Lewis Hamilton was shocked to claim his first Formula One pole position in four races as both Red Bull drivers rued missing out by the narrowest of margins.
Mercedes driver Hamilton took pole in qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix by just 0.035 seconds over Sergio Perez, with Max Verstappen just 0.087s back in third.
Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari at Imola, with Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas struggling to eighth place.
That may give Red Bull a strategic advantage for the race, especially with their cars on split strategies as Perez will start on soft tyres while Hamilton and Verstappen will be on mediums.
Still, Hamilton was thrilled to emerge on pole, which came as a surprise to him after Red Bull's pace this weekend and the fact he did not improve on his first flying lap on Q3.
"It has been great," said Hamilton, who impressively won the first race of 2021 in Bahrain despite Red Bull appearing to have a pace advantage.
"I definitely didn't expect us to be ahead of two Red Bulls.
"They have been so quick this weekend, six tenths ahead at times, but the car was already feeling better from the beginning this weekend.
"Respect to the team for their hard work to narrow down the window [to Red Bull].
"I'm so happy because the first lap was really nice, really clean. The second had some improvements but overall wasn't as good as the first.
"I came around the last corner and heard that I got the pole and was super grateful."
The first qualifying session was halted with a red flag after a crash for Yuki Tsunoda, a session Bottas topped as both Williams cars progressed.
Perez – on his soft tyres – emerged at the top of the timesheets in a Q2 session that saw Carlos Sainz, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso among the eliminated drivers.
A dramatic Q3 then saw Hamilton just hold on to his lead set after the first runs.
Lando Norris thought he had put his McLaren on the front row, only to discover he had exceeded track limits, meaning he settled for seventh behind Pierre Gasly and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
Perez thanked his team after claiming second but felt he should have had pole.
The Mexican said: "Well done to the team. I made a mistake on Friday and made them the team work hard so it is a good recovery.
"The most important thing is we showed progress. I never expected to be here after where we were on Friday but we have been improving.
"It is P2, but I should've been on pole – I made a mistake on the final corner.
"Everything is positive and we have to make sure we keep progressing and Sunday is when it matters.
"Anything can happen – a different [tyre] strategy to Lewis and Max. It will be interesting to see what we can do. The important thing is we get those points and that learning which is the priority."
Verstappen had claimed the last pole of 2020 and the first pole of this season, while Bottas had started at the front in the penultimate race of last year.
World champion Hamilton ended his wait for pole here, but Verstappen is eager to make life difficult to him.
The Dutchman said: "Not so good in Q3. I went off at turn three, so a bit messy, just not a good lap.
"You can't be good every time, so we'll see what went wrong – but it was definitely not the easiest in Q3.
"It's still P3, which is a good starting position. It's going to be interesting. We have the two cars on the different tyres and we will try to make it difficult for them."
A 99th career pole position for Hamilton saw him make Imola the 30th circuit where he has topped the qualifying timesheet.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:14.411
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.035s
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.087s
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.329s
5. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +0.379s
6. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) +0.415s
7. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.464s
8. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +0.487s
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +0.799s
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) no time set
Sturm Graz 0-1 Club Brugge: Tzolis strike seals visitors' first win
Christos Tzolis scored the only goal as Club Brugge edged out Sturm Graz 1-0 for their first win in this season's Champions League.
The Greece international delivered the decisive blow in the 23rd minute at 28 Black Arena on Wednesday.
Both sides were seeking their first point in the competition, having recorded defeats on matchday one against Borussia Dortmund and Brest respectively.
Brugge broke through midway through the first half, as Tzolis controlled before firing in off the post from the edge of the penalty area.
The visitors went close to doubling their lead after the break, but Sturm Graz goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen came to the hosts' rescue with a series of fine saves.
Urged on by the home fans, Christian Ilzer's side went in search of an equaliser, but it did not arrive as Brugge held out for the points.
Data Debrief: Third time unlucky for Sturm Graz
Sturm Graz have now suffered four successive Champions League defeats for the third time in their history.
Meanwhile, the Austrian side have now lost their last four European matches against Belgian opposition without scoring.
By contrast, Brugge maintained their perfect record of three straight wins against Austrian opponents, while they have now kept four clean sheets in five Champions League away games - as many as in their previous 22.
Tzolis' strike came from one of three shots on target, becoming the first Brugge player to register that amount in a single Champions League game since Hans Vanaken did so against Paris Saint-Germain in September 2021.
RB Leipzig 2-3 Juventus: Ten-man Bianconeri claim improbable comeback win
Ten-man Juventus twice came from behind to stun RB Leipzig 3-2 on Wednesday as Francisco Conceicao's 83rd-minute strike contined the Serie A giants' winning start to their Champions League campaign.
Juve were reduced to 10 just before the hour mark when goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio was sent off for a handball outside the box, having already lost captain Bremer and Nicolas Gonzalez to injury.
Benjamin Sesko, whose opener was cancelled out by Dusan Vlahovic prior to the red card, quickly restored Leipzig's lead from the penalty spot with his third European goal of the season.
But Vlahovic came to Juve's rescue again three minutes later, curling a left-footed effort into the top corner to level the game at 2-2.
And the unlikely turnaround was complete as Conceicao's fine finish gave the Bianconeri all three points in Germany.
While Juve have six points from six, wasteful Leipzig are still waiting to get off the mark, having been similarly frustrated late on against Atletico Madrid on matchday one.
Data Debrief: Joy for Juve's 10 men
It is not a record they will be proud of, but Juventus have had more goalkeepers sent off in the Champions League than any other club, with Di Gregorio the fourth.
But finally the Bianconeri managed to overcome that setback to earn a positive result. Previous examples had seen Angelo Peruzzi dismissed in a draw with Galatasaray and Edwin van der Sar sent off in a defeat to Panathinaikos, while Gianluigi Buffon's red card against Real Madrid came moments before Cristiano Ronaldo netted a decisive penalty in a two-legged quarter-final, despite Juve winning 3-1 on the night.
Buffon's moment of madness came in April 2018, and this was Juve's first Champions League win with 10 men since September of the same year against Valencia.
Liverpool 2-0 Bologna: Mac Allister and Salah strike as Slot's side stay perfect
Liverpool made it two wins from two in this season's Champions League following a 2-0 victory over Bologna at Anfield.
Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah were on target for Arne Slot's side, who maintained their perfect start to the league phase, having also beaten AC Milan 3-1 on matchday one.
The Reds broke through after just 11 minutes when Mac Allister timed his run perfectly to steer Salah's teasing cross beyond Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.
Liverpool thought they had doubled their lead six minutes later when Darwin Nunez fired home, only to be denied by the offside flag, while the woodwork thwarted Dan Ndoye at the other end.
The visitors looked to hit back after the break and went close in the 56th minute as Riccardo Orsolini forced a strong save from Alisson Becker, who was celebrating his 32nd birthday.
However, the hosts gave themselves breathing space - and eventually the three points - with a quarter of an hour remaining, when Salah brilliantly curled into Skorupski's far corner of the net.
Data Debrief: Salah makes more history as Reds continue to enjoy home comforts
In wrapping up the victory, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score in five successive home Champions League games.
The Egyptian is also only the third player to achieve the feat for a Premier League side, following in the footsteps of Thierry Henry with Arsenal (seven) and Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy (six).
Also assisting Mac Allister's opener, Salah has now been directly involved in 14 goals (eight goals, six assists) in his last 11 home European appearances, as many as in his 20 previous such games.
It helped Liverpool record their 11th straight group/league win at Anfield in major European competition, while they have now scored at least twice in each of their last 10 such games.
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