Denver Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett says he "definitely" made a mistake opting not to run a fourth-and-five play instead of going for a 64-yard field goal in the closing stages of Monday's defeat to the Seattle Seahawks.
Hackett decided to send on kicker Brandon McManus with 20 seconds left to play instead of allowing quarterback Russell Wilson – playing against his former team – to run a play.
McManus could only drag his long-range effort left and thus allowed the Seahawks to take the knee for a 17-16 opening-round victory.
Since 1960 there have been only two kickers who have converted field-goal attempts of at least 64 yards, while the longest made at Lumen Field stands at 56. McManus is just one-of-five from 60-plus efforts.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, rookie NFL head coach Hackett conceded he got the decision wrong.
"Looking back at it, we definitely should've gone for it," Hackett said.
"One of those things, you look back at it and you say, 'of course we should go for it, we missed the field goal'.
"But, in that situation, we had a plan. We had a plan, we knew the [46-yard line] was the mark."
Hackett explained how the plan to was to get into the 46-yard range, a target McManus said he was comfortable kicking from, and that he had more of an issue with a play earlier in the drive that saw Javonte Williams lose four yards on first-and-10 from Denver's 49.
"I'm more upset about that play before it, to lose yards," Hackett said. "Getting that there would've definitely been better to be able to call that same play and get extra yards.
"[Wilson] dumps it out to Javonte, Javonte makes a move, goes a lot farther than I think we had anticipated. We were expecting to go for it on fourth down.
"And then you hit the mark. The mark that we had all set before we started. We said, 46-yard line was where we wanted to be. And we got there, so we had to make the decision if we wanted to give it to Brandon. And we did. It didn't work. Sucks. But hey, that's part of it.
"Looking back at it, if you miss the field goal, you're always gonna wish you would've gone for it and if you would've gone for it and not gotten it, you wish you would've given him a chance."
Pep Guardiola does not like predicting the future.
Before a ball had been kicked this season, Manchester City's manager refused to solidify his team and Liverpool as favourites to push for the Premier League title again.
Based on Liverpool's underwhelming start to the campaign, perhaps Guardiola was right to hold off, and the City boss kept to the same tactic on Tuesday when asked if Erling Haaland – who has scored 12 goals in eight games in all competitions this season – could be the difference when it comes to the Citizens finally ending their wait for Champions League glory.
"I'm not able to know it," Guardiola said bluntly ahead of City's meeting with Haaland's former club Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. "The team is playing well, so is he. But right now I don't know."
Where his manager had remained on the fence, Ilkay Gundogan – another former Dortmund star – was a little more forthcoming.
"We hope for it," City's captain told reporters when asked the same question. "Obviously having a proper number nine, proper striker, physically strong, determined is going to help us a lot, but we will see.
"Winning the Champions League is something incredible to achieve, a very tough competition; it's never easy and little details can decide the outcome. We'll try as hard as we can to go as far as possible."
Haaland's start to life in the Premier League has been nothing short of outrageous. He has netted 10 goals in six appearances, the joint-fastest player in the history of the competition to reach that tally, alongside Micky Quinn back in 1992.
The 22-year-old wasted little time in transferring his domestic form to the European stage, too, scoring a double in City's 4-0 victory over Sevilla last week, and it is in the Champions League, not the Premier League, where City really need him to make the difference.
Only 36 players in Champions League history have scored more goals in the competition than Haaland, who has 25 from his 20 appearances in UEFA's flagship club tournament.
He is the first City player to score on both his Premier League and Champions League debuts for the club and the fourth player in the competition's history to score in his first appearance for three different teams (Salzburg, Dortmund and City), after Fernando Morientes, Javier Saviola and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Haaland's tally is the most by any player from their first 20 Champions League games, and should he score against Dortmund, he will be the second player to net in the competition both for and against the Bundesliga giants, after Ciro Immobile.
It was this kind of form that attracted City, who missed out on signing Harry Kane in 2021.
With Sergio Aguero's availability becoming more limited as his time at City drew to a close, Guardiola enjoyed success without having to rely on a traditional striker.
Although he enthused about Gabriel Jesus, who has made a blistering start at Arsenal, the Brazil international was often used out wide in the previous two campaigns, with Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling (now at Chelsea) and even Jack Grealish all filling in, at times, as a 'false nine' in Guardiola's fluid attack.
City won the league last season and the one before that. Indeed, four of the last five English titles have gone the way of Guardiola's side, and with or without Haaland, you'd have been brave to bet against them retaining the trophy this season.
Yet they have repeatedly fallen short in Europe. Having lost 1-0 to Chelsea – a team also utilising a false nine system – in the 2020-21 final, City last season had a plethora of chances to put their semi-final tie with Real Madrid to bed, only to lose after a remarkable comeback from Los Blancos in the second leg.
In Haaland, they have a player who should right those wrongs.
With De Bruyne, Silva, Foden and Co. providing the opportunities, Haaland was always bound to score, but his finishing has already exceeded expectations.
His 12 goals have come from shots with a cumulative expected goals (xG) value of 9.4. Essentially, he has scored close to three more goals than he would have been expected to, given the quality of chances he has been presented with.
Not that those opportunities have been particularly difficult ones, of course.
All of Haaland's 12 goals have come from 'big chances' – defined by Opta as an opportunity from which a player would be expected to score.
No other player in Europe's top five leagues has had as many 'big chances' as Haaland, who has had 20 come his way including the Community Shield match against Liverpool in July. Neymar, who is flying high at Paris Saint-Germain, ranks second with 14. More evidence, perhaps, that he is the final piece of the puzzle in this incredibly creative City side. The player to see them over the line when push comes to shove.
City's top scorer in Europe last season was Gabriel Jesus, with four goals from six appearances. Haaland managed three in three, with injury limiting his minutes. Since he made his Champions League debut, for Salzburg in September 2019, only Robert Lewandowski (33) and Karim Benzema (26) have scored more goals in the competition. Both of those players have won the trophy in that time.
Guardiola might rightly refuse to predict the future, but one thing is for certain – with Haaland, City's chances of finally ending their wait for European glory look better than ever.
That is just what they bought him for.
Aaron Judge blasted two home runs to move another few steps closer to history as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 7-6 on Tuesday.
The Yankees outfielder delivered his 56th blast in the sixth inning, taking another over the Green Monster in the eighth inning for his 57th of the season.
Judge remains on pace for 65 home runs this season, which would break Roger Maris' American League (AL) and Yankees single-season record of 61 set in 1961. The pair of solo blasts comes after Judge went without a homer across five games.
The 30-year-old also has 10 multi-homer games this season which is one short of the AL record held by Hank Greenberg from 1938.
"I'm out of adjectives," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Just really impressive what he did."
Gerrit Cole, who came into the game with a 7.13 career ERA as a Yankee at Fenway Park, had 10 strikeouts across six innings.
Xander Bogaerts blasted Cole for a game-tying solo home run in sixth inning, before the game went to extras where Gleyber Torres had a go-ahead three-run double.
Trout misses out on eight-game HR streak
Three-time AL MVP Mike Trout fell one game short of tying the majors record for homering in consecutive games, going 0-for-3 in the Los Angeles Angels' 3-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
Trout, who walked on four pitches in his second at-bat, lined out to center on a 3-2 cutter from left-hander reliever Kirk McCarty.
The 10-time All-Star's streak ends at seven games, falling one shy of the record of eight held by Dale Long (1956), Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey Jr (1993).
Twins pair fall agonisingly short in no-no-bid
Minnesota Twins' pair Joe Ryan and Jovani Moran doubled up but fell agonisingly two outs short in their no-hitter bid in a 6-3 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Rookie Ryan was pulled after seven innings and 106 pitches, with the Twins crowd booing that call, before Moran got through the eighth and attempted to close it out, only to lose the no-no bid with Bobby Witt's RBI double.
The failed bid means there have five no-hit bids lost in the ninth inning this season, which is the most since 2017.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has poured cold water on the idea of a Premier League all-star match after Chelsea owner Todd Boehly proposed the idea.
The new Blues owner floated the idea during his appearance in a conference in the United States, where he expressed his desire for English football to follow in the sporting footsteps of America.
Boehly specifically spoke about the potential of a relegation play-off as well as the introduction of an all-star match, where the top flight would be split into two halves, north and south, for an annual match.
Klopp, however, is not a fan of the proposal, highlighting that teams are already stretched by a packed schedule and the end of season period is not as extensive as those in America.
"He doesn't hesitate, he doesn't wait long! Great. When he finds a date for that he can call me," he said after the Champions League victory over Ajax.
"He forgets that in the big sports in America, these sports have four-month breaks, so they're quite happy they can do a little bit of sport in these breaks. It’s completely different in football.
"Does he want to bring the Harlem Globetrotters as well and let them play a football team? I'm surprised by the question, so please don't judge my answers too much, but maybe he can explain it to me at one point."
Klopp was not convinced supporters would be keen on the idea, nor that rival clubs would be willing to compete together.
"I'm not sure people want to see that. Imagine that, [Manchester] United, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle players all on one team that's not the national team, just a north team. Interesting game," he added.
"All the London guys together. Arsenal, Tottenham. Great. Did he really say it? Interesting."
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina came from a set down against Laura Siegemund to secure her place in the second round of the Slovenia Open.
Siegemund won the first set on a tie break, but Kazakhstan representative Rybakina stormed back to win the second before winning a tense 10-8 tie break in the crucial third set, surviving a match point in the process.
The world number 25's victory sets up a second round meeting with Tereza Martincova, who overcame a poor first set to beat Harriet Dart 0-6 6-4 6-1.
At the Chennai Open, top seed Alison Riske-Amritraj was beaten in straight sets in an upset defeat to world number 147 Anastasia Gasanova.
There were no such upsets for the second and third seeds though, as Varvara Gracheva and Magda Linette both cruised to victory to clinch their safe passage to the second round.
Elsewhere, Katie Swan beat Arianne Hartono 6-1 6-2 while India's number one singles player Ankita Raina was knocked out of her home tournament by Tatjana Maria.
Eintracht Frankfurt have condemned an alleged Nazi salute from a supporter during their 1-0 win at Marseille, with the club's first Champions League win overshadowed by crowd trouble.
Jesper Lindstrom's first-half goal guided Eintracht to their first Champions League victory, extending their unbeaten away run in Europe to seven matches.
However, what should have been a momentous night for Oliver Glasner's team was marred by off-pitch events, with social media footage seemingly showing the two sets of fans aiming fireworks at one another in the stands.
Further footage appeared to show a supporter making a Nazi salute within the stadium, leading the club to respond in the aftermath of their victory.
An Eintracht statement read: "The club dissociates itself completely and utterly from the one isolated incident that occurred during the run-up to the UEFA Champions League match between Olympique de Marseille and Eintracht Frankfurt, where a gesture resembling a Nazi salute was made.
"Anti-Semitic ideas are totally opposed to the club's categoric and immutable values and roots.
"The person who can be seen on the video and who has yet to be identified reported of their own accord to the Eintracht Frankfurt fan representatives during the first half of the match and emphatically denies the accusation of anti-Semitic motives.
"Eintracht Frankfurt will be conducting a detailed investigation of the events and the behaviour of the person involved."
Asked about the unsavoury scenes after the match, Eintracht coach Glasner said: "I focus on the sporting aspect, my role is sport. But I believe that these idiots do not belong to football, nor to the world.
"We all agree that they should not be given too much importance. I prefer to talk about football. This aggressiveness is not just a football problem, it is a general problem today."
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer believes his side were "lucky" not to concede to Robert Lewandowski on his return to Bavaria.
The Poland international has been in sensational form since joining Barcelona, scoring a hat-trick on his Champions League debut for the Blaugrana against Viktoria Plzen last week, but he was unable to add to his tally at the Allianz Arena.
Lewandowski was thwarted by former team-mate Neuer from a close-range header after he had squandered an opportunity on the volley, blazing his attempt over the crossbar.
Both chances could have easily been taken by Lewandowski, and Neuer admitted that Bayern had benefitted from good fortune in their 2-0 victory.
"I think it was an emotional game for Lewy because he was very successful here in Munich. But we also know him as an opponent. Luck was not on his side in crucial moments," he told reporters.
"We're lucky that he sent that volley over the bar and I was there in the second chance. We showed a good defensive performance today."
Julian Nagelsmann also thought Lewandowski performed well despite failing to find the back of the net, acknowledging the majority of the pre-match talk centred on Bayern's reunion with the striker.
"I think he played a good game, I'm happy from our perspective that he didn't score. We saw that he was dangerous, we were able to defend him very well," he said.
"I saw him after the game and hugged him but he plays for a different club now, I have a lot of players I have to look out for.
"This week, I probably had 60 questions on Lewandowski, you can pose those questions to Xavi because he's not my player anymore."
Barcelona head coach Xavi, meanwhile, believes Lewandowski did not get overwhelmed by the occasion, stating: "I don't think he could have been pressured, with his maturity and experience.
"It is a lack of effectiveness. It's football and this happens. And it happens in the stadium where it couldn't happen."
Virgil van Dijk took a swipe at Liverpool's critics after a vital Champions League win over Ajax lifted spirits at Anfield.
Captaining Jurgen Klopp's team on Tuesday, Van Dijk saw his fellow centre-back Joel Matip head home from a corner in the 89th minute to earn three priceless points for last season's runners-up.
Mohamed Salah had earlier broken his seven-game barren streak in the competition by firing Liverpool ahead, before a fine goal from Mohammed Kudus brought Ajax level.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric as Matip's goal was awarded, after Dusan Tadic's attempted clearance came from behind the line.
It meant Liverpool cast aside the misery of last week's 4-1 defeat to Napoli, and Dutchman Van Dijk said it should serve to remind players-turned-pundits of the team's great strengths.
Van Dijk told BT Sport: "Coming back from the horror show in Naples, it was very important for us to show a positive reaction, and it's not easy to turn it around, but this is a step to the right direction.
"It was very important to win today and get the good feeling going into the international break."
Asked about the key to turning around the team's fortunes, Van Dijk said: "Not listening to the outside world, that's the most important thing.
"It's funny sometimes, because there's a lot of ex-football players and they know exactly what we go through. They say a lot of things to try to get us down.
"We know that last week was unacceptable, it was very bad, and we tried to make it right. This is a step to the right direction. Don't get carried away of course, because we play so many games."
Van Dijk had a team-high four goal attempts and said: "I should have scored. We felt like we were dangerous at every set-piece, especially the corners, so it was our responsibility to at least convert one, and luckily the one and only Joel Matip did it."
Matip now has 10 goals across all competitions for Liverpool, and the team have nine wins and a draw from the 10 games in which he has found the net.
"I had a few opportunities before and I was happy that I could score," said former Schalke defender Matip. "I wasn't sure [it would be awarded], to be honest, but when I saw the referee then my emotions came out.
"It was a long and tough game, we tried over 90 minutes to create chances and were pushing forward, the whole team."
Manager Jurgen Klopp enjoyed the moment, with Liverpool playing between blank weekends, their latest Premier League games having been called off amid national mourning over the death of Queen Elizabeth II and a subsequent squeeze on police resources.
"I think everyone could see we understood we had to put a completely different shift into the game," Klopp said.
"We played a lot of good stuff against a really hard-fighting and good opponent. We should have scored more goals from set-pieces especially, I don't know how these balls didn't go in."
He was more than happy for it to be Matip, rather than a striker, coming up with the late heroics.
"I'm not picky in that sense," Klopp said. "It was a nice celebration and showed everything the boys thought today. Nothing is over, negative or positive, it is a first step and a very important step for us."
Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann praised the second-half turnaround of his side in their 2-0 Champions League victory over Barcelona.
Manuel Neuer was called into action twice in the opening 45 minutes on Tuesday to deny former teammate Robert Lewandowski, with Barcelona having 10 attempts on goal in the first period – the highest first-half tally of any visiting side to the Allianz Arena in the competition since Fiorentina's 11 in October 2008.
Bayern improved after the break, though, taking the sort of opportunities Barcelona had squandered with Lucas Hernandez scoring from a corner and Leroy Sane quickly doubling the scoreline.
Nagelsmann was encouraged by the response of his side and their ruthless nature in the final third, having struggled in that regard in recent Bundesliga draws with Stuttgart and Borussia Monchengladbach.
"In the first half, we left the centre open a little bit too much," Nagelsmann said. "We didn't really have the best opportunities, but we had three or four great wins of the ball where Jamal [Musiala] didn't realise how open he was.
"Barca had the better chances because we were missing the final chance. Still, we can rely on Manuel Neuer who could save some great shots.
"In the second half, we were able to defend a lot better because we looked at a couple of things during the break; I was very happy with that.
"We were able to score that first goal from the corner, then we were able to score the second quickly after – we were able to open up Barcelona.
"It wasn't always easy to defend. We were strong in the second half, they were strong in the first half; we had those situations that we were able to show that we didn't show against Stuttgart or Gladbach, and in the end we won."
Although Bayern were able to secure what may prove to be a valuable victory, having already beaten Inter in this group stage, Sadio Mane had a quiet night, failing to attempt a shot or create a chance for a team-mate.
But Nagelsmann said: "He played a new position today that he didn't play as much in the last year at Liverpool. It's just normal with a new player who we still have to integrate, who is in a different team.
"I said last week: I'm hoping he pulls a couple of things to him and gets a little bit more confidence. We're very happy to have him, and we're trying to get him into our game."
Club Brugge forward Kamal Sowah warned Champions League rivals to "watch out for us" after an impressive 4-0 away thrashing of Porto.
It was the Belgian side's joint-biggest away win in the competition, with Sowah getting on the scoresheet with a 47th-minute goal, his first for the club since signing in 2021 from Leicester City.
Also in the goals was 17-year-old substitute Antonio Nusa, whose 89th-minute finish made him the youngest player to score on a Champions League debut, as well as the second-youngest player in history behind Ansu Fati to net in the competition.
Brugge's victory means they top Group B and have won consecutive Champions League games for only the second time, and Sowah says the team must be taken seriously.
"It was a great moment to score my first goal for the club and in the Champions League no less," Sowah said, quoted by UEFA.
"I think I have been working so hard for this opportunity and everything just went our way in this game.
"It's not finished yet. It doesn't stop here, we have the next game coming. And suddenly everyone needs to watch out for us."
Bayern Munich supporters protested against football fans being impacted by the death of Queen Elizabeth II during their Champions League fixture against Barcelona, unfurling a banner that called for authorities to "respect fans".
The Premier League postponed a full fixture programme last weekend following the passing of the UK's longest-reigning monarch, with the English Football League doing likewise.
While English top-flight football will resume on Friday, Manchester United's match against Leeds United, as well as Liverpool's trip to Chelsea, will not take place due to policing concerns on the weekend of the Queen's funeral.
The situation has also impacted European football; Arsenal's Europa League clash with PSV has been called off, while Rangers' Champions League meeting with Napoli was pushed back by one day.
Policing issues also mean Napoli are unable to take any supporters to Scotland for that match, which coach Luciano Spalletti described as a "real penalty" on Tuesday.
Against this backdrop, Bayern's fans displayed a message in the 26th minute of their match against Barcelona, which read: "Last-minute match delays and bans because of a royal's death? Respect fans!"
Second-half goals from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane helped Bayern to a 2-0 win over the Blaugrana, maintaining their perfect start to the Champions League campaign.
Xavi felt Barcelona's progress took "a step backwards" with their 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich, even if he felt his side deserved to win the match.
Barca enjoyed the better of the first half in Tuesday's Champions League group game at the Allianz Arena without managing to put away any of their chances.
Former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski had five shots alone in the first half, equating to an expected goals return of 0.54, compared to 0.3 for the home side combined.
But two goals in the space of four minutes early in the second half from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane proved the difference as Bayern beat Barca for a fifth game running.
Barca's nine Champions League losses against Bayern are more than double the number they have suffered against any other side (four versus Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea).
The defeat in Bavaria was Barca's first of the season in what was their seventh game in all competitions, but Xavi did not believe the scoreline told the full story.
"We were better than Bayern today," he told Movistar+. "We forgave them too much, whereas they do not forgive – that is the difference.
"We had six or seven very clear chances. Their first goal came from an error in marking a corner; the second is also an error on our behalf.
"The first half today was totally ours and the result does not reflect what happened, but the Champions League is like that. If you forgive then you end up paying for it."
Bayern attempted just four shots in the first half, compared to nine in the second, with only 231 seconds separating Hernandez and Sane's goals.
Barca have dropped to second in Group C after two rounds of matches, three points behind Bayern and level with Inter, whom they now face home and away.
"We have to focus on the positives from this game and keep working as we look forward," Xavi added. "This is a step backwards, but we leave here with an undeserved defeat."
Jamaica Olympic Association scholar, Brandon Sealy is quickly becoming a household name in taekwondo.
A 2019 Lima Pan American quarter finalist, Sealy, since then, has made tremendous strides under the watchful and expert eyes of his coach for over ten years, Master Tony Byon.
Quite recently, he earned historic podium placings in major international competitions. In July, at the Pan American sponsored Costa Rica Open, he not only copped the gold medal in fine style, winning all fights in the qualifying rounds, but was also adjudged the best male athlete.
In August, he secured the bronze medal in another Pan American sponsored tournament – the prestigious 2022 President’s Cup in Mexico where some of the best in the sport in the region assembled in combat.
As a result of his admirable performances, Sealy now ranks 27th in the world, a feat which has gained him an historic invitation to the Grand Prix, a competitive sanctuary reserved for the world’s top taekwondo athletes.
Sealy, humbled by his achievements and grateful for the opportunity to represent his country said “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and I wish to thank the JOA for selecting me for the solidarity scholarship and having faith in my ability to deliver on this Olympic journey.”
President of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), Christopher Samuda, who has been tracking Sealy’s progress, remarked “Sealy inspires confidence, engenders faith in his abilities and commands goodwill in combat and ‘at ease’ and by the 2024 Paris Olympic Games it should be “signed, Sealy sealed and delivered.”
A Princeton University grandaunt, the calibre of his performance has undoubtedly earned him the respect of his competitors. In responding to Sealy’s continued good form and accomplishments, JOA Secretary General/CEO, Ryan Foster, said: “Brandon is not only a scholar of whom the JOA is proud but a model and talented athlete whose humility, diligence and decency along with his skills will always, for us, earn him the MVP award.”
The local governing body for the sport, World Korean Taekwondo Jamaica, under the leadership of President Christopher Chok and First Vice President, Kenroy Clarke, is on an Olympic mission and Sealy, in recognizing their contribution to his successes, said “Big thanks to President Chok and First Vice President Clarke for their unwavering support and encouragement.
The JOA continues to invest and resource what some persons describe as the “smaller sports” which Samuda discounts in stating: “Taekwondo and those so called minor sports have an equal right to occupy the Olympic stage and create their own legacies and they will always have a solid partner in their governing body.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
So that proved in Tuesday's Champions League clash at the Allianz Arena, a match billed as Robert Lewandowski's reunion with Bayern Munich, the club he left for Barcelona in a €50million deal just two months ago.
Yet in the end, the Poland international failed to make the impact many had predicted on his return to Bavaria, on a night of disappointment for Barca against opponents they must simply hate the sight of.
Two goals in the space of four minutes early in the second half from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane proved the difference between the sides as Bayern made it five wins in a row against the Catalans by an aggregate 19-4 scoreline.
Going further back, this was Barca's ninth Champions League loss to Bayern, which is now more than twice as many as they have suffered against any other opponent in the competition (four v Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea).
Julian Nagelsmann had called on his Bayern side to "put on a show" amid growing doubts over his own future on the back of three successive league draws, Bayern's longest wait for victory in the Bundesliga in four years.
For 45 enthralling minutes, the hosts were second best and rather grateful that their former hero Lewandowski had stage fright on his first trip back to this ground.
The prolific striker had five shots alone in the first half, which was one more than the entire Bayern side, equating to an expected goals (xG) return of 0.5 compared to 0.3 for the hosts.
Lewandowski would have expected to capitalise during his time at Bayern – he scored 344 times in 375 appearances for the German giants – but this proved to be a rare off-day.
He also failed to get his head on Joshua Kimmich's delightful corner that was instead met by Hernandez for the opening goal of the contest. At that point, Barca had conceded 16 goals from the past 30 shots on target faced against Bayern in the Champions League.
That soon became 17 goals from 31 shots on target thanks to Sane's goal after the winger was played in by the ever-improving Jamal Musiala, who himself would not look out of place in the Barca side Xavi is desperately attempting to mould.
Going down 2-0 to Bayern is far from irreparably damaging from Xavi's perspective, even if it does end an unbeaten start to the season spanning six matches. If ever there was a game to truly gauge how far his side have come this season, this was very much it.
It was only a little over nine months ago that Xavi described a 3-0 loss in this fixture as "a harsh reality" for his side. Just weeks into the job, the club legend acknowledged Europa League-bound Barca could not consider themselves among Europe's elite clubs at that point.
The performance produced by Barcelona in the first half on Tuesday offered plenty of promise. They may not be back at their very best just yet, but the signs of improvement on the back of a busy transfer window are clear to see.
And while this game did not quite follow the script from Lewandowski's perspective, the former fan favourite – who finished the match with seven attempts and an xG of 0.8 – will have a second chance to inflict some pain on his old side when they face off again at Camp Nou next month.
Yet on the basis of this latest tussle between the heavyweight clubs, it seems no matter what ploy Barca take – even if that means nabbing their opponents' best player – the outcome will remain the same. Now that is a harsh lesson.
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