Spain earned their first victory of the Nations League campaign in Switzerland on Thursday, winning 1-0 courtesy of an early Pablo Sarabia goal.
Finalists in the previous edition, Spain were frustrated in a draw with Portugal and then snatched a point against the Czech Republic before heading to Stade de Geneve.
Luis Enrique's side were not entirely convincing but got their win at the third time of asking, with Switzerland unable to respond to Sarabia's 13th-minute strike.
Bigger aims are on the horizon for La Roja, yet they remain firmly in contention for another Nations League run as a result.
Early Spanish pressure told when Marcos Llorente got in behind and squared for a simple Sarabia finish, with the scorer given the benefit of the doubt following a marginal offside call and lengthy VAR review.
Switzerland's only first-half attempts were miscued headers from Breel Embolo and Eray Comert, who each might have done better, although Sarabia also passed up an opportunity for his second when he blazed over.
Chances were even more sparse into the second half, with Switzerland gaining a foothold without really threatening.
Llorente whipped a left-footed shot wide, but Sarabia had continued to be the game's most dangerous player and his withdrawal just past the hour mark teed up a low-key finale.
What does it mean? Another successful Swiss trip
The Nations League ensures Spain are regularly playing high-level opponents, but there may have been some concern if the national team went three competitive matches without a victory in a World Cup year.
A trip to Switzerland was the ideal tonic then, for Spain are now unbeaten in all of their 11 matches in the country – their best such record anywhere.
Pablo predictably pivotal
Escaping the Paris Saint-Germain bench, Sarabia enjoyed an outstanding season at Sporting CP and has also become a key figure at international level. He has scored three goals and assisted another in his past four appearances, with his nine goal involvements in the past 12 months leading all Spain players.
Llorente's involvement in the goal was perhaps a little less expected. A superb player he may be, but this was the Atletico Madrid man's second assist outside of Spain for club or country across his entire career.
Gavi given rough treatment
Barcelona teenager Gavi catches the eye every time he plays, and this match was no different in that sense, with one outrageous sequence seeing the midfield execute a 'sombrero' over Xherdan Shaqiri and then dance past Granit Xhaka.
But that piece of skill, like other rare moments of Spanish brilliance, was followed by a foul. Switzerland conceded 21 of them, including seven to poor Alvaro Morata.
What's next?
Spain get another shot at the Czech Republic, this time at home on Sunday, when Switzerland host Portugal.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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