Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai "loves" playing alongside Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch in Arne Slot's new-look midfield.

Szoboszlai had an up and down first season at Liverpool following a big-money switch from RB Leipzig.

The Hungary international has started eight of Liverpool's nine matches this season, including Wednesday's 2-0 win over Bologna in the Champions League.

Szoboszlai has formed a strong midfield trio alongside Mac Allister and Gravenberch, and he is revelling excelling in the unit.

He told Liverpool's official website: "I love to play with them. I said it before, a lot of qualities what these two have – but the whole team [as well].

"The midfield is not enough. Of course it's an important role but we need everybody, we need the bench as well, we need the whole squad because there's going to be times where it's going to be hard and I think there are still 60 games to come!"

Slot has been shortlisted for the Premier League's Manager of the Month award in September.

Liverpool sit top of the standings with 15 points, having won all but one of their league matches under Slot, losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in September.

"If you take the Nottingham Forest game away then it's a perfect start," added Szoboszlai.

"We are top of the league and we have to continue like this."

The Reds take on Crystal Palace in Saturday's early kick-off in the Premier League.

Slot is looking to become just the fourth manager in Premier League history to win each of his first four away games in the competition after Felipe Scolari (first eight), John Gregory (five) and Bobby Gould (four).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Crystal Palace - Jean-Philippe Mateta

Mateta has scored 15 goals in his last 11 home games for Palace in all competitions, netting multiple goals in five of these 11 appearances (four braces, one hat-trick).

Liverpool - Mohamed Salah

Salah has scored in all three of Liverpool’s Premier League away games so far this season.

There have been nine previous occasions of a player scoring in his side's first four on the road in a single campaign – Salah could be the first player to do so twice (also in 2021-22).

MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

Liverpool have won all three of their Premier League away games this season – only in 1990-91 and 2019-20 have they ever won their opening four away games in a league campaign.

Palace, on the other hand, remain winless in their six Premier League games so far this season (D3 L3). Only in 1992-93 (eight), 1994-95 (seven), 2004-05 (seven) and 2017-18 (seven) have they gone longer without a win from the start of a top-flight campaign, being relegated at the end of the first three of those.

In 30 previous Premier League meetings between Palace and Liverpool, 14 have been won by the away side (47%). This is the highest away win ratio of any of the 109 fixtures to be played 30+ times in the competition's history.

Palace have conceded more Premier League goals against Liverpool than they have against any other opponent both overall (69) and at home (38). Indeed, the Reds are responsible for the Eagles' two biggest home defeats in the competition’s history (6-1 in August 1994, 7-0 in December 2020).

Each of Liverpool's last four Premier League defeats against Crystal Palace have come at Anfield – they are unbeaten in their last nine at Selhurst Park (W8 D1) since a 3-1 loss in November 2014.

Palace have lost 11 of their last 14 Premier League meetings with Liverpool (W1 D2), though that sole victory was in their last such meeting at Anfield in April.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Crystal Palace - 18.5%

Liverpool - 60%

Draw - 21.6%

Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has handed a first call-up to forward Tim Kleindienst in his latest squad.

Kleindienst scored 12 Bundesliga goals for Heidenheim last season.

Those goals propelled Heidenheim to an eighth-place finish, and secured Kleindienst a move to Borussia Monchengladbach.

Since the start of last season, Kleindienst has contested the most duels (622) and made the most sprints (1216) of any player in the Bundesliga.

The 29-year-old has already netted twice for his new club, and with West Ham's Niclas Fullkrug out injured, Nagelsmann has given Kleindienst the nod for October's Nations League clashes with Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands. 

"Kleindienst at Heidenheim performed well over an entire year and he has integrated himself well at his new club Borussia Moenchengladbach," said Nagelsmann.

"He has earned this. The injury to Fullkrug is a good opportunity to test Tim. He now has to prove himself."

Marc-Andre ter Stegen's long-term injury, meanwhile, means Oliver Baumann is a likely candidate to start in goal.

The Hoffenheim goalkeeper will be aged 34 years and 131 days on October 11, when Germany take on Bosnia.

Should Baumann play, he will become the third-oldest player to make his first appearances for Germany.

Germany squad in full:

Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Janis Blaswich (Salzburg), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart); Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen); Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Chris Fuhrich (VfB Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Borussia Dortmund), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Alexander Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen); Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Tim Kleindienst (Borussia Monchengladbach).

Jan Oblak hit out at a "pitiful" performance from Atletico Madrid after their 4-0 loss to Benfica in the Champions League.

Benfica recorded their joint-biggest victory in a Champions League home match (alongside 5-1 vs Club Brugge in March 2023), as Atletico suffered their heaviest ever defeat to Portuguese opposition in the competition.

Atletico had only four shots, failing to get any of them on target, and mustered just 0.24 expected goals (xG).

Benfica, on the other hand, had 19 shots and accumulated 4.46 xG.

While Diego Simeone believed there were positives to take, Oblak, who made six saves to keep the scoreline from getting even more humiliating, was far more scathing of Atletico's display in Lisbon.

"It's pitiful to lose like this, it's not a good image to give and there's not much more to say. We weren't good today, to say the least," Oblak told Movistar Plus.

"Sometimes games like this happen, but we can't afford it because we gave a woeful impression today. I don't have a single positive thing I can say today.

"We didn't show up and there's not much more to say. Nobody is saved from what happened today, we have to accept it and move forward."

Simone accepted Atletico "played badly", but did feel it was not all doom and gloom.

"I always like to think positively and I think it's a good opportunity to keep improving," Simeone told Movistar Plus.

"We had been doing a very good job, today we didn't play the game we expected, but we have to keep going.

"We played badly. We have to accept that. We didn't play well, the substitutions didn't give us the spark that they gave us at other times. We played badly, they were better and we have to accept that.

"There was no lack of tension, attitude or desire to run, we just played badly and when you play badly you are exposed to losses like this.

"We had been doing a very good job and today the game that you don't want to see appeared.

"Some nights are not good and we have to accept them and try to learn from what we had to go through today and recover energy for Sunday's LaLiga game [at Real Sociedad]."

Karl-Anthony Towns bade farewell to the Minnesota Timberwolves as he completed a trade to the New York Knicks.

In a three-team trade also involving the Charlotte Hornets, Towns has joined the Knicks with Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo heading the other way.

Towns, a four-time NBA All-Star, averaged 19.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game last season.

Having joined the Timberwolves in 2015, Towns said goodbye in an emotional social media message.

"To the Timberwolves Family: Nine years ago, I arrived in Minnesota as a young man with a dream," he said.

"Little did I know that this place would become my home, and its people would become my family.

"Your love, support, and unwavering loyalty have fuelled my journey and inspired me to be the best player I could be. You'll always hold a special place in my heart. Thank you for everything."

Towns could well meet his old team on October 13, with the Wolves and Knicks slated to play each other in preseason.

Vincent Kompany lamented Bayern Munich's profligacy and urged his team to learn from their mistakes after their 1-0 loss to Aston Villa.

Jhon Duran's superb finish at Villa Park saw the hosts claim all three points in Wednesday's Champions League encounter.

It was just the second meeting between Villa and Bayern, with the first having come back in the 1982 European Cup final, which the English team won 1-0.

Bayern had their chances, though, having 17 shots, getting seven on target and mustering 1.42 expected goals (xG), with Emiliano Martinez making a string of fine stops late on.

"We missed some big chances and they scored the chance. We've got to take the learnings from this," said Kompany after suffering his first defeat as Bayern head coach.

"When we have the ball, we're dangerous, but they're a strong team, this isn't an easy place. It wasn't a bad performance.

"If you don't take your chances, it can happen.

"We had big chances, we didn't score them. We gave away a moment and in that moment obviously Villa scored a goal.

"I understand the occasion it was for the opponent and it was a special night for them."

Villa became the second English side to win their first two Champions League games (since 1992-93), after Leicester City in 2016-17.

Bayern, meanwhile, saw their 41-game unbeaten run in the group/league stage of UEFA's elite club competition (the longest such run in the tournament's history) come to an end.

"When we have the ball, we're dangerous, but [Villa] are a strong team, this isn't an easy place. It wasn't a bad performance," Kompany added.

"We conceded very few chances. If we focus on our own work, we will win a lot of games still." 

Bayern visit Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Arne Slot is confident Mohamed Salah will "always score goals" if he is in the Liverpool team, after the Egyptian's star turn against Bologna.

Having teed up Alexis Mac Allister's opener at Anfield, Salah scored Liverpool's second to seal a 2-0 win in the Champions League on Wednesday.

In the process, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score in five consecutive home games in the European Cup/Champions League.

He is only the third player to score in five consecutive Champions League home games for a Premier League side, after Thierry Henry with Arsenal (seven) and Ruud van Nistelrooy with Manchester United (six).

"Before [last week's EFL Cup win over West Ham], Mo played three games without scoring a goal," said Slot.

"So it is in football, it can happen that sometimes in three games, you score one or you don't score.

"But these players, like Mo, they will always score their goals if you just keep playing them."

Salah's contract expires at the end of this season and he has said this will be his last season at Anfield.

"Mo has done really well today, and I'm happy with the way he does at the moment, and I'm not looking forward to next season," Slot added.

The 46-year-old Dutchman, who replaced Jurgen Klopp, has become Liverpool's first head coach to win eight of their first nine games across all competitions.

His team have won their opening two in the Champions League to sit fifth in the 36-team table. They also top the Premier League.

Slot said: "I don't draw many conclusions from that, but it's nice. So many incredible managers have worked here, doing so many special things.

"The only thing is I hope it is not the only thing people remember me for in two or three years or however long I am here. If all they say is, 'that's the manager who won eight out of nine!'

"I'm hoping to do more special things than just win eight out of my first nine games.

"It also says how I have been left this club – the work rate the players put in, how the staff are helping me get these results."

Aston Villa made a "statement" with their "unreal" victory over European heavyweights Bayern Munich, according to Emiliano Martinez.

Villa won 1-0 on Wednesday to make it two victories from two games in the Champions League, as they claimed their second triumph over Bayern from as many meetings, with their previous success against them having come by the same scoreline in the 1982 European Cup final.

The German giants dominated possession and accrued 1.42 expected goals (xG) to Villa's 0.4, but the only stat that mattered at Villa Park was the scoreline.

Substitute Jhon Duran was the hero as he scooped a brilliant finish over Manuel Neuer from outside the box in the 79th minute, with Martinez subsequently pulling off a string of fine stops to deny Bayern an equaliser.

"It's unreal. It's a night that we will remember for a long time. It's a statement," said Villa's World Cup-winning goalkeeper.

"[The noise] was hurting my ears. This is a club that's moving forward. I love playing here. I love the fans."

Duran, who reportedly came close to leaving Villa in the summer, has started the season brilliantly, and now has a Champions League goal to go with his four in the Premier League.

"He's an excellent substitute," Martinez said of the Colombian, whose five goals have all come from the bench.

"The first time he touched the ball, he chipped Neuer – one of the most beautiful goals in history."

Unai Emery, meanwhile, said Duran's goal was a pre-planned tactic.

"In the analysis we did, we were speaking a lot about the usual position of Neuer, which is high," Emery said of Villa's pre-match conversations.

"He [Duran] had in his mind this possibility about Neuer.

"He is young, he has huge potential. As a player, I have to let him play, put him on the field, because his talent is there, his capacity to help us.

"We are working with him. Most important is his attitude. He's available to play 90, 60, 30 minutes. He's been focusing each minute he's playing.

"It's fantastic for him and the team."

Emery also had warm words for Martinez, adding: "Martinez did an amazing job, amazing saves."

Andy Ibáñez hit a tiebreaking three-run double in Detroit's four-run eighth inning, and the Tigers finished a sweep of the Houston Astros with a 5-2 victory in Game 2 of their AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday.

Parker Meadows homered as Detroit ended Houston's run of seven consecutive appearances in the AL Championship Series. It was a sweet moment for Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who led Houston to a championship in 2017 and was fired in the aftermath of the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.

Next up for the wild-card Tigers is a trip to Cleveland to take on the AL Central champions in a best-of-five AL Division Series. Game 1 is on Saturday.

Kerry Carpenter sparked Detroit's eighth-inning rally with a one-out single off Ryan Pressly, who converted his first 14 postseason save opportunities. Carpenter advanced to third on a single by Matt Vierling and scored on a wild pitch, tying it at 2.

Pressly departed after Colt Keith reached on a two-out walk, and closer Josh Hader walked Spencer Torkelson to load the bases.

Hinch then sent Ibáñez up to hit for Zach McKinstry, and Ibáñez lined a 1-2 sinker into the corner in left for a 5-2 lead.

Hader, who signed a $95 million, five-year contract with Houston in January, allowed three hits and walked two in 1 1/3 innings.

Detroit used seven different pitchers a day after ace Tarik Skubal won the series opener. Sean Guenther pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win in Game 2, and Will Vest handled the ninth for the save.

Just making it to the playoffs seemed improbable before Detroit went 31-13 down the stretch in the regular season.

Padres finish off Braves

Kyle Higashioka ignited a five-run second inning with a solo home run and the San Diego Padres held on for a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves to complete a sweep of their NL Wild Card Series.

Manny Machado added a two-run double with the bases loaded, and Jackson Merrill followed with a two-run triple as the sellout crowd of 47,705 - the largest in Petco Park history - roared.

The Padres head up Interstate 5 to face Shohei Ohtani and the NL West rival and top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in a National League Division Series starting Saturday night. San Diego eliminated the 111-win Dodgers in a 2022 NLDS.

Jorge Soler hit a solo homer in the fifth and Michael Harris II had a two-run shot in the eighth, but Robert Suarez pitched a perfect ninth to seal the one-run victory.

Both starting pitchers exited early.

Atlanta left-hander Max Fried was done after two innings after he was hit on his left hip by a comebacker from Fernando Tatis Jr. two batters into the game. He stayed in and got out of a bases-loaded jam. He then allowed five runs on six straight hits with two outs in the second. 

Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove departed in the fourth with right elbow tightness. He had two stints on the injured list this season with right elbow inflammation.

Royals complete sweep of punchless Orioles

Bobby Witt Jr. beat out an infield single to drive in the go-ahead run and send the Kansas City Royals into an AL Division Series with a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles for a two-game sweep of their Wild Card Series.

With two outs and runners at the corners in the sixth inning, Witt hit a grounder to the edge of the dirt behind second base, where Jordan Westburg made a diving stop and threw to first. Witt was already there after zooming 90 feet in 4.14 seconds, allowing Kyle Isbel to score from third.

It was the second consecutive game in which the AL batting champion provided the decisive hit. Witt's RBI single Tuesday in Game 1 plated the only run in a 1-0 victory.

Kansas City, which endured two seven-game losing streaks over the final month of the season, advances to face the AL East champion New York Yankees. Game 1 is Saturday in the Bronx.

Baltimore got its only run of the series on Cedric Mullins’ fifth-inning home run off starter Seth Lugo.

Five Kansas City relievers allowed one hit over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, with Lucas Erceg working a perfect ninth for his second save of the series.

The Orioles went 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position in the series and struck out 22 times.

They have lost 10 straight postseason games for the longest active streak in baseball. Only three teams in MLB history have lost more postseason games in a row than the 2014-2024 Orioles.

Brewers rally to force Game 3

Jackson Chourio tied it in the eighth with his second homer of the night and Garrett Mitchell delivered a two-run shot later in the inning to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets that evened their NL Wild Card Series.

The teams will play a decisive Game 3 on Thursday night. The Brewers will attempt to become the first team to rally to win a best-of-three Wild Card Series after losing the opener since MLB went to this expanded playoff format in 2022.

Milwaukee trailed 3-2 when Chourio led off the eighth by homering off Phil Maton, making his fourth appearance on the mound in five days. The 20-year-old rookie also opened the bottom of the first with a drive to right, becoming the youngest player to hit a leadoff homer in the postseason.

After Blake Perkins singled and William Contreras hit into a double play, Willy Adames kept the eighth inning alive with a single. Mitchell then sent a first-pitch curveball just over the wall in right-center to send the American Family Field crowd into a frenzy.

Joe Ross pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win and Devin Williams retired the side in order in the ninth to earn the save.

Gary O'Neil believes one victory is all it will take to provide lift-off for Wolves' season, as the Premier League's bottom side prepare to visit Brentford on Saturday.

Wolves have taken just one point from their first six matches of the season, having last failed to win any of their first seven games of a top-flight campaign when they finished bottom in 2003-04.

They fell to a 2-1 defeat to leaders Liverpool at Molineux last week and have also faced Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Aston Villa in a daunting start to 2024-25.

O'Neil believes their performances have warranted better results and insists his team retain the backing of supporters, saying: "The lads always show that they're not a group that can't bounce back. 

"When we lost to Arsenal, we went full throttle against Chelsea. Then we went full throttle against Newcastle and we suffered a late defeat. We go to Aston Villa, and we go again.

"We're ready to go again and that will always be the case. Everyone in this football club is doing absolutely everything they can, myself included. I'm really disappointed for the lads because they deserve something to show for their efforts at this moment.

"We just need to find a way to get that first win on the board, then we'll be able to push off."

Brentford, meanwhile, sit 12th in the table with seven points, after drawing 1-1 with West Ham last time out. 

Goalkeeper Mark Flekken has made a solid start to 2024-25 after initially struggling to adapt to the Premier League when first joining the Bees last year.

Speaking to the club's official website about his upturn, the former Freiburg man said it was his goal to become a player coach Thomas Frank could always depend on.

"I want to put in the same performances that I did during the second half of last season, but over the full year," Flekken said.

"I'm not the person that seeks out to be decisive in a game; if the boys keep everything away from me, that's better. I want to save those one, two, three shots on target where the team needs me. That is my goal, to be that person they can rely on."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Brentford – Bryan Mbeumo 

Mbeumo's goal against West Ham last time out was his 48th Premier League goal involvement (27 goals, 21 assists), the outright most of any Brentford player. 

The Cameroonian is looking to score in three consecutive league games for the first time since December 2019 (a run of four in the Championship).

Wolves – Matheus Cunha

So much of Wolves' attacking play goes through Cunha, and the Brazilian will have a pivotal role to play if they are to get up and running here. 

He has had more shots (16), created more chances (nine), had more touches in the opposition box (25) and played more passes into the box (30) than any other Wolves player in the Premier League this season.

MATCH PREDICTION – BRENTFORD WIN

Brentford won 2-0 at Wolves in February, with the Bees last winning consecutive league games against them in the 2015-16 Championship campaign.

But Wolves have a strong record in West London, going unbeaten through their last five away league games against Brentford (three wins, two draws), winning two of their three visits in the Premier League including a 4-1 triumph last December.

O'Neil's men have also won three of their last four Premier League away games against London sides, as many as they had in their previous 21 such visits (four draws, 14 losses), though they did lose on their only visit to the capital so far this season (0-2 at Arsenal).

Wolves have, however, conceded 16 goals from just 9.8 expected goals against (xGA) in the Premier League this season, the worst such difference so far this term (-6.2). Brentford will hope their porous showings continue on Saturday.

The Bees should be wary if they do hit the front though, having dropped a league-high 38 Premier League points from winning positions since the start of last season, including eight already in 2024-25.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Brentford – 47.4%

Wolves – 27.9%

Draw – 24.8%

Bruno Genesio revelled in "a great night for everyone", as "incredible" Lille stunned Champions League holders Real Madrid 1-0 at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Jonathan David's first-half penalty - after Eduardo Camavinga handled from Edon Zhegrova's free-kick - ended Madrid's 14-match unbeaten streak in this competition, while condemning them to a first reverse overall in 36 games.

Genesio also had Lucas Chevalier to thank after the Lille goalkeeper made a string of superb saves to keep Carlo Ancelotti's side at bay, including a wonderful instinctive stop to thwart Antonio Rudiger right at the death.

Indeed, Madrid simply had no answer to their stubborn hosts, despite the introduction of a fit-again Kylian Mbappe during the second half.

And Genesio saluted his players for their efforts in delivering a memorable result.

"What this team did is incredible," he said. "We try to put things in place, but you need the players to believe in the plan for this kind of upset to happen.

"You have to do everything perfectly, you need a keeper who makes the decisive saves, a striker who scores, and a bit of luck.

"We played a very good first half, we played together. It's a great night for everyone.

"We saw that Real like to cut inside, so we put intensity in that sector - even if we had to abandon possession sometimes.

"Then, it was all about pressing when it mattered. Everything worked perfectly, it was an ideal scenario - even if we suffered a lot in the last 25 to 30 minutes, but Lucas made the saves we needed."

Thiago Motta hailed Juventus' team spirit after they shrugged off two injuries and Michele Di Gregorio's red card to secure a thrilling 3-2 Champions League win over RB Leipzig.

Juventus, who are yet to concede a goal in Serie A this season, twice had to fight back from a goal down before securing the win with a late goal from Francisco Conceicao.

They endured a nightmare start as captain Bremer and winger Nicolas Gonzalez were both withdrawn after suffering injuries. 

They then went down to 10 men when Di Gregorio was dismissed for handling outside his area, but Dusan Vlahovic's brace had them level before Conceicao showed great feet to tuck home an 82nd-minute winner. 

"It was a good match, even in the first half where we made some mistakes in the details," said Motta. 

"In the second half, we did better, even playing with 10 men. It was a great performance and a great win.

"Courage from the boys, they were determined to push forward and hurt the opponents.

"Even with a man down, we had that feeling, so why step back? We kept pushing, and we did it well right until the last minute."

Two-goal hero Vlahovic echoed those sentiments, saying: "I'm really happy, especially for the team. We are becoming a real unit.

"We fought together, kept pressing even when we were down to 10 men, and in the end, we deserved to win. It was a great match, and fortunately, we came out on top."

Monaco came from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw at Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League at a rain-sodden Stadion Maksimir, with Denis Zakaria equalising with an 89th-minute penalty.

Petar Sucic put Dinamo ahead in first-half stoppage time with a delightful chipped finish, later doubling their lead in 66th minute when Martin Baturina rifled home from outside the area.

Having been crushed 9-2 at Bayern Munich in their opening game, it looked like the Croatian side would bounce back in style, with Monaco struggling to get going on a sodden pitch.

However, Mohammed Salisu headed in from a corner with 16 minutes left to provoke a Monaco onslaught, and Maxime Bernauer fouled Folarin Balogun to concede an 89th-minute spot-kick.

Zakaria converted to put Monaco on four points after they beat Barcelona in their first match, with Dinamo defender Nenad Bjelica subsequently sent off when he picked up a second booking for dissent.

Data Debrief: Monaco show fighting spirit

Monaco looked set for a demoralising defeat in Croatia when they went 2-0 down, struggling to get their slick passing style to work on a pitch that was close to waterlogged.

However, they showed great resilience to fight back in the latter stages, avoiding defeat from two or more goals down in a Champions League match for the first time since May 2004, when they earned a 2-2 draw versus Chelsea en route to making the final.

Christos Tzolis scored the only goal as Club Brugge edged out Sturm Graz 1-0 for their first win in this season's Champions League.

The Greece international delivered the decisive blow in the 23rd minute at 28 Black Arena on Wednesday.

Both sides were seeking their first point in the competition, having recorded defeats on matchday one against Borussia Dortmund and Brest respectively.

Brugge broke through midway through the first half, as Tzolis controlled before firing in off the post from the edge of the penalty area.

The visitors went close to doubling their lead after the break, but Sturm Graz goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen came to the hosts' rescue with a series of fine saves.

Urged on by the home fans, Christian Ilzer's side went in search of an equaliser, but it did not arrive as Brugge held out for the points.

Data Debrief: Third time unlucky for Sturm Graz

Sturm Graz have now suffered four successive Champions League defeats for the third time in their history.

Meanwhile, the Austrian side have now lost their last four European matches against Belgian opposition without scoring.

By contrast, Brugge maintained their perfect record of three straight wins against Austrian opponents, while they have now kept four clean sheets in five Champions League away games - as many as in their previous 22.

Tzolis' strike came from one of three shots on target, becoming the first Brugge player to register that amount in a single Champions League game since Hans Vanaken did so against Paris Saint-Germain in September 2021.