Borussia Dortmund hoped there had been a sign of change. BVB were back on top of the Bundesliga ahead of Der Klassiker and going to rivals Bayern Munich as the league's in-form team, their hosts meanwhile were in self-inflicted turmoil.
Victory at Allianz Arena would be the real statement Dortmund desired in a quest to prove they could end Bayern's domination of not only German football's biggest game, but the Bundesliga in general.
And perhaps Dortmund will still go on to win the title, but Saturday's match suggested that no matter how good BVB are, Bayern's psychological hold over them will take years to overcome.
As Bayern cruised to a 4-2 win, the Bundesliga's title race took another turn.
There had been plenty of talk about confidence from the Dortmund camp coming into the game, with CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke managing to perfectly encapsulate Bayern's recent dominance of this fixture when saying they were travelling "to Munich with a lot of self-belief for the first time in a long time".
He was referring to the fact BVB hadn't won at Allianz Arena in the Bundesliga since 2014, when Jurgen Klopp was still in charge, and their run of eight – now nine – successive league losses away to Bayern was their second-worst streak against any club in their top-flight history.
They'd been on the end of some hammerings in that time, too, losing by three or more goals five times.
So, when Dortmund began with genuine promise and swagger on Saturday, there was at least a suggestion Bayern weren't going to have it all their own way.
Dortmund were aggressive in their pressing and incisive with their distribution. Marius Wolf's energy down the right looked a potential weapon; Jude Bellingham showed some classy touches; Marco Reus' off-the-ball runs caused Bayern issues.
In fact, had Reus got his shot off a fraction of a second earlier in the seventh minute after Wolf's clever release, he may well have given BVB an early lead – as it was, Matthijs de Ligt got across to make a vital block.
But as predictable as some might have suggested a comfortable Bayern win was, there was nothing inevitable about the moment everything changed on Saturday.
Dayot Upamecano's pass from just inside his own half was seemingly routine for Gregor Kobel, but the goalkeeper took his eye off the ball as he raced out to clear, getting a slight nick on the ball to score arguably the most remarkable own goal of the season.
It's impossible to definitively say if things would've been different without that horror show, but Dortmund ceased to be much of a threat from that point in the 13th minute.
The following 10 minutes saw Bayern build a handsome lead. Thomas Muller was on hand to nudge home from De Ligt's headed flick-on to make it 2-0, and then punished another Kobel mistake with a tap-in when Leroy Sane's long-range strike was only parried.
It was effectively game over inside a quarter of the contest. Dortmund may have been the Bundesliga's form team coming into the weekend, but their first-half collapse had them reverting to type in Der Klassiker.
It wasn't over yet either.
Bayern looked especially potent in the opening half when attacking from the flanks, with Sane and – in particular – Kingsley Coman absolutely devastating at times.
Their deployment as inverted wingers was one of few significant alterations to the Bayern setup from Tuchel. It worked a treat almost throughout, and its success was tangible with the fourth goal early in the second half.
Sane cut in from the right, played a perfectly weighted pass towards the back post – through the legs of Muller – and Coman was there to stab home.
No one would have expected wholesale changes from Tuchel. After all, he's only had a couple of days to work with much of the squad following the international window.
But such a subtle yet demonstrably effective tweak perhaps highlights why Bayern were so keen to not miss out on the opportunity to finally hire Tuchel.
Similarly, Bayern were thrilling to watch, and we know just how important that is.
"We've come to the conclusion that the quality in our squad – despite the Bundesliga title last year – has come to the fore less and less often. After the World Cup we have played less successfully and less attractively. The big fluctuations in performance have cast doubt on our goals for this season, but also our goals for the future. That is why we have acted now."
Club CEO Oliver Kahn's comments after Julian Nagelsmann's sacking were pretty brutal but offered a lot of clarity to not only the man he'd just fired, but also the one he'd just hired.
Dortmund's late consolations via an Emre Can penalty and Donyell Malen's precise finish might be indicative of some of the issues with Bayern's mentality towards the end of Nagelsmann's reign. The 5-3 win over Augsburg comes to mind.
But 4-2 was a scoreline that flattered Dortmund. If anything, Bayern were a little wasteful, and had they checked their runs better, more goals certainly would've arrived.
In some ways, this win was almost as close to the perfect start as Tuchel could have enjoyed when you consider the reservations Bayern started to have with Nagelsmann.
It will have likely dealt Dortmund a psychological blow, while Bayern find themselves back at the top of the table having produced an entertaining attacking spectacle.
But this wasn't where the title was won and lost – Bayern's shaky post-World Cup form proves Tuchel still has a lot of work to do.
Kyle Mayers and Mark Wood got their Indian Premier League campaigns off to brilliant starts as Lucknow Super Giants beat Delhi Capitals by 50 runs.
The Super Giants boasted the best performers with both bat and ball, as Mayers' 73 from 38 deliveries and Wood's 5-14 led them to a comfortable win on Saturday.
Lucknow's hopes were hit when key man and captain KL Rahul dismissed for 19 in the fourth over, and his replacement Mayers was hugely fortunate not to be sent packing on 14 when he was dropped by Khaleel Ahmed.
Mayers took advantage of that reprieve, plundering 59 more runs before finally succumbing to a peach of a delivery from Axar Patel that clipped the top of off stump.
Though that wicket slowed Lucknow's progress, they smashed 62 off the final four overs.
Delhi's chase got off to a fantastic start, racing to 33 for no loss off the first three overs, but a magnificent spell from Wood saw him dismiss Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh and Sarfaraz Khan to halt the Capitals' momentum.
Avesh Khan landed the hammer blow when he removed David Warner (56) with the Capital's captain caught by Krishnappa Gowtham.
Warner's men would tack on just 30 more runs, falling 50 short of the winning total as Wood sealed his five-for with the penultimate ball of the innings.
Mayers punishes Khaleel drop
The game could have been very different had Khaleel held on after Mayers tried to slog a slower ball from Chetan Sakariya.
Instead, the ball agonisingly hit the turf and Mayers went on to register two fours and seven maximums on his IPL debut, reaching his half-century after just 28 balls to truly exploit Khaleel's mistake.
Lightning quick pace from Wood halts Capitals' chase
A sublime couple of overs from Wood completely altered the momentum in Delhi's chase and put his team back in the ascendancy.
Wood's first game for Lucknow saw him earn player of the match honours.
Thomas Tuchel's Bayern Munich tenure started with a resounding 4-2 victory over rivals Borussia Dortmund at Allianz Arena.
Tuchel replaced Julian Nagelsmann during the international break, and his first game at the helm saw him tasked with shifting his former club Dortmund from top spot in the Bundesliga.
It was a fantastic start for Tuchel on the other side of the Klassiker rivalry, with Gregor Kobel's calamity and Thomas Muller's double putting Bayern 3-0 up inside 23 minutes.
Kingsley Coman nudged Bayern further ahead, though Emre Can's penalty and Donyell Malen's neat finish somewhat reduced the embarrassment for Dortmund, who lost in the league for the first time since November.
Bayern took the lead in bizarre fashion.
Dayot Upamecano's long throughball was seemingly running straight through to Kobel, but Dortmund's goalkeeper opted to try and boot it upfield, only to miscue, inadvertently sending the ball skimming into his own goal.
It was 2-0 just five minutes later, Matthijs de Ligt nodding a corner into the path of Muller, who stabbed home from close range.
Another Kobel blunder gifted Bayern a third – Muller on hand to tuck in the rebound after Leroy Sane's strike had been parried out.
Coman extended the lead in the 50th minute, latching onto Sane's clever pass to sidefoot into the bottom corner, and Dortmund had a reprieve when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's acrobatic finish was disallowed for offside.
Can smashed home a penalty after Jude Bellingham was felled by Serge Gnabry before Malen slotted in, but those goals were merely minor blips in an emphatic Bayern win.
Chelsea slipped to a first loss in five games as goals for Ollie Watkins and John McGinn helped Aston Villa seal a 2-0 win in the Premier League on Saturday.
Watkins stunned the hosts early on with a lobbed first-half finish before his captain fired home a magnificent long-range effort close to the hour mark.
Defeat saw Graham Potter's previously resurgent hosts stutter at Stamford Bridge, leaving them five points off the top seven and potential European qualification.
For Unai Emery's visitors though, the result lifts them above their opponents and keeps them in with an outside shout of a surprise continental berth.
Chelsea rode their luck when McGinn rattled the crossbar with a fine volley, but they were less fortunate in the 18th minute.
A mix-up between Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly allowed Watkins to dart in and lift a finish over the bemused Kepa.
Ben Chilwell thought he had an equaliser in first-half injury time when his header beat Emiliano Martinez at the left post, but referee Andy Madley chalked it off for a shove on Ashley Young in the build-up.
Matters worsened for the Blues in the 56th minute, as they failed to clear a corner and McGinn punished them with a sensational strike through a crowded box to double the deficit.
The hosts turned to N'Golo Kante, in his first appearance since last August, in an attempt to drag themselves back into the fight.
Yet Villa refused to simply sit back and see this one out, continuing to challenge their increasingly haggard opponents until the final whistle confirmed an impressive triumph.
Inter's losing streak extended to their worst in Serie A in six years with a 1-0 defeat to Fiorentina at San Siro on Saturday.
Giacomo Bonaventura's second-half header was enough to down Simone Inzaghi's side, inflicting a third consecutive defeat upon the Nerazzurri.
The game's only goal came shortly after a woeful miss from Romelu Lukaku, failing to hit the target with the goal gaping from inside the six-yard box.
Inter came closest to an equaliser when Nicolo Barella struck the crossbar from long range but failed to restore parity and suffered their 10th league defeat of the season.
Andre Onana was called into action with a diving save to keep out Gaetano Castrovilli's bouncing volley, the goalkeeper then staying alert to the danger to quickly punch away the loose ball before Arthur Cabral could pounce on the rebound.
Fiorentina's Jonathan Ikone had the best chance of the half seven minutes before the interval with the goal at his mercy but failed to connect with the ball after Riccardo Saponara's scuffed shot fell into his path.
After the break, it was Inter's turn to spurn a glorious opportunity, Lukaku just yards from goal with Pietro Terracciano out of the picture but only able to slice a poor effort wide of the mark after Alessandro Bastoni put the ball on a plate for the striker.
Inter were made to pay for that missed chance, Cabral flicking on a corner at the near post that Onana palmed away, only for Bonaventura to nod in the rebound and give the visitors the lead.
Barella led Inter's search for an equaliser, firing a ferocious effort at goal that had Terracciano beaten but cannoned back off the crossbar, with later appeals for a penalty for a foul on Lautaro Martinez waved away and the referee's decision upheld after a VAR check.
Roy Hodgson celebrated Crystal Palace's dominance during their 2-1 victory over Leicester City, after the Eagles posted a 28-plus shot advantage at Selhurst Park.
The veteran boss returned to Palace for a second spell in charge last month following Patrick Vieira's dismissal after a 12-match winless streak in the Premier League.
In his first game back, the 75-year-old saw his side dominate against the Foxes, notching 31 shots to their opponents' three, though it took Jean-Philippe Mateta's injury-time winner to seal three points.
Even with the first-half loss of captain Wilfried Zaha, Palace were uncharacteristically dominant on Hodgson's return.
Indeed, they registered 20 shots during the first half - the most in a Premier League game since Liverpool did so against Leicester in December 2015.
And the former England boss could not hide his delight at such a triumphant return to the dugout.
"That was a fantastic way to win a game, and I'm not just talking about the fact it was a last-minute goal," he told BBC Match of the Day.
"The way the team played throughout the 94 minutes was worthy of a lot of credit. The scoreline certainly didn't flatter us."
Hodgson acknowledged Zaha's loss was a significant blow, though he was unable to put any timeline on a return from what he believes to be a muscle strain.
"I'm certainly concerned," he added. "If we're very lucky, it might not be as long as [we fear]. I just have to wait and trust the physios.
"In the first half, he looked like he was almost going to win the game off his own back. He was almost unplayable at moments. That does have a bit of a psychological influence on everybody."
Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal's focus as the Premier League leaders restored their eight-point advantage with victory over Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners' lead at the summit was reduced to five points following Manchester City's 4-1 win over Liverpool earlier on Saturday, but Arteta's side matched that result against Leeds to pull clear once more.
Gabriel Jesus scored twice while Ben White and Granit Xhaka were also target for the hosts, who were without Bukayo Saka from the start for the first time in the Premier League this season.
Arteta, who revealed the England forward was benched having suffered with illness on Friday, was delighted with the way his players remained concentrated on the task in hand.
"We had a few things going on with some individuals. It has been a concerning few days because we could not decide until this morning if some players would be available and the line-up," he told BBC.
"After an international break, you do not know if they are in the frame of mind to come back and do the things necessary to win this league. I am really happy with the performance.
"We were aware [of Man City's result] as it is a huge game, and we wanted to watch parts of it. But when we got here, it was just to focus on us and what we can do as a team. They are used to it. We can only control what we can do."
The Gunners boss also praised Jesus, who netted a brace on his first start since returning from injury.
"I am so happy for him after all the work from him and the staff throughout the last five months," Arteta said. "Today, he got rewarded for that. He brings that quality and unpredictability to the squad."
"Everyone is playing so well, it is easy to come back," Jesus added. "The most important thing is that everyone that has come in has played good.
"I want to score every game, but sometimes it can't happen. I am more happy with the three points than the goals.
"We said before the game not to look at goal difference and focus on the points. But sometimes, you have to try and score more and more, as it might matter at the end of the season."
White also paid tribute to Arsenal for not getting distracted by the Man City scoreline from earlier in the day.
"There's a lot of noise going on outside," the defender told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I don't really know what's right or wrong, I have never been in this position [competing in a title race] before. So, we are just keeping quiet, heads down and working hard."
Gregg Popovich is among those to have been entered into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced on Saturday.
The San Antonio Spurs coach has won five NBA titles and more games than anyone else in the history of the league, with 1,363 regular season victories and a further 170 in the postseason.
Headliners joining Popovich in the class of 2023 are Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade, as well as two players who played under 'Pop' in San Antonio, Tony Parker and Pau Gasol, and his former assistant and San Antonio Stars player Becky Hammon.
Popovich is coming towards the end of his 27th season with the Spurs, sitting in 14th place in the Western Conference with a record of 19-58.
In better days though, Parker won four championships with Pop at the Spurs, while Gasol makes it more for his success with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won two titles.
Dallas Mavericks legend Nowitzki won the 2011 championship and is sixth in the NBA's all-time scoring list, while 13-time All Star Wade won three titles during his 13 years with the Miami Heat.
Hammon – a six-time WNBA All Star – worked under Popovich in San Antonio between 2014 and 2022 before becoming head coach of the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA.
Liverpool's coach sustained damage following the Reds' 4-1 defeat at Manchester City, who are assisting a police investigation into the incident.
City dispatched Liverpool with little fuss in Saturday's early Premier League encounter.
However, City subsequently confirmed their opponents' team bus had been damaged by an object thrown at it during its return journey.
"We understand an object was thrown towards the coach in a residential area," a City statement read.
"Incidents of this kind are totally unacceptable, and we strongly condemn the actions of the individual(s) responsible.
"We will fully support Greater Manchester Police's investigation into this incident in any way we can."
City also condemned "inappropriate chants" from sections of the home support.
"We regret any offence these chants may have caused and will continue to work with supporter groups and officials from both clubs to eradicate hateful chanting from this fixture," their statement added.
Gabriel Jesus scored twice as Arsenal regained their eight-point lead at the Premier League summit by sweeping aside Leeds United 4-1.
Jesus marked his first start since November with a goal in each half at Emirates Stadium, while Ben White and Granit Xhaka were also on target for Arsenal.
Although Manchester City applied the pressure with their 4-1 victory over Liverpool earlier on Saturday, Mikel Arteta's side did not relent as they comfortably secured a seventh straight league win.
Rasmus Kristensen's goal gave Leeds hope before Xhaka rendered it a mere consolation for the visitors, who are only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.
Leeds gave the league leaders a scare inside the opening minute when Kristensen drew a smart reflex save from Aaron Ramsdale.
Ramsdale was needed again after Jesus headed over at the other end, denying Crysencio Summerville following a neat one-two with Marc Roca, while he also kept Jack Harrison out from a tight angle.
But after weathering the storm, Arsenal drew first blood 10 minutes before the break with Jesus calmly rolling home from the penalty spot after he was felled by Luke Ayling.
The hosts doubled their lead within two minutes of the restart. White – an ever-present during Leeds' Championship title-winning season three years ago – arrived at the far post to turn in Gabriel Martinelli's delicious cross.
Jesus grabbed his second goal eight minutes later, the Brazil forward prodding home after combining superbly with Leandro Trossard.
Leeds pulled one back in the 76th minute when Kristensen's shot deflected in via Oleksandr Zinchenko, but Xhaka headed in Martin Odeegard's excellent delivery to ensure Arsenal had the final word.
All-Star infielder Jake Cronenworth has agreed to a seven-year extension worth $80million with the San Diego Padres, according to multiple reports.
Cronenworth's new contract is scheduled to begin in 2024 and serves as a reward for his impressive consistency for the Padres.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the deal buys out five free agent seasons and marks the biggest ever for a 29-year-old with under four years of service in the majors.
Cronenworth did not make his MLB debut until 26 but has emerged as a key contributor for San Diego.
Last season, he had a batting average of .239, an on-base percentage of .332 and a slugging percentage of .390, hitting 17 home runs and 88 RBI as he was named to the NL All-Star team for the second successive campaign.
The Padres have made an 0-2 start to the season following successive defeats to the Colorado Rockies.
Jurgen Klopp said his Liverpool team likely would not have beaten Manchester City even if they had been reduced to 10 men.
City were fortunate that Rodri escaped a second yellow card in the first half after a cynical foul on Cody Gakpo, before Pep Guardiola's side went on to thrash the visitors 4-1 to record their fourth league win in a row.
Mohamed Salah had given Liverpool an early lead before goals from Julian Alvarez, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish emphatically turned things around.
Klopp, though, does not feel Rodri escaping a red card was too much of a pivotal moment.
"Could [Rodri] have got a second yellow? Yes, probably, but he will not get it now," Klopp said at a post-match press conference.
"I'm not sure we would have won today against 10 men, to be honest."
Liverpool toiled at the Etihad Stadium, particularly after falling behind in the first minute of the second half, only having four shots to City's 17 overall and having less than 25 per cent possession in the second half.
"I think around four performances we were OK," Klopp suggested.
"The two midfielders, [Jordan Henderson] and [Fabinho] worked a lot, tried to close gaps, Cody especially in possession, and [Alisson] of course, then that's obviously very difficult, if you want to get something from here then you have to have 11... 14-15 players have to be on top of their game.
"After being 3-1 down, it's anyway difficult to come back here... we had one opportunity for 3-2 with Robbo down the left side... but apart from that City could do what they want because the spaces were too big, so we were rather lucky they only scored one more."
Liverpool have already lost five league games in 2023, one more than in the entirety of 2022, and face Chelsea away and Arsenal at home in their next two outings as they look to get their top-four hopes back on track.
Punjab Kings held on to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven runs via the DLS method in the Indian Premier League after Andre Russell almost led an improbable comeback.
After being put in to bat by KKR in the second match of the new campaign, hosts Punjab racked up 191-5, as an 86-run second-wicket partnership between Bhanuka Rajapaksa (50) and captain Shikhar Dhawan (40) set them up.
Rajapaksa reached his half century from just 30 balls, with Jitesh Sharma (21 off 11) and Sam Curran (26 off 17) helping to keep up the momentum after the Sri Lanka batter's dismissal.
Wickets fell regularly for KKR in their reply, with Arshdeep Singh (3-19) removing Mandeep Singh and Anukul Roy in his first over, before later returning to claim the key scalp of Venkatesh Iyer (34).
The chase looked doomed at 80-5, but a typically big-hitting display from Russell (35 from 19) got them back in with a chance before Curran removed the danger man with a short ball that was skied to Sikandar Raza.
After Sunil Narine smashed a six, KKR were still in with an outside chance at 146-7 needing 46 runs from the last 24 balls, but rain was in the air at that point and the umpires called the players off with Punjab narrowly ahead via DLS and no resumption of play proved possible.
Kings hope to end play-off drought
With Curran, the England all-rounder who this season became the most expensive player in the IPL's 16-year history, in their ranks and Arshdeep looking impressive, Punjab look primed for a strong campaign.
Kagiso Rabada and Liam Livingstone are among the stars still to come into the team, with the Kings desperate to end an eight-year run without reaching the play-offs.
So far, so good after they beat KKR for only the third time from their last nine IPL attempts despite the best efforts of Russell.
Narine negated
Narine has a superb IPL track record, having taken 152 wickets for KKR. He recorded a dot ball rate of 42.3 per cent last season, the best of any spinner in the IPL (min. 25 overs).
But the Kings played him well. Rajapaksa made his team's intentions clear by hitting 14 runs – including a six – from Narine's opening over and the spinner went on to leak 36 runs without claiming a wicket from his first three.
Narine did respond with the late wicket of Raza (16) but the batting team would have gladly settled for his final figures of 1-40 had they been offered.
Jurgen Klopp vented his frustrations at Liverpool's capitulation against Manchester City, suggesting there was "nothing good" about their performance.
The Reds struck first at the Etihad Stadium through Mohamed Salah but subsequently fell to a 4-1 defeat against Pep Guardiola's champions in the Premier League.
Despite the absence of leading goalscorer Erling Haaland through injury, the hosts dismantled their visitors in ruthless fashion, with a trio of second-half goals doing the damage.
The nature of Liverpool's concessions after the break left their manager fuming at their display, ruing their inability to shut down their opponents throughout a crucial encounter.
"We just had to follow as they did whatever they wanted," he told BT Sport. "We were lucky they were not in a greedy mood. There is nothing good to say about this game.
"This is a game we have to use, and make clear which things cannot happen [going forward]. We cannot not have challenges in key areas, or be that open.
"I stand here and have to explain it, but I cannot explain it. I cannot change it now, I can [only] report what I saw. We will talk about it tomorrow [but] these things happened too often."
Having gone into the interval all square following Julian Alvarez's equaliser, Kevin De Bruyne's finish less than a minute into the second half set the tone for Liverpool's collapse.
Further goals for Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish meant the Reds missed the chance to close the five-point gap to fifth-place Newcastle, who have a game in hand on them too.
Klopp was at a loss for their complete reversal, telling BBC Match of the Day: "The first half was one we've seen a few times. We played calm, composed and caused them problems.
"But coming out after half-time and conceding two quick goals broke everything down. How we conceded is difficult to accept. [It is] absolutely not acceptable to be honest."
"City [were] completely in control after that. We were open and they could do whatever they wanted. That they only scored one more goal, it could've been different and that's really bad news for us."
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