Despite Barcelona maintaining their perfect start to the LaLiga season with a 1-0 win over Getafe on Wednesday, head coach Hansi Flick insisted they can improve.

Robert Lewandowski's 19th-minute strike was enough to secure the win for the Blaugrana, but the hosts should have won by a more comfortable scoreline. 

At the end of the contest, Barca accumulated an expected goals (xG) total of 1.92 from their 15 shots, but only four of those were on target. 

But Flick, who became the third Barca coach to win his first seven LaLiga games after Gerardo Martino in 2013 and Ernesto Valverde in 2017, insisted his side were still very much a work in progress. 

"To get seven wins is perfect, but we have to do some things better," Flick said. 

"Today we had a very good mentality. For me it's a good starting point to improve. 

"I've been told that it's always like that against Getafe, they are very good in defence, but I'm very proud of my players and how they fought for 95 minutes."

The result saw Barca extend their lead to rivals Real Madrid at the summit of the standings to four points ahead of facing Osasuna this weekend. 

It was also a straightforward game for the hosts' stand-in goalkeeper Inaki Pena, who kept a clean sheet and was forced to make just one save during the contest. 

Pena replaced Marc-Andre ter Stegen between the sticks after the German international came off injured during Barca's 5-1 win over Villarreal last week. 

The extent of Ter Stegen's injury was confirmed shortly after, with the 32-year-old undergoing knee surgery on Monday and he is now expected to miss the rest of the season. 

Reports suggest that Barca are considering welcoming Wojciech Szczesny as an emergency back-up, despite the Pole calling time on his career earlier this year. 

However, Flick refused to discuss those rumours linking Szczesny to a shock move to the Camp Nou. 

"I only speak of the players we have in the team. Inaki Pena is our number one goalkeeper and I'm happy. This is what it's worth," Flick said.

"We have Inaki Pena who is 25-years-old but the rest of the goalkeepers are very young, so if something happens we have to have experience."

Shohei Ohtani singled in the go-ahead run before stealing his 56th base of the season in the sixth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-3 on Wednesday night to move within a victory of clinching the NL West.

The Dodgers increased their lead over the second-place Padres to three games with four to play and reduced their magic number to two. Los Angeles needs a win in Thursday's series finale to earn its 11th division title 12 years.

The Padres' five-game winning streak ended a night after they celebrated making the postseason with a game-ending triple play on their biggest rival's field.

Ohtani's two-strike, two-out single to center off Adrián Morejón scored Will Smith, who drew a leadoff walk, and made it 4-3. Ohtani stole second, but Mookie Betts followed with a popup to end the inning.

With two outs in the ninth, Michael Kopech walked Jake Cronenworth to put the tying run aboard, but Donovan Solano struck out.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a 448-foot homer – the longest by a Padres player this season – to tie the game at 3 in the fifth.

Tigers defeat Rays to stay red hot

Parker Meadows and Spencer Torkelson homered, and the surging Detroit Tigers strengthened their bid for an AL wild card with a 7-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Detroit moved 10 games over .500 with its fourth consecutive victory. It is tied with Kansas City (84-74) for second in the wild-card standings behind Baltimore.

The Tigers play the Rays on Thursday before finishing the season with three home games against the lowly Chicago White Sox.

Detroit is 29-11 since Aug. 10, thanks to ace Tarik Skubal, one of the favourites for the AL Cy Young Award, and a cast of young pitchers. On Wednesday, rookie Keider Montero pitched 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball before five relievers combined for 6 1/3 scoreless innings.

Jackson Jobe, Detroit's best pitching prospect, worked the ninth in his major league debut.

Orioles hold off Yankees as Judge homers again

Gunnar Henderson had three of Baltimore's 12 hits in the first four innings, and the Orioles again prevented the New York Yankees from clinching the AL East title by holding on for a 9-7 victory despite another home run from Aaron Judge.

Colton Cowser drove in three runs for the playoff-bound Orioles, who tagged substitute starter Marcus Stroman early and improved to 8-4 against New York with one matchup left in their season series.

Judge went deep for the fourth game in a row, connecting on his major league-leading 57th homer in a four-run ninth inning. The three-run shot off Matt Bowman upped Judge's total to 142 RBIs, also most in the majors, and shaved New York's deficit to 9-7.

Keegan Akin entered and retired the next two batters for his third career save and first this year.

Juan Soto also homered and knocked in three runs for New York, which could have wrapped up the AL East race with a victory over the Orioles either of the past two nights.

Baltimore moved within four games of the Yankees in the division with four remaining as it tries to lock down the top AL wild card. Cedric Mullins went 3 for 4 with a walk, three runs scored and two stolen bases.

Stroman was a late replacement for injured left-hander Nestor Cortes and gave up six straight singles to begin the game as the Orioles grabbed a 3-0 lead.

The Phoenix Mercury’s season ended Wednesday night with a 101-88 loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of a first-round WNBA play-off series.

The loss may have also ended the illustrious career of Diana Taurasi.

The 42-year-old hasn’t officially said she will retire, but she alluded to retirement while addressing Mercury fans after the team’s regular-season finale last Thursday.

“If it is the last time, it felt like the first time,” she said from centre court.

If this was her final game, it caps one of the most decorated careers by an American basketball player.

As the winner of an incredible six Olympic gold medals, Taurasi secured her first gold at the 2000 Athens Games and her most recent at this summer’s Paris Games.

She also won three straight American collegiate national championships at UConn in 2002, 2003 and 2004, another three WNBA titles in 2007, 2009 and 2014, and six Euroleague championships.

Her entire WNBA career was spent with Phoenix after being selected first overall in the 2004 draft.

She made an immediate impact, winning rookie of the year honours in 2004 and was named league MVP for the 2009 season.

A 10-time all-WNBA first-team selection, Taurasi was named to her 11th WNBA All-Star Game this past season and would have almost certainly been chosen to more, but there were no All-Star Games in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016 or 2020.

She’s the WNBA’s all-time leader in points scored – about 3,000 more than the next-closest player in Tina Charles – the top scorer in the WNBA play-offs, and is the league’s all-time record holder in 3-pointers made.

Despite concluding her 20th season in the WNBA, she is still playing at a high level.

She averaged 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the regular season before scoring 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range in Monday’s 102-95 loss in Game 1.

Taurasi had 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting with four rebounds and three assists before fouling out with 2:34 remaining in Game 2.

She left to a standing ovation from the Minnesota crowd before Napheesa Collier, who tied a WNBA playoff record with 42 points for the Lynx, came over to the Mercury bench for a brief handshake with her fellow UConn star.

If Taurasi ultimately decides to call it a career, she’ll be remembered as one of the greatest women’s basketball players in history.

Arne Slot is "still learning" about his Liverpool players day by day as they prepare for Saturday's Premier League clash with Wolves at Molineux.

The Reds suffered a shock 1-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest earlier this month, but they have otherwise impressed with four wins from five.

Add an away win at AC Milan in the Champions League into the mix and Slot has made a near seamless start since succeeding Jurgen Klopp.

The Dutchman has been pleased with the mentality of his players, who he is still getting to know in the early stages of his tenure.

"Before the [Bournemouth] game I actually told the players that I am still learning from them day by day," he told the club website.

"I had already seen their reaction to the defeat against Nottingham Forest and this was very positive, but reacting to a big win against one of Europe’s most historical clubs is also a test in its own way.

"We had faced a similar situation after beating Manchester United and we followed that up with the loss to Forest so it was very pleasing to see us cope with these kind of challenges the way we did."

Liverpool are second in the Premier League with 12 points from five matches, while Saturday's opponents Wolves are bottom with one point.

The pressure is growing on boss Gary O'Neil following a fourth defeat in five outings at the hands of Aston Villa last weekend.

Not helped by news of defender Yerson Mosquera being ruled out for the season, Wolves now face a daunting test against Liverpool.

And O'Neil wants to see his players put on a fighting display in order to claw themselves off the foot of the table.

"We're not going to dominate games against Aston Villa and Liverpool," he said. 

"We need to behave and act like a team scrapping for everything. We have to make sure we are better when it gets tough."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wolves - Matheus Cunha 

Cunha gave Wolves a lead they squandered against Villa last time out for his second goal in five Premier League appearances this season.

Indeed, eight of his past 13 goals have either put his side ahead (twice) or drawn them level (six times), while his 21 goal involvements since the start of 2023-24 is the most of any Wolves player in the Premier League.

Liverpool - Luis Diaz

Diaz has hit a rich patch of form for Liverpool, having scored five goals and assisted another in his last four Premier League appearances.

That includes a multiple-goal haul in two of his last three games, which is one more than he managed across his first 69 games in the competition.

MATCH PREDICTION - LIVERPOOL WIN

Wolves head into this contest badly out of form and have lost more Premier League games against Liverpool than they have any other opponent (16).

In fact, they have lost 14 of their past 15 such encounters, the exception being a 3-0 home win in February 2023.

Liverpool have kept a clean sheet in 65 per cent of their Premier League games against Wolves (13/20) and will fancy their chances of registering another shutout this weekend.

The Reds have kept a clean sheet in five of their past six league games stretching back into last season, which follows a run of conceding in each of their previous 10.

The opposite is true for Wolves as they are on the joint-longest run without a clean sheet in the division, failing to keep out the opposition in each of their past 17 top-flight games, level with Southampton.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Wolves - 15.4%

Liverpool - 65.6%

Draw - 19%

Liverpool's squad revel in the competition that quality players bring, so says Arne Slot.

The Reds ran riot to beat West Ham 5-1 in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, teeing up a fourth-round meeting with Brighton.

Slot, who has won all but one of his seven matches in charge of Liverpool, made plenty of changes for the tie, and though his team fell behind, they responded in emphatic fashion.

Diogo Jota scored twice to turn the match on its head, with Mohamed Salah slamming home a third before West Ham capitulated following Edson Alvarez's red card – Cody Gakpo netting a late double.

And Slot believes his players are only charged up by the competition within the squad.

He told Sky Sports: "Players like to play, especially if you're winning. They like to be part of a winning group.

"You know if you play at Liverpool, you play with quality players. It fires them to get the best out of each other."

Liverpool finished with 2.55 expected goals (xG) to West Ham's 0.57, getting 21 of their 11 shots on target and creating six big chances.

Reflecting on his side's display, Slot said: "If you're facing a team like West Ham, with a lot of quality, you know they can threaten you as well, they scored from a set-piece, they threatened us from set-pieces. Every [Premier League] team has quality players, it's never as easy as the scoreline shows.

"In the end, we got numbers in our own 18-yard box, we did it really well. 

"I do feel we had control. We had a large part of the possession, we had a few chances before we made it 3-1 through Mo, which was a great team goal, and he was so eager to score that he played the ball across and then followed the run and scored a great goal, then it was Cody time."

Gakpo had a team-leading six shots, and Slot was thrilled with his compatriot's performance.

"He deserved that, like the others deserved it as well," the Dutchman added. 

"It was good to see – Cody has such a fantastic shot, we have to get him in those situations. Apart from that, he had an important clearance in our box, that's what I like to see – quality with the ball, work rate without the ball."

Girona coach Michel said his side deserved more after they drew 0-0 with Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga.

Winless in four consecutive games in all competitions, last year's surprise challengers Girona dominated proceedings with over 70% of possession but were wasteful, missing several clear chances.

Indeed, Girona had three big chances (defined by Opta as an opportunity from which a player would reasonably be expected to score), and accumulated 2.22 expected goals (xG).

Michel said: "Football is about goals and we didn't score. But the team was fine out there, we were able to push Rayo back against the ropes and played a very good game.

"The team deserved to win, I approve of the team's performance today. I have no doubts. We lacked quality and determination up front, but we generated enough to win today.

"They didn't put us under pressure, they didn't steal from us and we had three or four very clear chances to score. On Saturday's 2-0 loss against Valencia we weren't good, we didn't generate anything and I was worried.

"Today we did, perhaps not as much for what we could have had, but we did spend a lot of time in the attacking zone. With the flow of play we had, we should have shot 25 times, not only 12."

Girona are 12th in the standings on eight points, 13 behind leaders Barcelona. They visit ninth-placed Celta Vigo on Sunday before hosting Feyenoord in the Champions League next week.

Tottenham's clash with Manchester City is the pick of the bunch from the EFL Cup fourth-round draw.

City sealed their progress from round three by beating Watford 2-1 at home on Tuesday, while Spurs overcame Coventry City last week.

The Premier League heavyweights will go head-to-head for a place in the quarter-finals, while holders Liverpool face a tough trip to in-form Brighton.

Manchester United, who were in Europa League action on Wednesday, were drawn against Leicester City. Chelsea will face the winner of AFC Wimbledon's postponed match with Newcastle United, which will take place at St James' Park next week.

Aston Villa and Crystal Palace will face off in another all-Premier League encounter, while Southampton and Brentford were drawn at home against Championship opposition in Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City respectively.

Arsenal, 5-1 victors over Bolton Wanderers, will visit Preston North End.

Fourth-round draw in full:

Brentford v Sheffield Wednesday

Southampton v Stoke City

Tottenham v Man City

AFC Wimbledon / Newcastle United v Chelsea

Man Utd v Leicester City

Brighton v Liverpool 

Preston North End v Arsenal 

Aston Villa v Crystal Palace 

Manchester United got their Europa League campaign off to an underwhelming start as FC Twente fought back to draw 1-1 at Old Trafford.

Christian Eriksen opened the scoring on Wednesday with a fine finish beyond Lars Unnerstall, before giving the ball away cheaply to allow Sam Lammers to ensure a share the spoils at Old Trafford. 

The hosts almost found themselves a goal behind early on when Lammers failed to turn home Bart van Rooij's inviting delivery with Andre Onana well beaten. 

But Erik ten Hag's side took control and got the goal their dominance merited, with Eriksen rifling a fierce strike into the roof of the net for only his sixth United goal. 

However, against the run of play, the visitors drew level when Eriksen turned into trouble, with Lammers picking the Dane's pocket before finishing at the near post. 

Twente had their goalkeeper to thank in preserving their point late on, with Unnerstall producing a remarkable save to keep out Harry Maguire's deflected header. 

Data Debrief: United's European struggles continue

While Eriksen endured an indifferent game at Old Trafford, the midfielder became the third Danish player to score for the Red Devils in major European competition, along with Peter Schmeichel and Rasmus Hojlund, on his 100th European appearance. 

However, United have now failed to win their opening major European match in each of the last four seasons, losing in 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 and now drawing on Wednesday.

Ten Hag's side have also struggled when scoring the first goal in Europe, winning just one of their last six matches in the Champions League and Europa League when opening the scoring. 

Liverpool came from a goal down at Anfield to thrash 10-man West Ham 5-1 and book their place in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.

The victory piles more misery on Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui, who has endured a frustrating start to his tenure.

EFL Cup holders Liverpool did not have it all their own way, as they fell behind to Jarell Quansah's own goal in the 21st minute.

West Ham's lead lasted only four minutes, though, with Diogo Jota heading home from close range to restore parity.

Jota doubled up shortly after half-time, tucking in after fine work from Curtis Jones, though West Ham were left angered after their appeals for a Joe Gomez handball at the other end were dismissed.

Mohamed Salah slammed home a third after replacing debutant Federico Chiesa, and any hopes of a West Ham comeback were ended when Edson Alvarez received a second yellow card.

A West Ham capitulation followed – Cody Gakpo scoring twice in the space of three minutes to ensure Liverpool replicated the 5-1 victory they claimed over the Hammers in the quarter-finals last season.

Data Debrief: Reds burst Hammers' bubble... again

Liverpool have lost just one of their last 57 home games against West Ham in all competitions (W42 D14), a run stretching back to 1964 – that sole loss came in August 2015 in the Premier League (0-3).

The Reds' dominant victory on Wednesday means the EFL Cup holders have not failed to reach the fourth round of the competition since 2013-14, when Swansea City lost to Birmingham City.

Ethan Nwaneri marked his first Arsenal start with a double as the Gunners swept aside League One side Bolton Wanderers 5-1 in the third round of the EFL Cup. 

While Nwaneri was one of the youngsters included in a line-up that featured 16-year-old goalkeeper Jack Porter, it was one of Arsenal's senior players that opened the scoring at Emirates Stadium, with Declan Rice curling in from the edge of the area.

The Gunners doubled their advantage eight minutes before the break, with Nwaneri sliding home to net his first senior Arsenal goal after being found by Raheem Sterling.

Nwaneri netted his second of the contest soon after the restart, with the youngster capitalising on a mistake by Chris Forino before squeezing the ball under Luke Southwood. 

Mikel Arteta's side were however undone by a free-flowing counter-attack from the visitors as Aaron Collins raced clear, rounded Porter and coolly slotted home to give the travelling fans something to cheer.

But their celebrations were short-lived, with Sterling scoring his first Arsenal goal before substitute Kai Havertz rounded off the rout.

Data Debrief: A nod to the future

Prior to this game, Nwaneri had made just three appearances for Arsenal, but this performance showed that his future is bright.

The 17-year-old scored with both of his shots on target, ending the contest with an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.67 to the Gunners' 2.95 total, with only Sterling (0.85) managing more. 

In his club career, Sterling has now started a game alongside players born 30 years apart – Jamie Carragher in 2012-13 (born January 1978) and Porter (born July 2008) – before he has turned 30 himself, and he will be delighted to have opened his Gunners account.

Girona missed the chance to climb the early-season LaLiga standings after being held to a goalless draw against Rayo Vallecano on Monday. 

A dominant first-half saw the hosts enjoy 69.1% possession, but register just one shot on target, with Yaser Asprilla unable to test Augusto Batalla. 

The Colombian again went close after the break, striking a fierce left-footed effort that cannoned off the crossbar as Girona continued to ramp up the pressure. 

Cristhian Stuani missed two golden opportunities to net his third league goal of the season late on, firing both efforts from close range off target. 

The hosts continued to push for a first win in four games in all competitions, but Miguel Gutierrez and Yangel Herrera were unable to find the back of the net. 

Girona almost found themselves behind in the 88th minute when Alvaro Garcia was put through, but he was unable to score with just Rayo Vallecano's second strike of the contest. 

Data Debrief: Blanquivermells fire a blank, again

After pushing Real Madrid all the way for the LaLiga title last year, Michel's side have managed just two wins from seven league games, scoring once in their last four fixtures in all competitions. 

The departure of last season's top scorer, Artem Dovbyk, has left a huge hole at the top end of the pitch, with Girona registering an expected goals (xG) total of 2.22 from their 11 shots, only one of which was on target. 

Girona also missed three big chances at the Estadi Municipal de Montilivi, with their fortunes in front of goal needing to improve if they are to replicate last campaign's heroics once again.

Ben Stokes has been given the green light to captain England’s Test tour of Pakistan next month, but he is still unlikely to bowl at the start of the series.

Stokes missed his side’s last three matches against Sri Lanka after tearing his hamstring while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred competition. 

The 33-year-old underwent a planned scan on the injury on Wednesday, with a statement from the ECB confirming he remains "on track" to feature in the three-match series. 

However, it appears increasingly likely that he will operate as a specialist batter, with England unwilling to take any risks over the long-term health of their captain.

"I think that's you getting ahead of yourself. Obviously, I've been six-and-a-half weeks now of just walking and doing stuff in the gym," Stokes told Sky Sports. 

"There's a lot more than just my hamstring that I need to get back firing and working up again in terms of bowling, because you use everything, so I need to get that all right to make sure I don't do any damage to other parts of my body."

Stokes oversaw a 3-0 clean sweep in Pakistan two years ago – his first overseas assignment after taking over from Joe Root – and his presence will be a major boost to England’s prospects.

It will, though, restrict the tourists' options in terms of balancing the team, with his inclusion likely forcing out one of their regular top order.

On his recovery, Stokes added: "I'm all good. I have my six-and-a-half week scan tomorrow and we'll know more from that, but I am feeling good.

"It was a hamstring tear which sneaked into my tendon. That's why it takes a week or two longer than a normal hammy.

"Rehab has gone really well, so hopefully everything tomorrow will get the all clear, and we will start pushing it a bit more."