Team and player of the week

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Team of the week -- Barcelona
Despite a faltering start to their La Liga campaign, this week Barcelona made it clear that they are a definite threat to opponents both in and out of Spain.

An away victory at Athletic Bilbao at the weekend made it five domestic wins in a row, and they now sit in fourth in the Primera Liga, just three points off the top spot.

A trip to Basel in the Champions League followed, resulting in a goal-packed Barca performance worthy of the best in Europe.

The high-scoring match was a notable exception to the other goal-heavy fixtures of the week: the Catalan giants were able to keep their side of the scoreboard ticking over without conceding.

Villarreal and Lyon let in three, Arsenal leaked two, but Barcelona proved they can do something the others couldn't -- attack and defend well for the full 90 minutes.

They are now among the favorites to win this season's Champions League. If they can keep performing like this, the bookmakers may just be right.

And to cap off a great week for Barca, three members of their squad were given a confidence boost when they were listed in the 30-strong short-list for this year's Ballon D'Or.

Xavi, Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi -- who is one of the favorites to take the award -- all featured on the list, demonstrating the mighty strength of the squad.

Player of the week -- Miroslav Klose
He may be part of a team going through a bit of a tough time at the moment, but Miroslav Klose is certainly doing his bit for struggling Bayern Munich.

The striker made the difference between his side and Karlsruhe at the weekend, when Bayern won -- if a little shakily -- with an 86th minute winner to end a victory drought for the German champions, halting their slide down the Bundesliga and temporarily relieving the pressure on manager Jurgen Klinsmann.

And then, when all eyes turned to Europe for the Champions League this week, the German was on hand again.

His cool finish to open the scoring in the fourth minute was a model of level-headed play, proving he is immune to the heavy criticism which has been directed at the team over the last few weeks.

Are these results the makings of a comeback for Bayern? Klinsmann's job may be safe -- at least for the moment -- thanks to Klose.