Jamie Gittens scored twice as Borussia Dortmund opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 victory away at Club Brugge.

Serhou Guirassy added a late penalty for last season's finalists, who netted three times in the final quarter of an hour at Jan Breydelstadion.

Brugge carried the greater attacking threat for most of the contest, going closest to scoring when Hugo Vetlesen rattled the crossbar, but they were made to pay for their profligacy.

Gittens entered the action as a 68th-minute substitute and broke the deadlock eight minutes later—albeit in fortuitous circumstances—with his shot taking two deflections before nestling in the top-left corner.

The 20-year-old doubled his and Dortmund's tally with four minutes remaining, cutting inside before firing past Simon Mignolet in the Brugge goal.

Guirassy added further gloss to the scoreline from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, slotting home from 12 yards after he was fouled by Brandon Mechele.

Data Debrief: Super sub Gittens stars in historic win

Keeping Brugge at bay, Dortmund became the first team in Champions League history to play a single opponent five times without conceding a goal.

Gittens got the ball rolling at the other end. At 20 years and 41 days old, he is the second-youngest player to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League game, older than only Monaco's David Trezeguet, who was just 34 days younger when he struck against K. Lierse SK in October 1997.

Guirassy completed the victory from the spot, meaning Dortmund have now converted each of their last six Champions League penalties, last failing from 12 yards against Barcelona in September 2019 through Marco Reus.

Jamie Gittens scored twice as Borussia Dortmund opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 victory away at Club Brugge.

Serhou Guirassy added a late penalty for last season's finalists, who netted three times in the final quarter of an hour at Jan Breydelstadion.

Brugge carried the greater attacking threat for most of the contest, going closest to scoring when Hugo Vetlesen rattled the crossbar, but they were made to pay for their profligacy.

Gittens entered the action as a 68th-minute substitute and broke the deadlock eight minutes later - albeit in fortuitous circumstances - with his shot taking two deflections before nestling in the top-left corner.

The 20-year-old doubled his and Dortmund's tally with four minutes remaining, cutting inside before firing past Simon Mignolet in the Brugge goal.

Guirassy added further gloss to the scoreline from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, slotting home from 12 yards after he was fouled by Brandon Mechele.

Data Debrief: Super sub Gittens stars in historic win

Keeping Brugge at bay, Dortmund became the first team in Champions League history to play a single opponent five times without conceding a goal.

Gittens got the ball rolling at the other end. At 20 years and 41 days old, he is the second-youngest player to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League game, older than only Monaco's David Trezeguet, who was just 34 days younger when he struck against K. Lierse SK in October 1997.

Guirassy completed the victory from the spot, meaning Dortmund have now converted each of their last six Champions League penalties, last failing from 12 yards against Barcelona in September 2019 through Marco Reus.

Paris Saint-Germain sneaked to a 1-0 home victory over Champions League debutants Girona on Wednesday after Paulo Gazzaniga's costly late blunder.

Nuno Mendes' harmless low delivery across goal slipped through visiting goalkeeper Gazzaniga's grasp in the 90th minute to hand the hosts an opening victory at Parc des Princes.

Girona's defence effectively neutralised PSG's attack in the first half, causing mounting frustration for the hosts before Michel's side began to waste time, drawing boos from the Parc des Princes crowd.

Randal Kolo Muani and Achraf Hakimi had late chances, but both missed from close range before Gazzinga inexplicably allowed Mendes' tame cross to squirm through his hands.

Data Debrief: PSG's fortress continues unbroken

Though winning in fortuitous circumstances, PSG have now only lost one of their 37 home games in the group stage of the Champions League (W29 D7) since the start of the 2012-13 campaign.

Parc des Princes remains the Ligue 1 champions' fortress, with only one of the last 29 teams (D8 L20) travelling away to PSG for the first time in the competition winning (Manchester United, 3-1 in March 2019).

Luis Enrique has Gazzaniga to thank, however, with Girona's own goal the first in the 90th minute of a Champions League game since November 2022, since Porto's Ivan Marcano against Atletico Madrid.

It was the first ever 90th-minute own goal in the competition that proved to be the winner but, concerningly, PSG have now attempted 71 shot attempts since one of their own players scored in Europe.

Tottenham produced an inspired late turnaround to scrape through to the EFL Cup's fourth round with a narrow 2-1 victory over a spirited Coventry City.

The Championship side took a deserved lead at the Coventry Building Society Arena through Brandon Thomas-Asante, but Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson struck late on to snatch victory from under their noses.

Coventry carried the greater threat during the first half, in which Tottenham failed to register a single shot on goal. Jack Rudoni saw a goalbound shot blocked by Destiny Udogie, while Norman Bassette fired narrowly over from a tight angle soon after.

Spurs then had Ben Davies to thank on the hour mark, when the skipper's sliding intervention prevented Haji Wright slotting into an empty net following a mix-up between Fraser Forster and Radu Dragusin.

However, the hosts broke through just three minutes later when Thomas-Asante turned in Bassette's cross from close range.

There was to be a late twist, though. With two minutes remaining, Spence rounded off a fine team move and, with penalties looming, Johnson raced onto Rodrigo Bentancur's throughball to complete the turnaround in the second minute of stoppage time.

Data Debrief: Spurs survive scare to maintain Cov dominance

Coventry were looking to reach the EFL Cup's fourth round for the first time in 16 years, and were just two minutes away from doing so after an impressive performance against their top-flight opponents.

However, Tottenham's timely late rally dug the Premier League side out of a hole, and sealed their fifth win in as many meetings between the teams.

Spurs have now progressed from 17 of their last 18 EFL Cup ties against sides from outside the Premier League.

Celtic placed down an early Champions League marker after hammering Slovan Bratislava 5-1 in Wednesday's opener.

Arne Engels teed up Liam Scales' fierce headed opener in the 17th minute at Celtic Park, before the midfielder himself scored from the penalty spot in the second half.

Kyogo Furuhashi had earlier added Celtic's second goal of the game just nine minutes before Engels' penalty, awarded for a needless pull on Alistair Johnson by Danylo Ignatenko.

Switzerland defender Kevin Wimmer reduced the arrears on the hour with a delightful outside-of-the-boot finish, though Daizen Maeda soon restored the advantage 10 minutes later after linking up with Reo Hatate.

Substitute Adam Idah rounded the scoring off with four minutes remaining, latching onto James Forrest's pass to complete a convincing triumph.

Data Debrief: Celtic firing on all cylinders

Engels' fine individual showing made him only the second player to both score and assist a goal on his Champions League debut for Celtic, after Sweden great Henrik Larsson against Juventus in September 2001.

Brendan Rodgers' side were completely dominant in every aspect, too, accumulating a massive 3.22 expected goals (xG) tally to Bratislava's minimal 0.30.

It was also just the second time Celtic have smashed four or more goals in one match in the competition, having also managed to do so in a 4-3 victory over Juve in October 2001.

With goals coming from all over the place, Celtic had five different scorers in a European Cup/Champions League match (excluding own goals) for the first time since September 1973 against TPS Turku (Dixie Deans, George Connelly, Harry Hood, James Johnstone, Thomas Callaghan).

Afghanistan took another giant step in ODI cricket after crushing South Africa in a six-wicket victory with 24 overs to spare on Wednesday.

Fazalhaq Farooqi led the way with figures of 4-35, ably supported by Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar's 3-20 and Rashid Khan taking 2-30, as Jonathan Trott's side bowled South Africa out for just 106 in Sharjah.

Wiaan Mulder offered some brief resistance with 52, though only three other Proteas batters managed double figures, and that underwhelming total left Afghanistan with a routine chase.

Though Bjorn Fortuin impressed with an economical 2-22, Azmatullah Omarzai's unbeaten 25 and Gulbadin Naib finishing 34 not out helped Afghanistan to their first-ever win over South Africa with ease.

Data Debrief: ODI world takes note 

This victory marked a maiden win for Afghanistan over South Africa and their third-biggest victory in terms of balls to spare against a Test-playing nation.

It comes as no surprise, though, as Afghanistan have beaten England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia in white-ball internationals in the last 11 months.

A transformative period under coach Trott has been underpinned by star Khan, though it was team-mates Farooqi and Ghazanfar who impressed here.

Indeed, Ghazanfar bowled 47 dot balls from his 10-over spell, removing Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne and Jason Smith, while Farooqi provided a dominant opening up top against a poor Proteas.

Sparta Prague enjoyed a fine return to the Champions League on Wednesday, recording a 3-0 win over Salzburg in their first game in Europe's top club competition in 19 years.

Sparta grabbed an early lead that set the tone for the league-phase opener at the Epet Arena as home fans celebrated their team's first win in the tournament since 2003.

The hosts opened the scoring just two minutes in when Kaan Kairinen pounced on a loose ball after a great save by Salzburg goalkeeper Janis Blaswich, effortlessly slotting home the rebound.

Victor Olantuji then doubled their lead in the 42nd minute, firing in from a tight angle after taking in a long ball over the top from captain Filip Panak.

Olantuji then turned provider as the hosts killed the game off just before the hour mark, assisting Qazim Laci for a coolly struck finish after a cheap giveaway from Salzburg.

Data Debrief: Long wait ends for Sparta

Sparta's victory, their first in the Champions League since beating Lazio 1-0 in December 2003, saw them halt a 14-game winless run in the competition (four draws, 10 losses).

It is also the first time they have ever started a Champions League campaign with a win, on their eighth appearance in the competition proper.

Bologna were held to a 0-0 draw by visitors Shakhtar Donetsk, who saw an early penalty saved, in a lacklustre Champions League opener on Wednesday.

The first half lacked excitement, but Bologna's fans relished the milestone occasion as they returned to Europe's elite club competition for the first time in almost 60 years.

The game was four minutes old, though, when the visitors had a chance to take the lead, Stefan Posch fouling Eguinaldo to concede an early penalty.

However, Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski denied Heorhiy Sudakov from 12 yards, and that was the most dramatic moment of an otherwise tepid affair. 

Despite an energetic start to the second half and a couple of impressive saves from Shakhtar keeper Dmytro Riznyk, neither team could make a breakthrough, taking a point apiece from their first outing in the competition's new-look league phase.

Data Debrief: Skorupski the hero

In a game low on attacking quality, Bologna goalkeeper Skorupski made headlines with his early penalty save, becoming the sixth Polish shot-stopper to keep out a penalty in the Champions League.

It also means that three of the last four penalties taken in the first four minutes of a Champions League game have not found the net.

Enzo Maresca will be hoping Chelsea can put their off-field issues to one side as they aim for back-to-back Premier League wins when they visit West Ham on Saturday.

The Blues are facing a period of boardroom uncertainty with much of the focus remaining on the reported ownership rift between Bedhad Eghbali and Todd Boehly.

That seemed to do little in the way of distraction last time out against Bournemouth as Christopher Nkunku scored late on to snatch a 1-0 victory for Chelsea.

Maresca urged his players to continue to focus on the things in their control, rather than the speculation over the ownership.

"The players read and see things on their social networks but I told them there's nothing they can do about it and we try to prepare our games in the best way," Maresca said.

"In this kind of game you need to learn that it isn't just about the tactical part – you need something inside, to win duels and all the games are different.

"To win the game, you have to win with the T-shirt dirty – probably [getting] some yellow cards because they had many yellow cards. These kind of games require these kinds of things."

West Ham head into this London derby after a 1-1 draw at fellow capital-city rivals Fulham, with Danny Ings striking late at Craven Cottage to salvage a point with his stoppage-time leveller.

Hammers head coach Julen Lopetegui knows improvements are needed if his side are to end a two-game winless run in the early top-flight season.

"We showed fight and we ran a lot but we can do better and that's my feeling," Lopetegui said.

"I am happy for the reaction, the feeling and spirit of the team but we have to improve with the ball, we can do better."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

West Ham – Michail Antonio

Michail Antonio is not a guaranteed starter for the home side, considering the recent signing of towering striker Niclas Fullkrug.

However, Antonio has been involved in five goals in his last six Premier League games against Chelsea, scoring three and assisting two. His next goal involvement will also be his 100th in the competition, making him the first West Ham player to reach that milestone (67 goals, 32 assists).

Chelsea – Christopher Nkunku

Nkunku burst Bournemouth's bubble last time out and will hope to do similar on the road at London Stadium, though it remains unclear whether the France international will be in the side from the off for this one.

In fact, all four of Nkunku’s Premier League goals for Chelsea have been as a substitute, including his winner against Bournemouth. It’s the joint-most goals a player has scored in the competition’s history with 100% of them coming from the bench.

MATCH PREDICTION – CHELSEA WIN

Chelsea are considered the favourites for this London derby on Saturday, taking into account their head-to-head record with West Ham and favourable Opta win probability from their data-based simulations.

Indeed, the Blues have won 30 of their 56 Premier League meetings with West Ham (D10 L16), only winning more times against Tottenham in the competition’s history (35).

Chelsea have also won each of their last four away games in the Premier League, though have not triumphed in five such matches in a row since December 2021 under Thomas Tuchel. 

That impressive road run includes both league trips under Maresca this season, with Pep Guardiola in 2016 the last manager to win each of his first three away games in the Premier League.

However, this result is by no means a foregone conclusion. West Ham have alternated between winning (five) and not winning (D2 L3) in their last 10 league home games against Chelsea, beating them 3-1 at the London Stadium last term.

The Hammers last won consecutive home league games against the Blues in 2001-02/2002-03, though, with the hosts needing to buck the trend here if they are to succeed.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

West Ham win – 31.3%

Draw – 24.6%

Chelsea win – 44%

Roma have announced the appointment of Ivan Juric as the club's new manager on a deal until the end of the season.

The former Torino boss succeeds Daniele De Rossi, who was dismissed after just seven months in charge following a winless start to the Serie A campaign.

Juric's contract will reportedly be extended should the Giallorssi qualify for next season's Champions League.

The 49-year-old, who took training for the first time on Wednesday, becomes the first Croatian to manage Roma, having departed Torino at the end of last season after three years in charge of Il Toro.

Juric led Crotone to Serie A promotion in the 2015-16 campaign, while he has also overseen the fortunes of Genoa and Verona in the Italian top flight.

He will take charge of Roma for the first time on Sunday, when they welcome Udinese to Stadio Olimpico.

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou defended his comment about "always" winning trophies in his second season after their defeat to Arsenal last weekend. 

Despite Arsenal missing several of their key players, Spurs were undone in familiar fashion as Gabriel Magalhaes nodded home from a set-piece to secure the North London bragging rights.

Spurs last won a title back in 2008 in the League Cup and currently occupy 13th in the early-season standings, having picked up four points from their first four Premier League games.

Postecoglou was left confused and amazed by the negative reaction to his comments and is still confident that he can lead Spurs to a trophy this season.

"It's amazing, isn't it? I just stated a fact. Am I supposed to just lie or just say it never happened,” Postecoglou said. “But do you really think it's me sort of boasting? It's just confusing to me that people are making a big deal out of something. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to answer something that is true.

"I've just said something that's true, and it seems like it's upset a lot of people for some reason. In my 26 years of managing, I’ve had success and most of that has come in the second year, not all of it. Sometimes it’s happened in the first year, sometimes in the third year.

“I don’t see why that puts extra pressure. It doesn’t put extra pressure on me because I love the fact that I’ve done that. It’s what I want to do here.

“I’d like to think that just saying the truth is the way to go forward but I think sometimes that’s too confronting for people, they’d much rather I didn’t."

Brentford, meanwhile, were involved in Carabao Cup action in midweek and booked their place in the next round with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Leyton Orient.

Fabio Carvalho starred for the Bees, notching a goal and two assists as he continues to find his feet under Thomas Frank since his move from Liverpool during the transfer window.

Frank was pleased his side were able to avoid an early exit from the competition, saying the level his players reached on Tuesday is something they must maintain if they are to return to winning ways in the league.

“It’s job done. I’ve said it many times: we want to go on a cup run, we want to go as far as possible and potentially win it - we know it’s difficult but that’s the aim,” Frank said.

“In these games, I need to find the perfect balance between putting a strong team out there, the mix of freshness but also with the game on Saturday in mind, and then also using the squad, because players need that to develop and also want to be included.

“We hit the level today; credit to Leyton Orient, they did well in the first 20 minutes, we didn’t get enough control, but then we got our goal, and from there we were in control.

“3-1 ahead at half-time; second half, I wanted us to be even more on top, but it’s not easy, they gave everything. But I'm pleased."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Tottenham – Pedro Porro

Only Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White (11) has created more open play chances in the Premier League this season than Tottenham’s Pedro Porro (10).

The Portugal international is the only player to have created four or more open play chances in two different games this season (four against both Leicester and Arsenal).

Brentford – Mark Flekken

Flekken has made 22 saves in four Premier League matches this season, six more than any other goalkeeper, and he may be needed once again in North London.

Since 2003-04, only one goalkeeper has ever made more saves in a team’s first four games in a season – Tim Krul for Newcastle in 2015-16 (23).

MATCH PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM WIN

Many say the first goal is the most important one, but that has not proved to be the case in this fixture. The team scoring first has won none of the last four Premier League meetings between Tottenham and Brentford (D2 L2).

Spurs have won just four points in the Premier League this season (W1 D1 L2), their fewest at this stage since 2015-16 (3). They haven’t lost three of their opening five games since 2008-09 under Juande Ramos, who left the club eight winless games into that season.

The hosts will also need to improve from set-pieces. Only Nottingham Forest (27) have conceded more set-piece goals (incl. penalties) in the Premier League since the start of last season than Tottenham (25).

Among all managers who’ve conceded more than 50 goals in Premier League history, only four have a higher percentage of goals conceded via set pieces than Ange Postecoglou (25/65, 38.5%).

Brentford have also won just one of their six Premier League meetings with Tottenham (D3 L2) and have struggled away from home, losing 12 of their last 16 matches away from the Gtech Community Stadium.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Tottenham – 58.8%

Draw – 20.5%

Brentford – 20.6%

Trent Alexander-Arnold insisted Liverpool are "back where we belong" as he revelled in the Reds' 3-1 victory over AC Milan on their return to the Champions League.

The six-time champions, who failed to qualify for last season's competition, fell behind after just three minutes at San Siro when Christian Pulisic rounded off a swift counter.

However, Liverpool responded with a pair of headers from Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk turning the contest around, before Dominik Szoboszlai's second-half strike sealed the three points.

And Alexander-Arnold was thrilled to see the Reds hit the ground running in the revamped competition.

"I think this club belongs in the Champions League with the history that it's had and [it was] disappointing last year not being a part of it," he told CBS Sports.

"But we're back where we belong and [there is] no better way to get this campaign started than getting a win at the San Siro – a special venue, a special stadium and an unbelievable result."

Alexander-Arnold's assist for Konate's equaliser was his 80th for Liverpool, with Kevin De Bruyne (146) and team-mate Mohamed Salah (90) the only Premier League players to provide more since his debut in October 2016.

After helping England reach the Euro 2024 final in July, the full-back has started all five of the Reds' games this season under Arne Slot, while he also began both of the Three Lions' Nations League fixtures against the Republic of Ireland and Finland earlier this month.

"I had a short time off in the summer where, after the Euros, there was a little bit of time for holidays and then back into it," he added.

"I think it was just an excitement to work under a new manager that I had never had before and, having spoken to the manager, I was excited for the plans and the way that he talked about it.

"So, to get back as soon as possible and to be as fit as possible for the opening game of the season was my aim, and to hit the ground running and be one of the best players in the league."

Eddie Howe insisted he is enjoying the selection headache his Newcastle players have presented him after coming from behind against Wolves last time out.

Two goals in five minutes from Fabian Schar and Harvey Barnes moved the Magpies up to third in the early-season standings as they aim to return to the Champions League this season.

With Newcastle struggling with injuries for much of last season, Howe said that despite the difficulty of the decisions he has to make every week, it is part of being a head coach in the Premier League.

"Those are the headaches you want. Leaving Harvey out and other players in this game was very, very difficult but it what you're paid to do,” Howe said.

“All you want then is when the player enters the pitch to try and prove that he should try and start the next game.

"The fixture list is never easy, every game in the Premier League is always difficult. Four points from Wolves and Bournemouth is good and we go away to Fulham next."

Fulham, meanwhile, suffered a shock midweek exit in the Carabao Cup to Championship side Preston North End at Deepdale.

The Cottagers were beaten on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time, eventually being dumped out of the competition in unusual fashion, losing 16-15 after Timothy Castagne saw his penalty saved, with Ryan Ledson sending North End through.

Head coach Marco Silva was left ruing his sides missed opportunities during the encounter, and is hoping his players can find their clinical edge against the high-flying Magpies this weekend.

"I'm sure that we did enough during the 95 minutes to win the game," Silva told reporters after the 34-kick shootout.

"From the first minute, we took control of the game and I think we created enough chances... the crossbar, a lot of crosses, a lot of moments where we should've scored."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Fulham – Emile Smith-Rowe

Smith Rowe has made a positive start to his Fulham career, netting his second goal involvement since his move from Arsenal with his assist for Raul Jiminez’s goal against West Ham.

The 24-year-old also boasts an impressive record against the Magpies, winning four of the five games he has played against them (L1), scoring once.

Newcastle – Harvey Barnes

Barnes has either scored (two) or assisted (one) a goal in each of his last three Premier League appearances for Newcastle.

Only in January 2021 at Leicester has he registered a goal involvement in four consecutive games in the competition before.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Newcastle have enjoyed their recent visits to Craven Cottage, winning each of their last four away league games against Fulham, having previously lost six in a row before this.

The Magpies also boast an expected goals (xG) against total of 6.5 in the Premier League this season, but have conceded just three goals, with their difference of 3.5 between goals conceded and xG against the best in the division so far.

With 10 points (W3 D1), this is Newcastle’s best start to a Premier League campaign after four games since 1995-96 under Kevin Keegan (12 points) – the Magpies haven’t gone unbeaten in their opening five top-flight matches since 2011-12 under Alan Pardew (W2 D3). 

Fulham, meanwhile, are winless in their last eight Premier League meetings with Newcastle (D2 L6), losing each of the last five in a row.

Silva’s side have also struggled on home soil, having won just one of their last six Premier League home games (D2 L3), having won four of their previous six at Craven Cottage (D1 L1).

While Opta’s data-led simulations expected a draw between the two sides, none of Fulham’s 16 Premier League home games against Newcastle have finished level, with the Cottagers winning nine and losing seven. The only exact fixture to be played more without being drawn in the competition’s history is Everton v Fulham at Goodison Park (17).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Fulham – 34.7%

Draw – 25.7%

Newcastle – 39.7%