Jamal Musiala scored a header in the second half to give Bayern Munich a crucial 1-0 home victory over Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Germany international Musiala scored with a bullet header from close range in the 67th minute with Bayern dominating and missing several chances before eventually breaking the deadlock.

Musiala’s chance was set up when Harry Kane headed Leroy Sane’s cross back across the face of goal.

The result was much needed to get Bayern’s campaign back on track, with the win seeing them bounce back from suffering two consecutive defeats in the competition – against Aston Villa and Barcelona – for the first time since 2017.

A win lifted the Germans to six points from four matches and into 17th place with Benfica, who were toothless in attack, also on six points in 19th place.

Europe's top club competition has switched from a group stage to a league phase this season, where 36 teams play eight matches each. The top eight in the table progress directly to the next round, while the next 16 teams enter a two-legged playoff.

Bayern have a crunch clash against Paris Saint-Germain next in the competition on November 26.
 

Data Debrief: Unlucky 13 for Benfica

Benfica have now played 13 major European matches against Bayern and have never tasted victory, collecting only three draws and suffering 10 defeats.

That trend rarely showed signs of ending in this match, with Benfica not threatening. The visitors failed to register a shot on target for the first time in 45 Champions League matches. The last time they did not trouble the goalkeeper in this competition was in October 2017 against Manchester United. Bayern, by comparison, racked up 10 attempts on target.

Benfica also only had four touches in the opposition box, their lowest tally on record since Opta started recording that data in the Champions League in 2007-08, with Bayern tallying 51.

As for Kane, the assist means he has now been directly involved in 80 goals across all competitions (61 goals, 19 assists) since the start of last season. That is 16 more than any other player across Europe’s biggest five leagues in this period.

Paris Saint-Germain's disappointing Champions League campaign stumbled to a new low on Wednesday as a last-gasp 2-1 home loss to Atletico Madrid left them in the elimination zone.

After defeat to Arsenal and a draw with PSV, PSG were hoping to get back on track in Europe and scored first through Warren Zaire Emery on 14 minutes.

But Nahuel Molina had Atleti level just four minutes later, and a largely disappointing encounter looked set for a draw until Angel Correa's dramatic winner three minutes into second-half stoppage time.

On as a substitute, Correa stabbed past Gianluigi Donnarumma following a rapid counter-attack, prompting an angry reaction from the home crowd.

PSG are left on just four points from four matches, down in 25th and facing an early exit from the competition.

Diego Simeone's Atleti themselves badly needed this victory but are now two points and two places above their opponents at the halfway stage of the league phase.

Data Debrief: Classic Atleti punish profligate PSG

This was Simeone's Atletico in a nutshell. They had just 29% of the ball and attempted only four shots, yet two of those found the back of the net to stun PSG.

The Ligue 1 giants entered this matchweek as the Champions League's biggest under-performers in terms of expected goals since the start of last season, and again they were too wasteful in the final third after creating 1.9 xG.

Atleti, who have consistently proven far more clinical, had chances worth just 0.7 xG but ruthlessly stole victory.

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a goal in each half to help them secure a comprehensive 5-2 win at Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.

Defender Inigo Martinez opened the scoring with a close-range header from a Raphinha free-kick in the 13th minute, nodding across goal to find the bottom-left corner.

However, Barca were pegged back when Silas beat their aggressive offside trap to equalise with a tidy finish from a quick counterattack 14 minutes later.

Lewandowski then tucked home on the rebound after Raphinha struck the post in the 43rd minute, before extending Barca's lead eight minutes into the second half with a first-time strike from a Jules Kounde cross.

The France full-back also set up Raphinha for Barca's fourth then recorded his third assist in the 76th minute, putting the ball on a plate for Fermin Lopez to fire home Barca's fifth from inside the box.

Substitute Milson reduced the deficit for the home side six minutes from time, but Red Star remain without a point in 35th place, while Barca are sixth in the 36-team table with nine.

Data Debrief: Lewandowski out on his own 

Lewandowski has now scored 19 goals in 16 appearances for Barcelona this season; the most of any player for a team in Europe's big five leagues across all competitions. 

Eleven of those 19 goals have come in away matches, which is also the most of any player this term.

As a team, Barca have netted 55 goals in 16 games across all competitions in 2024-25, the most of any team from the big five European leagues. 

Hakan Calhanoglu maintained his perfect penalty record for Inter to secure a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Neither side had conceded a goal in their opening three games in the competition this season, but Arsenal's defence was finally breached after Mikel Merino was punished for a handball inside his own box shortly before half-time.

Calhanoglu calmly beat David Raya from the spot for his 19th successful conversion from 19 penalties in all competitions since joining Inter.

The much-changed Nerazzurri were good value for their lead at that stage, having earlier hit the post through Denzel Dumfries, yet Arsenal then laid siege to the home goal.

While Kai Havertz was denied by Yann Sommer and saw another effort deflected wide, Inter defended superbly and held on for another win that takes them to 10 points from four matches.

Arsenal are three points back, outside the top eight, but at least welcomed captain Martin Odegaard back from injury as a late substitute.

Data Debrief: Stubborn Inter frustrate Arsenal again

For Arsenal, this felt like a familiar, frustrating story. Just as against Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday, the Gunners dominated the possession (63%), attempted more shots (21) and created more expected goals (2.2) than their opponents but could find no way through in a 1-0 defeat.

Yet this also followed a trend for Inter, who came into this match without having conceded a goal in the Champions League this season despite facing 53 shots. They have now kept four consecutive clean sheets in the European Cup for the first time in their history.

Odegaard might have been the man to break down that dominant Nerazzurri defence, but he appeared only as a 93rd-minute substitute and touched the ball just once.

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry has refused to confirm whether Deshaun Watson will remain the franchise's starting quarterback when he returns from his Achilles injury.

Watson endured a dismal start to the 2024 season as the Browns went 1-5 before he suffered the season-ending injury against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.

They failed to score 20 points in any of their seven games with Watson starting but did so at the first time of asking without him, beating the Baltimore Ravens 29-24 with Jameis Winston standing in at quarterback two weeks ago.

Watson's relationship with the Browns' fanbase had already become strained after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate behaviour in massage sessions. 

He served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 season – his first campaign with the team after being handed a five-year, $230million contract following his trade from the Houston Texans.

"Really our focus with Deshaun, I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury, is first and foremost and to make sure that he gets healthy," Berry said on Wednesday.

"Everything else, we'll deal with at a later moment."

Berry added, however, that the team's issues were not all of Watson's making.

"We haven't played well as a team and we haven't played well as a unit on offense," Berry said. 

"I think oftentimes when you don't play well on offense, obviously your starting quarterback and your play caller will get the most criticism. 

"But the reality of it is, offenses, it comes down to organization and synchronization. There's a lot of shared ownership across the different groups in terms of why we didn't perform."

Aston Villa bemoaned the controversial penalty decision that condemned them to a first Champions League defeat at Club Brugge on Wednesday.

On their return to Europe's elite club competition, Villa won their first three matches without conceding, but that run was ended in a 1-0 reverse in Belgium.

The decisive goal was highly contentious, however. Tyrone Mings was penalised for picking up a pass from Emiliano Martinez, apparently believing the Villa goalkeeper had not yet taken a goal-kick.

That error was punished as Hans Vanaken converted the consequent penalty, and Villa could not recover from a moment that boss Unai Emery felt altered the shape of the game.

"In the second half, the mistake changed everything," Emery said. "A team like [Brugge], they are playing at home, defensively strong, they then focus 100% to stop us. They were better than us."

Mings' defensive colleague Ezri Konsa described his frustration at the incident, suggesting Mings would have been sent off had there been a genuine infringement.

"It killed the game," Konsa said. "If it is a handball, deliberate, then he should get a second yellow.

"He's on a yellow already, so why not send him off for that then? It killed the game.

"But look, it happened, there's nothing we can do, we've just got to move on from it."

Villa have now lost three consecutive games in all competitions, matching their worst such run under Emery. They face Premier League and Champions League leaders Liverpool next at Anfield.

Tyrell Malacia is closing in on a return from injury while fellow Manchester United defenders Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are making progress in their recoveries, Ruud van Nistelrooy has revealed. 

Malacia has not featured for United since the final day of the 2022-23 season, missing the entirety of last campaign after undergoing knee surgery.

The Netherlands international has recently returned to training, however, and interim head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy says he is almost ready to receive competitive minutes.

"[All the injured players are] different cases, all of them," Van Nistelrooy said ahead of Thursday's Europa League clash with Greek giants PAOK.

"Tyrell is the furthest along the road to recovery at the moment – he's been part of team training for a couple of weeks now, full in team training, no restrictions.

"So it's good for him to plan game minutes, maybe in the Under-21s. We have to see."

United have been forced to field Noussair Mazraoui or Diogo Dalot as makeshift left-backs this season, with Luke Shaw also yet to feature in 2024-25 due to a calf issue.

Fellow England international Maguire, meanwhile, has been absent since limping out of a goalless draw at Aston Villa last month.

Van Nistelrooy said of the duo: "Harry is still inside, working on his rehab."

"Luke also does pitch work like he did today, and he's progressing there to also do partial team training, hopefully soon."

After welcoming PAOK to Old Trafford on Thursday, United host Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday, their last match before Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim takes the reins. 

Tottenham believe Cristian Romero has avoided serious injury, but Richarlison is set for a period on the sidelines after the pair limped out of Sunday's win against Aston Villa.

Both Romero and Richarlison were substituted in the second half of a 4-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Argentina World Cup winner Romero appeared to hurt his foot in a blow to a Spurs team already missing Micky van de Ven, while Richarlison was injured in creating the third goal for Dominic Solanke.

Neither will feature for Tottenham at Galatasaray in the Europa League on Thursday, but the outlook beyond that is rather more positive for Romero.

"From the weekend, obviously Richy unfortunately injured his hamstring," Ange Postecoglou said. "I'm still getting the final information, but I think he'll be out for a while.

"Romero, I think, is nothing too serious, hopefully. Hopefully, he still has a chance for the weekend [against Ipswich Town]."

Providing a further update on his squad for the Galatasaray match, Postecoglou said: "Timo Werner has been carrying a bit of a groin complaint, which is still there, so he didn't travel, and Mikey Moore picked up a bit of a virus yesterday, so we've left him at home as well.

"I think everyone else who's fit and eligible is here."

Given their injuries, a trip to a talented Galatasaray side might be considered daunting, but Postecoglou is relishing it.

"We're looking forward to it," he said. "It's a fantastic stadium, the supporters create an unbelievable atmosphere here, they love the big European nights.

"They're a very, very good team. It's exactly the kind of games you want to be involved in in Europe. Whether you're young, you're old, irrespective of the role you have, you look forward to it."

Shakhtar Donetsk staged a quick first-half comeback to earn a 2-1 home victory over Young Boys in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

Both sides entered the game winless, and Young Boys grabbed the lead in the 27th minute when Kastriot Imeri struck from close range.

But Shakhtar responded swiftly in Gelsenkirchen as Oleksandr Zubkov tapped in four minutes later to restore parity.

And Heorhii Sudakov, who teed up the equaliser, then put Shakhtar ahead four minutes before the interval, with that goal proving enough to take maximum points.

Shakhtar now have four for the campaign, while Young Boys are still waiting on their first point after four straight defeat to begin the campaign.

Data Debrief: Breakthroughs at last on matchday four

Not only were both teams looking for their first wins on Wednesday, neither had even found the net.

Imeri broke Young Boys' duck with their 40th shot of the campaign, but the lead was short-lived as Shakhtar's 25th attempt of the season brought them level.

The Ukrainian outfit went on to register their third Champions League home win in four matches as they pursue a place in the play-off round, while Young Boys are really up against it.

They have not won any of their 11 away games in the competition and must surely end that run against Stuttgart or Celtic to have any hope of advancing.

Tyrone Mings' calamitous mistake proved costly as Aston Villa lost 1-0 to Club Brugge in the Champions League.

Villa had won their opening three games in the competition, but their unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt in Belgium on Wednesday.

Mings was at fault as he conceded a bizarre penalty early in the second half.

On his first Champions League appearance, Mings inexplicably picked the ball when it was passed his way by Emiliano Martinez, believing it was not in play.

The referee pointed to the penalty spot, with the spot-kick confirmed by VAR, and Hans Vanaken converted from 12 yards.

Unai Emery's side failed to create much of note from then on, and finished with just 0.4 expected goals (xG) from what was a disappointing attacking display.

Brugge are now on six points, three behind Villa.

Data Debrief: Brugge finally claim an English scalp

This was Brugge's first win over an English team in Europe since they beat Chelsea in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1995, ending a run of 14 matches without a victory against English teams.

Villa, meanwhile, failed to become just the fourth team to win their first four Champions League matches, after Milan (1993), Paris Saint-Germain (1994) and Juventus (1995).

Cole Palmer's availability for Chelsea's crunch Premier League clash with Arsenal on Sunday is still to be decided.

Blues talisman Palmer was on the end of a painful challenge from Lisandro Martinez in last week's draw with Manchester United.

With seven goals and five assists in the Premier League already this season, following a breakout campaign last time out, Chelsea will be keen to have Palmer back for their next league match against Arsenal.

But Enzo Maresca revealed ahead of his side's Conference League meeting with Noah that Palmer was yet to train with the team again.

Palmer is not part of Chelsea's European squad for the league phase and so would not have featured on Thursday regardless, but his status for the Arsenal encounter is uncertain.

"Cole didn't train [on Tuesday], so we will see today if he can train with us," Maresca said on Wednesday.

"We hope [he will be available for Sunday]. We need to wait and see and then decide."

Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League, above Arsenal on goal difference, while they lead the Conference League table after two matches.

Maresca's men have so far succeeded in that competition due to their incredible strength in depth, although the vast number of options means some star names are struggling to see minutes in the Premier League.

Asked about Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku, Maresca said: "I would like to give him more minutes in the Premier League, but I have said many times: we need defensive balance and we cannot play with Joao, Cole, Christo.

"I like to put all of them inside the pitch, but then you also have to defend and you need the right balance between the two phases of attacking and defending.

"This is the only reason why. There is no doubt if Joao keeps working well, he is going to find his moment also in the Premier League."

Qinwen Zheng booked her place in the last four of the WTA Finals with a dominant 6-1 6-1 victory over Jasmine Paolini.

The Olympic gold medallist hit 12 aces as she powered past this season's French Open and Wimbledon finalist in just over an hour in Riyadh.

This was the winner-takes-all clash in Purple Group, with both players aiming to join world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.

The form player since Wimbledon with 29 wins from 34 matches - also including titles in Palermo and Tokyo, plus a run to the final in Wuhan - Zheng quickly asserted her authority on proceedings.

The 22-year-old scored five breaks of serve on the way to becoming the youngest semi-finalist on her WTA Finals debut since Petra Kvitova in 2011.

"Finally, I showed off some tennis I really want to play," she said. "Of course, when you enter the match, you are nervous, but at the same time, you feel confidence because you know your level. And I know how capable I am.

"I remember in 2022, my serve was quite strong. I don't know why but, suddenly in 2023, my serve started to drop. In this tournament and the rest of this half-year, it is the first time I've felt like the serve is starting to come back."

Beating two top-10 players in the same tournament for the first time, Zheng is the first Chinese player to achieve the feat since Li Na (four) at this event 11 years ago.

The seventh seed also follows in the footsteps of Na and Kimiko Date in 1994 as one of three players representing an Asian country to reach the last four at the WTA Finals. 

Sabalenka's place in the semi-finals was already secured, rendering her 6-4 3-6 6-1 defeat by Elena Rybakina academic, though ending a seven-match winning streak.

Having shared the two meetings this season in Brisbane and Madrid, the players took a close set each here, but it was one-way traffic in the decider.

In the final match of her first tournament since withdrawing from the US Open with a back injury, Rybakina did not face a single break point in the final set, while winning all 12 points on her first serve, to bow out with victory.

Though academic, it was an historic victory for the Kazahstani, who became the first player representing an Asian country to defeat the world number one at the WTA Finals.

Rybakina is also the fourth player to achieve six or more wins over the WTA's number one across a two-season span, after Tracy Austin (1979-80), Venus Williams (1999-00) and Lindsay Davenport (2000-01).