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• Raphinha proud of response as Barcelona bounce back in style

  Raphinha believes Barcelona must be proud of their response after they bounced back from Saturday's defeat to Osasuna with a five-star Champions League display.

  Barca opened in the Champions League with a 2-1 loss at Monaco two weeks ago and, after a great start to their LaLiga campaign that featured seven consecutive wins, slumped to a stunning 4-2 defeat at Osasuna over the weekend.

  Yet Hansi Flick's team were back at their best as they cruised to an emphatic 5-0 win over Young Boys on Tuesday.

  Raphinha, who was Player of the Match following a goal and an assist for one of Robert Lewandowski's two strikes, said the result was the confidence boost the team needed to keep improving.

  "We knew that with this new Champions League format, after losing our debut at Monaco we needed to hit back quickly and decisively and that is what we did," Raphinha told Movistar Plus.

  "The LaLiga loss at Osasuna over the weekend was an added pressure but the team responded well and I'm proud of our performance.

  "In this new Champions League, not only every point but also every goal scored counts so the more, the better."

  Flick echoed Raphinha's sentiment, even though he knows there is a long way to go.

  "We have to start the games a bit stronger. We need to be more dynamic as a team from the start but at least it has been improving as the minutes have gone by," Flick told Movistar Plus.

  "Nobody knows how this new Champions League will work but it is always good to have a good goal difference.

  "I'm happy with Raphinha who played really well but we can't talk about just one player, the most important is to play as a team. Raphinha can only play this well if his teammates play well too."

  In scoring twice, Lewandowski became only the second player to net 50 Champions League goals after turning 30, following Cristiano Ronaldo.

• Arsenal boss Arteta praises 'unbelievable' Havertz

  Mikel Arteta hailed Kai Havertz as "unbelievable" after the Germany international's star turn against Paris Saint-Germain.

  The 25-year-old put Arsenal on the path to a 2-0 home win over PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday with a well-timed run and header in the 20th minute.

  After taking 10 games to get off the mark for Arsenal last season, it was his fifth goal for the club in the 2024-25 campaign and he was deservedly named Player of the Match.

  Havertz got both of his two shots on target, while also playing one key pass as he scored just his second goal in his last 14 Champions League appearances, with his other goal coming for Arsenal in November 2023 against Lens.

  "He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together," said Arteta.

  "His work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment."

  It was a satisfying night for Arteta, whose team dominated one of Europe's heavyweights in the first half and then comfortably contained them after the break, with Bukayo Saka doubling the Gunners' tally before half-time.

  Saka has now been directly involved in eight goals in six home Champions League appearances for Arsenal, with all five of his goals coming at the Emirates. In Champions League history, only three players have more goals with all coming at one stadium – Diogo Rincon at NSK Olimpijs'kyj, Esteban Cambiasso at the San Siro and Lee Bowyer at Elland Road (six goals each).

  "Really, really happy with the performance. We played an opponent that has a lot of personality, is really difficult to deal with when you don't have the ball," he said.

  "The first half was very dominant and we created a lot of chances and then the second half was a different story.

  "We suffered much more than we should have done. The Champions League brings different demands but I think we handled it really well."

  Victory, following the 0-0 draw away to Atalanta, propelled Arsenal to eighth in the 36-team table and Arteta said it was far too early to start predicting how many more wins his side will need to qualify automatically for the last 16.

  "I'm not even looking at the table," he said. "But I think it will be a long journey."

  Another boost for Arsenal was the sight of new signing Mikel Merino coming off the bench for his first appearance in the second half after missing the start of the season with injury.

  On the downside, full-back Jurrien Timber was forced off at half-time with a muscle issue.

  "He was unbelievable in the first half, but he felt something muscular and he wasn't certain," Arteta said of the Dutchman.

  "So I didn't want to take any risks. He's been out for a year and he's played a lot of minutes, probably more minutes than we would have wanted in the past few weeks."

  The Gunners' defensive grit was also on show. Arsenal have kept 17 clean sheets in 32 games in all competitions in 2024, the most of any Premier League side. Indeed, across Europe's big-five leagues this year, only Real Madrid have kept more (18).

• Guardiola: Lovable McAtee is 'adorable'

  Pep Guardiola quipped that James McAtee is "adorable" after the youngster netted his first Manchester City goal.

  McAtee, who has spent most of the past two seasons on loan at Sheffield United, came on from the bench to score City's fourth in their 4-0 rout of Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday.

  It was McAtee's second appearance in the Champions League, two years and 206 days since his debut in the competition – that is the longest gap between a Man City player's first and second outing in the competition.  

  "We are so happy with him, he's adorable, and all the guys love him," Guardiola said of the 21-year-old City academy graduate.

  "McAtee moved really well in small spaces, made a fantastic goal, had another chance, and for him will be a good boost, we want to make him feel he is part of that group."

  Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring for City in the eighth minute, with Phil Foden netting a second before Erling Haaland made it 3-0.

  "The group of players are fantastic, we played a good game, a lot of chances and the first three points of the competition," said Guardiola, whose team were held to a goalless draw by Inter in their opening match.

  "Win your games it will be enough. We got the first victory to [move up] the table a little bit higher than we were, so it's nice."

  Since his debut in the competition for City in September 2022, Erling Haaland has scored more goals in the Champions League than any other player, netting 19 goals in just 22 appearances for the Citizens.  

  Foden, meanwhile, is one of four players to have scored in each of the last seven Champions League campaigns (since 2018-19) along with Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

  And Guardiola thought last year's Premier League Player of the Year was much more like himself after a slow start to the season from his perspective.

  "Made a fantastic goal, just passed the ball to the post, always I say 'Pass the ball to the post, not shoot, and you'll have more chances'," Guardiola said.

  "Step by step, it is coming back."

  City are now unbeaten in each of their last 25 Champions League games (W17 D8), the joint-longest run without defeat in European Cup/UEFA Champions history, level with Manchester United between September 2007 and May 2009.