Tottenham's changed line-up were well beaten at Bayern Munich, while Atletico Madrid claimed the final spot in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Jose Mourinho may have got some of the answers he was looking for about his fringe players as Tottenham ended their Champions League group stage with a 3-1 loss at Bayern Munich.
With both teams already into the knockout stages, and the Germans confirmed as Group B winners, Mourinho gave some fresh faces a chance to impress, but they mainly floundered in the Allianz Arena.
Kingsley Coman, Thomas Muller and Philippe Coutinho did the damage on a night where Hans-Dieter Flick's side could have matched the seven goals they got in October's reverse fixture had they been more clinical.
One potential star to emerge was Ryan Sessegnon, scoring his first goal for the club on his maiden start and Mourinho, who tried to sign him three times as Manchester United boss, will surely see him as a big part of the future.
The others did nothing to suggest the Portuguese is going to deviate away from his big guns as they prepare for a pivotal period in the Premier League, where their chances of qualifying for this competition next term could be defined.
Of course, they could still win it this season, but Monday's last-16 draw where they could be paired with Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Valencia or RB Leipzig might have to be kind.
6 games
β Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 11, 2019
18 points
24 goals scored
5 goals against
+19 goal difference
Bayern Munich have became the best group winner in the history of the Champions League π₯π₯π₯ pic.twitter.com/PuVOM3ZPAi
Atletico Madrid secured the final spot in the last 16 that was on offer as they beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 in Spain to go through as Group D runners-up behind Juventus.
Bayer Leverkusen missed out on qualification to Atletico as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo doing what he does best and scoring yet again in the Champions League. Gonzalo Higuain scored the second.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, signed off from the Champions League group stages with a 3-1 win at Brugge.
Who did it better? Modric outside of the boot defence-splitter π€
β Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 11, 2019
Rodrygo outside of the boot volley π₯
Real Madrid precision π pic.twitter.com/RyZKTTsAaH
With qualification behind Group A winners Paris St Germain already guaranteed, and perhaps having an eye on the upcoming El Clasico, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane had freshened up the team.
Teenage forward Rodrygo put the Spaniards ahead early in the second half, only for Hans Vanaken to quickly pull Brugge level in the 55th minute.
Fellow Brazilian Vinicius, 19, staked his claim for more regular action with an instinctive finish after 64 minutes and Luka Modric clipped in a third during stoppage time.
Despite the defeat, Brugge will go into the Europa League knockout stages, having finished third in the group ahead of Galatasaray, who were thrashed 5-0 at PSG.
πββοΈπ¨ Neymar - Mbappe - Neymar...
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) December 11, 2019
β‘οΈ Not too many more dangerous combinations around than that!#ChampionsLeague #PSGpic.twitter.com/VoaGyIF0Kj