Manchester City got their Champions League campaign up and running with a 4-0 rout of Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday, with Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and James McAtee scoring.
The Premier League champions set up camp in Slovan's half and laid siege to their goal for the duration of the contest at the Stadion Tehelne Pole.
They only needed eight minutes to make the breakthrough as Gundogan scored his first goal since returning to the club after a single season at Barcelona, with his shot deflecting in off Kyriakos Savvidis.
Foden then doubled City's lead with his first goal of the season in the 15th minute, latching onto a pass from Jeremy Doku and curling a strike into the bottom corner.
Haaland killed the game as a contest just before the hour mark, sprinting onto Rico Lewis's pass then stepping around goalkeeper Dominik Takac before slotting into the empty net for his 42nd goal in Europe's premier club competition.
Foden then added an assist to his earlier goal in the 74th minute, teeing up youngster McAtee for his first ever City goal with a dinked pass.
City, winners of the 2022-23 Champions League, opened this season's campaign with a 0-0 draw with Inter and now sit fourth in the standings. Slovan, meanwhile, are 35th after also losing 5-1 to Celtic on matchday one.
Data Debrief: City equal United record
City's victory saw them stretch their unbeaten run in the Champions League to 25 matches, with a penalty shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid last season the only blot on their record since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
It is the joint-longest streak in the competition's history, alongside Manchester United's run between September 2007 and May 2009, which included them lifting the trophy in 2007-08.
City have won 17 and drawn eight of their matches in that run, plundering 64 goals to just 38 by United on their streak.
They will have the chance to overhaul their neighbours outright on matchday three, when they host Sparta Prague.
Reggae Boyz midfielder Ravel Morrison joins United Arab Emirates third division club Precision FC
Reggae Boyz midfielder Ravel Morrison has joined UAE third division club Precision FC, the 14th club of his professional career.
Morrison, who made his Manchester United debut as a 17-year-old in 2010, most recently played for MLS club DC United.
The 31-year-old previous clubs also include West Ham, Birmingham City, QPR, Lazio and Sheffield United, while he made 38 appearances for Derby during the 2021-22 season before leaving.
"This is more than a signing - it's a statement, a game-changer for both our club and football in the UAE," Precision said on their Instagram page.
"Known for his electrifying talent and skill, Ravel brings world-class experience and flair that will help our team to achieve its goals."
Last season was Precision's first and they won promotion to Division Two - the third tier - of UAE football.
Morrison has made 18 appearances for the Reggae Boyz, scoring two goals.
Real Salt Lake v Minnesota United: Mastroeni urges mental reset
Pablo Mastroeni has urged his young Real Salt Lake team to be mentally ready for the challenge of facing Minnesota United, following their weekend slip-up at Austin FC.
RSL let a two-goal advantage slip in the final 10 minutes as they drew 2-2 in Texas, a result that represented a severe dent to their hopes of topping the Western Conference.
They sit third in the standings but have played a game more than Los Angeles FC in second, while the Colorado Rapids and Seattle Sounders are breathing down their necks.
"It was a point on the road but again, I think what we're chasing is performances," Mastroeni said. "I think it's a learning curve.
"We have a really young group and these are experiences that unfortunately, you have to go through to learn from. There's no other way.
"If we had 30-year-olds across the backline I'd be disappointed, but we've got a really young group and in this particular moment in the season it's about making plays.
"We've got a quick turnaround for Wednesday so we've got to make sure our heads are right."
Minnesota, meanwhile, have won four of their last five matches to climb into playoff contention, routing the Rapids 3-0 in a deeply impressive performance last time out.
Head coach Eric Ramsey believes that is the best he has seen his team, saying: "It think it's the best [performance] of the season, for sure. We've stood here and talked about the need for complete performances countless times.
"We were dominant in all phases of the game, you saw a really, really accomplished performance against a team right at the top of the table, that is a real threat."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Diogo Goncalves
Goncalves has come off the bench to score in each of Real Salt Lake's last two matches. Only Anderson Julio (2023) and Jeff Cunningham (2006) have scored on three straight substitute appearances for RSL in the club's MLS history.
Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah
Yeboah is the first player in Minnesota's MLS history to score on four consecutive league appearances.
His six appearances to reach seven goals, meanwhile, equals the second fastest to that mark in MLS history, with only Adama Diomande in 2018 doing so faster (five games).
MATCH PREDICTION – REAL SALT LAKE WIN
Minnesota have won three straight away matches in all competitions for the third time in club history. However, the Loons have never won four straight away from home before.
Real Salt Lake have won 10 of their 15 home games in MLS this season, with only the LA Galaxy (41), Inter Miami and the Portland Timbers (39 each) bettering their 36 goals on their own turf.
They go in as favourites with home advantage behind them. Their last home match ended in a 3-3 draw with Portland, but they have not gone two home games without a win in over a year, enduring a six-match winless run from April to June 2023.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake – 50.5%
Minnesota United – 24.5%
Draw – 25%
Kane still doubtful for Bayern on eve of Villa trip
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane remains a doubt for their Champions League clash with Aston Villa on Wednesday, coach Vincent Kompany has revealed.
Kane scored four goals to lead Bayern to a 9-2 demolition of visitors Dinamo Zagreb in their opening game in the competition's new-look league phase, the first time any team had scored nine goals in a Champions League match.
The England captain also moved to 33 Champions League goals in his career in that win, overtaking Wayne Rooney as his country's all-time leading scorer in the competition.
However, he then failed to have a shot in Bayern's 1-1 Bundesliga draw against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday before picking up a knock late on.
"Harry trained today, and things went well. But we need to wait and see until tomorrow and be sure things stay like that," Kompany said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"Then we can calmly make the right decision. Hopefully everything stays fine."
The Bayern coach expects his players to enjoy the challenge against Unai Emery's in-form Villa team.
"Everyone knows it's been over 40 years since Aston Villa last played in the European Cup. What they did last season was extraordinary, they've earned it," Kompany said.
"They're a really organised team with a good atmosphere at home. But Bayern are used to these nights. We want to enjoy it, and the players are hopefully up for playing here."
Forward Serge Gnabry, who played for Arsenal and West Brom before heading back to Germany with Bayern, was upbeat about his return to England.
"England is very special. There's a great atmosphere in the old stadiums," Gnabry said.
"Football is often the biggest thing for people here in England, I'm looking forward to playing here tomorrow. It'll be Villa's first Champions League home game for many years, the place will be rocking."
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