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It was another exciting goal-rich matchday in the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League.
With only one game to go in this season's group stage, more teams joined the already qualified quartet of Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Ajax and Juventus. The group winners have been decided in five of the eight groups.
The group of death (Group B) has lived up to its billing. That's because three teams - Porto (5 points), AC Milan and Atletico Madrid (both 4 points) - are in contention to reach the Round of 16 behind winners Liverpool.
However, matters are even more complicated in Group G, where all four teams (Lille, Salzburg, Sevilla and Wolfsburg) can still qualify for the knockouts.
Elsewhere, former winners Borussia Dortmund have been knocked out of contention, slumping to their third straight defeat after winning their first two. Meanwhile, Barcelona are on the cusp of missing out of the knockouts after a goalless draw at home to Benfica.
It goes without saying that there were also several impressive individual performances galore during the matchday. On that note, here's a look at the ten most interesting stats that emerged from the fifth matchday of the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League:
#10 Three teams are still perfect in the Champions League this season
Entering the fifth matchday of this season's Champions League, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Ajax and Juventus had all won their opening four games. In the process, they became the first four teams this season to qualify for the knockouts.
While Juventus suffered a chastening 4-0 reverse at holders Chelsea, the three other teams continued their perfect campaigns.
Bayern Munich won 2-1 at Dynamo Kyiv, Liverpool overwhelmed Porto 2-0 at home and Ajax won 2-1 at Besiktas.
#9 Ajax become the first Dutch team to win their first five games in a Champions League season
Ajax have continued their imperious progress in this season's Champions League. The Eredivisie giants had already qualified for the Round of 16 ahead of their Matchday 5 trip to Besiktas.
Nevertheless, the former winners eked out a 2-1 win in Turkey to move to within one win of a perfect group-stage campaign. In the process, Erik ten Hag's men became the first Dutch team to win their first five games of a Champions League campaign.
Earlier, Ajax had won 5-1 at Sporting Lisbon, seen off Besiktas 2-0 at home and beaten Borussia Dortmund twice (4-0 at home and 3-1 away).
#8 After 50 games in charge, Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea have kept more clean sheets than any other top-five league team in this period
To call Thomas Tuchel a man with a Midas touch would not be an understatement. Assuming the reins of a stuttering Chelsea team in midseason earlier this year, he led the Blues to an unexpected Champions League triumph.
This season, Tuchel's men are atop the Premier League table. Meanwhile, in the Champions League, Chelsea produced an attacking and defensive masterclass to beat Juventus 4-0 to go top of their group. In the process, they also qualified for the Round of 16, with the Blues likely to win the group on Matchday 6.
The win over Juventus was Tuchel's 50th game in charge of Chelsea across competitions and the Blues marked the occasion with a 32nd clean sheet. That's more than what any other team across Europe's top five leagues has managed during this period.
On current form, Chelsea will take some stopping.
#7 Edouard Mendy has kept the same number of clean sheets for Chelsea after 60 games as Petr Cech
Edouard Mendy has been a breath of fresh air since his arrival at Chelsea last summer.
The game against Juventus was Mendy's 60th for the Blues and the Senegalese shot-stopper marked the occasion with an impressive 35th clean sheet. Interestingly, that's the same number of clean sheets managed by the Blues' legendary custodian, Petr Cech.
Thirteen of these clean sheets - four this season - have come in the Champions League.
#6 Mohamed Salah becomes the sixth player to score 30 Champions League goals for an English club
Mohamed Salah was on target in Liverpool's 2-0 Champions League win at home to Porto on Matchday 5.
It was his sixth goal in the competition this season to go with his 11 strikes in the Premier League. In the process, the Egyptian ace became only the sixth player to score 30 Champions League goals for an English club.
The 2018-19 Champions League winner will look to continue his blistering start to the season as Liverpool eye titles on multiple fronts.
#5 Kylian Mbappe becomes the quickest player to score 20 away goals in the Champions League
Kylian Mbappe is having a rather subdued campaign going by his staggering standards. However, there is no denying that the Frenchman has been a different beast in the Champions League during his career.
Playing his 50th game in the competition, the 22-year-old opened the scoring for PSG at Manchester City, a game the Ligue 1 giants lost 2-1. Nevertheless, Mbappe became the 11th player to score 20 away goals in the Champions League. Among the group, the PSG attacker is now the quickest to the landmark.
It was only his second goal in five games in the Champions League this season. However, Mbappe has netted seven times in 13 Ligue 1 games this campaign.
#4 For the first time in Champions League history, three players score in each of the first five games of a campaign
The matchday saw three players find the back of the net for the fifth consecutive game this season. The trio in question were Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Sebastien Haller.
In the process, it marked the first time three players scored in each of the first five games of a Champions League campaign.
Ronaldo scored in Manchester United's 2-0 win at Villarreal. Meanwhile, Lewandowski scored a stunning goal in Bayern Munich's 2-1 win at Dynamo Kyiv. Lastly, Haller also netted in Ajax's 2-1 win at Besiktas.
#3 Sebastien Haller has the most goals by any player after five Champions League games
Sebastien Haller has taken to the Champions League like a duck to water. The Ajax striker scored in his fifth game running, away at Besiktas. That made him only the fourth player in the competition's history to net in each of their first five games in the Champions League.
It was also Haller's ninth Champions League strike in only his fifth game. That helped him break Erling Haaland's record for most goals by a player after their first five games in the competition.
Haller opened his Champions League campaign by becoming only the second player to score a quadruple on debut. He then netted four more times in his next three games heading into Ajax's clash at Besiktas.
#2 Robert Lewandowski becomes the first player to score in nine consecutive Champions League games on multiple occasions
Robert Lewandowski simply cannot stop scoring at the moment. His superb scissor-kick strike in Bayern Munich's 2-1 win at Dynamo Kyiv helped him create more history.
With the goal, Lewandowski became the first player in competition history to score in nine consecutive games on more than one occasion. Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy have also scored in nine matches in a row, but both have done so only once.
With nine goals in five games this season, Lewandowski is this season's joint-top scorer along with Haller. The prolific Pole has now scored a staggering 23 times across competitions this campaign.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first player to score three match-winning goals in the last 15 minutes of a Champions League campaign
Cristiano Ronaldo has sizzled in the Champions League on his return to Manchester United this summer.
He scored for the fifth game running, in the 78th minute at Villarreal, as United won 2-0 on the night to reach the Round of 16. It was his sixth strike in five Champions League games this season.
Three of Ronaldo's strikes in this season's competition have been game-winners coming in the last 15 minutes. That's a record for most winners in the last 15 minutes of a match in a single Champions League season.
Earlier, Ronaldo netted late winners at Old Trafford against Villarreal and Atalanta. He also scored United's late equalizer in the 2-2 draw at Atalanta on Matchday 4.
