Borussia Dortmund are determined to replicate the heroics of their remarkable Champions League campaign last season, head coach Nuri Sahin said ahead of Wednesday's opener at Club Brugge.

The 36-year-old Sahin will lead Dortmund in Europe's elite club competition for the first time when the Bundesliga side visit Bruges.

Dortmund announced Sahin, their former assistant coach, in June as their new manager to replace Edin Terzic, who led the German club to the Champions League final last term.

Terzic's men subsequently lost to LaLiga giants Real Madrid 2-0 in the Wembley showpiece, though Sahin is desperate for another deep run in Europe.

"After two or three matchdays, you will see how it's going," Sahin told reporters on Tuesday. "As a finalist last year, we're self-confident.

"Dortmund are a name in Europe. We want to live up to that and go through. We want to play a good role in all competitions."

Dortmund may be concerned given only one of the last five losing Champions League finalists have then started their next campaign with a win (D2 L2), a 6-3 win for Manchester City against RB Leipzig in 2021-22.

They are in different hands under Sahin, a German-born former Turkey international, who played 274 matches for Dortmund.

He won the Bundesliga in the 2010-11 season and was a Champions League runner-up with them in the 2012-13 campaign when they were managed by Jurgen Klopp.

Sahin now feels ready to take charge on the biggest stage, having started his debut Bundesliga season as a manager with seven points in three matches.

"I'm delighted to be a coach in the Champions League. This is special. I'm really looking forward to my first game on this stage," Sahin said.

However, he expects a tough outing against Brugge, who have won four of their seven matches in the Belgian Pro League.

"Since we've known that we're playing against them, we've watched very many matches. The team has a clear philosophy of play and principles, a good team," Sahin added.

Juventus beat PSV 3-1 on their return to the Champions League on Tuesday, aided by by two quickfire goals from Kenan Yildiz and Weston McKennie in the first half.

The Bianconeri were playing their first match in Europe's elite club competition since 2022-23, when they suffered a humiliating group-stage exit before failing to qualify for the next edition.

Thiago Motta has enjoyed a decent start to life in Turin, though, and that continued on Tuesday as Juve eased past their Eredivisie opponents.

Yildiz gave Juve the lead after 21 minutes with a stunning curling shot from just inside the box, leaving goalkeeper Joel Drommel helpless as the ball crashed off the inside of the post and in.

McKennie doubled their advantage six minutes later, netting inside the right-hand post from close range and winger Nicolas Gonzalez made it 3-0 with a back-post finish after the break.

Ismael Saibari pulled a goal back for PSV in stoppage time, but it was a thoroughly deserved victory for Juve, who are next in European action at RB Leipzig on October 2.

Data Debrief: Big night for Juve's young guns

Motta has been charged with overseeing a new era at the Allianz Stadium, and the average age of Juve's starting lineup on Tuesday was the youngest in their Champions League history (25 years and 149 days).

Yildiz led the charge for this new-look Bianconeri outfit, becoming their youngest-ever Champions League scorer with his stunning strike from the corner of the box.

At the age of 19 years and 136 days, he is also the youngest Turkish player to net in the competition.

Juventus also maintained their record of never losing their first Champions League game under a new coach (seven wins, three draws) – the best record of any club to have had 10 or more managers in the competition. 

Aston Villa made a fine return to Europe's elite as they began their Champions League campaign with an accomplished 3-0 victory over Swiss club Young Boys on Tuesday.

Villa, European Cup winners in 1982 and playing in UEFA's premier club competition for the first time since 1983, had to survive some early pressure but were good value for their victory once they made the breakthrough.

Youri Tielemans fired Villa in front in the 27th minute after being picked out by John McGinn's deep cross, and Unai Emery's men never looked back from there.

They doubled their advantage 11 minutes later, Mohamed Ali Camara's terrible back pass selling Young Boys goalkeeper David von Ballmoos short and allowing Jacob Ramsey to tap home.

The visitors had goals by Ollie Watkins and substitute Jhon Duran disallowed for handball either side of half-time, but Amadou Onana put the icing on the cake four minutes from time, drilling a superb effort into the bottom-left corner from 25 yards out.

The one concern for the visitors was the sight of star forward Watkins receiving treatment on his ankle following his 60th-minute withdrawal, just four days out from a Premier League derby against Midlands rivals Wolves.

Villa will face sterner Champions League tests in the coming months, with Bayern Munich visiting Villa Park on matchday two and Juventus, RB Leipzig and Monaco also lying in wait.

Data Debrief: Impressive introduction for Rogers

Tielemans, Ramsey and Onana may have scored the goals, but Villa's star of the show was Morgan Rogers, who laid on four chances for his team-mates.

Not only was that the most of any player on the pitch, ahead of Watkins and Young Boys forward Filip Ugrinic (three each), but it is also the most by any Englishman on their Champions League debut since Marc Albrighton for Leicester City in 2016 (four versus Club Brugge).

Villa became the 11th different English side to play in the Champions League since it was rebranded in 1992, but just the fourth to win their first match.

Manchester United (4-2 versus IFK Goteborg in 1994), Newcastle United (3-2 against Barcelona in 1997) and Leicester (3-0 versus Brugge in 2016) also did so. 

World Cup winner Ariane Hingst believes the Ballon d'Or Feminin must reconsider who merits the global award in order to do "justice to the great football players".

Former Germany international Hingst, speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, could not fathom the reasoning behind including the likes of injury-hit Alexia Putellas as a nominee.

The 30-player list was announced at the start of September, with the winner revealed later in October, as Aitana Bonmati heads to the award ceremony in Paris as the favourite.

Spain's Nations League success saw five of their players nominated, including Bonmati, while the United States women's national team also had as many nominees after their Olympic success in the French capital.

Hingst, winner of FIFA's top international competition in 2003 and 2007, believes the Ballon d'Or needs to look further than "superstars", however.

"It's always interesting to see the nominees of these Ballon d'Ors," Hingst said to Stats Perform. "I think the problem is that you only have the big picture when you have a big tournament going on. 

"We had the Olympics, but you see all kinds of sports, so you can't just follow the football, so it's hard to follow.

"What frustrates me the most is, and don't get me wrong, the likes of Alexia Putellas, [she is] a great, great player, but she's been injured for such a long time and is on the list to be the best of this season.

"This can't be right and I don't think that it does justice to the great football players we have out there if Putellas is on this list as well.

"We need to get away from the superstars and just recognise the season that has been played."

Though wanting to stray away from the "superstar" tag for Ballon d'Or selection, Hingst reserved special praise for Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr.

"The interesting part is, that I always had a problem with just this one big superstar because soccer is a team sport and it took me some time to realise that you need those superstars," Hingst added.

"Definitely, Sam Kerr is one of them. It took some time for us in Germany to recognise her as much. She became really big when she was in America, an absolute superstar.

"Now then going to England and it's just tremendous. You need those figures because they are idols. Girls are talking about, 'I want to be Sam Kerr', the boys are talking about her, so you need those big names.

"For example, now you have Alex Morgan just retiring from the women's game. She was one of those superstars as well. [Megan] Rapinoe from America also retired. So who's the next?"

Paris Saint-Germain may have a less experienced side than in previous years, but Luis Enrique believes they are primed for success.

PSG are embarking on their first Champions League without Kylian Mbappe in seven years, with the Frenchman scoring 48 goals in the competition for the club.

He also helped them to reach the final in 2020, only to lose out on the trophy to Bayern Munich. 

PSG host Champions League debutants Girona on Wednesday, boasting an impressive attack with the likes of Bradley Barcola, new signing Joao Neves, who already has four assists in four league games, and Ousmane Dembele.

No player made more passes breaking the opposition's defensive line than the Frenchman (21) in the Champions League last season. 

"I have always wanted my players to be motivated for every game. I can use each of the six forwards we have," Luis Enrique said on Tuesday.

"They are ready, and we're a versatile team, and it's great to have all those options because the season is going to be long.

"We need to create our own stars. We need to adapt, convince the players of the way to play. I'm very motivated, and I'm delighted to have the club's trust, and I'm trying to repay them by delivering results. We have a clear project that was set out last season."

PSG captain Marquinhos added: "We always have the target of going deep into the competition. I think my team-mates are the best in the world, even if there are no big names or stars, I am proud of my team."

Midfielders Warren Zaire-Emery and Vitinha have returned from injury, though goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has been ruled out with a thigh injury and 25-year-old Russian Matvey Safonov could therefore be handed his first start.

Luis Enrique noted he was pleased with the squad, and it was too early to jump to conclusions about their lack of experience.

"I don't put any limits on my players. Experience is important, but I see many experienced players making the same mistakes. It's difficult to calculate the percentage of experience needed," he added.

"I think we are selfish as coaches. We always want the team to win. It will take a few months, and we will see how the team evolves and develops."

Luis Enrique heaped praise on Girona coach Michel, who led his team to a surprise third-place finish in LaLiga last season.

"I must acknowledge that no one expected to see them here. It is their first time, but I watched all their games last season, they play great football," he said.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted Sergio Perez "deserved more" after a "heartbreaking" crash denied him a place on the podium in Baku on Sunday.

Perez, who made a brilliant start to the season only to struggle in recent months, looked set to register his best finish since finishing third at the Chinese Grand Prix in April after comfortably holding P3 for much of the race.

However, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz snuck past him on the penultimate lap, and when the Mexican attempted to regain third place, the two tangled and hit the barrier, forcing them both out of the race.

That meant that George Russell instead claimed the final podium spot alongside winner Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.

"He deserved a lot more," Horner told Sky Sports. "He should've at the very least been on the podium today.

"It was a magnificent race out at the front for so many laps. It was great to be in, it was exciting to be a part of, and it's just disappointing that it came to a close like that when it didn't need to.

"Unfortunately, he lost quite a bit of time on his out laps behind Alex Albon and then Lando [Norris] cost him dearly, which gave Oscar [Piastri] track position. I think without that, he would've won the race today.

"It's one of those things that's very heartbreaking for him and the team that so much effort goes in to lose a podium in the dying laps of the race."

It was a tough day for Red Bull all around, as Piastri's win coupled with Lando Norris crossing the line before Max Verstappen meant that McLaren leapfrogged them in the constructors'’ championship.

Red Bull are now 20 points behind McLaren ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, and Horner admitted he was not happy with how the tide had turned.

"Very, very disappointing," he added. "[The crash] destroyed the race for Checo.

"It's cost us a lot of damage and obviously vital points in the constructors' championship."

Emma Raducanu dug deep to grind out a marathon straight-sets victory over Peyton Stearns to progress at the Korea Open on Tuesday.

The Brit, who reached the semi-finals in 2022, needed two tie-breaks to win, holding off Stearns 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) in two hours and 46 minutes.

The play was delayed for 45 minutes due to excessive heat before the pair traded breaks in the opening three games, with Raducanu at one point holding a 4-1 lead before Stearns fought back to force the first tie-break.

Raducanu prevailed but was put straight back under pressure in a lengthy opening game of the second set, saving break point three times to get off the mark.

There was little to separate the two throughout though, as they continued to trade breaks before the 2021 US Open champion found her edge again to take the tie-break.

She will face last year's Korea Open runner-up Yuan Yue in the next round. 

Data Debrief: Going the distance

Raducanu was playing her first match since being knocked out of the US Open, and she was certainly made to work for the victory.

It featured a combined tally of 28 break points and 12 breaks of serve, with eight of those coming in a topsy-turvy first set.

Raducanu successfully saved nine of 15 break points compared to seven of 13 for Stearns.

Jorginho has said the form of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is making him and his Arsenal team-mates laugh ahead of next weekend's meeting.

Haaland netted two more goals for City in Saturday's 2-1 comeback win over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium to maintain his side's perfect start.

That took the striker to nine goals across City's first four Premier League games this season - the most any player has scored in the competition's history at this stage.

Arsenal are the next side tasked with attempting to keep Haaland quiet in next weekend's showdown between the division's top-two sides.

Despite Haaland's superb form to begin the campaign, Jorginho insists Arsenal are unfazed heading into Sunday's battle in Manchester.

"Erling scoring again... it is starting to make us laugh," he said. "We look because we watch all the games and we love the Premier League.

"We watch [City] as well, which is normal. It doesn't get to our head. We need to focus on us and that is what we are trying to do."

Last season's runners-up Arsenal are two points behind early pacesetters City after winning three and drawing one of their opening four matches.

Mikel Arteta's men managed to grind out a 1-0 win in their North London derby with Tottenham at the weekend thanks to a Gabriel header.

Arsenal were without key midfield pair Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, owing to suspension and injury respectively, but still got the job done.

"You learn more about each other," said Jorginho, who replaced Rice in midfield. "Everyone wants to improve and wants the best for the team. 

"When you put the team in first place I think just good things can happen. Keep believing in what you are doing. I think we are on the right way."

Arsenal travel to Atalanta for their opening Champions League game on Thursday, but one eye is undoubtedly on the trip to City three days later.

"If you want to achieve big things you need to have the mentality of trying to win every single game," Jorginho said. 

"That is what we need to do and that is what we want to do. That is what we are trying to do. You need to keep in this way. 

"Keep believing in what you're doing. We are believing in what we are doing and we keep working hard to improve on what we need to improve."

Emma Raducanu has been named in Great Britain's team for the Billie Jean King Cup finals.

The 2021 US Open winner will be joined by Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls for the event in Malaga.

Britain defeated France in April to qualify for the knockout stage, with four of the aforementioned five - Watson the exception - taking part.

Captain Anne Keothavong named her five-member team on Monday ahead of the showpiece, which runs from November 13 to 20.

"We are really looking forward to the finals in Malaga after qualifying following our fantastic weekend in France in April," Keothavong said.

"Our team have created excellent memories and put in outstanding performances in this competition in recent years.

"We will relish the opportunity. There is still a lot of tennis to be played, and changes can be made up until the day before our first match."

All 12 teams announced their line-ups on Monday, with Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff notable names not included for Poland and the United States respectively.

World number one Swiatek and world number six Gauff feel they are unable to compete due to a quick turnaround in events to end the year.

US Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro is also out of the USA squad.

Kirk Cousins earned his first win at the Atlanta Falcons with a comeback win in the final minute of the game, and he believes it will only build their resolve.

The Falcons beat the Philadelphia Eagles 22-21, with Cousins picking out Drake London with 34 seconds left to snatch the victory.

At 21-15 down with less than two minutes on the clock, the quarterback completed 5 of 6 passes on a six-play, 70-yard drive before London finished it off. Younghoe Kim then converted a lengthy extra point to ensure they would not need to go to overtime.

And while Cousins was pleased to get off the mark with his new team, he thinks the nature of the win will benefit the Falcons in the long run.

"It's really, really important for us to be able to come in here and get a win," Cousins said. "Just proud of the way we kept playing, kept fighting.

"Coming from behind. Finding a way on the road in a tough environment against a good football team [makes it special].

"That builds resolve, builds some grit, builds some character that we're gonna have to lean on as the year goes on. This is how NFL football is.

"We've got to kind of get used to this and get comfortable in this because that's how these games tend to go.

"The more we can be battle-tested and have these moments, I think it will set us up well for what's coming down the road."

The game could have gone much differently if Philadelphia had completed a play with five-and-a-half minutes on the clock, but Saquon Barkley failed to catch Jalen Hurts' short pass inside the Atlanta 10.

The Eagles then settled for Jake Elliott's 28-yard field goal to take a six-point lead, before the Falcons' late show denied them a second win of the season.

"I dropped the ball," Barkley told reporters. "Let my team down today. Shouldn't have put the defense in that position.

"If I make the catch, game's over. Relax, get back to my old habits, and just gotta go back and get to work.

"I thought it was a great play call. I just gotta make that catch."

Both teams now hold a 1-1 record for the season. Atlanta face Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs next time out, while the Eagles travel to the New Orleans Saints.

The Los Angeles Dodgers got a three-run homer from Freddie Freeman and a combined four-hit shutout from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and four relievers to hand the Atlanta Braves a potentially costly 9-0 loss on Monday.

Making his second start following a near three-month absence caused by a strained shoulder, Yamamoto scattered four hits and two walks in four innings. The Braves didn't record a hit against Evan Phillips (4-1), Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson and Brent Honeywell the rest of the way to fall one game back of the New York Mets for the National League's final wild card.

The Mets came through with a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Starling Marte's run-scoring single in the 10th inning.

Shohei Ohtani knocked in two runs to help Los Angeles split this four-game series and move within a game of the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL's best record. The superstar slugger finished 0 for 4, however, and remained at 47 home runs and 48 stolen bases as he attempts to become MLB's first 50-50 player in a season.

The Dodgers didn't get a hit off Atlanta's Max Fried until the fifth inning but still managed to manufacture a run following a lead-off walk to Miguel Rojas in the third. Rojas advanced to second on a groundout, stole third and scored when Fried uncorked a wild pitch.

Tommy Edman collected Los Angeles' initial hit with a ground-rule double to begin the fifth and scored on Rojas' single. After a hit batter and a fly ball advanced Rojas to third, he came home on Ohtani's fielder's choice grounder for a 3-0 advantage. 

Fried (9-10) yielded just two hits and struck out seven in six innings despite being touched for three runs.

The Dodgers put the game away with a six-run seventh inning capped by the ex-Brave fan favourite Freeman's opposite-field homer.

After three walks by Atlanta reliever Daysbel Hernandez loaded the bases, Ohtani reached on a fielder's choice that plated Rojas for a 4-0 cushion. Mookie Betts brought in another run with a sacrifice fly and Teoscar Hernandez delivered an RBI single in front of Freeman's blast. 

Brewers trim magic number to two with win over Phillies

William Contreras and Joey Ortiz each drove in two runs to back a solid start from Aaron Civale as the Milwaukee Brewers moved closer to capturing the NL Central with a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Brewers' fourth victory in five games reduced their magic number to two to claim their third division title in four years. Milwaukee also closed within three games of the NL-leading Phillies in the standings.

Civale (5-2) scattered seven hits and struck out six while limiting Philadelphia to one run in five-plus innings. Colin Rea closed out the win with 2 2/3 scoreless innings to notch his first career MLB save.

Contreras gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead with a third-inning double off Ranger Suarez that brought in Jackson Chourio and Blake Perkins, who reached via a walk and single, respectively.

The Brewers extended the margin in the fourth when ex-Phil Rhys Hoskins walked, advanced to third on Sal Frelick's double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Ortiz.

Suarez (12-7) lasted five innings and allowed three runs despite giving up just four hits and fanning five.

Brandon Marsh homered in the fifth for the Phillies' lone run off Civale, but Milwaukee scored twice in the sixth to increase their lead further.

Ortiz knocked in Frelick with a triple to put the Brewers up 4-1 before crossing the plate on Brice Turang's single.

Philadelphia got a run back in the top of the seventh when Bryson Stott singled and later scored on Kyle Schwarber's two-out single. The Brewers countered in their half of the inning, however, when Perkins singled and stole two bases before coming home on Gary Sanchez's sac fly.

Manzardo's homer lifts Guardians over Twins

Kyle Manzardo's go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning rallied the Cleveland Guardians to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins in the opener of a key four-game series between American League Central contenders.

Cleveland overcame an early 3-0 deficit to earn its MLB-leading 40th comeback victory of the season, which increased the Guardians' lead atop the AL Central to five games over Kansas City.

The Royals were handed a 7-6 loss by the charging Detroit Tigers, who closed within 1 1/2 games of struggling Minnesota for the AL's final wild card. The Twins have lost seven of 10 and are 9-18 since Aug. 18.

Minnesota was clinging to a 3-2 lead when Josh Naylor led off the bottom of the eighth with a double off Twins reliever Griffin Jax. Two batters later, Manzardo clubbed the first pitch he saw from Jax into the right field seats to put the Guardians ahead.

Emmanuel Clase then retired the side in order in the ninth to record his 46th save, tying a Cleveland franchise season record.

The Twins got all of their runs in the third inning after loading the bases with one out on a Carlos Correa double and two walks issued by Cleveland starter Matthew Boyd. Correa scored the game's first run on a passed ball by Guardians' catcher Bo Naylor, and Byron Buxton knocked in two more with a single for a 3-0 advantage.

Minnesota's Pablo Lopez held Cleveland scoreless until the fifth, when he hit Brayan Rocchio with a pitch and allowed a double to Angel Martinez. Andres Gimenez followed with a single to drive in the Guardians' first run.

Lopez issued two walks around a Will Brennan single to allow Cleveland to inch closer in the seventh on Martinez's bases-loaded single which brought in Manzardo.

Martinez finished 3 for 4, while Brennan and Jose Ramirez each had two hits for the Guardians.

Lopez pitched 6 1/3 innings and permitted two runs on eight hits.