They let City dominate possession, asking them to break them down, and when the opportunity to counter presented itself, they hit City with speed and purpose and then, once through on goal, devastating ruthlessness.
Pep Guardiola's side might have dominated possession and had more chances, but on the day, it was Bodo who were clinical in the moments that mattered and nobody could argue with the result. Bodo's third goal by Jens Hauge, which put them out of sight, was a spectacular way to put the game to bed as the Norwegian striker expertly curled an effort into the top corner from the edge of the box.
It was much more than a smash-and-grab; Bodo showed moments of genuine quality to put one of Europe's best to the sword. Further deepening the wounds that have begun to infect City's season, and if Guardiola doesn't fix things quickly, a mini crisis could turn into another trophyless campaign and potentially an underwhelming end to Guardiola's reign at the Etihad.