The Champions League group stage has now been completed and we know the identity of the 16 teams advancing to the knockout phase after Christmas.
It's been a group stage that has delivered some surprises - most notably Manchester United's early exit and Inter Milan's dismal efforts - but on the whole the teams expected to advance have advanced.
So what have we learned from the opening phase of Europe's top competition? And who is shaping up to be a contender when we reach the business end?
Some jeopardy for the top clubs… but not too much
For the most part, the teams we expected to qualify from each group have qualified.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid from Group A, Chelsea and Sevilla from Group E, Juventus and Barcelona from Group G, for example.
For most of the leading clubs, it was straightforward progress with little jeopardy, which removed much of the entertainment factor for those watching at home in Covid-gripped Europe.
One exception was record 13-time champions Real Madrid, who needed until match-day six to secure qualification after shock home and away defeats to Shakhtar Donetsk.
In the end, they easily beat Borussia Monchengladbach to secure top spot and were spared from embarrassment by the ineptitude of Inter Milan across their six games.
Had Antonio Conte's side actually turned up, Real might genuinely have been in trouble but in the end they made it through with the minimum of last day drama.
Real have now progressed from all 29 Champions League group stages they have taken part in (including the two group stage format between 1999 and 2003).
Group D also went down to the wire as Atalanta won 1-0 away to Ajax to follow Liverpool into the last-16. But it says much about the predictability of the group stage that the Italian side could lose 5-0 at home to Liverpool and still make it.
Group H was the only one that offered start-to-finish excitement in the end as Man United were sent spinning into the Europa League by Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig.
The most shocking element of this, however, is that after match-days two and four, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were in command of the group but let it slip through their fingers.
This was inexcusable but remember that many wrote United off when the draw was made and pitted them against last season's beaten finalists in PSG and semi-finalists in Leipzig in what was widely considered the 'Group of Death.'
But overall, when the challengers are unable to break the glass ceiling and cause an upset, excitement suffers.
Look at the make-up of the last-16 - Four Spanish teams, four German, three English, three Italian, one French and, for a bit of variety, one Portuguese.
It's at least a slight improvement on last season, when Europe's top five leagues had all 16 teams.
Titanic tussles didn't live up to expectations
There were plenty of excited gasps when the draw threw Barcelona and Juventus into Group G together. The sub-plot of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo going head-to-head was more exciting than anything else.
But with Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros so weak they were little more than whipping boys, the two meetings mattered little with Barca and Juve, both struggling to find their usual domestic form, strolling through.
The first game in Turin didn't even have he excitement of that personal match-up with Ronaldo ruled out through a positive Covid test.
And the second game in the Nou Camp was nothing more than a dead rubber. Well, for everyone except Ronaldo, who scored two penalties in a 3-0 win to ensure Juve are seeded in the last-16 draw.
The meetings between Real Madrid and Inter Milan were better but the San Siro game was ruined as a contest by Arturo Vidal's first-half red card, allowing Zinedine Zidane's team to complete a double.
And any hope that Atletico Madrid could compete with reigning champions Bayern Munich ended in the very first game when they crashed 4-0 in Bavaria.
Even an already-qualified Bayern gained a late 1-1 draw in Madrid on match-day five and they both got through fairly comfortably in the end.
At least the big name players turned up
While the big clubs wait until the knockout stages to face a proper test, at least the star players we watch the Champions League for have delivered.
A glance at the top scorers' list for the group stage sees PSG's Neymar and Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland tied with Alvaro Morata of Juventus and Marcus Rashford of eliminated Man United tied on six goals.
Neymar has struggled at times this season amid injury niggles and disciplinary issues but he has got better as the group has progressed. He was excellent in PSG's 3-1 win at Old Trafford and capped things off with a hat-trick against Istanbul Basaksehir.
Haaland, meanwhile, has continued his sensational scoring form in Europe's top competition. He set records as the fastest player to reach 10 Champions League and the fastest to 15.
Having netted eight goals in last season's group stage with Red Bull Salzburg, Haaland has once again hit the ground running in this competition.
Chelsea's Olivier Giroud and Monchengladbach's Alassane Plea, both on five goals, are more surprise names among the leading scorers and, in case you're wondering, Cristiano has four goals.
Champions League remains a proving ground for young talent
Maybe it's an indication of stretched squads in a season compressed by the Covid pandemic or just a greater faith in young players and their football education, but we've seen some stars born in the group stage.
Dortmund's Youssoufa Moukoko this week became the competition's youngest ever player - at just 16 years and 18 days - when he featured against Zenit St Petersburg. He beat the long-standing record held by Celestine Babayaro (16 years and 85 days).
Incidentally, Babayaro, playing for Anderlecht against Steaua Bucharest, was sent off in that game. The second youngest player to see red in the Champions League is now Ajax's Ryan Gravenberch after their loss to Atalanta on Wednesday.
Liverpool set a couple of club records in their game with Midtjylland. With an average age of 24 years and 26 days, this was their youngest-ever starting line-up in the competition, while Billy Koumetio (18 years and 25 days) became their youngest appearance-maker.
PSG's Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, has become the youngest player to score 20 goals (21 years and 355 days), overtaking Messi (22 years and 266 days). No doubt Haaland, still 20, will soon eclipse him.
So while the dead rubbers that plagued the latter stages of the groups offered little excitement, they at least allowed us a glimpse into the future in some cases.
Absence of crowds has made little difference
Only a handful of group stage games were played out with fans in attendance this year as the pandemic holds its grip on the continent.
Lokomotiv Moscow, Krasnodar, Shakhtar Donetsk, Rennes, Chelsea, Zenit St Petersburg, Dynamo Kyiv, Ferencvaros, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir were the clubs lucky enough to have spectators in for at least some of their home games.
But the absence of crowds has actually made little difference in terms of home advantage.
In last season's group stage, there were 41 home wins and 34 away with crowds allowed. This season, we have seen 39 home wins and 36 away wins without, so a minimal reduction to home advantage.
In terms of goals scored, there was always likely to be a reduction on the record 308 (3.22 per game) witnessed in last season's group stage.
Despite no fans to urge sides on, this tally only fell to 289 goals (3.01 per game) this season.
But even if their presence seems to make little difference, a large part of the appeal of the Champions League is the colour and vibrancy created by the fans and it can only be hoped they return for at least some of the knockout rounds.
Bayern remain the team to beat
There's a reason Bayern Munich are the bookmakers' favourites to retain their Champions League title.
They cruised through their group, securing qualification and top spot with two matches remaining. Their draw away to Atletico on match-day five was the first European game in 15 they'd failed to win.
Bayern also notched up 18 goals in their six matches to really underline the fact they are the team to beat this season.
Mind you, Manchester City did match their record of five wins and one draw, but only scored 13 goals, and there's no reason why this can't be the season Pep Guardiola finally delivers them the one trophy they crave above all others.
As for dark horses, Atalanta, RB Leipzig and Lazio could be ones to keep an eye on.