Manchester United’s Champions League return ended in disappointment as Harry Kane struck from the spot for Bayern Munich in an entertaining 4-3 win kicked off by Andre Onana’s clanger.

The European heavyweights are at very different stages right now, with the perennial Bundesliga champions second favourites to win a competition that the Red Devils did not even feature in last season.

Absentee-hit United began brightly enough at the Allianz Arena, only for Serge Gnabry to score shortly after ex-Manchester City forward Leroy Sane’s effort squirmed past summer signing Onana.

Rasmus Hojlund scored his first goal for the club but Kane quickly slammed home a penalty, with Casemiro scoring either side of Mathys Tel’s stoppage-time strike as the Red Devils suffered a fourth defeat in five matches.

Few could argue with the eventual outcome, but United had started brightly in Bavaria and should have gone ahead through Facundo Pellistri or Christian Eriksen inside four minutes.

Bayern, who were without suspended boss Thomas Tuchel on the touchline, shook off initial sluggishness, with Sane’s strike beating distraught Onana before Gnabry fired home four minutes later.

Hojlund’s effort off the heel of Kim Min-jae shortly after half-time brought hope to Erik ten Hag’s men, only for Eriksen to soon be adjudged to have handled.

Ex-Tottenham team-mate Kane scored the resulting spot-kick, with Casemiro’s brace sandwiching Tel’s strike during a dramatic conclusion to the Group A opener.

Watford and West Brom played out a 2-2 draw with all four goals at a wet Vicarage Road coming in the first 23 minutes.

Tom Ince gave the hosts a third-minute lead but John Swift and Jed Wallace replied in the next 14 minutes for the Baggies.

Matheus Martins responded for the Hornets but neither side was able to find a winner in the Championship fixture.

Fresh from their win over Birmingham last Saturday, Watford made a sole change with Ismael Kone replacing Tom Dele-Bashiru while West Brom were unchanged from their goalless draw at Bristol City.

The hosts soon took the lead as a move involving five players eventually saw Imran Louza give the ball to Ince, who curled a fine effort into the top right hand corner – his first goal since arriving from Reading this summer.

Stunned by conceding so early, West Brom pressed forward and delivered a stinging reply of their own with two goals in three minutes.

Swift’s 14th-minute free-kick on the edge of the area left Daniel Bachmann stranded before captain Wallace turned home past the Watford goalkeeper after a low cross from Darnell Furlong.

Watford replied when Matheus Martins picked the ball up, made his way to the edge of the area, and struck sweetly past Alex Palmer.

Kone could have put the hosts ahead in the 35th minute after collecting a Martins pass, but his lofted effort went just over the bar.

With the Hertfordshire rain getting even harder after the interval, the defences were notably tighter – limiting the chances both teams were able to carve out.

Bachmann had to turn over a fierce drive from Brandon Thomas-Asante 10 minutes after the restart.

At the other end, Palmer was made to turn a header from Kone on to the crossbar and away to safety.

Both teams looked for the winning effort in a contest that remained finely poised after the first half flurry of goals.

Thomas-Asante was foiled by the onrushing Bachmann with 10 minutes to go after he was fed through by Jeremy Sarmiento.

With six minutes of added time announced, the hosts looked to repeat their previous game against Birmingham by netting the decisive strike late on.

However, the visitors held firm and left Hertfordshire with a hard-fought point.

Zian Flemming put on a stellar performance as Millwall cruised to a 3-0 victory over Rotherham at The Den.

Ryan Longman opened Millwall’s account in the 27th minute when he cut inside and fired a wonder strike from 25 yards.

Flemming, who was left out of The Lions’ starting line-up in their 3-0 defeat to Leeds on Sunday, returned and doubled his side’s tally in the 58th minute.

Millwall finished off a convincing display with a Tom Bradshaw goal as he pounced on a deflected long-range strike to make it 3-0 in second-half stoppage time.

The home side started as they meant to go on thanks to an encouraging opening from Flemming.

Brooke Norton-Cuffy whipped in a dangerous ball into the box in the 15th minute, but it could only find former Millwall man Fred Onyedinma as Viktor Johansson remained untested.

Bradshaw had a promising chance in the 26th minute when the ball fell to him outside the box, but the forward struck high and wide.

Millwall found the breakthrough just a minute later as Allan Campbell found fellow loanee Longman in space on the edge of the box, who cut inside and fired a stunning strike past Johansson into the top right corner.

Rotherham struggled to string any real passes together, but managed half a chance when Sam Clucas found Onyedinma in the box, only to head wide.

Casper De Norre fired a bullet effort from 30 yards past a number of Rotherham bodies in the 40th minute, but Johannson was on hand to prevent the advantage from doubling.

Rotherham looked to grab an early equaliser after the break, with Onyedinma proving a threat once again when he curled the ball past Bartosz Białkowski in the 49th minute, but the flag immediately went up for offside.

Millwall’s hopes of adding a second looked to have been hit by the loss of Kevin Nisbet to injury, but that did not stop Flemming from doubling their lead in the 58th minute with a punishing left-footed strike from inside the box.

The hosts continued to push for another goal to ensure a third win of the season as Norton-Cuffy had a strong right-footed effort saved from a tight angle with 10 minutes to go.

Bradshaw, who scored twice in this fixture last season, made it 3-0 in the third minute of stoppage time when the ball fell to him in the penalty area following a deflected long-range effort.

Arsenal enjoyed a fine return to the Champions League as they cruised past PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates Stadium.

Six years of absence were soon brushed to one side – as were PSV – as a scintillating attacking display saw Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard score in a dominant 4-0 win.

The club’s hiatus from the top table of European football was so long someone felt it necessary to print the words to the Champions League anthem in the matchday programme and Arsenal’s players were certainly singing from the same hymn sheet.

Mohamed Elneny, back on the bench for the first time since a serious knee injury in January, was the only member of the current crop to have experienced Champions League football in an Arsenal shirt.

It did not take any of the tournament debutants long to make their mark on a new stage, however, as Saka struck inside eight minutes before Trossard doubled the lead, Jesus added a third before the break and Odegaard capped off a fine evening.

David Raya retained his place in the Arsenal goal having replaced Aaron Ramsdale for Sunday’s Premier League win at Everton.

Kai Havertz and Jesus came in for Fabio Vieira and Eddie Nketiah while Trossard deputised for the injured Gabriel Martinelli.

Saka set the tone for the evening, the England winger finishing after PSV goalkeeper Walter Benitez pushed an Odegaard shot into his path.

Jesus should have doubled the lead moments later but could not make contact on Ben White’s low cross but the second came soon after as the Brazil forward led a counter-attack and played in Saka, who crossed for Trossard to strike.

It was one-way traffic at the Emirates as Havertz fired over before Jesus forced Benitez into a good stop and then got on the scoresheet himself with a fine effort from a deep Trossard cross.

With Arsenal hosting north London neighbours Tottenham on Sunday, boss Mikel Arteta took advantage of the big lead to take off his key men as the second half progressed.

All three goalscorers, as well as Oleksandr Zinchenko, were replaced before the 70-minute mark with the Gunners in complete control of proceedings at a rain-soaked Emirates.

There was still time for more goals, Odegaard not to be outdone as he angled home a fine finish to further widen the gap.

Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal progressed from the group stages of the Champions League for 17 successive seasons, but the last seven of those ended in defeat in the last 16.

Arteta’s team have started Group B in fine style but the Spaniard will be under no illusions that his side will face more challenging tests if they are to go deep into the competition and successfully juggle European football with a Premier League title bid.

Leeds overcame Joe Rodon’s second-half sending-off to secure a goalless draw at Hull.

Daniel Farke’s men had the best chances of the first half – most significantly through the wasteful Georginio Rutter after 26 minutes – but they found debutant goalkeeper Ryan Allsop in inspired form.

Leeds supporters will have expected their team to kick on after the restart, but they were always up against it once Rodon was dismissed for a second bookable offence on the hour.

Hull head coach Liam Rosenior will be satisfied that their promising start to the season continued, now unbeaten since the opening day at Norwich.

But Rosenior will have expected much better of his offensive players inside the final third – not least when substitute Adama Traore somehow missed an open goal with two minutes remaining in normal time.

Given both sides’ fondness for playing football firmly on the front foot, it was perhaps a surprise that the game began so sluggishly.

Dan James swiped one high and wide early on, but neither Leeds nor Hull fans had much to shout about within the first 20 minutes.

The visitors’ gameplan was also disrupted when Willy Gnonto suffered an ankle injury and was replaced by Crysencio Summerville.

Ironically, Gnonto’s substitution seemed to awake Leeds from their slumber.

And they should have opened the scoring when Summerville threaded a lovely ball through the middle to Rutter.

Allsop expertly saved the one-on-one with his legs, but Rutter should have scored.

Summerville might then have got in on the act moments later, but Allsop reacted well with a sharp tip-over from a stinging hit on the left.

Allsop also thwarted Summerville from 20 yards with a lovely save at full stretch from the Dutch playmaker’s goalbound half-volley after 42 minutes.

Leeds’ relative dominance – not from a possession perspective but in terms of chances created – continued soon after the restart.

James and Summerville had opportunities off Luke Ayling’s smart cut-back, but Alfie Jones and Jacob Greaves refused to yield with brave defending inside the six-yard box.

Hull, however, slowly grew into a game that changed once Rodon was sent off.

The Leeds centre-back was lured into a rash challenge on Aaron Connolly on the halfway line.

Having already been booked for a first-half foul on Jaden Philogene, referee Stephen Martin had little option but to show a red card.

Predictably, given their one-man handicap, Leeds were forced to retreat for long periods of the second half.

But other than Liam Delap’s powerful run and cross on the right, from which Connolly came within a stud’s length of connecting, the hosts were never especially threatening.

That was until the 88th minute when Connolly teed up Traore, but the Mali international extraordinarily struck the far post with the goal at his mercy.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists they are in the Europa League to win it and they arrive in Linz “to compete, not to give opportunities”.

On Thursday the Reds take on LASK as they return to a competition in which their last appearance was the 2016 final defeat to Sevilla in the German’s first season at the club.

Since then Liverpool have won the Champions League and reached two other finals and lifted the Premier League, the Club World Cup, the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

As it stands the Europa League is the only major trophy Klopp has not won in his near-eight years at Anfield and he wants to add that missing silverware to his honour role.

That means fans who were hoping to see exciting fringe talents like youngster Ben Doak, Harvey Elliott and new signing Ryan Gravenberch may have to wait for now.

“We are here to compete, not to give opportunities,” he said.

“My first year I thought the Europa League was a bit too much for us until we got to the final. We had to fly to Russia, played on a frozen pitch in Sion.

“That was a different squad. We were not ready and we came through somehow. I don’t think we were exceptional until the quarter-final, semi-final.

“It is a different time, a different team. We are better prepared. We enjoy it more to be here because we had no clue at that time what to expect.

“We have to be motivated and we are excited to play in the Europa League. I didn’t watch the Champions League (this week), I didn’t miss the anthem.”

None of the 2016 final squad remain at Anfield with Joe Gomez – who was 18 at the time but out injured – the only current player to have played in the Europa League for Liverpool.

But while there have been significant alterations to the playing staff this summer the core of that trophy-winning band are still together and Klopp’s side are favourites to win the competition.

However, captain Virgil van Dijk brushed off the expectations.

“It’s a reflection of the world we live in at the moment, it’s from one extreme to the other,” he said.

“We have to just stay calm and level-headed, there are so many games to play and twists and turns to happen.

“We know we had a good start but there are so many things still we need to improve. We need to stay calm.

“Everyone else from the outside world will say things but we should not worry and think about it.”

Van Dijk has had to watch from the sidelines for the last two matches due to suspension but he has been impressed with the way his team-mates have gone about their business.

And he is not the only one who has been heartened.

Klopp added: “Virgil is right. He did not play now twice and you can see something is growing.

“We were late (arriving in Linz) today and it wasn’t our fault and we were waiting around and you see they enjoy spending time with each other.”

Jude Bellingham’s fairytale start to his Real Madrid career continued after he fired home a stoppage-time winner against Champions League debutants Union Berlin at the Bernabeu.

The hosts, winners of the biggest prize in European football on 14 occasions, looked destined to be heading for a frustrating draw after failing to find a way past the resilient Bundesliga side.

But Bellingham converted from close range with virtually the last kick of the Group C clash to claim his sixth goal in as many matches following his summer transfer from Borussia Dortmund, and land all three points for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Los Blancos arrived for their opening Champions League fixture with a 100 per cent record in LaLiga to see them sit two points clear of rivals Barcelona after five matches.

Bellingham has been key to their strong start and the 20-year-old – the sixth English player after Laurie Cunningham, Steve McManaman, David Beckham, Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate to feature for Real in the European Cup – was again central to his side’s pursuit of a win under the lights.

After just three minutes it was Bellingham’s cross which Joselu nodded straight into the arms of Frederik Ronnow – the first of a hat-trick of headers he was unable to score during a tepid opening period.

Following the interval, Joselu then saw a header tipped on to the post by Ronnow.

Ancelotti’s men were starting to up the ante, and Rodrygo had two good opportunities to hand his side the lead – first drawing a good save from Ronnow, and then blasting an effort off the woodwork.

But as the clock ticked down, Real were staring down the barrel of a disappointing point with Ancelotti’s annoyance etched all over his face. That was until Bellingham saved the night.

Following Real’s 16th corner of a one-sided contest, Federico Valverde’s shot from the edge of the area was blocked, before falling perfectly into the path of Bellingham.

The unmarked England international could not miss as he prodded home from a little more than a yard out before wheeling away in celebration and lapping up the adulation of the adoring home crowd.

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has conceded the club’s re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo “turned out wrong”.

Solskjaer was in charge when United brought the five-time Ballon d’Or winner back to Old Trafford amid much optimism and fanfare in August 2021.

At the time the transfer was viewed as a coup that could potentially fuel a Premier League title challenge.

Yet things soon unravelled as the team struggled and Solskjaer was sacked in November that year.

Ronaldo left the club in acrimonious fashion 12 months later.

Solskjaer told The Athletic: “It was about taking the next step to challenge for the title. And, unfortunately, it just didn’t work out.

“It was a decision that was very difficult to turn down and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong.

“It felt so right when he signed and the fans felt that at that Newcastle game (when he scored twice), when Old Trafford was rocking. He was still one of the best goalscorers in the world, he was looking strong.”

But he added: “When you have a group you need everyone to pull in the same direction. When things didn’t go right, you could see certain players and egos came out.”

Solskjaer was also the manager when the club signed England defender Harry Maguire in the summer of 2019.

The Norwegian feels the recent criticism, and even ridiculing of Maguire, has been very unfair.

He said: “Harry Maguire – it’s a disgrace that he’s getting so much abuse. I feel sorry for him, but he’s a strong lad and I hope it turns for him.

“He raised our defence big time when he arrived and lifted the mood around the place.”

Michael Beale believes it is time for Jose Cifuentes to step up after revealing Nicolas Raskin would miss the Europa League opener against Real Betis at Ibrox on Thursday night.

The Gers midfielder picked up a calf injury in the 2-0 cinch Premiership win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Saturday.

Raskin joins fellow midfielder Todd Cantwell and Brazilian striker Danilo on the sidelines, the latter having an operation on a fractured cheekbone sustained in scoring the first goal in Perth.

Ecuador international Cifuentes has had an unconvincing beginning to his Gers career after signing from Los Angeles FC in the summer and will vie with Ryan Jack for a midfield berth in the coming weeks.

Gers boss Beale said: “Nico is out until after the international break with a calf problem.

“He took a kick in the game and it has given him a problem. So him, Todd and Danilo are missing.

“I saw Danilo yesterday, he still looks sore if I’m honest. He had successful surgery on the areas, it is not just one area.

“He will be back in non-contact training at the back end of the international break, so ideally he will be back the first week after the October international break, but it might be a couple of weeks after that.

“The reason Cifuentes didn’t play at the weekend is that he didn’t arrive back from South America until the Friday morning where he played at altitude, so he is ready to go and Ryan Jack is there as well so it doesn’t change in us having options.

“He (Jose) came in very late and did some good things in his first couple of games. And then he was away on international duty.

“This is his moment, he has been here for a while now.

“I said recently that the new players have been here long enough now. He was the last one to come in, but I still think he is ready.”

Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde is to sign a new five-year contract at the Nou Camp, the club have announced.

The new deal with the 19-year-old will contain a buy-out clause set at one billion euros (£865million).

The Spain international will formally sign the contract at a ceremony with president Joan Laporta on Thursday.

A club statement read: “FC Barcelona and the player Alejandro Balde have reached an agreement for a new contract which will take the player through to 30 June 2028.

“The buy out clause is set at 1bn euros.”

Balde, a product of the club’s youth set-up, has established himself as first-choice left-back with the LaLiga champions over the past year.

Tottenham attacker Ivan Perisic is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury in training.

Spurs confirmed on Tuesday that Perisic had sustained a “complex anterior cruciate ligament injury” to his right knee in non-contact training.

Perisic played a key role off the bench in Tottenham’s dramatic 2-1 win over Sheffield United last weekend with an assist on his 50th appearance, but the severity of his injury could mean it is his final appearance for the club.

Croatian attacker Perisic is out of contract next summer and could be looking at a nine-month timeline before he can return to action.

“The experienced Croatia international sustained the injury in non-contact training and will undergo surgery. Wishing you well in your recovery, Ivan,” a club statement read.

Rodrigo Bentancur is currently out with an ACL injury sustained in February and he is not expected to be available for Ange Postecoglou until November.

Shaniel Thomas notched a hat-trick to help Jamaican club Cavalier take a big step toward the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club semifinals with a 3-0 victory on Tuesday night against Moca of the Dominican Republic in Group A action at Sabina Park.

With the win, Cavalier now sit atop the group with seven points through three matches, while Moca remain in third place with three points after two games.

Thomas's hat-trick, which is the first in Caribbean Cup history, propelled him to the top of the tournament goalscoring leaderboard with four goals.

It was a fairly even start between the two sides, but midway through the first 45 minutes, in the 24th, Cavalier were able to break the deadlock through Thomas.

A long ball was hoofed up the left flank for Makenson Cadet, who ran onto it and then chipped over a defender, allowing Thomas to meet the ball with a powerful header into net and a 1-0 Cavalier advantage.

Cavalier kept their foot on the gas and a swinging right-footed effort from Nicholas Hamilton in the 49th that curled just wide was the next big look at goal for the hosts.

Another chance would come for Cavalier in the 58th and they made the most of it when the Moca defence failed to clear their lines and Thomas was all too happy to take a simple back pass and hammer in a shot from a few yards out to double the lead to 2-0.

Thomas wasn’t done, and a minute after, he was brought down by Moca defender Manuel Vidal in the area, the Cavalier frontman smashed home a penalty in the 77th to nail down his hat-trick and the 3-0 Cavalier victory.

Kyle Walker will continue wearing the Manchester City captain’s armband for now – but has refused to reveal who the long-term skipper will be.

The England right-back has led City so far this term after previous incumbent Ilkay Gundogan left the club following last season’s treble success.

As in previous campaigns, the squad have held a vote to determine the make-up of the players’ leadership group, from which a senior figure usually emerges as captain.

Walker has revealed that this season the group comprises of himself, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Bernardo Silva but has given no further information.

That could suggest De Bruyne, who is currently sidelined through injury, is the player who will ultimately take up the mantle but Walker insists it does not matter who it is.

“There is a captain but I just feel out of respect to everyone that’s involved in it, there’s no numbers,” said the England international.

“We’re a team and we (the leadership group) are a team inside a team, and whoever wears the armband or has the armband on the day, is going to wear the armband until the time is right, until certain members in that captaincy group feel it’s right to announce the number or the order.

“That’s what we’ll do but, until then, I’m wearing the armband because I was the third captain last season and I’ll continue to wear it for the rest of the season until the time’s right.

“I don’t even think it’s really necessary. We’re a team inside a team.”

City, after winning their opening five Premier League games, continued their strong start to the season with a comfortable 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.

Walker feels City are constantly evolving as manager Pep Guardiola bids to keep his side ahead of their rivals.

He said: “I think that’s Pep being Pep. I think teams work us out, teams find the strategy of how they feel that they’re going to play or defend against us.

“When we can build up in different ways, I think that puts another tool in our toolbox where we can change it mid-game and it seems to be working for us.

“He’s got the key ingredient. He knows when’s right to let certain players go, bring players in, freshen things up here, give people challenges here and there.

“He’s got a fine balance and how to do it and it seems to work, not just here but at the number of teams that he’s been at because he’s been very successful.”

Maya Le Tissier has emphasised her determination to keep improving after returning to the England squad following the “bittersweet” experience of her summer.

The 21-year-old Manchester United defender was part of the Lionesses’ preparations for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but not their subsequent run to the final, having been named as one of two standby players that flew home as the tournament began.

Two-cap Le Tissier, who says it was “devastating” to not make Sarina Wiegman’s World Cup 23, is now back as a member of the first squad selected since, for matches in the inaugural Women’s Nations League against Scotland on Friday and the Netherlands four days later.

She said of her summer: “It was bittersweet. I loved Australia, loved being with the girls. I really enjoyed my experience out there, it’s such a cool country.

“Just being a small part of the preparation going into the tournament has definitely made me more hungry to be selected for the next tournaments to come.

“Obviously it was devastating when I got the call that I wasn’t selected in the 23, but there was nothing else I could really do apart from be as good as I could for the team and try to put myself in the best place I could, helping them prepare for the World Cup.”

Asked how desperate she was to make the cut for Euro 2025 – England players also have the target of next summer’s Olympics with Great Britain, qualification for which can be secured via the Nations League – Le Tissier said: “(I’m) extremely desperate, but it’s in two years – there’s a lot that can happen in two years.

“I just need to focus on playing football and getting better. I’m still young so I’ve got a lot of things to learn and improve on, so if I can do that, that’ll put me in the best place to be selected.

“I’m just focusing on the present, doing well in these next two games with England and starting the Women’s Super League season (on October 1).

“(I need to) just keep playing well and doing well for United, doing well when I’m here, and hopefully be a big part of the team in years to come.

“I think I can look at the players and take a lot from them, and see how I can develop.

“They’re European champions and they just got to a World Cup final. I’m very inspired by the rest of the team and I just have to perform, day in, day out, as well as I can and consistently.

“I’ve still got a long way to go, so it’s exciting to see what happens in the future.”

England kick off their Nations League Group A1 fixtures by playing the Scots at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.

Le Tissier said: “I think Scotland-England is a game everyone wants to be a part of.

“They want to beat us, we want to beat them, and it’s going to be an exciting game, especially up north. They’re massive football fans up there.

“I watched the men’s game the other day (a 3-1 win for England at Hampden Park) and it was a crazy atmosphere as well, so we’re really looking forward to the game.

“They’ve got some good players but we’ll be focusing on ourselves and seeing what we can do to beat them.”

After that contest, England then head to Utrecht for the Netherlands match.

Julian Alvarez is revelling in his partnership with Erling Haaland in Manchester City’s attack.

The Argentinian World Cup winner continued his strong start to the season with two goals as the holders began their Champions League title defence with a comfortable 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday.

An injury for Kevin De Bruyne has seen Alvarez handed a run of games in support of prolific centre forward Haaland and it is a role he is relishing.

“I am very happy with the goals, to help the team,” the 23-year-old said. “We are doing well, we are winning – which is the most important thing – and playing good games.

“I am trying to adapt and I continue growing in this position, where I am moving freely, to give the team another option and add to the attack.”

Alavarez was the dominant figure in City’s forward line as they threatened to overwhelm Red Star in their opening Group G game at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet despite creating a plethora of chances – with Haaland hitting the bar and goalkeeper Omri Glazer making several saves – City fell behind to an Osman Bukari strike just before half-time.

Alvarez began the fightback with a fine dinked finish after the restart and then put Pep Guardiola’s side ahead when his free-kick was inadvertently punched into the goal by Glazer.

Rodri wrapped up a thoroughly deserved victory with a typically composed finish 17 minutes from time but, again, City could have had several more. Haaland went the closest when he hit the goal frame for a second time.

“We played a good game,” said Alvarez. “It was important to start with a win and three points at home in this difficult competition. We are very happy.

“We had many chances we could not convert but Pep told us to keep doing what we were doing and the goals would come.

“It was the same in the previous game where we were losing and came back, so it was fine. We always try to stay calm, play well in the second half and win.”

Alvarez was not a regular starter last season, despite his starring role in his country’s World Cup triumph, but Guardiola believes he can do an important job in easing the goalscoring burden on Haaland.

Guardiola said: “It’s the same player as last season but being a World Cup winner doesn’t mean you have to play all the time.

“Last season we had Kevin and (Ilkay) Gundogan in that position. Kevin was in top form and Gundo was incredible.

“In that moment sometimes it was difficult to find spaces but I never had a doubt.

“Now Gundo has gone and Kevin unfortunately is injured. We need players to be close to Erling, don’t put all the responsibilities just on the shoulders of Erling to score all the goals.

“That’s why when Phil (Foden) has played there, when Julian plays there, we have the feeling that we create a lot of chances.”