In the Zone: Who were the top performers in the group stage?

How have the highest-ranked FedEx Performance Zone finishers, orchestrators and enforcers accumulated their points in this season's UEFA Champions League?

In this FedEx Performance Zone stats dive, we review the stand-out positional performances of the group stage.

Kylian Mbappé

The youngest player to score 40 Champions League goals, Kylian Mbappé tops the overall FedEx Performance Zone rankings on 258 points. His 21 attempts, 13 on target and eight off target, resulted in six goals from open play and one from the penalty spot (105 points).

By logging two more assists, the Paris frontman has the edge over the competition's joint-leading goalscorer Mohamed Salah, and also ranks higher than team-mate Lionel Messi (four goals and four assists).

João Mário

Scoring four times (60 points) in the group stage, João Mário's productivity out wide and accuracy from the spot helped Roger Schmidt's quick and creative Benfica pip Paris to the Group H summit.

The midfielder dispatched three penalties, before capping the Eagles' assured victory at Maccabi Haifa with a long-range drive in added time (18 points). By providing a low cross for Rafa Silva's back-heel finish against Juventus, the winger logged an assist (nine points) while also claiming points for a notable 90% overall pass completion rate.

Brandon Mechele

Club Brugge's resolute defence kept five clean sheets as they secured their first-ever round of 16 berth, providing 54 of the centre-back's total of 167 points.

Distributing confidently from the back, the 29-year-old was rewarded for his 90% pass completion rate, and in some solid defensive displays, racked up 45 points from as many ball recoveries – remarkably without committing a single foul.

Diogo Costa

Three clean sheets in Group B earned the 23-year-old goalkeeper 36 points, but his penalty-saving heroics, denying Patrik Schick, Kerem Demirbay and Noa Lang over three consecutive matches, accounts for almost a quarter of his 194-point haul.

Impressively placed sixth in the overall rankings, he's wedged between next-best keeper, Club Brugge's Simon Mignolet, who registered five clean sheets, and the highest-ranked forwards.

Required to make fewer saves than four of the other top five keepers, his superb vision to pick out Galeno with a long-range assist against Leverkusen boosted his overall tally by nine points.