UEFA Champions League: The Best of the Group Stage

Following a fantastic Champions League group stage, the Champions League round of 16 will start in February with some fantastic matchups in prospect.

However, the group stage in this season's Champions League was absolutely fantastic, with several performances being utterly spectacular.

With this in mind, here is the best of the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Best Performance by a Club in Their First Champions League: Tottenham Hotspur

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LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 02: Rafael van der Vaart of Spurs scores the opening goal as teammate Peter Crouch closes in during the UEFA Champions League Group A match between Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan at White Hart Lane on November 2, 2010 in Lon

After taking over the Champions League spot that Liverpool used to hold in England, Tottenham became one of the most entertaining sides in the Champions League this season.

With players such as Rafael van der Vaart, Gareth Bale and Roman Pavlyuchenko all playing fantastic in the group stage, Tottenham were able to win Group A over last year's winner of the Champions League, Inter Milan, along with Werder Bremen and FC Twente.

Spurs now find themselves with the possibility of a great draw that could result in a longer run in Europe.

Best Individual Performance: Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur Vs. Inter Milan)

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MILAN, ITALY - OCTOBER 20: Gareth Bale of Tottenham Hotspur in action during the UEFA Champions League Group A match between FC Internazionale Milano and Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 20, 2010 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Cliv

Following a terrible first half at the San Siro, Tottenham found themselves down 4-0 and were down to 10 men against the defending European champions Inter Milan.

However, Gareth Bale came together and put together one of the greatest halves in the history of the Champions League.

It all started in the 52nd minute, when Bale was able to score on a breakaway after Tottenham were able to start a break in their own zone.

Bale was then able to score twice in stoppage time on two incredible strikes after Tottenham counterattacked on Inter on both opportunities.

Bale's performance was not enough for Tottenham to win, as Inter beat Spurs 4-3, but Bale's performance was absolutely fantastic.

Best Player: Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan)

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MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 29: Samuel Eto'o of FC Internazionale Milano celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League group A match between FC Internazionale Milano and SV Werder Bremen at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 29

Following a pretty conservative season last year, Samuel Eto'o has had a fantastic first year under Rafa Benitez and has been incredible in Europe this season.

In just four matches for Inter this season in the Champions League, Eto'o has scored seven goals, which is the most he has ever had in any European campaign during his illustrious career.

Eto'o had his first hat trick for Inter on matchday two against Werder Bremen.

Best Match: AS Roma Vs. Bayern Munich

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ROME - NOVEMBER 23: Daniel Van Buyten (R) of FC Bayern Muenchen competes for the ball with Marco Borriello of AS Roma during the UEFA Champions League Group E match between AS Roma and FC Bayern Muenchen at Stadio Olimpico on November 23, 2010 in Rome, I

On matchday five, Roma hosted last year's Champions League runner-up Bayern Munich at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome in what turned into a classic.

In the 32nd minute, Bayern were able to get the game's first goal through Mario Gomez, who was somehow able to shoot the ball into the net while falling down

Seven minutes later, Gomez was able to get his second goal after a great through ball from Thomas Mueller to beat Julio Sergio and give Bayern a 2-0 advantage.

However, the second half turned into a great showing for Roma, as they were able to start their comeback by getting a quick tally from Marco Borriello while he was failing down.

In the final 10 minutes, Roma were able to tie up the match at two apiece when Daniele De Rossi was able to tap in an easy cross.

Finally, Roma were able to win the match 3-2 when Borriello was tripped by Bayern's keeper Thomas Kraft.

On the spot kick, Francesco Totti was able to beat Kraft, and Roma were able to secure a spot in the round of 16 following a disappointing group stage.

This was the only match that Bayern failed to win in the group stage.

Best Goal: Eran Zahavi (Hapoel Tel Aviv)

In a 2-2 draw against Lyon, Hapoel Tel Aviv midfielder Eran Zahavi scored one of the goals of the season when he was able to score on a cross from Salim Toama that was moving away from Zahavi.

Hapoel and Lyon eventually finished the match in a 2-2 draw.

Best Surprising Side: FC Copenhagen

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COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - AUGUST 25: Celebrates of Solvi Ottesen (C) of FC Copenhagen after scores the first goal during the Champions League Play-off match between FC Copenaghen and Rosenborg on August 25, 2010 in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Photo by Claudio Vil

Even though they were in a weak group (with the obvious exception of Barcelona), FC Copenhagen were nothing short of spectacular and deserved to become the first Danish club to ever reach the round of 16 in the Champions League.

Copenhagen were fueled by some great results, such as a late win on matchday one against Rubin Kazan (who were favored to advance from the group alongside Barcelona) and a draw with Barcelona on matchday four at Parken Stadium.

Copenhagen's key offensive players were Martin Vingaard and Dame N'Doye, both of whom scored two goals, and they got some great goalkeeping from Johan Wiland.

Most Surprising Group Winner: Shakhtar Donetsk

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PARMA, ITALY - AUGUST 10: Players of FC Shakhtar Donetsk celebrate their first goal scored by Marcelo Moreno during preseason friendly match between Parma and Shakhtar Donetsk at Ennio Tardini Stadium on August 10, 2010 in Parma, Italy. (Photo by Massimo

After being put into a group with Arsenal, Braga and Partizan Belgrade, many people wondered if Shakhtar Donetsk were going to advance from this group.

However, Shakhtar was able to prove all of the experts wrong and were able to pick up 15 points from Group H.

Shakhtar Donetsk were led by some great goal-scoring from Eduardo and Luiz Adriano and had four clean sheets from Andriy Pyatov.

Best Side: FC Barcelona

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ATHENS, GREECE - NOVEMBER 24: Pedro Rodriguez of Barcelona celebrates with his team mates after scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League Group D match between Panathinaikos FC and FC Barcelona at OAKA Spiros Louis Stadium on Novembe

Without question, Barcelona are the best club side in the world and were able to easily dominate the easiest group in the Champions League by collecting 14 points in the group stage against Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos.

Now, Barcelona will look forward to a round of 16 matchup that will certainly be harder than any group stage match, but they clearly are the favorites to win the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on May 28.