Hansi Flick was delighted with Barcelona's focus and determination as they earned a commanding 5-2 win at Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
Robert Lewandowski scored twice to set them on their way, with Inigo Martinez, Raphinha and Fermi Lopez also getting on the scoresheet as Barcelona remained in control throughout.
It was a victory that lifted Barca to sixth place in the 36-team Champions League table on nine points, having scored a competition-leading 15 goals in four games.
In fact, Barcelona have netted 55 goals in 16 games across all competitions in 2024-25, the most of any team from the big-five European leagues. Meanwhile, their 14 wins are the joint-most of any side, along with Liverpool.
After a third consecutive triumph in the Champions League, Flick said he liked how his side got things done with the seriousness required.
"The most important thing is the three points. It's not easy to win away from home in this competition, the Champions League is complicated," Flick, who led Bayern Munich to the 2020 Champions League title, told Movistar Plus.
"I'm very happy, I really value what we're doing. We've been very good on the ball, and we've put a lot of pressure on.
"Red Star played very well, they knew how to play with the ball, and it's difficult to defend against them. I really appreciate my players being focused for 90 minutes because it's not easy."
Lewandowski's double means he is level with team-mate Raphinha, Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Sporting CP's Viktor Gyokeres as the competition's top scorer with five goals.
The Pole has scored 19 goals in 16 appearances for Barcelona this season; the most of any player for a team in Europe’s big-five leagues across all competitions. 11 of those 19 goals have come in away matches, which is also the most of any player this term.
And Lewandowski is thrilled with Flick's aggressive approach.
"Since the beginning of the season we have had a goal: we have to play a very attacking football but without losing sight of how well our defensive line has been playing," Lewandowski said.
"Everything that works so far is almost perfect. We have to look at what we can do better, sure, but I feel very good, the team is very happy.
"I think in this new Champions League format, winning away games is very important. In the first half, we played a bit slow, but in the second half, we had a lot of chances.
"Sometimes, when a team plays very defensively like Red Star today, we need a bit of patience. I'm always looking for a free space to be able to touch a ball and score. That's why I'm very happy. As a team, we played very well."
Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 131-122 on Wednesday night to open 9-0 for the first time in their 55-year NBA history.
Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen each added 16 points, and Allen grabbed 14 rebounds as the Cavaliers surpassed an 8-0 start by the 1976-77 squad that finished 43-39 under coach Bill Fitch.
Zion Williamson returned from a two-game absence and had 29 points for the Pelicans. He temporarily took himself out after playing 10 minutes but returned to start the second half and scored 23 after halftime.
Jose Alvarado hit all seven 3-pointers he took and finished with 27 points for New Orleans. Brandon Ingram added 20 points for the Pelicans, who have lost three straight and six of seven.
Cleveland had no trouble rallying back from an early 12-point deficit on the road and did so in part by shooting 54.2% overall, including 48.6% from 3-point range.
After Alvarado's back-to-back 3s made it 112-106, Mitchell responded with a hesitation move in the lane and a floater to make it 114-106 and stem the Pelicans' momentum with 5:20 left.
Cleveland got 50 points from reserves, led by LeVert and Ty Jerome (11 points).
Rookie Risacher has best game to lift Hawks
No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher scored 33 points and had seven rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks rallied late to beat the New York Knicks 121-116.
Risacher's 33 points were the most by a rookie this season. He shot 11 for 18 overall, including 6 for 10 from 3-point range, and also had three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
The Hawks trailed 110-105 with 2:57 to play but went on a 13-1 run to put the game away.
Jalen Johnson had 23 points and 15 rebounds. Trae Young had 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds one game after scoring just two points on 1-for-10 shooting against Boston.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 34 points and 16 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson scored 21 points.
Clint Capela capped a 9-1 run with a fast break dunk with 46.9 seconds remaining to give the Hawks a 114-111 lead. Young started a fast-break off a 3-point miss from Towns and dished it to a sprinting Capela for the dunk.
Surging Suns rally past Heat
Kevin Durant scored 32 points, Jusuf Nurkic had 20 and 18 rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns rallied from a 15-point deficit for a 115-112 victory over the Miami Heat to extend their winning streak to six games.
The Suns trailed 79-64 in the third quarter but finished the period on a 15-3 run to cut the Heat’s lead to three.
Neither team could take control in the fourth, but Durant’s jumper from the free-throw line with 16 seconds to play gave Phoenix a four-point lead.
Devin Booker had 22 points and nine assists for Phoenix (7-1), which has won its last five games by six points or fewer. Booker made one of two free throws with 4.8 seconds to go, giving the Heat a chance, but Miami failed to get a shot off before time expired.
Grayson Allen scored 12 points and Tyus Jones matched Booker with nine assists for the Suns.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 28 points. Reserve forward Haywood Highsmith scored 19 and Jimmy Butler added 15. Bam Adebayo had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Bradley Beal’s 3-pointer put the Suns ahead to stay at 106-103 with 3:52 remaining. Beal didn’t score in the first half and was in foul trouble. He finished with seven points.
The Suns’ 7-1 start matches the best in franchise history, equalling three previous seasons (1980-81, 2000-01, 2009-10).
West Indies secured a thrilling eight-wicket victory over England in the third ODI at Kensington Oval on Wednesday, sealing a 2-1 series win. Powered by centuries from Keacy Carty and Brandon King, the hosts chased down England’s 263-run target with ease under the floodlights.
England, after a rough start that left them reeling at 24 for 4, rallied to post a competitive 263 for 8, thanks largely to Phil Salt’s 74 and Dan Mousley’s inventive 57. Jamie Overton contributed a brisk 32 off 21 balls, and Jofra Archer added firepower with an unbeaten 38 off just 17 deliveries. Despite their efforts, the West Indies bowlers had already left a mark, with Alzarri Joseph (2 for 40) and Romario Shepherd (2 for 48) taking key early wickets alongside Matthew Forde’s standout 3 for 35.
In reply, West Indies wasted no time asserting dominance. Brandon King launched into Jofra Archer’s first over, slamming consecutive boundaries to set the tone. Although Evin Lewis was dismissed for 19, King and Carty anchored the innings with a record-breaking 209-run partnership, the highest for West Indies against England in ODI cricket. King, who benefitted from two dropped catches, reached his third ODI hundred before being bowled for 102 with just 13 runs needed. Carty’s unbeaten 128 off 97 balls was a maiden ODI century, making him the first cricketer from St. Maarten to reach three figures for West Indies.
The win, secured with ample overs to spare, highlighted the potent combination of West Indies’ bowling strength and the emerging batting prowess of Carty and King, who have undoubtedly set a high standard for the future of Caribbean cricket.
Fulham are preparing to visit Crystal Palace with renewed confidence after a dramatic late win in another London derby against Brentford.
Marco Silva's men were trailing heading into stoppage time at Craven Cottage on Monday, only for a sensational Harry Wilson double to snatch a 2-1 victory.
That was a first win in four in the Premier League for Fulham, although their performances might have merited more points.
Alex Iwobi certainly believes so, explaining: "It's a big lift because we feel like our performances recently deserved a lot more, in terms of getting points and results.
"And the way we did it, against Brentford, we knew it wasn't going to be an easy game, a derby as well... To win it in the manner we did has definitely given us a confidence boost going into another London derby against Palace."
Palace have themselves been given a big lift in the past couple of weeks, following their belated first league win of the season against Tottenham with an EFL Cup defeat of Aston Villa and a controversial draw at Wolves.
The Eagles are still only a place above the relegation zone, and Iwobi is hoping Fulham can check their progress.
"We know it's not going to be easy," he said. "Another derby, it's never easy at their stadium.
"We know it's always tough to go and play there, but we're going to analyse, see their weaknesses. It's not easy, but we'll analyse and see what we can do.
"They've only had one win this season – hopefully it remains that way against us and we'll get the result we want."
Will Hughes had a message for the Palace fans ahead of their return to Selhurst Park: "Thanks for sticking with us, as usual.
"It's not been the best of starts for us in the league, but hopefully they can see, especially over the last few games, that we're turning a corner, not only results wise but the intensity we're playing with.
"We were so difficult to play against at the end of last season with our intensity, and I think we've got that bit of mojo back. Hopefully, we can keep pushing on."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta
Goals have been hard to come by for Palace this season – especially at Selhurst Park.
Oliver Glasner's side have netted a league-low three times at home, but all of those have been scored by Mateta, continuing his strong form from the end of last season. He has 14 goals in his past 12 home league games for Palace.
They will again rely heavily on the French striker, with Eberechi Eze injured and fellow forward Eddie Nketiah struggling for form. New signing Nketiah has attempted 17 shots without scoring, the most in the Premier League this season.
Fulham – Harry Wilson
There is increased competition in the wide areas for Fulham this season, with Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson signed and battling with Iwobi, Adama Traore and Wilson for minutes.
But if Wilson cannot get his opportunity after sensationally stealing a win against Brentford last time out, he might wonder if he will ever return to the XI, still waiting for his first league start of the season.
His cutting edge was exactly what Fulham had previously been missing, attempting against Brentford 26 shots – their most in the Premier League for over 10 years – but requiring that late show to come away with the points.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Following their comeback against Brentford, Fulham are unbeaten in six Premier League London derbies – their longest run since 2006-07 – and also their past five matches against Palace.
Yet four of those clashes with the Eagles have ended all square, including each of the last three.
Palace will hope for more as they look to move clear of the bottom three, but they have not won consecutive league derbies since April 2017 and were victors in their last capital clash against Spurs.
Perhaps 0-0 is therefore the most likely scoreline. Fulham have kept three consecutive clean sheets at Selhurst Park, and their five away matches in the league this season have seen only 11 goals scored.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Crystal Palace – 37.5%
Draw – 26.3%
Fulham – 36.2%
Brest continued their exceptional start in the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Sparta Prague on Wednesday.
Edimilson Fernandes fired Brest, the surprise package of the new-look league phase, ahead in the 37th minute from a half-cleared corner, his shot zipping across the rain-soaked surface and in.
Ten minutes before full-time, Brest had daylight thanks to an own goal from Sparta's Kaan Kairinen, who got the final touch following a scramble on the goal line.
Victor Olatunji reduced the deficit deep into stoppage time, but Sparta were unable to find a leveller and sit just outside the play-off spots with four points from as many matches.
Brest, meanwhile, are now in a fine position as they target the knockout stages, sitting fourth with 10 points, level with Sporting CP, Monaco and Inter.
Data Debrief: Brest join exclusive club
Brest are the fourth French side to go unbeaten through their first four matches in the Champions League, taking to Europe's premier club competition like a duck to water.
Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux previously achieved that feat, while only Liverpool (12) have won more points than Brest in the competition this term.
Mikel Arteta felt Arsenal were "very harshly done by" in a 1-0 Champions League defeat to Inter that was decided by Hakan Calhanoglu's penalty.
Inter scored the only goal of the game after Mikel Merino was punished for handling inside his own area on the stroke of half-time.
But boss Arteta felt that decision was harsh, and particularly so when Merino had earlier not been awarded a spot-kick of his own.
The Spain midfielder appeared to beat Yann Sommer to a high ball in the Inter box and took a punch to the head in the process.
That incident was cleared following a VAR check, while the decision to penalise Merino at the other end of the pitch was quickly approved.
"I am very proud of my players, the level of domination we had," Arteta told TNT Sports. "We were very harshly done by in the sense that is obvious. Both penalties.
"If you are going to give a penalty, the other one has to be because he punches him in the head.
"There is no deflection, nothing you can do in the box, so can he get away from it? If he is going to give that, the other has to be 100% a penalty."
Arteta, who reintroduced Martin Odegaard as a late substitute following injury, also sought to focus on the positives, however.
Although Inter made a number of changes to their first XI, Arteta was enthused by the manner in which Arsenal dominated their opponents, having disappointed in another 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday.
"We should have scored a couple at least, but the way the team played, that was us at least," he added. "Every decision in the box makes a difference.
"The way we played tonight, the team can go to Chelsea and win."
Leeds United suffered a first away defeat since April at Millwall as they lost ground at the top of the Championship, although leaders Sunderland could only draw again.
Daniel Farke's Whites required a response to move back into the automatic promotion places after a win for Sheffield United on Tuesday, but instead they were beaten 1-0 by surprise package Millwall.
A fourth straight 1-0 win for the Lions was secured with a first-half Japhet Tanganga goal and moved them up to fifth, now just four points behind Leeds in third.
Leeds are themselves four points behind front-runners Sunderland, but that gap could have been wider had the Black Cats beaten Preston North End.
Just as at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, though, Sunderland were held to a goalless draw away from home.
Jobe Bellingham was sent off against QPR and so missed out through suspension, and further bold changes from coach Regis Le Bris could have opened the door for Preston to snatch an unlikely win.
Instead, Preston remain among a clutch of teams just above the relegation zone, also including Luton Town and Cardiff City.
Luton beat Cardiff 1-0 with a Jacob Brown goal, while Coventry City lost 2-1 at home to Derby County. Stoke City were 2-0 winners at Blackburn Rovers.
Karim Konate scored twice as Salzburg picked up their first points in the Champions League this season by upsetting Feyenoord with a 3-1 away win.
Feyenoord had won their last two games away at Girona and Benfica and were fancied to continue their momentum, only to be stunned on their return to De Kuip by the youthful Austrian outfit.
Twenty-year-old Konate, who helped Ivory Coast win the Africa Cup of Nations at the start of the year, put Salzburg ahead two minutes into first-half stoppage time.
An errant roll out by home goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther led to Oscar Gloukh crossing for Konate to head home.
Feyenoord were then caught napping in the 58th minute when Kamil Piatkowski looped a header up in the air from a corner and Konate reacted quickly to volley home a second.
The hosts' position turned worse when substitute Chris-Kevin Nadje was sent off for a studs-up tackle in the 79th minute, though they pulled a goal back just two minutes later through Anis Hadj Moussa.
Salzburg should have settled the outcome when a VAR intervention handed them an 85th-minute penalty, but Konate fluffed the chance for a hat-trick as he rattled the crossbar.
However, Daouda Guindo came off the bench and with his first contribution slammed home a long-range effort to ensure the points would return to Austria.
Data Debrief: Worth the wait for Salzburg
Salzburg have now ended their eight-match run without a win in the Champions League (one draw, seven losses), while scoring for the first time in four games.
They have now won each of their last three games against Dutch opponents in European competitions after failing to win any of their first four (two draws, two defeats).
Stuttgart suffered a first home defeat in more than a year as second-half goals from Ademola Lookman and Nicolo Zaniolo gave Atalanta a 2-0 win in Germany.
Not since a 3-2 Bundesliga reverse against Hoffenheim in late October 2023 had Stuttgart been beaten at Neckarstadion, but that run was ended in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Atalanta arrived in Stuttgart undefeated in eight and having stunned Serie A leaders Napoli away from home at the weekend, yet this latest upset only became possible with the half-time introduction of Charles De Ketelaere.
He quickly created the breakthrough goal for Lookman after beating two defenders, and the German side faced an uphill struggle thereafter.
They could not come up with an equaliser and instead conceded a clinching second goal when Zaniolo pounced on a defensive error and slipped the ball past Alexander Nubel.
As victory took Atalanta up to ninth on eight points, Stuttgart fell out of the play-off places with four points at the halfway stage of the league phase.
Data Debrief: Home form not reflected in Europe
Despite Stuttgart's previous dominance at home, their European record at Neckarstadion continues to leave a lot to be desired.
Having drawn with Sparta Prague earlier in this campaign, Stuttgart are winless in eight home matches in major European competition. In fact, they are without a home Champions League goal since 2007.
The joy of an away win against Juventus will count for little if Sebastian Hoeness' side cannot turn their fortunes around at home, where in domestic competition they have been so strong.
Meanwhile, seven of Atalanta's 10 Champions League wins have now come on the road.
Jamal Musiala scored a header in the second half to give Bayern Munich a crucial 1-0 home victory over Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Germany international Musiala scored with a bullet header from close range in the 67th minute with Bayern dominating and missing several chances before eventually breaking the deadlock.
Musiala’s chance was set up when Harry Kane headed Leroy Sane’s cross back across the face of goal.
The result was much needed to get Bayern’s campaign back on track, with the win seeing them bounce back from suffering two consecutive defeats in the competition – against Aston Villa and Barcelona – for the first time since 2017.
A win lifted the Germans to six points from four matches and into 17th place with Benfica, who were toothless in attack, also on six points in 19th place.
Europe's top club competition has switched from a group stage to a league phase this season, where 36 teams play eight matches each. The top eight in the table progress directly to the next round, while the next 16 teams enter a two-legged playoff.
Bayern have a crunch clash against Paris Saint-Germain next in the competition on November 26.
Data Debrief: Unlucky 13 for Benfica
Benfica have now played 13 major European matches against Bayern and have never tasted victory, collecting only three draws and suffering 10 defeats.
That trend rarely showed signs of ending in this match, with Benfica not threatening. The visitors failed to register a shot on target for the first time in 45 Champions League matches. The last time they did not trouble the goalkeeper in this competition was in October 2017 against Manchester United. Bayern, by comparison, racked up 10 attempts on target.
Benfica also only had four touches in the opposition box, their lowest tally on record since Opta started recording that data in the Champions League in 2007-08, with Bayern tallying 51.
As for Kane, the assist means he has now been directly involved in 80 goals across all competitions (61 goals, 19 assists) since the start of last season. That is 16 more than any other player across Europe’s biggest five leagues in this period.
Paris Saint-Germain's disappointing Champions League campaign stumbled to a new low on Wednesday as a last-gasp 2-1 home loss to Atletico Madrid left them in the elimination zone.
After defeat to Arsenal and a draw with PSV, PSG were hoping to get back on track in Europe and scored first through Warren Zaire Emery on 14 minutes.
But Nahuel Molina had Atleti level just four minutes later, and a largely disappointing encounter looked set for a draw until Angel Correa's dramatic winner three minutes into second-half stoppage time.
On as a substitute, Correa stabbed past Gianluigi Donnarumma following a rapid counter-attack, prompting an angry reaction from the home crowd.
PSG are left on just four points from four matches, down in 25th and facing an early exit from the competition.
Diego Simeone's Atleti themselves badly needed this victory but are now two points and two places above their opponents at the halfway stage of the league phase.
Data Debrief: Classic Atleti punish profligate PSG
This was Simeone's Atletico in a nutshell. They had just 29% of the ball and attempted only four shots, yet two of those found the back of the net to stun PSG.
The Ligue 1 giants entered this matchweek as the Champions League's biggest under-performers in terms of expected goals since the start of last season, and again they were too wasteful in the final third after creating 1.9 xG.
Atleti, who have consistently proven far more clinical, had chances worth just 0.7 xG but ruthlessly stole victory.
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a goal in each half to help them secure a comprehensive 5-2 win at Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
Defender Inigo Martinez opened the scoring with a close-range header from a Raphinha free-kick in the 13th minute, nodding across goal to find the bottom-left corner.
However, Barca were pegged back when Silas beat their aggressive offside trap to equalise with a tidy finish from a quick counterattack 14 minutes later.
Lewandowski then tucked home on the rebound after Raphinha struck the post in the 43rd minute, before extending Barca's lead eight minutes into the second half with a first-time strike from a Jules Kounde cross.
The France full-back also set up Raphinha for Barca's fourth then recorded his third assist in the 76th minute, putting the ball on a plate for Fermin Lopez to fire home Barca's fifth from inside the box.
Substitute Milson reduced the deficit for the home side six minutes from time, but Red Star remain without a point in 35th place, while Barca are sixth in the 36-team table with nine.
Data Debrief: Lewandowski out on his own
Lewandowski has now scored 19 goals in 16 appearances for Barcelona this season; the most of any player for a team in Europe's big five leagues across all competitions.
Eleven of those 19 goals have come in away matches, which is also the most of any player this term.
As a team, Barca have netted 55 goals in 16 games across all competitions in 2024-25, the most of any team from the big five European leagues.
Hakan Calhanoglu maintained his perfect penalty record for Inter to secure a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Neither side had conceded a goal in their opening three games in the competition this season, but Arsenal's defence was finally breached after Mikel Merino was punished for a handball inside his own box shortly before half-time.
Calhanoglu calmly beat David Raya from the spot for his 19th successful conversion from 19 penalties in all competitions since joining Inter.
The much-changed Nerazzurri were good value for their lead at that stage, having earlier hit the post through Denzel Dumfries, yet Arsenal then laid siege to the home goal.
While Kai Havertz was denied by Yann Sommer and saw another effort deflected wide, Inter defended superbly and held on for another win that takes them to 10 points from four matches.
Arsenal are three points back, outside the top eight, but at least welcomed captain Martin Odegaard back from injury as a late substitute.
Data Debrief: Stubborn Inter frustrate Arsenal again
For Arsenal, this felt like a familiar, frustrating story. Just as against Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday, the Gunners dominated the possession (63%), attempted more shots (21) and created more expected goals (2.2) than their opponents but could find no way through in a 1-0 defeat.
Yet this also followed a trend for Inter, who came into this match without having conceded a goal in the Champions League this season despite facing 53 shots. They have now kept four consecutive clean sheets in the European Cup for the first time in their history.
Odegaard might have been the man to break down that dominant Nerazzurri defence, but he appeared only as a 93rd-minute substitute and touched the ball just once.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry has refused to confirm whether Deshaun Watson will remain the franchise's starting quarterback when he returns from his Achilles injury.
Watson endured a dismal start to the 2024 season as the Browns went 1-5 before he suffered the season-ending injury against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.
They failed to score 20 points in any of their seven games with Watson starting but did so at the first time of asking without him, beating the Baltimore Ravens 29-24 with Jameis Winston standing in at quarterback two weeks ago.
Watson's relationship with the Browns' fanbase had already become strained after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate behaviour in massage sessions.
He served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 season – his first campaign with the team after being handed a five-year, $230million contract following his trade from the Houston Texans.
"Really our focus with Deshaun, I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury, is first and foremost and to make sure that he gets healthy," Berry said on Wednesday.
"Everything else, we'll deal with at a later moment."
Berry added, however, that the team's issues were not all of Watson's making.
"We haven't played well as a team and we haven't played well as a unit on offense," Berry said.
"I think oftentimes when you don't play well on offense, obviously your starting quarterback and your play caller will get the most criticism.
"But the reality of it is, offenses, it comes down to organization and synchronization. There's a lot of shared ownership across the different groups in terms of why we didn't perform."
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