Carlos Sainz profited from Max Verstappen's grid penalty to secure pole for the Belgian Grand Prix but admitted to being concerned by the gap between Ferrari and Red Bull.

Verstappen topped the timesheet in Saturday's delayed qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of the first race following the mid-season break.

But the reigning champion – who holds an 80-point lead over Charles Leclerc at the top of the standings – will start in 15th after being penalised for using too many engine parts.

The Dutchman is one of seven drivers taking grid penalties, along with Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacher and Valtteri Bottas.

That effectively meant the rest of field were facing off for the top 13 positions on the grid, and it was Ferrari driver Sainz who will will start Sunday's race at the head of the pack.

Whereas Verstappen looked comfortable throughout and delivered a time of 1:43.665 seconds with his first Q3 flying lap, Sainz's Q3 lap was rather scrappy.

Despite claiming pole, the Spaniard – who is fifth in the standings – was not entirely pleased with how things played out.

"I'm happy to be starting on pole, but I'm obviously not so happy to see the gap to Max this weekend and the gap Red Bull have on us," he told Sky Sports.

"We need to keep digging to see why Red Bull are so fast around this track. But to start from pole is good and we will try to win tomorrow.

"I think our race pace is better than our qualifying pace, but there is still something to find."

The past seven winners of the Belgian Grand Prix have started from the front row of the grid, six of them from pole.

But after finishing 0.632s clear of the field in qualifying, Verstappen – last year's winner on this track – is hopeful of climbing from towards the back of the pack into the top three.

"It was an amazing qualifying but the whole weekend we have been really on it," he said. "With a car like this it would be a shame to not be on the podium.

"The car has been working really well and we have basically been trying to fine tune it and it all came together in Qualifying.

"Of course, I had to be careful with the amount of tyres I was using, but I was very happy with my lap. It is an amazing track with amazing fans and I hope they had a good day."

Verstappen is set to start one place ahead of title rival Leclerc, while team-mate Sergio Perez is second after finishing 0.165s behind Sainz.

Fernando Alonso, who is on his best run since 2018 after collecting points in each of his past eight races, is third ahead of Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Red Bull are seeking a fifth win in Belgium – only in Mexico (six) would they have more – with Perez looking to overhaul Sainz.

"P2 is not the worst place to be around here and I think if I am able to get a good run at Carlos, it will be different and I will be on the other side of the row," Perez said.

"I am looking forward to tomorrow and I think there will be a great race ahead of us. It'll be very important to get a good start and do our own race and I think that will be the key."

Jay Vine landed a second stage win in three days at the Vuelta a Espana after a magnificent climb through mountain mist to the finish line.

The Australian made his decisive move on Saturday's stage eight with just under 6km remaining as crowds roared on his bravura move, with the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider leaving behind fellow breakaway riders.

Vine had a 25-second lead with 1.5km remaining as Spaniard Marc Soler just about stayed in touch, but the gap was 43 seconds in the end, the home challenge having faded.

The 153.4-kilometre Asturias mountain stage from Pola de Laviana contained a sting in the tail, a category one ascent to the Collau Fancuaya finish.

Having won an exacting stage from Bilbao to Pico Jano on Thursday for his first Grand Tour win, it was impressive that Vine was able to produce a repeat.

"It's incredible," said 26-year-old Vine on Eurosport. "I've got so much more confidence after that first one, I got the monkey off my back. It felt so much more natural riding in the group today and all the pressure was off me. Today was such a fun day."

He featured among a group that surged clear of the peloton and held a lead of over four minutes inside 60km, and although it later splintered Vine had plenty of company heading into the closing 10km.

His surge did the job, though, denying Soler what would have been a third Spanish victory in four days following Jesus Herrada's Friday win.

In the general classification picture, Remco Evenepoel stayed out in front, but Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) slipped from second to 30th overall after a rough ride, allowing Enric Mas and Primoz Roglic to each nudge up a place to podium positions.

Vine vaults to KOM top spot

Vine's dominant ride saw him take over at the top of the King of the Mountains standings – the fourth Australian to achieve that feat after Simon Clarke, Nathan Haas and Michael Storer – following misfortune for previous leader Victor Langellotti.

Langellotti (Burgos-BH) crashed out early in the stage and was taken to hospital with a suspected fractured collarbone and concussion.

STAGE RESULT

1. Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
2. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) +0:43
3. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 0:43
4. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) +0:47
5. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) +1:20

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 29:28:19
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +0:28
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +1:01

Points Classification

1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 147
2. Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) 142
3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 81

King of the Mountains

1. Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 40
2. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 16
3. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) 12

Erling Haaland's scored a hat-trick as Manchester City once again fought back from two down, beating Crystal Palace 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola's men found themselves trailing by two goals for the fourth time in six Premier League matches, but they stormed back to defeat Palace.

Eberechi Eze had a role in both goals as Palace raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to John Stones' own goal and Joachim Andersen's bullet header, leaving a blunt City side stunned at the interval.

But the excellent Bernardo Silva began the comeback by halving the deficit just after half-time before Haaland took over, completing the turnaround with a pair of poacher's finishes and a third clinical strike for the champions.

City had an uphill task early on, as Eze's free-kick delivery deflected off Kyle Walker and found its way in off Stones.

The hosts' response was hardly emphatic, and they found themselves two down by the 21st minute for the first time in the league since December 2010.

Another Eze set-piece – this time a corner – teed up a powerful header into the bottom-left corner from Andersen, who easily evaded Walker.

Silva looked City's biggest threat and was unsurprisingly the one to pull a goal back in the 53rd minute, cutting in from the right and seeing a low strike flicked past Guaita by Jeffrey Schlupp.

City levelled just past the hour as Haaland beat his marker to head Phil Foden's cross in from close range, before then putting them in front with a tap-in 20 minutes from time.

He slotted past Guaita to complete his hat-trick and cap a fine second-half City display after brilliantly holding off his marker.

Liverpool equalled the Premier League's record win as they crushed sorry Bournemouth 9-0 at Anfield to claim their first victory of the season.

Jurgen Klopp's side had gone into the game facing pointed questions about a team depleted by injuries following a 2-1 loss to Manchester United on Monday.

But those questions were answered in remarkable fashion against Scott Parker's side as they scored twice in the opening six minutes and five times in the first half.

Luis Diaz opened the scoring with a fine header before Harvey Elliott found the net for the first time in the Premier League. Trent Alexander-Arnold answered critics of his performance at Old Trafford with a spectacular strike before Roberto Firmino capped a three-assist first half with a goal and Virgil van Dijk headed in the fifth.

Chris Mepham's own goal continued the rout after the restart, while Firmino and Diaz each doubled their tallies either side of a Fabio Carvalho goal to make Premier League history.

Diaz found the top-right corner with a powerful header back across goal from Firmino's cross, and Elliott produced both placement and power to bend into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the area.

Mohamed Salah twice saw gilt-edged chances go begging, turning wide at the end of an intricate move involving Diaz, Firmino and Elliott before his close-range volley was turned over by Mark Travers.

Yet Travers was helpless to deny Alexander-Arnold as he rifled a scorching long-range strike into the top-left corner and he was soon picking the ball out of his net once more when the excellent Firmino volleyed in after Salah's pass was deflected into his path.

There was yet more first-half pain for Bournemouth, which came courtesy of Van Dijk, whose towering header from Andrew Robertson's corner made it 5-0.

Bournemouth's day was encapsulated under 60 seconds into the second half when Mepham turned into his own net under pressure from Diaz, who was in an offside position.

Firmino prodded in after Travers spilled Robertson's cross, with Carvalho then getting in the on the act with a volley and Diaz tying the record through a header from a near-post corner.

Raheem Sterling's first two Chelsea goals proved decisive as the 10-man Blues edged out Leicester City 2-1 on Saturday.

The former Manchester City forward opened his account at Stamford Bridge with a second-half brace to get Chelsea back to winning ways in the Premier League.

Thomas Tuchel – who served a touchline ban and watched this game from the stands – had seen his side beaten 3-0 at Leeds United last week, and they looked to be in for another tough day when Conor Gallagher was sent off.

However, Leicester's latest poor display saw them slump to a third defeat in four league games, only replying through Harvey Barnes after Sterling had struck twice.

Chelsea made a promising start but had their penalty award overturned following a VAR review as Kai Havertz had strayed offside before Youri Tielemans bundled over Loftus-Cheek, who was earlier denied by Danny Ward.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men just before the half-hour mark as Gallagher earned two yellow cards in little over six minutes, the second for a foul on Barnes.

Leicester thought they had snatched the lead when Daniel Amartey prodded in, but the goal was disallowed after Barnes fouled Edouard Mendy, while Reece James rattled the post at the other end.

It was Chelsea who were in front within two minutes of the second half as Sterling's 20-yard effort looped over Ward via a deflection off Amartey.

Sterling was denied by the post soon after, but he did double his tally in the 63rd minute, touching in James' low cross from the right.

Leicester responded three minutes later as Barnes fired past Mendy at his near post, yet they then missed a flurry of chances to equalise, with Ayoze Perez going closest as he hit the underside of the crossbar.

Erik ten Hag plans to keep Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United after their valuable win at Southampton, as he revealed his club are "alert" to the possibility of incomings.

Bruno Fernandes scored a terrific goal to guide United to a 1-0 win at St Mary's on Saturday, doubling their Premier League points tally for the season and handing Ten Hag his first back-to-back victories at the helm.

As well as claiming their first consecutive league wins since February, when they beat Brighton and Hove Albion and Leeds United, the Red Devils ended a seven-match away losing run. 

While United offered a glimpse of their potential under Ten Hag with a professional display on the south coast, movement is expected at Old Trafford before the transfer window closes on Thursday.

Ronaldo continues to be linked with an exit after starting just once this season, while Eredivisie duo Antony and Cody Gakpo have been touted as attacking targets.

While Ten Hag is still eyeing further additions, he insists Ronaldo remains in his thoughts, telling BT Sport: "We plan with him, we stick to the plan.

"If a good player is available, we will strike, because we want to strengthen the squad always. We will be alert until the last second of the window."

United have improved dramatically since they were comprehensively outplayed by Brighton and Brentford in Ten Hag's first two games in charge, and the Dutchman was satisfied with their latest performance.

"I think they learned some lessons from Brentford, it's quite clear. We were compact on their long balls, so that was quite good," he added.

"Of course, we are really happy with this result and also the goal we made. We also made two or three more really good chances, but you hope that you keep more control in the last 30 minutes of the game.

"Don't forget that before half-time we already had the biggest chance of the game, and it was three in one play! I was satisfied and at the start of the game, with better decisions and switches of play, we could have created more.

"But it's the start of the season. It's tough. You have to get into the season, and you have to fight and battle and we did that, then you get rewarded."

Fernandes was the star of the show on Saturday, scoring his 37th Premier League goal for United as he donned the captain's armband – only Mohamed Salah (54), Harry Kane (49) and Son Heung-min (45) have outscored the Portugal midfielder in the Premier League since his 2020 debut.

And Ten Hag said his well-worked strike typifies the style of football he wants to implement at Old Trafford. 

"It was a fantastic finish and I'm really happy for him, his first goal of the season, which is really good," Ten Hag said.

"But I think it was the best part from us, straight after half-time. That is what we demand, you get movement around, and straight after half-time we created three really good chances.

"That is how I see football, how I want us to play.

"There is still room for improvement, to control more, break more or keep better positions in some stages of the game. We are not that long in our way, like every team, but there we can improve."

Bruno Fernandes praised Manchester United for picking up where they left off in their win over Liverpool after firing them to a 1-0 victory at Southampton.

Fernandes produced a classy side-footed finish when he met Diogo Dalot's cross after 55 minutes at St Mary's, guiding United to back-to-back wins for the first time since Erik ten Hag took charge.

Since Fernandes made his United debut in February 2020, only Mohamed Salah (54), Harry Kane (49) and Son Heung-Min (45) have scored more Premier League goals than the Portuguese livewire (37).

The creative midfielder has assumed a crucial role in United's improvement this week, taking on the captain's armband for each of their last two games with Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo both starting on the bench.

Fernandes hailed United's attitude after the win on the south coast, telling BT Sport: "We knew that playing against Southampton away is not easy. We have experienced that already in the last three years.

"We did a great game, sometimes you have to suffer. This is the Premier League, every game is tough. Well done to us.

"Massive three points for us. Now we have to carry on.

"It's important because one win doesn't make the league, two wins don't make the league. We have to carry on this sacrifice in the last two games for the rest of the season. This is what this club demands.

"After Liverpool everyone could feel it, we set the standard so we have to carry on now and if we can, improve it."

Asked about his goal, a cultured finish from a bouncing ball just inside the penalty area, Fernandes was keen to highlight the selfless contributions of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.

"It was a great ball, even great play from behind. Everything was perfect," he said with a smile.

"I think it was Marcus or Jadon who made the run on the goal and created the space to make it. We did it well, so well done to everyone not just me."

As well as doubling their points tally for the new campaign, United ended a dire run of form on their travels, clinching their first away Premier League win in eight attempts, having last won at Leeds United in February.

Fernandes, who starred as United went an entire Premier League season unbeaten on the road in 2020-21, is simply focused on keeping the Red Devils' improved run going.

"Obviously I think we did two or three seasons ago not losing from home," he added. "But we want to win every game. That's what it's about to play for Manchester United."

Ian Foster says New Zealand are "hurting" and on "a tough learning curve" after they were beaten at home by Argentina for the first time in Christchurch on Saturday.

The All Blacks had halted a three-match losing streak by beating South Africa at Ellis Park, but the Pumas consigned them to a historic 25-18 Rugby Championship defeat at Orangetheory Stadium.

Emiliano Boffelli booted 20 points and Juan Martin Gonzalez scored the Pumas' only try as they fought back to secure a stunning victory.

All Blacks head coach Foster was backed to keep his job through to the Rugby World Cup in France next year following the win over the world champions in Johannesburg, but this loss put him back in the spotlight.

Foster expressed his frustration over his side's inconsistency following a defeat that leaves them third in the table behind surprise leaders Argentina and Australia.

"[I am] Not losing patience, but certainly hurting." said Foster.

"It's hard work when the team is not, sort of, at 100 per cent every week. But I have been there when it is, and I know how much experience you need to get to that point and how much hard work and how settled the team needs to be.

"For us, as you can imagine, there is a shed full of people that are hurting right now. We are working hard and making some moves in our game.

"Things are hard work at the moment. I thought that at half-time, we had got some really good set-piece dominance. We kept them in the game with what I thought was some pretty average on the offside line.

"We gave them four penalties in that space in the second half."

The 57-year-old continued: "We ended up trying to over-play our hand, really, and got a little bit frustrated against them. Our set-piece didn't quite work the way we wanted in the latter part, and we probably forgot to play our kicking game.

"So, a tough learning curve for this group at the moment."

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer is "confident" the ruling over Oscar Piastri's contract will fall in their favour with the dispute set to go before the Formula One contract recognition board (CRB).

Following Fernando Alonso's decision to leave Alpine, the team announced that reserve driver Piastri would replace the Spaniard for the 2023 season.

However, the Australian contradicted this claim when he released a statement on his social media platforms, stating that he would not be driving for Alpine the following year.

Piastri is understood to have committed to McLaren, who are not commenting publicly on the matter.

But speaking ahead of this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, Szafnauer is adamant Alpine had all bases covered when securing his services.

"We will have the CRB decide which contract Oscar signed takes precedence and after that, we will see where we go," he said.

"There are certain things that need to be in the contract [to secure Piastri], and I am confident they are in there.

"Once we have all the information in front of us, we will start looking at who will fill the open seat."

However, Szafnauer did accept Alpine were hasty with their announcement, having raised eyebrows by doing so without a statement from Piastri.

"I told Oscar before the announcement was made," Szafnauer added. "He happened to be in the simulator, so I went and found him. He smiled and was thankful, so we made the release very quickly.

"Things happen very quickly. We too reacted quickly and didn't want to go back and forth with his management, which is why we put the release out."

Pep Guardiola's influence on Mikel Arteta is clear to see at Arsenal this season, former Gunners midfielder Paul Davis has told Stats Perform.

Arsenal are the only Premier League side to have made a perfect start to the 2022-23 campaign with three wins from their opening three matches.

It is the first time the north London club have achieved that in 18 years and has left fans excited about an unlikely title tilt – or a top-four finish at the very least.

Arteta previously spent three years working under Guardiola on the Manchester City coaching staff, which Davis believes has made the Spaniard a better manager.

"If you're not going to become a better coach when working with someone like Pep, you shouldn't be there," said Davis, who spent 15 years at Arsenal prior to departing in 1995.

"He's obviously learned so much and he's now using a lot of that with Arsenal. You can now see that in games."

While supporters are now firmly behind Arteta, it was a different story 12 months ago after Arsenal lost their first three matches without scoring.

"Arsenal are in a good place now and everybody's happy," Davis added. "But all the fans last year were saying we've got to let him go. They're not saying the same thing now.

"Last season they were going through a bad time. When people were telling me he's got to go, I was saying 'Hold on, he doesn't have to go yet – give him some time'.

"It doesn't surprise me that he's been given time, and now you can see the development of the team and the players."

Arsenal's fast start comes on the back of a busy close season in which they signed Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, the latter two joining from Man City.

Jesus has been involved in five goals in his first three Premier League appearances, which is the most of any Arsenal player in their first three games in the competition.

And Davis, speaking exclusively on the release of his new book, Arsenal And After, can see comparisons between Jesus and another Arsenal favourite from the past.

"What's surprised me about him is the hunger he's shown – it's like he really wants to be here," added Davis, who works as a senior coach developer at the Football Association.

"Someone mentioned the other day that Jesus reminds them of Ian Wright, which I can see now but couldn't at the time. 

"Ian had that enthusiasm of wanting to score goals, and he scores goals similar to the ones we've seen from Jesus. They have a similar type of game in wanting to get in behind.

"If he can carry on scoring goals like Ian, Arsenal fans will be happy and I'll be happy. He's made a great start and I can't see why it won't continue."

Bruno Fernandes guided Manchester United to a 1-0 victory over Southampton at St Mary's as they claimed back-to-back wins for the first time in the Erik ten Hag era and built on Monday's victory over Liverpool.

Fernandes, retaining the captain's armband as both Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo started on the bench, produced a classy 55th-minute finish to hand United the win.

Joe Aribo went closest to a leveller for Southampton with a close-range header, but United produced one of their most composed defensive performances in recent months to secure a first away league win in eight attempts.

After making a dire start to the new campaign, United have now strung together consecutive league wins for the first time since February, giving lift-off to Ten Hag's tenure.

As part of an even first half, United were denied an opener in stunning fashionwhen Gavin Bazunu, Kyle Walker-Peters and Armel Bella-Kotchap all made astonishing last-ditch blocks, as Anthony Elanga, Fernandes and Christian Eriksen all failed to convert from inside the six-yard box.

Bella-Kotchap should have done better when volleying over on the stretch near the half-hour mark, before the lively Che Adams hit a weak effort straight at David de Gea after running in behind. 

Bazunu turned away a right-footed volley from Scott McTominay four minutes after the break, but he was unable to prevent the Saints from falling behind soon after, as Fernandes side-footed Diogo Dalot's bouncing cross into the bottom-left corner. 

United were indebted to De Gea for maintaining their advantage, with the Spaniard producing a fine reflex save from Aribo's powerful header before Ronaldo was introduced.

Casemiro then made his United debut from the bench as the Red Devils clung on for a valuable win despite Sekou Mara twice going close to a last-gasp leveller.

There seems to be no escaping the number 23 for Serena Williams as she prepares for an emotional final grand slam at the US Open.

It is 23 years since the legendary American won her first major singles title at Flushing Meadows, where she was also crowned doubles champion back in 1999.

Williams has gone on to win an astonishing 23 grand slam singles titles and 14 major doubles titles in an incredible career that is about to come to an end in New York.

One of the all-time greats turns 42 next month and although she is unlikely to bow out by claiming an elusive 24th major singles title in her home major, she is sure to be given a spine-tingling farewell.

Novak Djokovic's absence due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19 has been the big talking point in the men's singles, with Rafael Nadal getting an opportunity to extend his record tally of major successes.

Stats Perform picks out the standout numbers to preview the final major of the year as Emma Raducanu and Daniil Medvedev prepare to defend their titles.

Serena's incredible longevity

Such is the remarkable longevity of Williams' career, defending champion Raducanu and world number one Iga Swiatek were not even born when she won her first major.

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina was only a few months old when the iconic Saginaw native beat Martina Hingis in the 1999 US Open final for the first of so many major titles.

Only Chris Evert can boast as many US Open titles as Williams' tally of six in the Open Era, while she has played in a record 10 finals at Flushing Meadows.

The retiring veteran has 106 victories in her home major, a record in the Open Era, and only Martina Navratilova has recorded more wins in a single major - with 120 at Wimbledon.

Williams will be making her 21st main-draw appearance at the US Open, with only her older sister, Venus, bettering that figure in the Open Era as she prepares for her 23rd.

Long-awaited New York return for Nadal 

Nadal has not played at Flushing Meadows since he was crowned champion for a fourth time three years ago, having missed the 2020 tournament amid the coronavirus pandemic and not played last year due to a foot injury.

The Spanish great's hopes of completing a first calendar Grand Slam were ended by an abdominal injury that resulted in his withdrawal from Wimbledon ahead of a scheduled semi-final against Nick Kyrgios.

He could make it three major titles out of four this year in New York, though, where he will be bidding to take his haul of grand slam titles to 23 and move two clear of the absent Djokovic once again.

If Nadal lifts the trophy on Arthur Ashe Stadium, it would give him a record-equalling fifth US Open men's singles title - matching the haul of Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.

Only Bjorn Borg (89.2 per cent) has a higher winning ratio in grand slam tournaments during the Open Era than Nadal's 88.3 per cent among players with at least 100 victories to their name, 

Another record in women's singles?

Teenage Brit Raducanu made history when she became the first qualifier to win a major title last year, beating Leylah Fernandez in the final.

Swiatek has dominated the women's game for much of this year, the highlight being her second French Open triumph.

With the retired Ash Barty, Swiatek and Rybakina taking the singles titles in 2022, there could be four different gram slam champions for a fifth consecutive season - excluding 2020 - and that would be the longest such streak in the Open Era.

Alcaraz to make major breakthrough?

While Nadal will be the Spaniard with the largest burden of expectation on his shoulders, Carlos Alcaraz should be a big threat in New York.

The 19-year-old could become the fifth player in the Open Era to reach at least the quarter-finals in his first two appearances at Flushing Meadows after Ken Rosewall, Arthur Ashe, John Newcombe and Johan Kriek.

Alcaraz has the joint-most ATP Tour titles this year with four, matching Nadal's tally.

Barcelona head coach Xavi is "pretty sure" defender Jules Kounde will make his LaLiga debut for his new team against Real Valladolid this weekend.

Kounde joined Barca from Sevilla for a reported fee of €55million this transfer window, after the Catalan club beat Chelsea to the France international's signature.

However, Barcelona's financial situation meant Kounde could not be registered to play in LaLiga, although other new arrivals Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen have each made their debuts.

But Xavi believes the situation is finally sorted and is confident Kounde will feature against Valladolid at Camp Nou on Sunday.

Xavi told reporters at his pre-match news conference: "It's a negotiation with LaLiga. We are pretty sure that Jules can play tomorrow. We are optimistic."

Kounde is sure to be a big help for Barcelona in Europe as they compete to lift their first Champions League trophy since beating Juventus in the final in the 2014-15 campaign.

Xavi's team will first have to get out of a tricky Group C that includes Inter and Viktoria Plzen, as well as Bayern Munich, who infamously thumped Barcelona in a humiliating 8-2 defeat in the 2019-20 quarter-finals.

And Xavi knows the size of the task ahead of his team, saying: "It's a very difficult group, perhaps the toughest. 

"We've made very good signings this season, we've invested a lot. The Champions League and the league, we want to go through and fight for the trophies. But the challenge is massive. It's perhaps the group of death."