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• 'One game at a time', says calm Slot after Leverkusen thrashing

  Arne Slot insisted he will continue to look at "one game at a time" after leading Liverpool to a 4-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.

  Luis Diaz's second-half hat-trick along with Cody Gakpo's 63rd-minute strike spoiled Xabi Alonso's Anfield return, moving the Reds top of the 36-team standings. 

  Liverpool have now won all four of their Champions League games under Slot. It’s only the second time that they have won all four opening games in a single season. 

  The Reds are now top of both the Premier League and Champions League, though Slot was keen to focus on the next task, which comes in the shape of Aston Villa on Saturday.

  "I don't know if it was that much to do with intensity, but we took more risk," Slot said. 

  "They overloaded the midfield a lot, and we adjusted at half-time and took the risk to play one v one all over. We had better chances in the first half and they weren't a goal threat.

  "As much as this time, how good they are in Europe, sometimes a strong target man is better than someone a bit faster.

  "Curtis Jones did an incredible pass, and then you have someone with the pace of Lucho to finish it off. The pass was as good as the goal, in my opinion.

  "You don't look ahead as a manager in the next three months. You're always one game at a time. We've got Aston Villa on Saturday, another tough game."

  Diaz's treble saw him become only the second Colombian player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League, after Faustino Asprilla for Newcastle against Barcelona in 1997. 

  And he insisted that things have started brightly for Slot at Anfield, but said his team-mates must continue to perform to have something to show for it at the end of the season.

  "The most important thing is the three points in this edition of the Champions League so we can keep progressing in the competition," Diaz said. 

  "Things have gone so well with the new manager, it wasn't easy for him to come in and fill Jurgen Klopp's shoes.

  "Hopefully, we'll have something to show for it at the end of the season.

  "We have top-quality players all over the pitch and I really enjoyed playing in that position today. I'm just happy to be on the pitch.

  "I need to go and find that ball now because I need to keep it somewhere special at home."

  For Alonso and Leverkusen, meanwhile, it marked a first Champions League defeat since 2022, while also conceding four or more goals in an away match in the competition since 2013 against Manchester United.

  "It's painful the result more than the performance, probably," Alonso told Amazon Prime.

  "But this is the Champions League, this is the highest level, and today it wasn't enough for us."

  "It's too early to tell, but I can see that Liverpool have a very good balance, a very complete team.

  "They work with 11 players, and they have the power to hold a clean sheet, which is important in the Champions League.

  "In the Premier League, let's see. It's early to tell but it's looking good."

  Alonso, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, was serenaded by the home supporters at Anfield during the contest. 

  "I tried to separate the game and the pain from the result from the nice feelings to come back. I'm really happy and thankful for that reception," he added. 

• Sheffield United go second after late turnaround, Plymouth continue good home form

  Sheffield United staged a late turnaround to win 2-1 away to Bristol City and go second in the Championship, one point behind leaders Sunderland who play on Wednesday.

  The game started slowly, with the hosts not opening the scoring until a 75th-minute Anis Mehmeti penalty after a foul on Sinclair Armstrong by goalkeeper Michael Cooper.

  The Blades showed great character to haul themselves back into the game, with 18-year-old Ryan One scoring the equaliser in the 86th minute.

  But things went up a notch in stoppage time when Robert Dickie was given a straight red card for a cynical foul on Callum O'Hare 35 yards out.

  The drama wasn't finished yet and with seconds to go, Harrison Burrows smashed home a left-foot rocket to win the game for the Blades.

  At the bottom of the table, Plymouth opened a four-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth.

  The victory means that Wayne Rooney's side have dropped just two points in their last five games at Home Park, having lost six on the bounce in all competitions away.

  It is now four without a victory for Portsmouth, who have earned just nine points in their opening 14 matches back in the Championship.

  Elsewhere, Middlesbrough responded to their 3-0 defeat at home to Coventry City last weekend by beating second-bottom Queens Park Rangers 4-1 on the road.

  That was a first victory in three for Michael Carrick's side, who are one place below the play-off positions and trail only by goal difference.

  QPR are four points behind fourth-bottom Preston North End, having failed to win any of their last 10 league games.

• Celtic 3-1 RB Leipzig: Kuhn double inspires Hoops to Champions League fightback

  Celtic's Nicolas Kuhn scored twice as the Bhoys fought back to clinch an impressive 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.

  Coming off a goalless draw at Atalanta on matchday three, Celtic recorded their second home win in the Champions League this season, moving up to 13th in the standings on seven points.

  They had to do things the hard way, falling behind to Christoph Baumgartner's close-range header after a corner came off Cameron Carter-Vickers in the 23rd minute.

  However, Kuhn levelled in the 35th minute with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box, then tapped into an open net for his brace shortly before half-time.

  Benjamin Sesko and Baumgartner went close to equalising after the break but Celtic's birthday boy, 38-year-old goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, pulled off a couple of fine saves before Reo Hatate sealed victory with a close-range finish in the 72nd minute. 

  Leipzig's wait for a first point in the Champions League this campaign continues, with their chances of reaching the knockout stages fading after four defeats in as many games.

   

  Data Debrief: Celtic flying high

  Celtic may have been humiliated in a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on matchday two, but that was a mere blip in what has so far been an impressive European campaign.

  Their total of seven points is already their most in a Champions League campaign since 2012-13, when they collected 10, while they last netted more goals (currently nine) in a Champions League/European Cup campaign in 1977-78 (13).