Paolo Banchero said his dazzling NBA debut was a moment he had "been working for my whole life" after showing why the Orlando Magic made him the first overall pick.

The 19-year-old American-Italian set a Magic points record for a rookie by scoring 27 points with 11-of-18 shooting against the Detroit Pistons, also claiming nine rebounds and providing five assists.

Banchero, who shone for Duke before declaring himself for the 2022 NBA Draft, could not prevent the Magic losing the game 113-109, but his bow at the top level was still one to savour.

The previous most points scored by a Magic rookie on debut was 13 by Mo Bamba four years ago, and Banchero soon sauntered past that mark, while Jaden Ivey did likewise, finishing with 19 points.

Banchero became the first player since LeBron James in 2003 to have a 25-5-5 game or better on debut in the NBA.

His points tally was the most by a number one overall pick on his NBA bow since Allen Iverson scored 30 for the Philadelphia 76ers against the Milwaukee Bucks in November 1996, ESPN said.

"[It is] a moment that you've been working for my whole life – trying to get to this point right here," Banchero said. "It's definitely a milestone.

"I'm proud of myself for getting here. But also, this is the start. It's not the end. You just have to come in and be prepared, be ready and play our best, play my hardest."

He added: "Obviously, would have liked to win. But I just wanted to play hard, play for the team, and that happened, so it's a blessing."

What's more, Banchero felt it could have gone even better on a personal level.

"It's crazy. I felt like I left a lot of points on the board," he said.

"Credit to my team-mates for finding me. It's always nice to see the ball get in that early, get easy buckets around the rim. That's how I try to play, inside out. Try to get easy stuff around the basket and expand out and do more stuff throughout the game."

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson was giddy at his postgame press conference after securing a dominant 130-108 road win against the Brooklyn Nets in his first competitive outing since May 2021.

Williamson missed all of this past season with recurring foot injuries, but used the offseason to get into the best shape of his professional career, and he picked up right where he left off.

Before his injury, Williamson averaged 27 points per game at 61 per cent shooting in his second season after being drafted first overall back in 2019, and he showed no signs of rust, dropping 25 points on 11-of-22 shooting with nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Speaking to the media immediately after the win, Williamson could not keep the smile off his face when talking about how excited he is to be back on the court with this Pelicans group.

"The Nets are a great team, a great organisation, but today we just wanted to show how special this group is," he said during his on-court interview.

"We got the win, most importantly that's what we want to do, but if you see the bonds we have on the court, and on the bench, we really have a special group and I'm excited to show the world what we can do."

Later in his sit-down press conference, he reflected on his feelings about returning after such a long layoff, and what it is like to play with this group, since he has not played since the Pelicans' acquisition of C.J. McCollum.

"Simply playing the game I love, which I didn't get to play for a long time, was a breath of fresh air," he said.

"There were times where there was a loose ball, and it ended up in C.J. or [Brandon Ingram's] hands, and I didn't even crash [for rebounds], I'm like 'oh that's good'. Man, it's special. If you know basketball, to get a chance to play with two players like that, it's special.

"All three of us are unselfish, we all have the same goal, and that's to win. When you want to win, you put aside the personal goals and everything else. Whatever I've got to do, whatever they've got to do to win, that's what we're all going to do.

"It's one thing when you're excited for yourself, but when you see people you work hard with, and go to battle with, and they're genuinely excited for you and wishing you the best – you can't ask for much more than that."

Despite top-scoring in the game with 28 points (10-of-17 shooting), Ingram made it clear who sits atop the Pelicans' pecking order, calling Williamson "one of the best players in the league".

Pelicans head coach Willie Green also enjoyed the show, saying: "It's like he didn't miss a beat – you just throw the ball to him and watch what he does. He's fun to watch."

It was a great day for the highly ranked Americans at the Guadalajara Open on Wednesday, headlined by world number five Jessica Pegula and her 2-6 6-3 7-6 (10-8) comeback win over Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Pegula, who is now locked into the top-eight and therefore will qualify for the WTA Finals, struggled to win points on her serve in the opening set, but raised her 57 per cent success rate up to 69 per cent in the second set, and 66 per cent in the decider.

The American had to come from a break down in the second set to keep her tournament alive, and she will now face Canada's Bianca Andreescu in the third round.

Meanwhile, fellow United States star Coco Gauff was too good for Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto, winning 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 to book a third-round clash with another Italian, Martina Trevisan, who earned her way there with a 6-0 4-6 6-3 win over Katerina Siniakova.

The other two seeded Americans were also successful, with 13th seed Madison Keys coming from a set down to defeat Ajla Tomljanovic 3-6 6-4 6-3, and 14th seed Danielle Collins repelled the challenge of Magdalena Frech 6-3 6-4.

There were positive signs for former world number five Eugenie Bouchard, who ended up losing, but showed she still has her talent by taking a set off world number 23 Jelena Ostapenko in a 7-5 2-6 6-1 result.

Russian pair Anna Kalinskaya and Liudmila Samsonova both emerged in three-set outings, with Kalinskaya outlasting Elise Mertens 6-4 0-6 7-5, while Samsonova upset world number four Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 2-6 6-2.

World number 12 Veronika Kudermetova kept her WTA Finals hopes alive with a 6-4 7-5 win over Donna Vekic, and the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova ousted Colombia's Camila Osorio 6-3 6-1.

In the late window, Sloane Stephens eliminated Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-4, and top overall seed Paula Badosa retired due to injury after losing the first set 6-2 against Victoria Azarenka.

The San Diego Padres produced a stunning comeback on the road to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 in Game 2 of the NLCS on Wednesday.

San Diego were staring down the barrel of a two-game deficit when Alec Bohm, Matt Vierling, Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber drove home a run each to jump ahead 4-0 in the second inning.

The Padres would get two runs back in the bottom of the second, courtesy of solo home runs to Brandon Drury and Josh Bell, and to manager Bob Melvin's credit, he stuck with starting pitcher Blake Snell despite his rough start, and he was able to pitch three scoreless innings to set up the comeback.

Trailing 4-2 in the fifth inning, the Padres rattled off five runs, with Bell and Drury again delivering, as well as young star Juan Soto and catcher Austin Nola, who got his hit off his brother, Aaron Nola, who started on the mound for the Phillies.

Manny Machado put on the finishing touches with a 424-foot bomb in the seventh inning, before closer Josh Hader came in to put the Phillies away.

By striking out all three batters he faced – after doing the same in his last outing, and striking out his last two batters the time before that – he became the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out eight consecutive batters in the postseason.

Game 3 and Game 4 will both be played in San Diego, before heading back to Philadelphia for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series.

Verlander dices up the Yankees in Game 1

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander showed why he is the heavy favourite to take home the American League Cy Young Award, pitching six dominant innings in his side's 4-2 win against the New York Yankees in Game 1.

Verlander struck out 11 batters while only allowing one run from three hits and a walk, with that one run coming from a Harrison Bader solo homer in the second inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Bader did not hit a home run for the Yankees in the regular season after being acquired at the deadline, but now has four in his past six playoff games.

Their lead was short-lived as Martin Maldonado tied things up with an RBI double later in the second inning, before the Astros hit three solo home runs to jump out to a commanding lead.

Lourdes Gurriel and Chas McCormick went deep in the sixth inning, before rookie Jeremy Pena hit his fourth homer of the postseason to extend the lead to 4-1 in the seventh.

Anthony Rizzo would connect on a consolation home run in the eight inning, but Astros closer Ryan Pressly was up for the task, coming in to collect a four-out save with three strikeouts.

Game 2 will remain in Houston, before the series heads to New York for Game 3 and Game 4.

The New Orleans Pelicans sent a statement to the rest of the league with a 130-108 pounding of the Brooklyn Nets in their opening game of the season on Wednesday night.

Playing away from home, the Pelicans enjoyed a red-hot start, with eight points in the first quarter from Zion Williamson helping to build a 32-14 lead at the first break.

The Nets showed some fight in the second quarter, putting up 36 points in the frame to trim the margin to 58-50 as Kevin Durant had 21 in the first half, but the Pelicans came out of halftime and dropped 40 points in the third period to put the game to bed.

In his first game since May 2021, Williamson looked in tremendous shape, scoring 25 points on 11-of-22 shooting while adding nine rebounds, three assists and four steals. 

He was supported in fine fashion by Brandon Ingram, who top-scored for the Pelicans with 28 points (10-of-17 shooting), seven rebounds and five assists, and C.J. McCollum chipped in 21 points and six assists as well.

For the Nets, Durant showed he is still arguably the best scorer in the league with 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting, and he also tallied four blocks in an impressive two-way performance despite his team's shortcomings.

Box-office Banchero validates top draft selection 

Paolo Banchero was not thought to be an option for the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick until the day of the NBA Draft, but he showed exactly why they took him with a spectacular debut in a 113-109 loss on the road to the Detroit Pistons.

Banchero shattered the Magic record for points by a debuting rookie – previously set at 13 – with 27 on 11-of-18 shooting, and he also grabbed nine rebounds and dished five assists in a complete performance, posting a plus/minus of plus two in his 35 minutes.

It was a great debut for rookie Jaden Ivey as well, who the Pistons selected with the fifth overall pick, as he put up 19 points on eight-of-15 shooting with four assists and three steals.

Ivey complemented last year's top pick Cade Cunningham beautifully, with Cunningham running the show on his way to 18 points (six-of-16 shooting) and 10 assists, while newly acquired Bojan Bogdanovic top-scored for Detroit with 24 points on eight-of-16 shooting after hitting six of his first seven three-point attempts.

Morant lifts the Grizzlies in overtime

Ja Morant had his potential game-winner wiped off the board due to a contentious charging foul, but his Memphis Grizzlies got the job done at home in overtime to defeat the New York Knicks 115-112.

Morant was the game's top-scorer with 34 points on 11-of-24 shooting, and his nine assists was equal with New York's Jalen Brunson for the most in the contest.

Starting in place of the injured Jaren Jackson Jr, Santi Aldama gave a good performance with 18 points (seven-of-14 shooting) and 11 rebounds, while Julius Randle was the Knicks' best player, scoring 24 points (nine-of-16 shooting) with 11 rebounds and six assists.

Mitchell shines in Cavaliers debut despite loss

The Cleveland Cavaliers were treated to a terrific debut from star offseason acquisition Donovan Mitchell, but it was not enough to overcome an early Darius Garland injury in a 108-105 road loss to the Toronto Raptors.

All-Star point guard Garland only played 13 minutes before his night ended with a rough poke to the eye in the second quarter. Taking over some of Garland's point guard responsibilities, Mitchell dished off nine assists as well as leading the game in scoring with 31 on 12-of-21 shooting.

All five Raptors starters scored at least 15 points in classic Toronto fashion, with Pascal Siakam tallying 23 on nine-of-20 shooting with 11 rebounds and four steals, while reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes had 15 points (seven-of-14 shooting) with seven assists and a game-high plus/minus of plus 20 in his 32 minutes.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown got a second opinion on his injured left foot and will be sidelined at least one month.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury gave the injury update Wednesday, and although he admitted he didn’t know the exact nature of the injury, he said it won’t require surgery.

"It looks like it’ll be indefinite. I think at least a month, I would say," he said via video from Bo Brack of PHNX Cardinals podcast. "We’ll evaluate it and go from there."

It was originally being reported that Brown would be sidelined at least six weeks after he was injured in Sunday’s 19-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Brown ranks fifth in the NFL with 43 receptions and has the seventh-most receiving yards with 485, while his three receiving touchdowns account for half of Kyler Murray’s TD passes.

Murray, though, will have a pair of new weapons at his disposal for Arizona’s Thursday night game against the New Orleans Saints.

Robbie Anderson will make his Cardinals debut after being acquired from the Carolina Panthers on Monday, and DeAndre Hopkins will rejoin the team with his six-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs now over.

Antonio Conte acknowledged Tottenham must do better in big games after they were beaten 2-0 at Manchester United.

Goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes condemned Conte's side to only their second Premier League defeat of the season, having also been beaten 3-1 at leaders Arsenal earlier this month.

Spurs have made an otherwise impressive start to the campaign and still sit third in the table, level on points with second-placed Manchester City and three ahead of Chelsea in fourth, albeit having played a game more than both.

However, speaking to Amazon Prime, Conte pointed to the difference in spending power between his club and United, who forked out more than anyone in England in the last transfer window to bring in the likes of Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Antony.

Spurs also spent money on Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence and Richarlison among others, but the Brazilian was unable to feature at Old Trafford due to injury.

"I consider United a really good team," Conte said. "You know very well the potential of this club, what they did in the transfer market and what money they can spend. For sure, we are speaking about two different levels.

"At the same time, I think in this type of game we can do much better.

"We are struggling. We struggled against Chelsea, we struggled against Arsenal, we struggled today against United."

Spurs conceded 28 shots on their goal from the hosts, including 19 in the first half, while managing only nine of their own all game, with just two on target.

"United deserved to win, they played a really good game," Conte conceded.

"For our side, in this type of game when the level has got to be high, we need to improve a lot. We have to try to be better than today."

Bruno Fernandes has made it clear he does not need to be the "main man" at Manchester United, though he admits he wants to score more goals.

The midfielder curled home a stunning effort in his side's 2-0 victory against Tottenham on Wednesday, his first at Old Trafford this season.

Fernandes scored 18 Premier League goals during his first full season at United, along with 12 assists, but those numbers decreased last term to 10 goals and six assists, leading to some scrutiny of his performances.

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game against Spurs, Fernandes conceded he needs to be an influence on the attacking play but his main focus is on the team's results.

"I was concerned because I want to score goals, and I wasn't getting my goals but it was not my main focus," he said.

"The team was getting good results, the last one [against Newcastle United] was not a good result, we want to win every game, but for me, when the team is winning, it's perfect.

"As an individual, I want to get goals and assists, it's part of the game and the position that I play. I need to have that."

During Amazon's coverage, Patrice Evra suggested to Fernandez that he plays better as the "main man" when the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo are not in the side, though the United midfielder made it clear he does not see it that way.

"I don't like the phrase 'being the main man'. I know when some players are on the pitch, I respect their positions and I know I will need to do different things to get the best out of them. I don't have any problems to sacrifice myself to get the best out of my team-mates."

United's win against Spurs came after a relentless assault on Hugo Lloris' goal, with the hosts totalling 28 shots throughout the game as they played out Erik ten Hag's instructions.

"Everyone knows the manager wants to play with intensity, with pressure, to play as high as possible so that whenever we recover the ball, we are closer to the goal," Fernandes explained.

"Obviously, you get frustrated when you don't get the goals, we had many chances in the first half, but the belief of the team makes us win the game today.

"The reaction when we lost the ball up front was probably the most important thing today."

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will deal with Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday, but kept his immediate post-match focus on what he felt was his side's most complete performance under his watch in their 2-0 victory against Tottenham.

United were terrific in front of their home fans, racking up 28 shots to Tottenham's nine, with goals coming from Fred in the 47th minute and Bruno Fernandes in the 69th. Their defence was also impressively stout, allowing Tottenham to only accumulate 0.48 expected goals.

In the final minutes, with United defending their lead, Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines by making his way down the tunnel early, clearly unhappy about his lack of involvement as an unused substitute.

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the contest, Ten Hag said dealing with Ronaldo was a problem for another day, and that he would spend Wednesday night celebrating a complete performance.

"I will deal with [Ronaldo] tomorrow, not today," he said. "Today we celebrate this victory, and now we have to recover from this.

"I knew [form] would come with [Fernandes]. Sometimes you have periods as a striker or offensive player and you don't score, but all of a sudden you find it back. I think for Bruno it's important he scored a goal, but once again I think he played a magnificent role today.

"There were so many things that were really good – our organisation, our pressing organisation was fabulous, magnificent – also I think the rest of the defence and the counter press was really good. 

"To be fair, I didn't expect it before [the game] because Spurs have played really good this season, and they play really solid – every performance is dead good. I thought we had to be really good to win, and we did. It was a magnificent performance and I hope we set a new base.

"From start to end we dictated the game, and that is what we didn't do against Liverpool and Arsenal. I want to mention that we had more good performances this season, but you see the development in the process and I'm clearly pleased with that."

The result sees United rise to fifth on the table with an even goal difference, and they will look to carry that momentum into a massive fixture at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on Saturday.

Jurgen Klopp believes Darwin Nunez has "arrived 100 per cent" after the Uruguayan striker scored the winner for Liverpool against West Ham on Wednesday.

Nunez initially struggled following his move from Benfica at the end of last season for a reported initial fee of £64million (€73.5m) that could rise to £85m (€97.6m).

However, an all-action performance from the 23-year-old against the Hammers saw him score the only goal of the game with a header from a Kostas Tsimikas cross, while also forcing Lukasz Fabianski into a fine save and hitting the post among his six efforts on total from 56 minutes on the pitch, before being substituted as a precaution.

Nunez now has five goals in 12 games (six starts), and has netted three times in his last four appearances in all competitions.

"It is important. He has scored now a couple of times in the last few games. He arrived 100 per cent, now even with numbers, which is fine," Klopp said at his post-match press conference. 

"He felt a little bit the muscles at half-time but it was all fine and after five minutes [of the second half] I was just a bit concerned about long sprints for him and balls where he stretches his legs. I thought, 'Come on, we cannot take that risk' and that's why we changed."

Despite having a number of chances to score again after Nunez's 22nd-minute goal, Liverpool came under pressure as David Moyes' men grew into the game, with Alisson having to save a penalty from Jarrod Bowen after the forward was brought down by Joe Gomez just before half-time.

The Reds held on the for their second 1-0 win in a week, having beaten Manchester City by the same score on Sunday, and Klopp conceded it had been another tough three points to claim.

"It is a Premier League game and I cannot remember an easy game in all of the seven years and few days, and that was for sure not easy tonight," he said. "But we played well enough – and in moments, really good. In the end, altogether, well enough to deserve three points.

"It's the second 1-0 in a row which is absolutely fine. It's a brilliant result... that we have space for improvement I think is clear, it was always the case and is tonight the case.

"But in this moment, we have three points more than before and that feels massive."

Bruno Fernandes' spectacular finish helped Manchester United make a statement of their top-four credentials with a 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Wednesday.

The Portugal midfielder volleyed into the top-right corner to add to Fred's opener, lifting the Red Devils to a deserved victory over Antonio Conte's men, who they now trail by just four points.

Elsewhere, Newcastle United continued their fine start to the season and Chelsea were held by Brentford, as West Ham paid the penalty in a narrow loss to Liverpool at Anfield.

Here, Stats Perform picks out the best Opta facts from an intriguing Wednesday in the Premier League.

Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham: Fernandes continues Spurs' Red Devils hoodoo

Wednesday's headline clash saw United claim an important win over third-placed Spurs, Erik ten Hag's second win in as many home Premier League games against top-three opponents (also 3-1 v Arsenal in September).

That is as many home wins against sides in the top three as predecessors Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick managed between them in the competition.

Fernandes was the star of the show, creating nine chances – the most by a player in a Premier League match this season and most overall in the competition since Fernandes himself in September 2021 (10 v Aston Villa).

The hosts also kept Spurs' attackers quiet during a controlled display – Harry Kane has now failed to score in 13 of his 17 appearances against United in the Premier League, more than against any other opponent.

The victory is United's fourth in their last four Premier League meetings with Tottenham, the first time they have enjoyed such a run in the competition since April 2009-October 2010.

Liverpool 1-0 West Ham: Alisson and Nunez hand Reds hard-fought win

At Anfield, Liverpool built on Sunday's victory over Manchester City by clinching a 1-0 win over West Ham, extending their unbeaten run to 29 home league games (W22 D7).

Darwin Nunez headed home the only goal, which also represented Liverpool's 100th Premier League goal against West Ham – the fourth side they've reached a century against in the competition.

That goal was also the 800th West Ham have conceded in the Premier League – a tally only previously reached by Everton, Newcastle and Tottenham.

The Hammers were handed a chance to respond before the break, but Jarrod Bowen saw his penalty saved by Alisson. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, no team has missed more Premier League spot-kicks than West Ham's six.

Newcastle United 1-0 Everton: Solid Toon continue rise

Eddie Howe's Newcastle recorded a 1-0 win over Everton at St James' Park, posting their fifth clean sheet of the Premier League season – a tally only matched by Manchester City.

In truth, the Magpies' rearguard was never seriously tested: Everton's one shot in this match was their joint-worst tally in a Premier League game since data collection began in 2003-04 (also v Chelsea in November 2016).

Newcastle are sixth in the early-season standings after combining that solidity with an eye for the spectacular – only Leicester City (six) can better their tally of five Premier League goals from outside the penalty area this season. 

Match-winner Miguel Almiron, meanwhile, has netted five goals in 11 league appearances this term, matching his return from his previous 64 outings.

Brentford 0-0 Chelsea: Bees hold firm in West London Derby

Chelsea are yet to taste defeat under Graham Potter, but the Blues boss saw his team drop league points for the first time in his tenure at Brentford.

The Blues' familiar lack of creativity came to the fore as they hit the target with just five of their 14 shots (36 per cent), three of which came after the 85th minute.

Despite not starting the match, Mateo Kovacic was directly involved in seven of Chelsea's 14 shots, creating a game-high four chances as he outshone his team-mates.

However, the Croatian was unable to drive his side to a win, and Brentford have now kept consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League for just the second time – last doing so in their first two games in the competition in August 2021.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson said he and his team-mates told each other to "stick together" during their recent difficult run of form.

The Reds won just two of their first eight Premier League games as they fell away from any talk of the title race in the early weeks of the season.

However, back-to-back 1-0 home wins against Manchester City and West Ham have restored some feel-good factor at Anfield, with the Brazilian's penalty save on Wednesday helping his team narrowly beat the Hammers.

A 22nd-minute header from Darwin Nunez put Liverpool in front, before Jarrod Bowen was brought down in the box by Joe Gomez just before half-time.

However, Alisson dived down to his right to palm Bowen's spot-kick away, before some nervy defending in the second half eventually led to a win for Jurgen Klopp's men.

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game, Alisson said: "Since the beginning of the season we have big goals to win trophies, to fight for every competition that we are in.

"Things didn't work out so good for us. We started well with the Community Shield [victory] against Man City, an important game against an important, big opponent. It gave us a little bit of confidence but we didn't use that for the Premier League and then suddenly we lost confidence during the games, we lost players as well for injuries.

"And this is something that affected the team, the rhythm, some players coming back from a long time not playing. All the circumstances around affected us a little bit. On the pitch as well, performances weren't so bad but they weren't enough to get the three points, to get the win.

"We just stick together – it was something that we were speaking about a lot, to stick together at this difficult time, difficult moment. Working hard, working every day – not only on matchdays.

"Now things are coming out, the results are coming but we don't have to be too excited about that. We have to keep our feet on the ground and just stick together, keep on working because it's a long and tough season for everybody."

Alisson has only conceded seven of the 13 penalties he has faced in the Premier League (54 per cent, with two saved and four off target), the lowest percentage of any goalkeeper to face at least 10 spot-kicks in the competition.

Nunez's goal was his first at Anfield as a Liverpool player, and his fifth in all competitions since arriving from Benfica at the end of last season.

"We are helping him a lot, we keep him really close," Alisson said of the Uruguayan striker, who had six shots against West Ham before being taken off before the hour. 

"He's a really good lad. I know that it's not easy, it's really difficult to settle in a different country. When I came here, I knew a little bit more English than him – he's learning. He's working hard on that – not only on the pitch but outside to learn English.

"He's a really disciplined man and we are trying to help him, help Lucho [Luis Diaz]. We are a really strong team who works together and sticks together all the time when we are at the training ground.

"Sometimes outside the pitch we come together to spend time together – and this is important not only for him but for his family and for all our families."

Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann felt his side "should have scored more" despite their rampant 5-2 away victory over Augsburg in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.

Bayern were behind within nine minutes after Mads Pedersen fired the hosts in front, but a double from Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and a smart Joshua Kimmich finish put the Bundesliga champions 3-1 ahead.

Dayot Upamecano's unfortunate own goal gave Augsburg hopes of a comeback, but Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies both struck late to ensure Bayern's progression into the third round of a competition they have won 20 times, 14 more than any other side.

Despite scoring five against Augsburg, Nagelsmann wanted his side to be even more ruthless, telling ZDF: "It's a classic cup game.

"The team created enough chances to make the game clearer earlier on, but unfortunately we missed. 

"There were many situations in which we should have scored more goals."

Nagelsmann was thankful for his side's improvement after finding themselves a goal down early on, particularly their dominant period after half-time which saw Kimmich and Choupo-Moting make it 3-1 with 53rd and 59th-minute goals.

"We didn't have a good start, we were very sluggish and didn't accept many duels," Nagelsmann said.

"The 20 minutes after half-time were very, very good. Physically we were on the same level."

When asked why Bayern struggled at the start of the match, Nagelsmann replied: "It's not that easy to play against a team that plays every ball straight ahead.

"It's always a balancing act. Do you play football, or do you play the ball in the opposing half?

"We didn't always make the right decision."