The Philadelphia 76ers had to "send a message" against the Milwaukee Bucks, according to Joel Embiid, who is excited about what the future might hold.

Embiid was on top form on Thursday, scoring 42 points and adding 14 rebounds and five assists in a supreme display.

Fittingly, he nudged the 76ers ahead for the final time in the fourth quarter, with Philadelphia holding firm to seal a 123-120 victory and snap a six-game losing streak against the Bucks, despite the efforts of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The reigning NBA Finals MVP fell just short of a triple-double, finishing on 32 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

It was a much-needed win for the 76ers heading into the All-Star break, however, with Philadelphia having been thrashed 135-87 by the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

"Man, it sucked, but then again, look at the big picture, they were making everything," Embiid told ESPN when asked how important a response to that defeat was.

"We learned a lot from it, we had to get back to our game and send a message."

Philadelphia beat the Bucks without new arrival James Harden, who is out with a hamstring injury he sustained earlier in February while still playing for the Brooklyn Nets.

"I'm just excited for us to be healthy, for us all to be together," continued Embiid.

"I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing and I'm sure my team-mates will follow. We're pretty excited about what we can accomplish."

Embiid came out on top in the battle of two of the NBA's finest performers. He leads the way in the league for points per game (29.6), just ahead of Antetokounmpo (29.4).

"You know, Finals MVP, an MVP of the regular season, so I live for this type of matchup, it's always fun battling against him, a great player, just glad we got the win," Embiid added.

Antetokounmpo told reporters: "We had a lot of open looks, good shots that did not fall, shots that we usually make down the stretch."

Philadelphia's talisman only managed 19 points against Boston, which ended a run of 23 straight games in which he had at least 25 points.

However, he has now had nine games this season with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds. That is the second-most in a season by a Philadelphia player, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 18 in 1965-66, according to the 76ers' official data.

The 76ers are third in the Eastern Conference with a 35-23 record for the season.

"The one thing the later All-Star break does, when you come out, it's a sprint," 76ers coach Doc Rivers told reporters.

"It's no longer the midway point, where you can ease back from the break. It's a full sprint when you come back."

When watching games from pretty much any league in the world, there is a reasonable chance one of the players featured will be described as "on loan from Chelsea".

Such is the volume of players the recent FIFA Club World Cup winners send out on loan each season, they have even had their own WhatsApp group to keep in touch, as revealed a few years ago by Patrick Bamford.

The Leeds striker, who was on loan at Crystal Palace from Chelsea at the time, said: "The loan department set it up and allowed people in. Sometimes it drains your battery when everyone is messaging each other."

It had been seen as a ploy for the London club to hoard players for several years before selling them on for a profit once they had established themselves, but in recent times, especially with youngsters who came through the youth ranks at Cobham, it seems the chance of a first-team appearance isn't as fanciful as it once was.

The likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Reece James went on to become regular first-teamers after successful loan spells elsewhere.

Conor Gallagher has been loaned out by Chelsea four times and is currently turning out for Palace, earning valuable Premier League minutes, just as he did last season at West Brom.

The 22-year-old is yet to make his first-team debut for the Blues, but in light of his performances for the Eagles, his long wait could potentially be over next season.

Ahead of Chelsea's trip to Selhurst Park to face Palace on Saturday, where Gallagher will be ineligible to play against his parent club, Stats Perform takes a look at whether he could indeed have a future at Stamford Bridge.

Little by little, Gallagher impresses Tuchel

Speaking in December, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel said: "We love Conor. We are convinced about him.

"We took the decision for Conor because when we looked at the midfield - Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, N'Golo Kante - he was considered number four in the group.

"Conor knew this all the way. An opportunity came up where he could clearly see more minutes and more responsibility."

Tuchel ended up signing Saul Niguez on loan from Atletico Madrid, but the Spaniard has failed to make an impact during his time in England.

Gallagher, meanwhile, has scored seven goals in 21 Premier League appearances this season, including braces against Everton and West Ham, as well as a goal and an assist in Palace's shock 2-0 win at Manchester City in October.

It has been a lengthy journey already for the player, though, having been loaned to Charlton Athletic in 2019.

He impressed so much that Chelsea cut his loan short in the January window as, despite Gallagher's performances, Charlton were struggling in the Championship and he was instead sent to Swansea City, who were challenging for promotion.

Although he failed to score during his time in Wales, he still impressed then Swans manager Steve Cooper – who had managed England's U17s to World Cup glory in 2017 – as he grabbed five assists in his first nine games at the Liberty Stadium.

The next logical move was the Premier League, and Gallagher was loaned to West Brom for the 2020-21 campaign, where he made 32 appearances in all competitions, before heading to Selhurst Park for another season of top-flight football.

Although he performed well at West Brom, Gallagher has undoubtedly stepped up a gear under the tutelage of Palace's Patrick Vieira, and even earned his first senior England cap when he came on as a substitute in the 10-0 thrashing of San Marino in November.

It has not just been a case of him looking good among his team-mates at Palace. Gallagher actually stacks up well against most Premier League midfielders.

Only Arsenal's Emile Smith-Rowe and Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United (eight) have scored more this season than Gallagher's seven, while only Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan has a higher expected goals rate (6.22) than Gallagher's 5.47, which is based on the quality of the chances for a player.

Like Mason, can Gallagher mount a challenge at Chelsea?

It is hard to ignore the fact that Gallagher's improvement this season has come under a manager who was one of the best midfielders in the world during his playing days in Vieira, much like Mount grew significantly while working under Frank Lampard both at Derby County and Chelsea.

Mount's is clearly the path that Gallagher should aim to tread. From being a promising youngster out on loan, he became an integral part of a European and world championship winning side.

Gallagher can take heart from the fact that Tuchel has already expressed his admiration, and the German has been happy to continue to give young players chances where he can, but it remains a place that Gallagher will have to earn.

Compared to Chelsea midfielders who have played more than five games this season, Gallagher measures well on chance creation, with only Mount (2.13) creating more per 90 minutes than his 1.61.

In terms of profile, Gallagher is certainly more in the mould of a Mount than any other of Chelsea's current midfielders. Both look to get forward whenever possible, and have more touches in the opposition box per 90 than any of the Blues' other options (Mount = 5.21, Gallagher = 3.07).

They also both have significantly more penalty box entries per 90 than any other Chelsea midfielder with over five Premier League appearances this term (Mount = 7.78, Gallagher = 5.22), with the next highest being Kante with 2.72, and a higher xG excluding penalties per 90 (Mount = 0.24, Gallagher = 0.27), with the next highest being Loftus-Cheek with 0.14.

The issue with Gallagher being so similar to Mount is that he'd likely find himself being in an either/or situation. Tuchel prefers to have two controlling players in his midfield three, usually two of Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic, so it seems unlikely he'd start Mount and Gallagher together very often.

It therefore seems like, should Tuchel indeed look to utilise him at Stamford Bridge next year, it will be Ross Barkley's place in the squad that Gallagher slots into, and the former Everton man has only made four starts in all competitions this season, two of which came in the EFL Cup.

The question then becomes one of whether Gallagher is happy with that role after two seasons of regular football in the Premier League and with an England spot to fight for ahead of the World Cup in November.

For the time being, it is not something that the player needs to focus on too much. He can simply enjoy the game time he is getting in south London and try to perform to the sort of levels that will give Tuchel a decision to make when planning for next season.

By now, you probably all get it: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah are pretty good at kicking a football.

So, for this week's fantasy picks, Stats Perform has looked at the Opta numbers behind some players who may not offer quite the same points guarantee as the superstars, but are cheaper and nowhere near as popular.

If everyone picks the exact same players, fantasy football managers will pick up similar points – why not take a punt on some of these?

NICK POPE (Brighton and Hove Albion v Burnley)

Burnley may be mired in a relegation battle, but goalkeeper Nick Pope has looked sharp so far in 2022.

The England international has kept two clean sheets, bettered only by Alisson and Ederson, and prevented more goals than anyone else (3.6).

He may represent something of a risk, but his form suggests Pope could be a shrewd buy.

RICARDO PEREIRA (Wolves v Leicester City)

Granted, Pereira has only scored in consecutive games once before, way back in September 2019. However, his strike against West Ham was a timely reminder of his talents following injury troubles.

Up next is a trip to Wolves. While Bruno Lage's men are solid, they do not scored masses, and Pereira has done damage to them before.

With two assists, he has only claimed more goal involvements against Everton (three) and West Ham (four) in his Premier League career.

JACOB RAMSEY (Aston Villa v Watford)

Ramsey has been a standout breakthrough youngster in the Premier League this term, with his form in recent weeks in particular causing people to sit up and take note.

The 20-year-old has six goal involvements this season, a figure only Bukayo Saka (10) can better among under-21 players.

Five of Ramsey's have been in his past seven matches, and this weekend sees Villa host struggling Watford – he might just fancy his chances of adding to his tally, and he is still a fairly cheap option.

MICHAEL OLISE (Crystal Palace v Chelsea)

Olise is another young player having a solid season – he has also tallied six Premier League goal involvements this term.

Those have come in just 568 minutes on the pitch, meaning he is involved in 0.95 goals per 90 minutes.

Only Mohamed Salah (1.19), Patson Daka (1.05), Riyad Mahrez (1.0) and Paul Pogba (0.98) boast a better record than Olise among players with at least 500 minutes played.

Again, he remains a low-cost option.

Joel Embiid had 42 points as he inspired the Philadelphia 76ers to a 123-120 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

With James Harden having arrived to bolster the 76ers' championship bid, but still missing due to a hamstring injury, Embiid served up a reminder of just how crucial he is with another supreme display on Thursday.

This time, it was reigning NBA champions the Bucks who were on the receiving end of a masterful showing from the 27-year-old, who also tallied up 14 rebounds and five assists.

The Bucks came close, though, and had their own MVP to thank for that – Giannis Antetokounmpo helping himself to a double-double of 32 points and 11 rebounds, while also contributing nine assists.

Embiid, fittingly, put Philadelphia ahead for good with a 10-foot shot in the final quarter. 

It marked a valuable return to form for the 76ers, who can enter the All-Star break on a high despite Tuesday's dismal 135-87 defeat to the Boston Celtics. They are third in the Eastern Conference with a 35-23 record, while the Bucks sit fifth (36-24).

Doncic downs Pelicans

Anything Embiid or Antetokounmpo can do, Luka Doncic is out to do it better.

The Dallas Mavericks star had 49 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in a 125-118 defeat of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Doncic has now had 45 points or more in three of his last four games for Dallas, who enter the break in fifth place in the West.

Nets back to losing ways

After snapping an 11-game losing streak with victories over the Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks, the Brooklyn Nets fell to a 117-103 reverse in Washington.

Rui Hachimura led the way for the Wizards with 20 points, as they moved to 2-2 for their series against the Nets this season.

The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Houston Rockets to win for a third time in their last four games, while the Miami Heat were overtime winners over the Charlotte Hornets.

Favourites Reilly Opelka and Grigor Dimitrov joined top seed Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals of the Delray Beach Open after victories on Thursday.

With Norrie having already set up a quarter-final against last year's runner-up Sebastian Korda, the Briton was joined in the last eight by the second and third seeds. 

Grigor Dimitrov defeated Mitchell Krueger to mark his first appearance since a disappointing second-round exit at the Australian Open in style.

The Bulgarian won 7-6 (7-4) 6-3, with Serena and Venus Williams watching on from the crowd in far from ideal conditions in Florida.

"It's always very tough [in your opening match], especially playing the last match on," Dimitrov said.

"I've been here for a week already and I was eager to get out there and play. Today was just a match I had to get through. Very tough conditions: rain, wind, cold, hot. It is what it is, and you've got to deal with it."

Opelka, who won the tournament in 2020, went the distance against fellow American Jack Sock, eventually prevailing 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1. 

He will face Adrian Mannarino in the last eight, after the Frenchman's 6-4 2-6 7-5 defeat of Brandon Nakashima. Dimitrov will play Australian John Millman.

At the Rio Open, only two of the four scheduled matches were completed due to rain.

Qualifier Miomir Kecmanovic dispatched sixth seed Lorenzo Sonego 7-5 6-4, while Francisco Cerundolo overcame Roberto Carballes Baena.

Top seed Matteo Berrettini's clash with Brazilian Thiago Monteiro was pushed back to Friday, while Carlos Alcaraz will resume his match against Federico Delbonis in a strong position in the first set.

Joaquin Niemann started strongest at the Genesis Invitational with an opening round of 63 on Thursday.

A round of nine birdies gave the Chilean a three-shot lead at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.

Niemann is the ninth player to open with a 63 on the course. Four of the previous eight players went on to win.

Four Americans ended the first day in a tie for second, including Jordan Spieth, while 2021 Open champion Collin Morikawa is a stroke further back.

World number one Jon Rahm, Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele all carded 69 for their opening rounds, as did Rory McIlroy, who dropped shots on the eighth and 13th holes.

Dustin Johnson finished with a two-over-par 73, while Patrick Reed endured a disappointing first day, a double bogey on the 13th resulting in a six-over-par finish.

"Sometimes I think about a score," Niemann said. "Today I was hitting it so good, I had fun just getting into the shot. I didn't really think of the score.

"But then on 18 I was thinking about [it]. I wanted to make birdie so bad. I wanted to make one more.

"You always work to have these kind of days. You always know that you're never going to have these days four days in a row. It's a good way to start.

"I know it's going to be different days during the week, so I've got to be ready for everything and have the best attitude for it."

Ange Postecoglou told his Celtic players not to feel sorry for themselves after they were shocked by Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League.

The Scottish Premiership leaders lost 3-1 at Celtic Park on Thursday in the first leg of their play-off tie against the champions of Norway.

Runar Espejord scored after just five minutes and 58 seconds to stun a packed home crowd in Glasgow, with Amahl Pellegrino making it 2-0 early in the second half from close range.

Daizen Maeda headed in a lifeline for Celtic only for Hugo Vetlesen's deflected strike to beat Joe Hart barely two minutes later and put Bodo/Glimt in control of the tie.

Yet Postecoglou, who saw his side manage only six shots on target despite nearly 63 per cent of the ball, does not believe a comeback is beyond Celtic's means.

"Obviously it's not the outcome we wanted and from our perspective, we weren't able to reach the levels we were hoping to," he said, as per the club's website.

"We controlled the game for the most part, but obviously they got their goals and they were pretty clinical in the way they counter-attacked against us, and we lacked a little bit of quality in the front third ourselves, although we did have our chances, so we paid that price.

"It was disappointing because we got ourselves back into the game, and we were controlling the game at that time – I think they probably had two chances in the second half.

"The second one's deflected and gone in, but you've got to take those hits and from our perspective, it's about making sure we dust ourselves off and go again tomorrow.

"You could sit here and feel sorry for yourself, or realise that there's still another game to go, and we can turn it around. That's the reality of it."

The return leg takes place next Thursday.

Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto said being "competitive" was the team's ambition for 2022 as he unveiled the new F1-75 car – warning Mercedes and Red Bull would be tough to catch.

A sleek look meant Ferrari could be happy about their design work, but Binotto was adamant the proof would come on the track when the car's true pace against the rest of the field can be gauged. It was 2019 when the team last won races.

"I would like the F1-75 to be the car that allows our fans to once again be proud of Ferrari," he said. "Our goal is to reignite the Prancing Horse legend and we can only do that by winning again."

Those words came in a bullish statement, and the team principal was perhaps more guarded about the prospects for topping the podium and championship success when he spoke at the launch.

"That is not our target, it is our ambition, because we are Ferrari," Binotto said. "I think we need to be somehow realistic, and if I look at last year the gap to the best was certainly very big at the end of the season.

"It means that those teams are very strong and if they have been strong in the past, they will continue to be very strong. So, they are still for us a benchmark.

"Our objective is to be back competitive, and for me being competitive means somehow being capable of winning races, and somehow try to go to each single race and to fight for the best position."

He said Ferrari's staff had been "brave", "united" and "open-minded" in coming up with the new car and backed drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as having "the right talent, the right capacity, the right mentality and the right approach" for the job that lies ahead.

"They are part of the team; they know to be on the podium, the best position on the podium, we need our car to be sufficiently fast to achieve it," Binotto said, in a video interview published on the official F1 website.

"Our objective together is to try to develop the car as much as we can, certainly at the start of the season to exploit it to the maximum of its potential, and let's see if our car will be fast enough to be capable to battle for the best position."

A host of technical changes in the sport this year have cast uncertainty on how the season might play out, but Binotto expects Ferrari, a distant third in the constructors' championship last year, will face a major challenge to reel in Mercedes and Red Bull. The team are not shying away from that, though.

Leclerc said: "We've got great people here in Ferrari, hopefully great drivers too, and hopefully when we put everything together on track, we'll be able to fight for wins."

Sainz is in the process of discussing a new contract, to keep him with the team beyond the end of 2022, and the Spanish driver said of those talks: "They're progressing. I'm very happy in Ferrari. We are both happy with each other. It's just now a matter of getting to agree on what's going to happen in the future. I hope we have something to tell you in the near future."

A former Los Angeles Angels communications director faces 20 years to life in prison after being found guilty of supplying drugs that caused the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

Skaggs, who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Angels across a seven-year MLB career, was found dead in a Southlake hotel on July 1, 2019 after an overdose.

Eric Kay has been convicted of distribution offences, following the testimony of several other former Angels players who said he also dealt pills to them on team premises.

Kay was found guilty in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday and will be sentenced on June 28.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas said in a statement: "After less than an hour and a half of deliberation, a federal jury found former Angels communications director Eric Prescott Kay, 45, guilty of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

"According to evidence presented at trial, Mr Kay distributed the pills that killed Mr Skaggs.

"In the course of their investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration determined that Mr Kay allegedly regularly dealt the blue M/30 pills – dubbed 'blue boys' – to Mr Skaggs and to others, dolling out the pills at the stadium where they worked."

A pill examined by investigators, taken from Skaggs' hotel room, showed it had been laced with the synthetic opiate fentanyl.

Confirming Kay faced a considerable sentence, the statement added: "Mr Kay now faces between 20 years and life in federal prison."

U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham said: "This case is a sobering reminder: fentanyl kills. Anyone who deals fentanyl – whether on the streets or out of a world-famous baseball stadium – puts his or her buyers at risk. No one is immune from this deadly drug. A beloved pitcher, Tyler Skaggs was struck down in the midst of an ascendant career.

"The Justice Department is proud to hold his dealer accountable for his family and friends' unimaginable loss."

pic.twitter.com/ETEG3Nb9hv

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) February 17, 2022

The Angels said the evidence in the case had been "incredibly difficult... to hear".

The Major League Baseball franchise said in a statement: "On behalf of the entire Angels organisation, we are saddened by the devastating heartache that surrounds this tragedy, especially for the Skaggs family.

"The players' testimony was incredibly difficult for our organisation to hear, and it is a reminder that too often drug use and addiction are hidden away. From the moment we learned of Tyler's death, our focus has been to fully understand the circumstances that led to this tragedy."

The Green Bay Packers are set to appoint Tom Clements, who Aaron Rodgers has credited for his development during his early part of his career, as their new quarterbacks coach, according to reports.

Rodgers is expected to make a decision soon on his Packers future after winning his fourth NFL MVP award and second in a row.

He seemed set to leave the Packers as the reigning MVP last year as he pushed for a move, and that scenario could yet play out after the quarterback won again for 2021.

However, the 38-year-old does not intend for another saga to follow this offseason, and bringing Clements out of retirement will inevitably be seen as an effort from Green Bay to convince Rodgers to return.

According to ESPN, Clements verbally accepted the job on Thursday, though his contract is yet to be signed.

The 68-year-old was previously with the Packers from 2006 to 2016. His most recent job was with the Arizona Cardinals, before his retirement in 2020.

Clements was QB coach for Rodgers in the Super Bowl season of 2010 and his first MVP season of 2011, before becoming offensive coordinator in 2012.

Rodgers often refers to Clements as an inspiration, and mentioned him after throwing to Davante Adams in the Week 17 victory against the Minnesota Vikings.

"I learned from Tom Clements, we always had three mortal sins [as] the quarterback: Don't throw late down the middle, don't make any blind throws and no premeditated decisions," Rodgers said after the 37-10 win last month.

"And so with all apologies to Tom and his excellent training over the years, I kind of had a premeditated decision to throw it to Davante on that play."

Regarding his future, Rodgers recently said: "I'll make a decision in due time and not a ton of time. I'll give the team plenty of time to do what they got to do.

"And I think that time is coming. There will be a decision in the near future. And I'm not going to keep a lot of people waiting."

Denis Shapovalov crashed out of the Qatar Open after losing in straight sets to France's Arthur Rinderknech in their quarter-final on Thursday.

The top-seeded Canadian lost in just an hour and 20 minutes as Rinderknech sealed a 6-4 6-4 victory to seal his place in the semi-finals in Doha.

Shapovalov struggled throughout, making nine double faults and having to face 10 break points, of which he managed to save eight.

Rinderknech will now face Nikoloz Basilashvili after the Georgian fought back to beat Marton Fucsovics 1-6 6-3 7-5.

The other semi-final will see Karen Khachanov take on Roberto Bautista Agut, with the Russian also coming from a set down in beating Marin Cilic 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Bautista Agut followed up Wednesday's 6-0 6-1 victory against Andy Murray by again winning comfortably against fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, scoring a 6-1 6-1 success.

The number two seed won 74 per cent of points when landing his first serve as he sealed victory in an hour and 17 minutes.

At the Open 13 in Marseille, Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime increased his winning streak to six matches after beating French veteran Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 to head through to the quarter-finals.

"It was a special moment," Auger-Aliassime said after his win. "When the match was coming to the end, I knew it was going to be a special moment, a full-circle moment. He was my top idol growing up and I saw myself in him at times."

Auger-Aliassime will play world number 49 Ilya Ivashka next, while top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas also went through after a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) win against Hugo Gaston. The Greek star will play Russian Roman Safiullin in the last eight.

Ninth seed Benjamin Bonzi beat fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4 6-3 and will go up against Aslan Karatsev in the next round, while Lucas Pouille overcame Radu Albot 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-2) and will tackle Andrey Rublev next.

Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels expressed his dismay at the manner in which his team were beaten by Rangers in the first leg of their Europa League knockout round play-off at Signal Iduna Park on Thursday.

The Bundesliga outfit lost 4-2 to the champions of Scotland, finding themselves 4-1 down after 54 minutes before Raphael Guerreiro fired a late goal back to add to Jude Bellingham's earlier effort.

Marco Rose's men were all over the place at the back, with a James Tavernier penalty and Alfredo Morelos' goal giving them a 2-0 half-time lead, before John Lundstram made it three and a Dan-Axel Zagadou own goal restored the three-goal cushion after Bellingham briefly reduced the deficit.

Hummels was far from happy after the game, lamenting the way he and his team-mates conceded the goals, having shipped five in their previous home game against Bayer Leverkusen, which ended in a 5-2 defeat.

The 2014 World Cup winner said to RTL after the defeat: "If you look at the Leverkusen game, we conceded four goals after unnecessarily losing the ball. That happened with the first, second and fourth goals here. I think we know what our problem is. The coach mentions it often enough.

"We're playing an awful lot of nonsensical football, a lot of illogical football and making our opponents so strong.

"Our football is also too complicated. If we play this way, we'll sometimes win and sometimes lose but over the piece, we won't have success."

This was the first time Dortmund have conceded four goals at home in a European game since their 8-4 win against Legia Warsaw in the Champions League in 2016.

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst was understandably beaming with pride after a famous European night for his team, though he acknowledged that there is plenty of work still to be done in next Thursday's second leg at Ibrox.

"It's a very good result for us against a quality team, a big team in Europe," he said. "We wanted to take a result back with us to Glasgow to get a good game next week.

"I think we achieved that with the two goal difference we take back and I'm really proud of the performance the players have shown.

"We also know we're only halfway and there's still one game to be played but to come here and score four away goals in Europe is a very good achievement, so I'm more than happy with the result, and especially the performance."

Xavi is confident Ferran Torres will come good at Barcelona despite a tricky start to life at Camp Nou.

Torres, a €55million December signing from Manchester City, rescued a 1-1 draw for Barca at home to Napoli in the Europa League, scoring from the penalty spot.

Yet that was the only one of the forward's nine attempts to hit the target on Thursday as he passed up a series of glaring opportunities, appearing to be close to tears at full-time having accounted for 1.47 of Barca's 2.03 expected goals.

In six games in all competitions for the Blaugrana so far, Torres has scored twice. But those goals have come from his only two shots on target, with a further 15 attempts failing to trouble opposition goalkeepers.

However, head coach Xavi believes this is all part of life at Barcelona, comparing Torres' circumstances to those of Luis Suarez following his 2014 move from Liverpool.

Suarez, coming off a 31-goal season at Anfield, scored just once in his first eight matches for his new club.

But the Uruguay forward finished that 2014-15 season with 25 goals, including one in the Champions League final as Barca won the treble. In 2015-16, he netted an extraordinary 59.

"Now we were making a comparison in the dressing room," Xavi said, with Suarez the last Barca player besides Lionel Messi to attempt as many as nine shots in a match (vs Inter in 2018).

"It happened to Luis Suarez. In the first few months it seemed that he could not score. The Barca shirt weighs a few more pounds.

"But because of how [Torres] has taken the penalty and the work he does for the team, I hope he can play many years at Barca.

"If he is in the area, it is because he will score goals. It's a matter of having faith and working at it. He has had goals all his life and will continue to have them. He has our absolute confidence."

Xavi – whose summary was "the feelings are very good but the result is not" – also discussed Ousmane Dembele's impact from the bench.

The coach was not enthused by a poor reaction to the introduction of the wantaway winger, but he felt a 25-minute display was ultimately appreciated by the Barca fans.

"The crowd have not listened to me, but they decide," Xavi said. "In the end, [the whistles] have been transformed into applause.

"He created things for us. That's it, we've already jeered him, it's already happened. The news is that the whistles have been transformed into applause."