Monaco defender Thilo Kehrer scored a late goal to earn a 1-0 Champions League victory for his side at Bologna on Tuesday.

Monaco captain Kehrer, left unmarked in front of goal four minutes from time, stretched out a leg to poke the ball home from a flicked-on corner to snatch the points.

The visitors maintained their unbeaten start to this season’s Champions League while also dealing Bologna their first-ever home defeat in European competition.

Both sides saw goals chalked off in the first half, Monaco's Wilfried Singo being penalised for a foul on Lukasz Skorupski before Santiago Castro saw a curling strike disallowed for a foul in the build-up.

The two Polish goakeepers, Monaco's Radoslaw Majecki and Bologna's Skorupski, both made several fine saves to keep the game goalless until Kehrer got the all-important touch on an inswinging corner late on.

The win puts Monaco in third place with 10 points, while Bologna are down in 30th spot with one point after four games.

Data Debrief: Long-awaited shutout for Monaco 

Monaco have now won consecutive games in the Champions League for the first time since a run of three in 2017, also ending a 23-game run without a clean sheet in the competition.

Bologna, meanwhile, are the only side in this season's Champions League to play four matches and fail to score, despite registering 48 shots in total and an xG tally of 3.19. 

Saturday's game between Bologna and Milan has been postponed due to heavy rain and flooding in the area, Serie A confirmed.

The clubs and the league organisers met on Friday in an attempt to find alternative arrangements, after Bologna mayor Matteo Lepore had earlier announced that he had ordered the suspension of the match.

An agreement could not be reached, with solutions such as playing the game in Bologna behind closed doors or at a neutral stadium rejected, and the game has been postponed with a rescheduled date yet to be announced.

"The match is postponed because, with a decision that in my opinion is incomprehensible, the mayor has prohibited the match from being played even behind closed doors," Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni told reporters after the meeting.

The municipality of Bologna said in a statement that the match would bring around 35,000 people near the most critical area of the city, causing problems due to the presence of fans and traffic closure in the surrounding area.

With both clubs involved in the Champions League, finding a new date for the postponed game will prove difficult, and Milan will now be without Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders for Tuesday's match against leaders Napoli.

Both players were set to be suspended for the Bologna game, but will now serve their suspension in the next match instead.

John McGinn believes Unai Emery has already cemented his status as one of Aston Villa's "greatest managers", following their perfect start in the Champions League.

Appearing in Europe's premier club competition for the first time in over 40 years, Villa have won each of their opening three matches, while they are yet to concede a goal.

Their unblemished start continued on Tuesday, with goals from McGinn and Jhon Duran sealing a 2-0 victory over Bologna at Villa Park and moving them top of the league table.

Though Villa are still seeking their first silverware under Emery during his two-year spell, McGinn thinks the Spaniard's place in the club's history is already secured.

"No matter what happens until now and whenever he leaves - we hope it's never - he will certainly go down as one of our club's greatest managers," the skipper said.

"You feed off your leader. He is our leader and we feed off that. No-one can question what he puts in, the effort - and everything which comes his way and our way is on the back of hard work.

"He is just so driven. I have never met anyone like him. He just focuses his full energy all the time. 

"He does not let us take our foot off the gas, so we can use all our energy and enthusiasm, and the excitement we have. His determination and intensity is unmatched."

Aston Villa extended their 100% record in the Champions League this season by beating Bologna 2-0 at home on Tuesday.

The result leaves Villa top of the 36-team league table, with three victories, six goals scored and zero conceded.

Unai Emery's side claimed the victory thanks to second-half goals from John McGinn and Jhon Duran, who was starting just his second match of the season in all competitions.

Villa controlled the match for large periods and had multiple chances to open the scoring before McGinn's free-kick went all the way through a sea of bodies and into the top corner. The Scot's goal was checked by VAR for a possible handball but later confirmed. 

Duran then doubled their lead in the 64th minute - Morgan Rogers swung a cross into the box, which the Colombian flicked into the goal after holding off a defender.

Next up for Villa in the Champions League is a trip to Club Brugge, while Bologna - who are 28th with one point - host Monaco.

Data debrief: Villa make history

Villa's victory on Tuesday helped them become only the third team to ever win their first three Champions League matches without conceding.

Unai Emery, meanwhile, became only the fifth Spanish manager to have won 25 matches in the competition, alongside Pep Guardiola, Vicente Del Bosque, Rafa Benitez and Luis Enrique.

For Bologna, it is one victory in 11 matches in all competitions so far this season.

Unai Emery insists Aston Villa must continue striving to "break barriers" as the club look to take a big step towards qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages. 

Emery's side welcome Bologna to Villa Park on Tuesday, aiming to maintain their perfect record in the competition so far. 

They also come into the encounter unbeaten in nine games in all competitions after defeating Fulham 3-1 in the Premier League, a result that propelled them into the top four. 

Emery is looking to pick up his 25th Champions League win, and would become the fifth Spanish manager to reach that total after Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benítez, Vicente del Bosque and Luis Enrique.

But aside from personal accolades, Emery has his eyes set on helping the Villans become regular contenders for silverware during his time at the helm. 

"I don't want to waste my time here, that is my message," said Emery. "We want to achieve the objectives and one of them is to play in the Champions League.

"It is not about playing there only because of some circumstances - I want us to stay there for a long time.

"You have to be resilient. We want to be strong in the idea in our mind and create a strong mentality to always break barriers."

Should Villa beat the Serie A side, they will also equal their longest streak of victories in the European Cup or Champions League, last earning three consecutive wins between September and October 1981. 

Emery will celebrate his second anniversary as Villa manager on Thursday but is only looking at how he can help the club continue to grow after their meteoric rise under his stewardship in the last 24 months.

"The most important thing is for us how we are increasing our demands and with those getting the objectives we are facing each year," he outlined.

"Two years ago we avoided a risk of relegation and even had time to get a position in the Conference League, which was amazing in the first seven months we had here.

"Last year we continued our process, and we increased a lot our demands, getting the Champions League.

"The challenge is to get better every day, and now how can we keep the same level we have now for a long time? That’s the most difficult thing.

"When you achieve an objective at a high level, how can you be demanding and successful in keeping it? That’s the idea I have now. The club is in the same way.

"The players are with the same message I am giving you here. The words I use repeatedly since I arrived here to now is I don’t want to waste my time here.

"That’s the message for everyone. I don’t want you to waste your time here. We are professionals, and we can get our best objectives individually and collectively.

"We want to keep the level we have now, which is the Champions League, and add something more like being a contender for a trophy."

Tuesday's fixture against Bologna will be the first time the two sides faced each other in any competition, though Villa have struggled against sides from Italy. 

They have lost four of their six major European games against Italian sides, with the two wins both coming at home against Inter in 1990 and 1994, in the UEFA Cup.

Arne Slot is confident Mohamed Salah will "always score goals" if he is in the Liverpool team, after the Egyptian's star turn against Bologna.

Having teed up Alexis Mac Allister's opener at Anfield, Salah scored Liverpool's second to seal a 2-0 win in the Champions League on Wednesday.

In the process, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score in five consecutive home games in the European Cup/Champions League.

He is only the third player to score in five consecutive Champions League home games for a Premier League side, after Thierry Henry with Arsenal (seven) and Ruud van Nistelrooy with Manchester United (six).

"Before [last week's EFL Cup win over West Ham], Mo played three games without scoring a goal," said Slot.

"So it is in football, it can happen that sometimes in three games, you score one or you don't score.

"But these players, like Mo, they will always score their goals if you just keep playing them."

Salah's contract expires at the end of this season and he has said this will be his last season at Anfield.

"Mo has done really well today, and I'm happy with the way he does at the moment, and I'm not looking forward to next season," Slot added.

The 46-year-old Dutchman, who replaced Jurgen Klopp, has become Liverpool's first head coach to win eight of their first nine games across all competitions.

His team have won their opening two in the Champions League to sit fifth in the 36-team table. They also top the Premier League.

Slot said: "I don't draw many conclusions from that, but it's nice. So many incredible managers have worked here, doing so many special things.

"The only thing is I hope it is not the only thing people remember me for in two or three years or however long I am here. If all they say is, 'that's the manager who won eight out of nine!'

"I'm hoping to do more special things than just win eight out of my first nine games.

"It also says how I have been left this club – the work rate the players put in, how the staff are helping me get these results."

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. 

Liverpool manager Arne Slot expects Diogo Jota to feature in their Champions League clash with Serie A side Bologna at Anfield, despite the Portuguese forward's absence from training on Tuesday.

Jota received a knock in the 2-1 Premier League win at Wolves on Saturday but is set to play instead of Federico Chiesa, who arrived at training on Tuesday with an injury.

The Italian winger joined Liverpool from Juventus in August and grabbed an assist in the 5-1 EFL Cup rout of West Ham but will miss out on facing familiar opponents on Wednesday.

"It's a shame for him because he was looking forward to a Champions League night at Anfield, especially because we face an Italian team," Slot told reporters of Chiesa.

"How long is he out? It's always difficult because it happened yesterday but I am not expecting him to be out for a very long period of time.

"We will see if he can be in the team for Saturday [a Premier League match at Crystal Palace]."

Liverpool are off to a strong start in Slot's first season in charge. They top the Premier League standings on 15 points, opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 win over Milan, and have booked their spot in the EFL Cup's last 16.

"One of the reasons we can compete is we have a lot of quality. We have a lot of cohesion in the team. Those who are not playing are happy with us scoring and winning so those are two really positive things," Slot added.

Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister had kind words for how well the Dutchman has done in filling the huge shoes left by former manager Jurgen Klopp.

"He's definitely an amazing manager. You can see how he's been from the first day," the Argentine said.

"We understand what he wants from us, and I think that's the main thing as a coach, to get the ideas in the players."

Liverpool are back in the Champions League after a one-year absence and Slot hopes to see the hunger reflected in his team on Wednesday.

"What I want from the players is them to show they missed this. I want to see this, I want to feel this," Slot said. "I am hoping it's the same from our fans. I hope they feel this desire to show Europe that you missed us."

Bologna were held to a 0-0 draw by visitors Shakhtar Donetsk, who saw an early penalty saved, in a lacklustre Champions League opener on Wednesday.

The first half lacked excitement, but Bologna's fans relished the milestone occasion as they returned to Europe's elite club competition for the first time in almost 60 years.

The game was four minutes old, though, when the visitors had a chance to take the lead, Stefan Posch fouling Eguinaldo to concede an early penalty.

However, Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski denied Heorhiy Sudakov from 12 yards, and that was the most dramatic moment of an otherwise tepid affair. 

Despite an energetic start to the second half and a couple of impressive saves from Shakhtar keeper Dmytro Riznyk, neither team could make a breakthrough, taking a point apiece from their first outing in the competition's new-look league phase.

Data Debrief: Skorupski the hero

In a game low on attacking quality, Bologna goalkeeper Skorupski made headlines with his early penalty save, becoming the sixth Polish shot-stopper to keep out a penalty in the Champions League.

It also means that three of the last four penalties taken in the first four minutes of a Champions League game have not found the net.

Samuel Iling-Junior has joined Bologna on a season-long loan from Aston Villa.

The 20-year-old joined the Villans at the start of July as part of a double transfer from Juventus with Enzo Barrenechea for a combined £18.6million.

However, he has not featured in either of Villa's matchday squads since the start of the Premier League season, with Leon Bailey and Morgan Rogers preferred in the wide areas.

Iling-Junior made 27 appearances for Juventus in all competitions last season, scoring once and registering two assists, helping the club to win the Coppa Italia in May.

Bologna are yet to win this season in Serie A, drawing with Udinese and losing to Napoli, but are set to compete in the Champions League, having qualified for the tournament for the first time since 1964. 

Antonio Conte believes he witnessed a turning point for his Napoli side as they strolled to a 3-0 win over Bologna in their Serie A home opener on Sunday.

Napoli were trounced 3-0 at Verona in Conte's first league game at the helm last week, but they bounced back with a comfortable win over the Rossoblu on Sunday.

The Partenopei's victory was their first on home soil without conceding since they beat Sassuolo 2-0 in August 2023, and Conte feels it was an important moment in his team's development.

"Today we had a great responsibility, that of giving a great response after the second half in Verona," Conte told reporters.

"I had no doubts, these guys are good guys. I see them working... and I got important answers.

"These are three points that are the start of our journey, my first three points as Napoli coach. 

"I was emotional, I really cared about it. It's a starting point, we know that we have a journey to make.

"We have to gain confidence and continue to give this sense of unity that we felt today. This makes me happy, we hadn't won for a long time and we did it against an important opponent. Now let's think about Parma."

Napoli had gone eight league games without a victory prior to Sunday's match, with their previous win coming by a 2-1 scoreline against Juventus in March.

Winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia contributed a goal and an assist, and he feels having Conte at the helm is close to a guarantee of success, saying: "I really wanted to get on the pitch and give my contribution to the cause to bring home a very important win.

"I am a footballer who always wants to learn new things, to acquire useful notions to continue my path of growth.

"Having Conte on the bench is certainly a guarantee. Let's hope we can take great satisfaction throughout the whole championship."

Antonio Conte oversaw his first Serie A victory in charge of Napoli, who ran out commanding 3-0 winners over Bologna at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Simeone were all on target for the Partenopei as they bounced back from their defeat by the same scoreline at Verona on matchday one.

The hosts had not lost their opening two games of a Serie A season since doing so under Zdenek Zeman in 2000-01, and they broke through in first-half stoppage time.

A lovely move culminated in Kvaratskhelia clipping a delightful ball into the box for the onrushing Di Lorenzo to control and fire home.

Kvaratskhelia doubled the lead with a quarter of an hour remaining; his shot after a fine solo run deflecting beyond Lukasz Skorupski in the Bologna goal.

Napoli wrapped up the points in stoppage time when David Neres cut a cross back for fellow substitute Simeone, who made no mistake from close range.

Data Debrief: A magnificent seven for Di Lorenzo as Simeone ends drought

Napoli opened the scoring via an unlikely source in Di Lorenzo, though he converted the opportunity with aplomb.

The skipper is one of two defenders, along with Cristiano Biraghi, to score in each of the last seven Serie A seasons.

Namesake Simeone climbed off the bench to net his fifth goal against Bologna in the Italian top flight and, more importantly, end a dismal run of 24 successive league appearances without scoring.

Antonio Conte redirected focus from the transfer market to Napoli's first home game of the season as they aim to get their campaign back on track.

Conte, who took charge of Gli Azzurri in June, watched on as his side lost 3-0 to Hellas Verona last week, prompting questions about the club's ambitions in the market.

The club have made four signings so far, with their most recent addition coming earlier this week as David Neres joined from Benfica in a £23.8million deal. 

Napoli are also in talks to sign Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku, with striker Victor Osimhen reportedly going the other way. 

However, Conte was in no mood to talk about potential incomings ahead of facing Bologna this weekend, saying: "Let's redirect the press conference immediately.

"Last week we had a press conference where we spoke only about the transfer market.

"I received zero questions about Verona, or maybe one. There was no talk of football, and then what happened, happened.

"Regarding the market you need to ask the club, but I see you are quite informed because I also read about it through you.

"Let's focus everything around the game, it's more important for me."

Napoli are aiming to improve on their 10th place finish in Serie A last season, having won the Scudetto the previous year under Luciano Spalletti. 

But their wastefulness in front of goal proved costly against Verona, with only four of their 14 shots on target at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi. 

During the 2023-24 campaign, they scored 55 goals, 34 fewer than champions Inter and 22 less than they managed during their title-winning season. 

Conte had previously mentioned the need for reconstruction at the club, with their defeat against Verona underlining their areas for improvement. 

"Maybe it was good that this blow came immediately, it brought us back to reality, me, the club and fans, the players perhaps," Conte said.

"What makes me happy is to have perceived that the players understood what happened, I saw in them great motivation to start again and get out of these difficulties.

"When things go well, everyone is good. In difficulties, you see real men. We can also lose, but not in that way."

Napoli's defeat in their first Serie A match of the season was their first since the 2015-16 campaign, and only once in the three points for a win era have they registered two losses in their first two league games (2000-01 under Zdenek Zeman). 

And Conte faces a difficult task to get their first points on the board, with Bologna, who qualified for the Champions League last year, the visitors to Naples. 

But the 55-year-old Italian was keen to put their opening day humbling behind them and focus on putting things right on home soil. 

"I understand the difficulties, the second half in Verona can leave an aftermath, but we don't have time, not on the pitch and not in the stands," he said.

"There is an important game, three points, and all of us have to send a signal."

Antonio Conte redirected focus from the transfer market to Napoli's first home game of the season as they aim to get their campaign back on track.

Conte, who took charge of Gli Azzurri in June, watched on as his side lost 3-0 to Hellas Verona last week, prompting questions about the club's ambitions in the market.

The club have made four signings so far, with their most recent addition coming earlier this week as David Neres joined from Benfica in a £23.8million deal. 

Napoli are also in talks to sign Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku, with striker Victor Osimhen reportedly going the other way. 

However, Conte was in no mood to talk about potential incomings ahead of facing Bologna this weekend, saying: "Let's redirect the press conference immediately.

"Last week we had a press conference where we spoke only about the transfer market.

"I received zero questions about Verona, or maybe one. There was no talk of football, and then what happened, happened.

"Regarding the market you need to ask the club, but I see you are quite informed because I also read about it through you.

"Let's focus everything around the game, it's more important for me."

Napoli are aiming to improve on their 10th place finish in Serie A last season, having won the Scudetto the previous year under Luciano Spalletti. 

But their wastefulness in front of goal proved costly against Verona, with only four of their 14 shots on target at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi. 

During the 2023-24 campaign, they scored 55 goals, 34 fewer than champions Inter and 22 less than they managed during their title-winning season. 

Conte had previously mentioned the need for reconstruction at the club, with their defeat against Verona underlining their areas for improvement. 

"Maybe it was good that this blow came immediately, it brought us back to reality, me, the club and fans, the players perhaps," Conte said.

"What makes me happy is to have perceived that the players understood what happened, I saw in them great motivation to start again and get out of these difficulties.

"When things go well, everyone is good. In difficulties, you see real men. We can also lose, but not in that way."

Napoli's defeat in their first Serie A match of the season was their first since the 2015-16 campaign, and only once in the three points for a win era have they registered two losses in their first two league games (2000-01 under Zdenek Zeman). 

And Conte faces a difficult task to get their first points on the board, with Bologna, who qualified for the Champions League last year, the visitors to Naples. 

But the 55-year-old Italian was keen to put their opening day humbling behind them and focus on putting things right on home soil. 

"I understand the difficulties, the second half in Verona can leave an aftermath, but we don't have time, not on the pitch and not in the stands," he said.

"There is an important game, three points, and all of us have to send a signal."

Lazio got their Serie A campaign off to a winning start with a 3-1 victory over newly promoted Venezia.

Visitors Venezia took a shock lead through Magnus Kofod Andersen just three minutes into the match, but Lazio roared back through Valentin Castellanos eight minutes later.

A penalty from captain Mattia Zaccagni put Lazio ahead on the stroke of half-time. The Italy international has now directly contributed to 35 goals in Serie A since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, second only to Antonio Candreva (40) among midfielders.

Venezia mustered seven shots in the second half, but their comeback hopes were extinguished when Giorgio Altare turned into his own goal late on.

Lazio's city rivals Roma did not fare as well, only managing a goalless draw away to Cagliari, with both sides hitting the woodwork in that contest.

Elsewhere, Udinese began their league season with a credible draw away at Bologna.

Vincenzo Italiano's first competitive game in charge of Bologna saw them dominate the match with 22 shots to Udinese's four, and they took the lead through a Riccardo Orsolini penalty.

Orsolini is the second Bologna player to score in seven different Serie A seasons in the past 50 years, after Carlo Nervo (seven between 1996-97 and 2003-04).

But Udinese managed to draw level through Lautaro Giannetti in the 68th minute, and held on for the remainder of the encounter to deny Italiano an ideal start.