Hansi Flick was delighted with Barcelona's focus and determination as they earned a commanding 5-2 win at Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
Robert Lewandowski scored twice to set them on their way, with Inigo Martinez, Raphinha and Fermi Lopez also getting on the scoresheet as Barcelona remained in control throughout.
It was a victory that lifted Barca to sixth place in the 36-team Champions League table on nine points, having scored a competition-leading 15 goals in four games.
In fact, Barcelona have netted 55 goals in 16 games across all competitions in 2024-25, the most of any team from the big-five European leagues. Meanwhile, their 14 wins are the joint-most of any side, along with Liverpool.
After a third consecutive triumph in the Champions League, Flick said he liked how his side got things done with the seriousness required.
"The most important thing is the three points. It's not easy to win away from home in this competition, the Champions League is complicated," Flick, who led Bayern Munich to the 2020 Champions League title, told Movistar Plus.
"I'm very happy, I really value what we're doing. We've been very good on the ball, and we've put a lot of pressure on.
"Red Star played very well, they knew how to play with the ball, and it's difficult to defend against them. I really appreciate my players being focused for 90 minutes because it's not easy."
Lewandowski's double means he is level with team-mate Raphinha, Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Sporting CP's Viktor Gyokeres as the competition's top scorer with five goals.
The Pole has scored 19 goals in 16 appearances for Barcelona this season; the most of any player for a team in Europe’s big-five leagues across all competitions. 11 of those 19 goals have come in away matches, which is also the most of any player this term.
And Lewandowski is thrilled with Flick's aggressive approach.
"Since the beginning of the season we have had a goal: we have to play a very attacking football but without losing sight of how well our defensive line has been playing," Lewandowski said.
"Everything that works so far is almost perfect. We have to look at what we can do better, sure, but I feel very good, the team is very happy.
"I think in this new Champions League format, winning away games is very important. In the first half, we played a bit slow, but in the second half, we had a lot of chances.
"Sometimes, when a team plays very defensively like Red Star today, we need a bit of patience. I'm always looking for a free space to be able to touch a ball and score. That's why I'm very happy. As a team, we played very well."
Kompany unbothered by modest scoreline as Bayern beat Benfica
Vincent Kompany was pleased with the way Bayern Munich attacked at home to Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, despite only winning 1-0.
The victory ended a run of back-to-back defeats for the German team in the competition, leaving them 17th in the league with six points from four matches.
"It's important for us to win a game this way. In the past, we always scored three, four or five goals, but today we stayed calm," Kompany told the official club website.
"We had 24 shots on goal and the opposition had one. Not every finish was dangerous, but we controlled the game. There are games in which the last pass just isn't as precise as necessary.
"We know we can decide matches within the first five minutes if we're on good form. That didn't happen today. But in the end, it's the Champions League. It was a good game and a good win."
Midfielder Jamal Musiala scored the only goal of the game in the 67th minute, turning home Harry Kane's knockdown after Leroy Sane had played the ball across the box.
Sane is yet to start a game in any competition for Bayern this season, coming on in the 56th minute on Wednesday, but his contribution was not lost on Kompany.
"Obviously, I'm really happy to have the quality of Leroy Sane and Michael Olise in the same position - not to forget Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry. You can say Leroy turned this game around today," he said.
The goalscorer Musiala, meanwhile, was pleased after scoring his fifth goal in all competitions for the club this season.
“We had good moments, but the opposition played and defended well. Of course, there are still things we can improve, but it's important to have won the three points," he said.
"I don't know what's going on with me scoring headers at the moment. The ball dropped nicely for me a few times and I just keep trying to get into good positions I can score easy goals from.
"We all knew we had to win tonight and we did a good job. We had a tough time settling into the game, but we can't win by four or five goals every time. Sometimes a 1-0 win has to be enough.”
Simeone credits precision for Atletico's last-gasp win at PSG
Diego Simeone believes Atletico Madrid's precision is to thank for their last-gasp 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Warren Zaire-Emery had given PSG an early lead, though Atletico drew level through Nahuel Molina before substitute Angel Correa snatched the victory in the 93rd minute.
However, Atletico were far from dominant, managing just four shots, three of which were on target, to PSG's 22.
Last time out in the Champions League, they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Lille despite taking an early lead in that game. But Simeone feels his side have now put things right after ending a three-match losing streak on the road in the competition.
"You remember the last match against Lille, it was the same situation," Simeone said. "We had seven or eight goalscoring opportunities without being able to convert.
"In the end, football is about success. While collective play is beautiful, one can attack from all angles, but it's precision that positions you and brings success.
"Against Lille, we lacked that success, and in this match, Paris was better, but we managed to seize our opportunities.
"We defended with great collective work against a team that attacks very well. [Jan] Oblak had a great night, and we had a forcefulness that we did not have against Lille. We took a game that compensates for Lille's."
Three of Correa's UEFA Champions League goals for Atletico Madrid have come away from home, while it is their fifth 90th-minute winner in the competition since 2021-22, more than any other side.
He was brought on in the 67th minute to replace Julian Alvarez, and Simeone was pleased with the impact of his substitute.
"We believe in the footballers we have," he added. That was the compensation to have a goal option in Correa, who has the name of Angel for something.
"When you enter the field, things always happen. We argue. I tell him because he wants to play the 90 minutes, like all players. But he knows how important 12 of the team is."
Luis Enrique bemoans 'bad luck' in PSG's loss to Atletico
Luis Enrique blamed Paris Saint-Germain's 2-1 home defeat to Atletico Madrid on bad luck, admitting their hopes of Champions League qualification were in danger.
PSG applied their usual possession pattern but were again pretty much toothless in attack, owing Warren Zaire Emery's opener to a defensive blunder.
Nahuel Molina equalised quickly and Atletico's resilience paid off three minutes into injury time thanks to second-half substitute Angel Correa's goal at the end of a counter-attack - a scenario that Luis Enrique labelled a 'bad joke'.
PSG had a handful of clear chances through Achraf Hakimi, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele but, with no out-and-out striker, were unable to convert.
"There are no words. I think that in our three home games, we were highly superior to our opponents but we did not have any luck," Luis Enrique said.
"As long as there are matches, we will fight," he added, with PSG next set to travel to Bayern Munich on November 26.
PSG are 25th in the 36-team league, just in the elimination zone, midway through the group phase.
They have lost five of their last eight games in the Champions League (W2 D1), as many as in their previous 19 games in the competition, while this is the first time they have failed to win successive home group games in the competition (D1 L1).
On Wednesday, they had 22 attempts on goal to Atletico's four, as they accumulated 2.12 expected goals, with their opponents showing their clinical edge after creating just 0.67.
"I've been in the game for over 30 years and I can't explain it. It's just bad luck. We were infinitely superior to our opponents," Luis Enrique added.
"We would have deserved to win our three home games. Comfortably."
Asked if PSG's chances to go through the league phase were in danger, he said: "Undoubtedly.
"We created 50 chances in three games and we failed to convert so many of them... we need 20 clear chances to score and our opponents sneeze and they score... it sounds like a bad joke.
"Creating chances is the team's responsibility and I'm responsible for the team, so I'm responsible for the results. If I fail, I will fail with my ideas. We're on the right path."
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