Inter strikers Mehdi Taremi and Marko Arnautovic took their opportunity to impress in a 4-0 Champions League victory over Red Star Belgrade, says Simone Inzaghi.

Taremi converted a penalty and provided two assists, including one for Arnautovic, as Inter overwhelmed the visitors and forced them into costly errors at the back.

Their success came through an energetic pressing game from Taremi in particular, with Inzaghi keen to give the pair an opportunity to start ahead of Lautaro Martínez, who came off the bench to score, and Marcus Thuram.

"The lads were good, they played a serious game against a team that came to play a purely defensive game," Inzaghi told Sky Sport.

"Apart from a couple of counter-attacks that we could have read better and the first five minutes of the second half, everything went well."

He singled out Taremi, 32, and Arnautovic, 35, for praise, adding: "They are giving it their all, I have to make decisions game by game.

"They deserved this opportunity and took advantage of it very well.

"We have two strikers who are playing more, Thuram and Lautaro, but the season is long. Arnautovic and Taremi are two players that I wanted here.

"I am satisfied with how they work daily (in training) and they must continue like this." 

Martinez's goal, meanwhile, was his 13th in the Champions League for Inter.

Only Adriano (14) has ever scored more in the competition for the club.

After drawing 0-0 with Manchester City in their opening game, Tuesday's victory was another step in the right direction for Inter, who have not had the greatest start to the season in Serie A.

"We wanted this victory to follow up the performance in Manchester. We have to continue in this direction. I got the answers I wanted, I'm satisfied," Inzaghi said.

Inter are unbeaten across their last ten Champions League games at San Siro (W8 D2), eight of which have been accompanied by a clean sheet. They have never recorded a longer such streak in the competition before (since the format started in 1992-93).

Raphinha believes Barcelona must be proud of their response after they bounced back from Saturday's defeat to Osasuna with a five-star Champions League display.

Barca opened in the Champions League with a 2-1 loss at Monaco two weeks ago and, after a great start to their LaLiga campaign that featured seven consecutive wins, slumped to a stunning 4-2 defeat at Osasuna over the weekend.

Yet Hansi Flick's team were back at their best as they cruised to an emphatic 5-0 win over Young Boys on Tuesday.

Raphinha, who was Player of the Match following a goal and an assist for one of Robert Lewandowski's two strikes, said the result was the confidence boost the team needed to keep improving.

"We knew that with this new Champions League format, after losing our debut at Monaco we needed to hit back quickly and decisively and that is what we did," Raphinha told Movistar Plus.

"The LaLiga loss at Osasuna over the weekend was an added pressure but the team responded well and I'm proud of our performance.

"In this new Champions League, not only every point but also every goal scored counts so the more, the better."

Flick echoed Raphinha's sentiment, even though he knows there is a long way to go.

"We have to start the games a bit stronger. We need to be more dynamic as a team from the start but at least it has been improving as the minutes have gone by," Flick told Movistar Plus.

"Nobody knows how this new Champions League will work but it is always good to have a good goal difference.

"I'm happy with Raphinha who played really well but we can't talk about just one player, the most important is to play as a team. Raphinha can only play this well if his teammates play well too."

In scoring twice, Lewandowski became only the second player to net 50 Champions League goals after turning 30, following Cristiano Ronaldo.

Mikel Arteta hailed Kai Havertz as "unbelievable" after the Germany international's star turn against Paris Saint-Germain.

The 25-year-old put Arsenal on the path to a 2-0 home win over PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday with a well-timed run and header in the 20th minute.

After taking 10 games to get off the mark for Arsenal last season, it was his fifth goal for the club in the 2024-25 campaign and he was deservedly named Player of the Match.

Havertz got both of his two shots on target, while also playing one key pass as he scored just his second goal in his last 14 Champions League appearances, with his other goal coming for Arsenal in November 2023 against Lens.

"He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together," said Arteta.

"His work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment."

It was a satisfying night for Arteta, whose team dominated one of Europe's heavyweights in the first half and then comfortably contained them after the break, with Bukayo Saka doubling the Gunners' tally before half-time.

Saka has now been directly involved in eight goals in six home Champions League appearances for Arsenal, with all five of his goals coming at the Emirates. In Champions League history, only three players have more goals with all coming at one stadium – Diogo Rincon at NSK Olimpijs'kyj, Esteban Cambiasso at the San Siro and Lee Bowyer at Elland Road (six goals each).

"Really, really happy with the performance. We played an opponent that has a lot of personality, is really difficult to deal with when you don't have the ball," he said.

"The first half was very dominant and we created a lot of chances and then the second half was a different story.

"We suffered much more than we should have done. The Champions League brings different demands but I think we handled it really well."

Victory, following the 0-0 draw away to Atalanta, propelled Arsenal to eighth in the 36-team table and Arteta said it was far too early to start predicting how many more wins his side will need to qualify automatically for the last 16.

"I'm not even looking at the table," he said. "But I think it will be a long journey."

Another boost for Arsenal was the sight of new signing Mikel Merino coming off the bench for his first appearance in the second half after missing the start of the season with injury.

On the downside, full-back Jurrien Timber was forced off at half-time with a muscle issue.

"He was unbelievable in the first half, but he felt something muscular and he wasn't certain," Arteta said of the Dutchman.

"So I didn't want to take any risks. He's been out for a year and he's played a lot of minutes, probably more minutes than we would have wanted in the past few weeks."

The Gunners' defensive grit was also on show. Arsenal have kept 17 clean sheets in 32 games in all competitions in 2024, the most of any Premier League side. Indeed, across Europe's big-five leagues this year, only Real Madrid have kept more (18).

Pep Guardiola quipped that James McAtee is "adorable" after the youngster netted his first Manchester City goal.

McAtee, who has spent most of the past two seasons on loan at Sheffield United, came on from the bench to score City's fourth in their 4-0 rout of Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday.

It was McAtee's second appearance in the Champions League, two years and 206 days since his debut in the competition – that is the longest gap between a Man City player's first and second outing in the competition.  

"We are so happy with him, he's adorable, and all the guys love him," Guardiola said of the 21-year-old City academy graduate.

"McAtee moved really well in small spaces, made a fantastic goal, had another chance, and for him will be a good boost, we want to make him feel he is part of that group."

Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring for City in the eighth minute, with Phil Foden netting a second before Erling Haaland made it 3-0.

"The group of players are fantastic, we played a good game, a lot of chances and the first three points of the competition," said Guardiola, whose team were held to a goalless draw by Inter in their opening match.

"Win your games it will be enough. We got the first victory to [move up] the table a little bit higher than we were, so it's nice."

Since his debut in the competition for City in September 2022, Erling Haaland has scored more goals in the Champions League than any other player, netting 19 goals in just 22 appearances for the Citizens.  

Foden, meanwhile, is one of four players to have scored in each of the last seven Champions League campaigns (since 2018-19) along with Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

And Guardiola thought last year's Premier League Player of the Year was much more like himself after a slow start to the season from his perspective.

"Made a fantastic goal, just passed the ball to the post, always I say 'Pass the ball to the post, not shoot, and you'll have more chances'," Guardiola said.

"Step by step, it is coming back."

City are now unbeaten in each of their last 25 Champions League games (W17 D8), the joint-longest run without defeat in European Cup/UEFA Champions history, level with Manchester United between September 2007 and May 2009.

Michael King matched a season high with 12 strikeouts over seven innings and Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run homer on his first playoff swing in four years as the San Diego Padres defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-0 in an NL Wild Card Series opener on Tuesday night.

King was stellar in becoming the first pitcher to have 12 strikeouts with no runs and no walks allowed in his first career postseason start. He joined Kevin Brown and Sterling Hitchcock as the only Padres pitchers with double-digit strikeout games in playoff history. He allowed five hits and walked none.

Jason Adam struck out the side in the eighth and Robert Suarez pitched the ninth.

Tatis' 415-foot shot landed in the second deck in left field at Petco Park and sent the towel-waving, sellout crowd of 47,647 into a frenzy. The 25-year-old star, who missed just more than 2 1/2 months this season with a stress reaction in his right thighbone, watched the ball fly away, tossed his bat aside, gestured toward the home dugout and did his signature stutter-step around third base.

Game 2 in the best-of-three playoff is Wednesday night. If the Padres win the series, they'll face their biggest rivals, the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers, in the National League Division Series. The Padres eliminated the 111-win Dodgers in a 2022 NLDS.

Kyle Higashioka homered in the eighth and had a sacrifice fly in the second. He is 3 for 30 against Atlanta, with three homers.

The Braves clinched a playoff berth by winning the second game of a makeup doubleheader against the New York Mets on Monday in Atlanta. They are without NL Cy Young Award favourite Chris Sale for this series. The left-hander was scratched from the late game Monday with spasms.

 

Skubal pitches Tigers past Astros for 1-0 series lead

Tarik Skubal tossed six shutout innings in his postseason debut, and the Detroit Tigers held on to beat the Houston Astros 3-1 in Game 1 of their best-of-three AL wild-card series.

The win was the Tigers’ first in the playoffs since 2013.

Skubal, a heavy favourite to win the AL Cy Young Award, struck out six, allowing four hits and a walk in his first taste of the MLB playoffs.

Detroit scored all their runs with two outs in the second inning, with Jake Rogers, Trey Sweeney and Matt Vierling each hitting RBI singles off Houston starter Framber Valdez.

Valdez was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The Astros’ bats were held quiet for most of the afternoon until a ninth-inning rally that ultimately came up short.

Yordan Alvarez led off the ninth with a double before being subbed out for pinch runner Zach Denzenzo, who scored on a Yainer Diaz single off Jason Foley.

Beau Brieske entered with one out and walked the bases loaded before forcing Jason Heyward to line out to end the game.

 

Witt delivers as Royals blank Orioles

Bobby Witt Jr.’s RBI single off Corbin Burnes broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning, Cole Ragans pitched six strong innings, and the Kansas City Royals edged the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 in a wild-card Game 1.

The defeat extended Baltimore’s postseason losing streak to nine games, dating back to the 2014 ALCS against Kansas City.

Witt slapped a single into left field with two outs in the sixth inning, driving in Maikel Garcia for the game’s only run.

Witt spoiled an otherwise sterling performance from Burnes, who gave up five hits – all singles – over eight innings.

Ragans allowed four hits over six innings while striking out eight, throwing 60 of his 80 pitches for strikes.

Sam Long, Kris Bubic and Lucas Erceg allowed just one hit out of the bullpen over the game’s last three innings.

Cedric Mullins and Ramon Urias hit doubles for the Orioles, who managed just five hits.

 

Mets ride momentum to opening win

Mark Vientos highlighted a five-run fifth inning with a two-run single to lead the indefatigable New York Mets to an 8-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in an NL Wild Card Series opener.

The Mets didn’t earn a playoff berth until they rallied late from a three-run deficit to win the opening game of a makeup doubleheader in Atlanta on Monday, one day after the regular season was supposed to end.

Now they’re a win from heading to Philadelphia for an NL Division Series.

Since Major League Baseball went to the current postseason format in 2022 that features four best-of-three Wild Card Series, the Game 1 winner has gone on to advance in each of the eight series. Only one of those eight series even made it to a winner-take-all third game.

Milwaukee has lost 10 of its last 11 playoff games, a stretch that began with its Game 7 home defeat against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 NL Championship Series.

Jesse Winker and pinch-hitter J.D. Martinez each drove in two runs for the Mets. Winker, who batted .199 with a .567 OPS for the Brewers last year before bouncing back this season, drew a chorus of boos each time he batted and appeared to exchange words with Milwaukee shortstop Willy Adames after hitting a two-run triple in the second.

Luis Severino allowed four runs and eight hits over six innings and Jose Butto and Ryne Stanek combined to pitch three hitless innings with four strikeouts in relief.

Brice Turang had three hits and William Contreras had two hits and two RBIs for the Brewers.

Jamaica's beach volleyball teams are set to compete at the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Tour in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic from October 2 – 4, 2024. This is the first NORCECA Tour since the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Jamaica has steadily built a reputation in regional beach volleyball, with the national teams achieving notable results in recent years. Jamaica made it to the final round of Olympic Qualifications in 2016 in the
women’s category. More recently Jamaica’s beach volleyball teams competed at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in San Salvador El Salvador.

The campaign to qualify for beach volleyball at the Olympic Games, Los Angeles 2028 represents a new chapter for Jamaica’s beach volleyball, one that will take Jamaica’s players to international qualifying
events, giving them the opportunity to face world-class talent and gain invaluable experience.

Jamaica’s male team will be represented by Ryck Webb and Mark Blake. Both players were recipients of individual awards at the 2023 CAZOVA Senior Men’s Championship and competed at the 2023 CAC
Games.

Jamaica’s female team will be represented by experienced campaigner Petal Smith and newcomer Kristina Lumsden-Miller who was a member of the Jamaica’s history making Senior Women’s Volleyball Team who created history by winning the 2023 CAZOCA Senior Women’s Championship.

The Jamaica Volleyball Association is calling on corporate Jamaica and fans to rally behind the national beach volleyball teams as they embark on this exciting journey. Sponsorship opportunities are available,
offering companies and brands the chance to align with one of the nation’s most promising sporting campaigns.

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane remains a doubt for their Champions League clash with Aston Villa on Wednesday, coach Vincent Kompany has revealed.

Kane scored four goals to lead Bayern to a 9-2 demolition of visitors Dinamo Zagreb in their opening game in the competition's new-look league phase, the first time any team had scored nine goals in a Champions League match.

The England captain also moved to 33 Champions League goals in his career in that win, overtaking Wayne Rooney as his country's all-time leading scorer in the competition.

However, he then failed to have a shot in Bayern's 1-1 Bundesliga draw against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday before picking up a knock late on.

"Harry trained today, and things went well. But we need to wait and see until tomorrow and be sure things stay like that," Kompany said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"Then we can calmly make the right decision. Hopefully everything stays fine."

The Bayern coach expects his players to enjoy the challenge against Unai Emery's in-form Villa team.

"Everyone knows it's been over 40 years since Aston Villa last played in the European Cup. What they did last season was extraordinary, they've earned it," Kompany said.

"They're a really organised team with a good atmosphere at home. But Bayern are used to these nights. We want to enjoy it, and the players are hopefully up for playing here."

Forward Serge Gnabry, who played for Arsenal and West Brom before heading back to Germany with Bayern, was upbeat about his return to England.

"England is very special. There's a great atmosphere in the old stadiums," Gnabry said.

"Football is often the biggest thing for people here in England, I'm looking forward to playing here tomorrow. It'll be Villa's first Champions League home game for many years, the place will be rocking."

Jobe Bellingham's stunning goal helped Sunderland go top of the Championship table as they beat Derby County 2-0, capitalising on West Brom's slip-up against Middlesbrough.

Bellingham got off the mark for 2024-25 with a crashing finish from 25 yards out to put Sunderland ahead shortly before half-time at the Stadium of Light.

Wilson Isidor then tapped home following great work from Romaine Mundle after the break as the Black Cats earned their sixth win from eight league games this term.

While Derby – who missed several chances to get back into the game – sit 13th on nine points, Regis Le Bris' side overtook West Brom to go top of the table on 18.

The Baggies relinquished their position due to a 1-0 home defeat against Middlesbrough, with Hayden Hackney netting the only goal after 73 minutes.

No away team had scored at the Hawthorns in almost six months, but Hackney found the bottom corner with a sweeping finish after taking in Riley McGree's pass for the winner.

Carlos Corberan's men slipped two places to third, with Burnley also overtaking them by beating Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle 1-0 at Turf Moor.

The Clarets needed a 26th-minute Josh Brownhill penalty, awarded for Darko Gyabi's foul on Josh Cullen, to get over the line despite Plymouth not attempting a single shot on target.

Fellow high-flyers Blackburn Rovers, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the campaign at Coventry City, who recorded a deeply impressive 3-0 win at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Jake Bidwell, Haji Wright and Brandon Thomas-Asante were on target for last season's FA Cup semi-finalists, who climbed to 16th in the table. Blackburn sit fifth.

Leeds United are level with Blackburn, but have a superior goal difference and sit fourth, after fighting back to draw 1-1 at Norwich City.

Josh Sargent's early penalty gave Norwich the lead over their former boss Daniel Farke, but Largie Ramazani's goal on the hour earned Leeds a point amid a better second-half display.

Newcastle United saw off AFC Wimbledon with little fuss as Fabian Schar's penalty sealed a 1-0 win in the EFL Cup.

Tuesday's tie was rearranged and moved to St James' Park following flooding damage at the Dons' home ground last week.

And despite relying on a spot-kick from Schar in first-half stoppage time to get over the line, Newcastle never looked in danger of offering the lower-league visitors a sniff of an upset.

Miguel Almiron won the penalty after he was fouled by Joe Pigott, though referee Darren Bond needed a lengthy consultation with his assistant before he pointed to the spot.

Almiron, Sean Longstaff and Harvey Barnes could have added to Newcastle's lead, though Eddie Howe's team were not made to pay for their profligacy, with the Dons not managing to get a shot on target.

Newcastle will host Chelsea in the fourth round later in October.

Data Debrief: A gulf in class

It was as comfortable as it can get for Newcastle, who had 18 shots and finished with 2.05 expected goals (xG) to Wimbledon's 0.07.

Since losing 1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in 2015-16, Newcastle have now progressed from their last five ties in the EFL Cup third round without conceding a single goal, although they needed a penalty shoot-out in 2022-23 after a 0-0 stalemate with Crystal Palace.

Inter thumped Red Star Belgrade 4-0 for their first victory in the Champions League this season, with Mehdi Taremi among the scorers as he got off the mark for the Nerazzurri.

Taremi also provided two assists as Simone Inzaghi's men cruised to three points at San Siro, building on their goalless draw at Manchester City on matchday one.

It was Hakan Calhanoglu that gave Inter the lead 11 minutes in, curling a sumptuous 25-yard free-kick in off the post to leave Omri Glazer in the Red Star goal with no chance.

Inter had the ball in the net on two more occasions in the first half, but Marko Arnautovic and Denzel Dumfries were adjudged offside, while later Henrikh Mkhitaryan blazed over the bar from close range.

Inter doubled their advantage just before the hour-mark as former Milan midfielder Rade Krunic was robbed of possession just outside his own area by Taremi, who slipped the ball through to Arnautovic to side-foot home from 10 yards.

Lautaro Martinez then came off the bench to make it 3-0 from another Taremi assist, before the former Porto man – who joined on a free agent ahead of this season – got on the scoresheet himself, converting a late penalty after Vanja Drkusic felled Martinez.

Inter go to Young Boys for their next Champions League fixture on October 23, while Red Star travel to Monaco a day earlier. 

Data Debrief: Martinez closing in on Adriano

While Taremi was the star of the show for Inter on Tuesday, it was fellow forward Martinez who closed in on a piece of club history with his goal off the bench.

Martinez has now scored 13 Champions League goals for the 2022-23 runners-up, moving level with Julio Cruz for second spot in the club's all-time scoring charts in the competition. Only Adriano, with 14, has netted more such goals for the Nerazzurri.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Barcelona thrashed Young Boys 5-0 on Tuesday, bouncing back from their opening Champions League defeat at Monaco.

Hansi Flick's team were beaten 2-1 by Monaco in their first game in the competition's new-look league phase, but there were no surprises when Young Boys visited Montjuic on matchday two.

Lewandowski gave the hosts the lead in the eighth minute by tapping in a low Raphinha cross, following good combination play between the Brazilian and teenage sensation Lamine Yamal.

After the hosts squandered some decent chances, a quickfire double from Raphinha and Inigo Martinez gave Barca a 3-0 lead, the Brazilian netting a rebound in the 34th minute and Martinez scoring with a towering header less than three minutes later.

Lewandowski got his second and Barca's fourth shortly after half-time, nodding a Martinez corner home from inside the six-yard box, then Young Boys defender Mohamed Camara bundled the ball into his own net while trying to clear Alejandro Balde's cross late on.

Data Debrief: Lewandowski level with Messi

As well as helping Barca to a crucial victory following their matchday one defeat, Lewandowski's double saw him draw level with Lionel Messi as the most ruthless finishers in Champions League history.

He now averages 0.79 goals per 90 minutes in the competition, a figure only matched by Blaugrana great Messi among all players to play a minimum of 50 matches.

Cristiano Ronaldo (0.77 goals per 90), Ruud van Nistelrooy (0.77) and Karim Benzema (0.59) trail Lewandowski and Messi for that metric.

The Poland star has also now scored 51 Champions League goals after turning 30 years old, becoming just the second player to accomplish that feat after Ronaldo (68).

Jamaica’s team of Tommi Gore and Senna Summerbell produced a creditable showing in the fifth race of the ADAC GT4 Germany series as they secured two top-15 finishes at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, at the weekend.

The Jamaican duo, dubbed the Reggae Racers, displayed their prowess as they drove their Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Club Sport to a 14th place finish after qualifying in ninth position in race one.

They were up with the pace from a strong start but later faded down the track in a fiercely competitive field.

However, the Avia W&S Motorsport representatives improved significantly in the second race, where they went nine places better to place fifth after placing fourth in qualifying.

The team of Jan Marschalkowski and Philipp Gogollok from Eastside Motorsport, finished tops to register their first win of the series.  They won ahead of Finn Zulauf and Josef Knopp, also representing Avia W&S Motorsport.

With much positive to take from their performances, Gore and Summerbell will target even more improvements in the final race of the season scheduled for October 18-20 in Hockenheim, Germany.

“I am so happy to be a part of this team and ready to end the year strong. We had a big jump in results from the start of the season with this change, so we can only expect things to get better from here,” Gore said.

The Avia W&S Motorsports team, which currently occupies second position in the team ranking on 179 points, are the defending champions in the ADAC GT4 Series. They are 11 points behind leaders Hofor Racing.

Manchester City got their Champions League campaign up and running with a 4-0 rout of Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday, with Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and James McAtee scoring.

The Premier League champions set up camp in Slovan's half and laid siege to their goal for the duration of the contest at the Stadion Tehelne Pole.

They only needed eight minutes to make the breakthrough as Gundogan scored his first goal since returning to the club after a single season at Barcelona, with his shot deflecting in off Kyriakos Savvidis.

Foden then doubled City's lead with his first goal of the season in the 15th minute, latching onto a pass from Jeremy Doku and curling a strike into the bottom corner. 

Haaland killed the game as a contest just before the hour mark, sprinting onto Rico Lewis's pass then stepping around goalkeeper Dominik Takac before slotting into the empty net for his 42nd goal in Europe's premier club competition. 

Foden then added an assist to his earlier goal in the 74th minute, teeing up youngster McAtee for his first ever City goal with a dinked pass.

City, winners of the 2022-23 Champions League, opened this season's campaign with a 0-0 draw with Inter and now sit fourth in the standings. Slovan, meanwhile, are 35th after also losing 5-1 to Celtic on matchday one.

Data Debrief: City equal United record

City's victory saw them stretch their unbeaten run in the Champions League to 25 matches, with a penalty shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid last season the only blot on their record since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

It is the joint-longest streak in the competition's history, alongside Manchester United's run between September 2007 and May 2009, which included them lifting the trophy in 2007-08.

City have won 17 and drawn eight of their matches in that run, plundering 64 goals to just 38 by United on their streak.

They will have the chance to overhaul their neighbours outright on matchday three, when they host Sparta Prague.

Karim Adeyemi scored a first-half hat-trick as Borussia Dortmund hammered Celtic 7-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday, scoring their first five goals in the opening 42 minutes.

The 80,000-strong crowd started the celebrations early at the Westfalenstadion, with Emre Can scoring from the spot in the seventh minute after Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel upended Jamie Gittens and was booked.

Celtic momentarily hushed the deafening Yellow Wall two minutes later when Daizen Maeda bundled in a cross from Arne Engels but Adeyemi restored the lead with a shot deflected in off Auston Trusty in the 11th minute.

The Germany winger extended the hosts' lead just before the half-hour mark when he lashed a shot into the top corner past a diving Schmeichel, then won a 39th-minute penalty for Serhou Guirassy to tuck away before completing his hat-trick three minutes later.

Guirassy grabbed his second goal of the night midway through the second half for last season’s Champions League runners-up.

BVB substitute Felix Nmecha then completed the rout with 11 minutes left, with Celtic having Schmeichel to thank for keeping the sobering scoreline to seven.

It is two straight wins for Dortmund to start this season’s competition, while Celtic have been brought emphatically back down to earth after putting five goals past Slovan Bratislava on Matchday One.

Data Debrief: Adeyemi matches Gomez feat

Gittens was Dortmund’s star man in their opening win against Club Brugge, but it was Adeyemi who came to the fore here, becoming only the second German player to score three goals in the first half of a Champions League match.

The only other such player to achieve the feat was Mario Gomez for Bayern Munich in 2011 against Napoli.

Guirassy, meanwhile, has joined Gittens and Adeyemi in making a fine start to the tournament, racing on to three goals with his double. 

Dortmund were rewarded for their attackers' accurate finishing, getting 13 of their 16 attempts on target and vastly outperforming their xG total of 2.91.

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