Lionel Messi will miss Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League clash with Benfica on Tuesday, but head coach Christophe Galtier expects the forward to return for next weekend's game with Marseille.

The Argentina international missed out on his side's ill-tempered Ligue 1 match with Reims over the weekend with a calf injury, and was forced to watch from the sidelines as they played out a goalless draw.

Hopes that the 35-year-old might return in time for the crucial European clash with their Portuguese visitors have been dashed now, too, with Messi set to miss out again.

But while Galtier confirmed he would be an expected absentee, he suggested that the attacker is close to a return to action, and could well feature in Le Classique on October 16.

"Messi felt discomfort in his calf during the first game against Benfica," he stated. "He thought he could take part in tomorrow's game, but in the end, he would be limited.

"He is better, but he still has an unpleasant feeling. He preferred to abstain. We will watch his recovery, but it is very likely that he will be present against Marseille."

Galtier acknowledged losing Messi is a blow, with the Argentinian having rediscovered his form after a difficult first season with PSG following his exit from Barcelona, having scored five goals and added seven assists in Ligue 1 this term.

"We know the importance of Leo to our game, his form and the connection he can have with the other players," Galtier added. "We cannot be happy with his absence.

"But we will have to find other solutions and other connections where we can bring danger to the Benfica defence."

Red Bull have been found to be in breach of Formula One's budget cap regulations for the 2021 campaign, the FIA has confirmed.

However, no punishment has yet been handed down to the constructor for their offense, with the governing body stating they are "currently determining the appropriate course of action".

A day after Max Verstappen took his second drivers' championship crown at an incident-strewn Japanese Grand Prix, the FIA revealed the Dutchman's team broke financial regulations during his first title-winning season last year.

The 25-year-old is unlikely to face serious sanctions, though, with the breach under five per cent, meaning it is considered "minor" and is likely to carry less severe penalties.

Fellow constructor Aston Martin, also thought to have potentially breached the cap, have been found to have merely made only a "procedural" mistake in their financial report.

"The FIA Cost Cap Administration is currently determining the appropriate course of action to be taken under the Financial Regulations with respect to Aston Martin and Red Bull," said a statement on Monday.

"Further information will be communicated in compliance with the regulations." 

Calls from Ferrari and Mercedes for Red Bull to face harsh sanctions if found in breach are only likely to increase over the close of the season, presenting F1 with more off-track drama after last year's denouement.

The Carolina Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule on Monday, one day after a 37-15 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers dropped the team to 1-4 this season. 

Carolina hired Rhule in January 2020 after he led Baylor University to an 11-3 record in 2019 and earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honours. 

The Panthers signed Rhule to a seven-year contract worth a guaranteed $62million, but the team went 5-11 in 2020 and 5-12 last year before opening with four losses in their first five games this season. 

That 11-27 record is the fifth-worst in the NFL since the beginning of the 2020 campaign. 

Defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach Steve Wilks has been named Carolina's interim coach for the remainder of the season. 

Wilks went 3-13 in 2018 with the Arizona Cardinals in his only previous head coaching experience in the NFL. 

Defending Super Bowl champions the Los Angeles Rams will host the Panthers in Wilks' first game at the helm with Carolina facing problems at quarterback.

Starting QB Baker Mayfield has confirmed he will undergo an MRI after injuring his left ankle in the 49ers loss.

With 2021 starter Sam Darnold still on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain, P.J. Walker would presumably start at quarterback should Mayfield be forced to miss the Week 6 game.

Jalen Hurts felt he let the Philadelphia Eagles down on Sunday despite helping them maintain their unbeaten start to the season against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Eagles improved to 5-0 on Sunday with a 20-17 win in Arizona as Cardinals kicker Matt Ammendola hit a game-tying field goal attempt wide right, wasting the opportunity to send the contest to overtime.

Hurts, though, was disappointed he gave the Cardinals the chance to force an extra period with a kick, having thrown an incomplete pass to Quez Watkins on third down from the Arizona five-yard line with the score tied at 17-17, leaving the Eagles to settle for a field goal at the end of a 17-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes.

For Hurts, it was a significant blemish on a game in which he was otherwise very accurate. Hurts completed 72 per cent of his passes and, per Stats Perform data, delivered an accurate, well-thrown ball on 91.2 per cent of his attempts. He also rushed for the Eagles' only two touchdowns.

"As a competitor when you have the ball in your hands at the end of the game, you want to take advantage of it and not give the opposition the opportunity to win the game, tie the game, whatever it is," said Hurts.

"I don't look at anybody else but myself. I look in the mirror and I look at myself and I ask myself, 'What could I have done more to not put the team in this position toward the end of the game? How could I have gotten us in the end zone?'

"What could I have done more to put us in a better position? I feel like in many ways, I feel like I let them down. 

"Just with opportunities we didn't take advantage of and the ball touching my hands every play. Those are the mixed emotions I have.

"The worst feeling is when we walked off the field, when I walked off the field even toward the end of the game, we kicked a field goal.

"[Eagles kicker Cameron] Dicker made a great play and put this team in a great position, but there's nothing that I can do. 

"I can't control what their kicker does. He missed it. Our kicker made ours. I can't control that, but I can control what we do in the second quarter, in the first quarter, when I have the ball in my hands. I can do that.

"I don't like putting the team in the position where their kicker has the opportunity to tie or win the game, or our defense is on the field.

"If I can control it, I want to take advantage of that. That’s just my competitive nature with it."

Fikayo Tomori challenged his team-mates to show the "real Milan" when they face Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday after losing comprehensively in London last week.

Former Chelsea defender Tomori did not enjoy the happy homecoming he might have dreamt of at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday, as Milan were beaten 3-0.

That was Milan's heaviest group-stage defeat in Champions League history, as the Rossoneri barely laid a glove on their hosts.

Milan had just four attempts at goal. Only twice since at least the 2003-04 season have Chelsea faced fewer shots in a Champions League game, with Malmo managing two in October last year and Galatasaray tallying three in 2014.

Stefano Pioli's side responded on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Juventus in Serie A, Tomori getting one of the goals, and he is eager for the defending Italian champions to produce a performance more befitting of their status when Chelsea visit San Siro.

"After Chelsea I was angry and I wanted to give everything on the pitch, then I scored and I felt this [intense] feeling: I was excited and happy," he told reporters when asked about his passionate celebration on Saturday.

"I wanted to cancel out the game in London, and scoring was a good feeling.

"[The Chelsea defeat] was a bad game for us, we didn't play as usual or as I've become used to seeing over the last year and a half.

"But we managed to react positively, playing an excellent match against Juve. This allowed us to ward off the defeat against Chelsea and we are here to take our revenge.

"I always [try to] do my best in every match; last week I didn't succeed, but football always gives you another chance and we will try to make the most of it."

He added: "Certainly, we will show that we can do much better. We don't need motivation: we will certainly push harder.

"We want to win every match. We are angry because we didn't win in London, we want to eradicate that performance. We weren't the real Milan, it wasn't the one I've seen. We have to learn from London."

While Milan have not beaten Chelsea in Europe in five matches since 1966, the Blues are winless away to an Italian side in the Champions League going back to 2003, a run of seven games.

Chelsea lost their most recent Champions League away game on matchday one when defeated by Dinamo Zagreb, a loss that ultimately cost Thomas Tuchel his job.

Now under the guidance of Graham Potter, Chelsea have proven that was a momentary blip: Pioli hopes Milan can make a similar point.

"We have to show that [the Stamford Bridge game] was a single episode and that it cannot be normal for our level," the coach said.

"We were disappointed. [Tuesday] will be another game, but we have to learn from the situations of last week; we evaluated the mistakes, Chelsea exploited them.

"We must not be worried: yes disappointed for London, but this is another match and we must be able to play at our level."

Tom Brady denied having any influence over a controversial roughing the passer penalty that helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seal a narrow Week 5 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons looked set to get a chance to complete a memorable comeback against Tampa Bay when Grady Jarrett sacked Brady on third down with three minutes remaining.

However, after a conversation, referee Jerome Boger called roughing the passer against defensive tackle Jarrett, giving the Bucs a free 15 yards and a new set of downs, allowing Tampa Bay to ice a 21-15 win.

In a pool report Boger said he called the penalty due to Jarrett unnecessarily throwing Brady to the ground.

Asked in his post-game media conference if he had lobbied at any point in the game for roughing calls, Brady offered a blunt response.

"I don't throw flags," said Brady.

Bucs coach Todd Bowles, for his part, felt the penalty was influenced by the controversy surrounding Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins quarterback who was concussed in the Week 4 game with the Cincinnati Bengals when he was tossed to the ground by Josh Tupou.

Boger also made a similar call on a hit on Josh Allen that helped the Buffalo Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens three days later.

"I saw that one being called. I saw it against Tua when he got hit, and in the London game [Packers v Giants]," Bowles said.

"I think they are starting to crack down on some of the things, slinging backs. I don’t know.

"Right now, the way they are calling [it], I think a lot of people would’ve gotten that call.”

The Bucs' win snapped a two-game losing streak and moved them to 3-2, though a team many expected to contend to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl has yet to really deliver a convincing performance.

"Obviously, it's tough to lose two straight at home. You have to earn it in the league. There are no easy games, you've got to play good," Brady added.

"Five games in and we've got a lot of work to do. We're not nearly at the point of where we're capable of being."

Up next for the Bucs is a road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jude Bellingham is "an exceptional talent", says Borussia Dortmund team-mate Niklas Sule, who suggested the midfielder projects a sense he is wise beyond his years.

The England international has continued to flourish at the Bundesliga outfit this season, with an increased leadership role under Edin Terzic's watch.

Bellingham was handed the captain's armband for the first time earlier this month for their top-flight clash with Cologne, and retained it for last week's Champions League rout against Sevilla.

The 19-year-old's maturity has not gone unnoticed by the rest of Dortmund's squad, and speaking ahead of Tuesday's return clash with the LaLiga team, Sule had fulsome praise for the playmaker.

"I think that Jude is an exceptional talent," he stated. "I have rarely seen a player at age 19 that made you feel like he might as well have already three children at home and is a family father.

"He has that implicitness in his game where he knows, 'I will lead the team and fight for the team'.

"That is very, very impressive to see. I am having deep exchanges with him and try to help him a little."

Bellingham's rich form for Dortmund seems almost certain to assure him of a place on the plane to the Qatar 2022 World Cup with Gareth Southgate's Three Lions.

The teenager may even be a lock to start for England in their tournament opener against Iran on November 21, amid Kalvin Phillips' injury troubles, with the former favoured during the September international break.

Josh Allen wanted to show Gabe Davis he has his implicit trust prior to the Buffalo Bills' 38-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his faith in the wide receiver will have only grown stronger after they combined in astonishing fashion in Week 5.

Davis had struggled to make much of an impact in the previous two weeks while battling an ankle injury.

But the third-year receiver, who caught four touchdowns in the Bills' incredible playoff defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs last season, was back to his best against the Steelers.

He caught two remarkable long touchdown passes, the first of which went for 98 yards after the Bills were backed up on their own two-yard line, Taiwan Jones having dropped the opening kick-off.

That score came 64 seconds into the game, making it the longest touchdown from scrimmage within the first 90 seconds of a game in NFL history.

Three drives later, they linked up for a stunning second act, Allen finding Davis for a 62-yard strike that saw the wideout make a superb one-handed catch and wrestle the ball away from safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

"Backed up to take a shot like that, it's not too often you get a shot to do that early on in the game.

"The kick return put us at the two-yard line, put us behind the 8-ball a little bit, but guys were resilient, we didn't blink and just trusted our guys.

"I've got so much trust and faith in 13 [Davis], it was good to see him get going. He only had three catches but for 170 and two touchdowns, which is pretty crazy; it's not too often you have those type of drives.

"We had a one-play, two two-play drives and a three-play drive that ended in touchdowns. That’s crazy."

Allen added of the second touchdown, on which Davis was essentially double covered with Fitzpatrick playing over the top: "I'm just trusting my guy more than anything, he's coming off a couple weeks with an ankle and I just wanted him to know that I trust him implicitly.

"I'm gonna give him these opportunities, when you continue to make them, it makes it that much easier to trust a guy."

Asked if he saw something in Davis that made him think he was back to 100 per cent, Allen replied: "I think I saw it in our walkthrough that we do on Saturdays, just the way he was moving, bouncing around on it, I was like 'OK, this guy’s ready to go', and he was."

Paris Saint-Germain's owners, Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), have acquired a minority stake in Portuguese club Braga.

QSI have turned PSG into a European heavyweight since taking ownership in 2011, during which time the Ligue 1 giants have won 29 trophies.

The Doha-based organisation announced on Monday they have purchased 21.67 per cent of the share capital in Braga, with the deal set to be certified in the coming months.

Braga's best-ever finish in the Primeira Liga came in the 2009-10 campaign when finishing runners-up to Benfica.

They are European regulars, having played in the group stage of the Europa League in seven of the past eight seasons and reached the final in 2011.  

QSI chairman and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: "Qatar Sports Investments is proud to invest in leading sports businesses and brands around the world, enabling them to reach their full potential. 

"Portugal is a country founded on football – with some of the most passionate fans and one of the best talent systems in the world.

"SC Braga is an exemplary Portuguese institution – with a proud history, enormous ambition and a reputation for excellence on and off the pitch.

"As an investor and partner, we look forward to the club innovating, growing and developing further – across the men's and women's teams, on the commercial and brand side, and across all the communities and businesses it supports – as SC Braga continues its ambitious path."

Braga president Antonio Salvador added: "Braga is delighted to welcome Qatar Sports Investments as an investor in our club. 

"We believe that this is the right shareholder to accelerate our growth and expansion, helping us deliver on our amazing potential as a club. 

"The extraordinary experience of Qatar Sports Investments – with its global expertise, acumen and a track record of amazing results across sport and business – will bring enormous value and help us deliver on our ambitious plans. 

"It is a great day for our club, our fans and our city, as we look forward to many future successes for SC Braga."

Braga finished fourth in the Portuguese top flight last season, behind powerhouses Porto, Sporting CP and Benfica, and are third after nine matches of the current campaign.

Adrien Rabiot is unsure about his future as he tries to "drag" Juventus back into form following a poor start to the season.

Rabiot's contract expires at the end of the season and there appears to be no sign of him signing a new one.

The France midfielder was linked with Manchester United during the last transfer window, but a deal reportedly fell through before the Red Devils signed Casemiro from Real Madrid.

Juve are eighth in Serie A after a 2-0 defeat to champions Milan at San Siro on Saturday and face a battle to qualify for the Champions League round of 16, with the pressure on head coach Massimiliano Allegri.

The Bianconeri got up and running in Group H by beating Maccabi Haifa last week to sit four points behind Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica, Rabiot scoring twice in a 3-1 victory.

Rabiot says his focus is on turning Juve's fortunes around ahead of the return fixture against Maccabi at Sammy Ofer Stadium on Tuesday.

"I feel important for the team, but I think we all are," he said. "Everyone has an important role. Right now I feel good, I'm trying to drag the team and do my best to help my team-mates.

"I don't know about the future. There are other things to think about now. I'm focused on the pitch, getting out of this difficult moment. Then we'll see what happens."

The former PSG man says it is difficult to explain why the Turin giants have failed to live up to expectations so far this season.

He added: "We are always talking, even when we win. If I had known what was wrong it would have been easy.

"We have to solve the problems on the pitch, we have a good group. We work well in training and we must try to do what we do in training then in the match."

Massimiliano Allegri is "a complete coach" who has the ability to turn Juventus' season around, according to midfielder Adrien Rabiot.

Experienced coach Allegri won 11 trophies in his first five-season spell with Juve, but he is under intense pressure a year and a half on from returning to the Allianz Stadium.

Juventus finished fourth in Serie A last season and ended the campaign trophy-less for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.

The Bianconeri have started this season slow, too, with Saturday's 2-0 loss to rivals Milan leaving them eighth in the table and already 10 points off top spot after nine matches.

But speaking ahead of Juve's Champions League tie with Maccabi Haifa on Tuesday, Rabiot gave his backing to the under-fire coach.

"Allegri is a strong coach," Rabiot, who has started seven matches in all competitions this season, said at Monday's pre-match press conference.

"He knows how to manage the team, both on the pitch and off it. Not everyone can do that. To me, he is a complete coach, on and off the pitch."

Juve appeared to have turned a corner with back-to-back wins over Bologna and Haifa, but their loss at San Siro was considered a backward step by Allegri.

They realistically require a victory in Israel if they are to remain in contention for the knockout stages as they trail PSG and Benfica by four points after three matches.

"We have a chance to return to the pitch quickly," Allegri told reporters. "The previous two wins [before Milan defeat] were misleading and we need to be realistic.

"This is a path we must take. We are facing strong teams, but we know we can't make certain errors and must avoid making the same mistakes we've made all season.

"We are aware of the importance of tomorrow's match and must fight for every ball, as well as doing the simple things.

"We will put in all our love and passion that Juventus deserves, but we must do more if we are to regain some confidence and return to our previous level."

Juventus have won all three of their Champions League matches against Haifa, who are on a nine-game losing run in the competition.

However, Juve are winless in three away Champions League matches and risk losing multiple away games in a single group stage for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

"It's going to be a tough game," Allegri said. "They showed good things here and played well against PSG. We must be careful, we can't commit the same mistakes again.

"We must improve and be more solid, which is the easiest and most obvious thing to do. Details make the difference, even just one centimetre. We need attention and passion."

Real Madrid and Manchester City could qualify for the Champions League round of 16 by maintaining their 100 per cent records on Tuesday.

Madrid travel to Shakhtar Donetsk sitting pretty at the top of Group F and the holders will be guaranteed to progress if they make it four wins out of four.

The same goes for free-scoring City, who have been victorious in all three Group G games and will be expected to get the better of Copenhagen at Parken.

Borussia Dortmund could also advance if they beat Sevilla again, while Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica meet in the battle of the top two in Group H.

Milan will look to exact revenge on Chelsea at San Siro, while Group E leaders Salzburg travel to Dinamo Zagreb.

Stats Perform preview the eight matches to be staged on Tuesday by picking out the standout Opta data.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Real Madrid

After beating Madrid home and away in the Champions League in 2020-21, Shakhtar have lost three consecutive matches against the holders - the latest being a 2-1 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.

There have been 14 goals in the previous three matches between the two sides in Donetsk, Madrid scoring nine of those.

Carlo Ancelotti's side are on a five-game winning streak in the Champions League, a run that began with a 3-1 victory over City in the second leg of last season's semi-final. They last had a longer winning streak in the competition between April 2014 and February 2015 - a run of 10 straight victories.

Among teams to have featured in the Champions League in every season since 2018-19, Shakhtar have the lowest win percentage of any side in that period (18.5 per cent - 5/27).

Copenhagen v Manchester City

City hammered Copenhagen 5-0 last week. Their best combined record against an opponent in a single Champions League campaign is 9-0 versus Shakhtar in 2018-19.

Copenhagen have only lost one of their 13 home games in the group stage of the Champions League (W6 D6), that defeat coming against Real Madrid in December 2013.

English teams are winless in their last two visits to Denmark in the Champions League, with Liverpool drawing 1-1 with Midtjylland in December 2020 and Leicester City drawing 0-0 with Copenhagen in November 2016. 

Erling Haaland has 28 goals in 22 Champions League appearances. His next strike in the competition will see him equal the goal tallies of David Trezeguet (58 games), Roy Makaay (61 games) and Patrick Kluivert (71 games).

Paris Saint-Germain v Benfica

PSG have hosted Benfica on three previous occasions in European competition, with the Ligue 1 champions beating them 2-1 in the UEFA Cup in 2007, 3-0 in the Champions League nine years ago and drawing 1-1 in the Europa League in 2011.

No Portuguese side has ever won away at PSG in European competition. They have suffered five defeats and drawn twice, with all three Champions League contests won by PSG.

PSG could equal their longest winning streak of six consecutive home victories in the competition. Their last run of six wins in a row in Europe's premier club competition ended in November 2014. 

Benfica are unbeaten in four Champions League away games (W2 D2), their longest run without defeat on the road in the competition.

Milan v Chelsea

Milan are winless in five meetings against Chelsea in Europe (D3 L2) since winning the very first match between the two sides in the Fairs Cup in February 1966. 

The Serie A champions only had four shots in a 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge last week. Since Opta have had this data available for the Champions League, the Blues have only faced fewer in a game in the competition twice - versus Malmo in October 2021 (two) and Galatasaray in March 2014 (three).

The Rossoneri have lost four of the last five games when hosting an English team in the Champions League, with their only victory coming against Arsenal in February 2012 (4-0). The only previous time they hosted Chelsea in the competition was in a 1-1 draw in October 1999.

Milan's former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori has initiated more sequences of play than any other player in the Champions League this season, with the centre-back regaining possession for his side 47 times in three games.

Other fixtures:

Borussia Dortmund v Sevilla

273 - Sevilla have gone 273 minutes without scoring away from home in the Champions League, having failed to net in their previous three matches. 

4 - Only Haaland (5) has been directly involved in more goals than Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham in the Champions League this season (3 goals, 1 assist). 

Maccabi Haifa v Juventus

3 - Maccabi have lost all three of their matches against Juventus - home and away in the group stage of the Champions League in 2009-10, and again last week in Turin.

5 - Juve have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their past five matches in the Champions League. That is their longest run without a clean sheet since a run of eight games between April and December in 2013.

Celtic v RB Leipzig

6 - Celtic have lost six consecutive home games in the Champions League. If they lose this match, they would equal the longest run of home defeats by a team in the competition, previously set by Monaco between May 2017 and December 2018.

9 - Christopher Nkunku scored his ninth Champions League goal for Leipzig against Celtic last week, equalling Emil Forsberg's tally for the most goals for the club in the competition. Since the start of last season, only four players have more Champions League group-stage goals than him (8).

Dinamo Zagreb v Salzburg

3 - Dinamo have lost all three of their major European matches against Salzburg, losing twice in the 2014-15 Europa League and 1-0 to the Group E leaders last week.

23 - Salzburg's starting XI has had an average aged of 23 years and 36 days in the Champions League this season, the youngest of any side. The average of 22 years and 336 days in their 1-0 win over Dinamo was the third-youngest by a winning team in a Champions League match; the two younger were in 2004-05 in the reverse fixtures between Ajax (22y 300d) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (22y 213d).

Virgil van Dijk admits Liverpool's "confidence is creeping away" after making their worst start to a Premier League campaign in a decade.

Liverpool's 3-2 loss to Arsenal in Sunday's contest at Emirates Stadium leaves them with 10 points from eight games – their lowest return since the 2012-12 season (nine).

The Reds have conceded 16 goals across their past 12 league matches and kept just two clean sheets, while conceding the opening goal of the game on 10 occasions.

And centre-back Van Dijk, who has come in for criticism for his performances this campaign, accepts a lack of belief is playing a part in Liverpool's disappointing run of form.

"Confidence is definitely a thing that plays a part. We're all human beings," he told Sky Sports.

"Sometimes you need a bit of confidence in certain moments. If it's not as high, it won't help in certain situations.

"Every human being needs confidence to perform at the highest level. If you're not winning, confidence is creeping away.

"We know we can turn it around but we have to work hard. That's the only thing to do and the only way forward as well."

Liverpool twice drew level in their enthralling contest with Arsenal, only for Bukayo Saka to claim victory for the home side with a 76th-minute penalty.

The spot-kick was awarded after Thiago Alcantara was adjudged to have fouled Gabriel Jesus, but Van Dijk does not believe it should have been given.

"Obviously it was a very tough game for both sides. We had good moments, we had bad moments," he said.

"Then it got decided by a penalty that from my point of view wasn't a penalty. But it goes so quick, I haven't looked in slow motion. 

"Unfortunately we couldn't get the points to bring with us back to Liverpool."

Liverpool are 10th in the table, 14 points adrift of pacesetters Arsenal with a game in hand, after failing to win any of their opening four league games for the first time in 12 years.

In contrast to their opponents' slow start, Arsenal have won at least eight of their first nine league games for only the fourth time in their history.

"We know they're in the best moment of their lives," Van Dijk added. "They've had a great season and we knew it was always going to be tough.

"But I think we had good moments and created good chances at times. It's hard to lose it by a penalty in my opinion, but it's the case, so we have to deal with that."

Liverpool switch focus back to the Champions League on Wednesday with a trip to Rangers, before hosting Manchester City on their return to league action next weekend.