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."

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a goal in each half to help them secure a comprehensive 5-2 win at Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.

Defender Inigo Martinez opened the scoring with a close-range header from a Raphinha free-kick in the 13th minute, nodding across goal to find the bottom-left corner.

However, Barca were pegged back when Silas beat their aggressive offside trap to equalise with a tidy finish from a quick counterattack 14 minutes later.

Lewandowski then tucked home on the rebound after Raphinha struck the post in the 43rd minute, before extending Barca's lead eight minutes into the second half with a first-time strike from a Jules Kounde cross.

The France full-back also set up Raphinha for Barca's fourth then recorded his third assist in the 76th minute, putting the ball on a plate for Fermin Lopez to fire home Barca's fifth from inside the box.

Substitute Milson reduced the deficit for the home side six minutes from time, but Red Star remain without a point in 35th place, while Barca are sixth in the 36-team table with nine.

Data Debrief: Lewandowski out on his own 

Lewandowski has now 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. 

Eleven of those 19 goals have come in away matches, which is also the most of any player this term.

As a team, Barca have netted 55 goals in 16 games across all competitions in 2024-25, the most of any team from the big five European leagues. 

Inter thumped Red Star Belgrade 4-0 for their first victory in the Champions League this season, with Mehdi Taremi among the scorers as he got off the mark for the Nerazzurri.

Taremi also provided two assists as Simone Inzaghi's men cruised to three points at San Siro, building on their goalless draw at Manchester City on matchday one.

It was Hakan Calhanoglu that gave Inter the lead 11 minutes in, curling a sumptuous 25-yard free-kick in off the post to leave Omri Glazer in the Red Star goal with no chance.

Inter had the ball in the net on two more occasions in the first half, but Marko Arnautovic and Denzel Dumfries were adjudged offside, while later Henrikh Mkhitaryan blazed over the bar from close range.

Inter doubled their advantage just before the hour-mark as former Milan midfielder Rade Krunic was robbed of possession just outside his own area by Taremi, who slipped the ball through to Arnautovic to side-foot home from 10 yards.

Lautaro Martinez then came off the bench to make it 3-0 from another Taremi assist, before the former Porto man – who joined on a free agent ahead of this season – got on the scoresheet himself, converting a late penalty after Vanja Drkusic felled Martinez.

Inter go to Young Boys for their next Champions League fixture on October 23, while Red Star travel to Monaco a day earlier. 

Data Debrief: Martinez closing in on Adriano

While Taremi was the star of the show for Inter on Tuesday, it was fellow forward Martinez who closed in on a piece of club history with his goal off the bench.

Martinez has now scored 13 Champions League goals for the 2022-23 runners-up, moving level with Julio Cruz for second spot in the club's all-time scoring charts in the competition. Only Adriano, with 14, has netted more such goals for the Nerazzurri.

Simone Inzaghi earmarked continuity as the key for Inter as they look to replicate domestic success in the Champions League this season.

The Nerazzurri romped to the Serie A title by 19 points last season and are fourth this term after six matches, albeit they are only two points back of Napoli.

However, they were knocked out in the last 16 of the Champions League last term having reached the final in the 2022-23 season.

They continue their latest tilt by welcoming Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday and Inzaghi said just finding some rhythm is going to be key for his side.

"It's difficult to win (the title) and it's even more difficult to win again. But as far as the lads are concerned, they are working with great commitment," Inzaghi told reporters on Monday ahead of Red Star's visit.

"Then, of course, we still lack that continuity that we had, especially last year. That continuity that makes the difference to you both in the championship and in the Champions League."

Finding continuity will be even more important in this season's Champions League with the new league phase format.

"Last year after the first two games you were able to take stock and understand how the games could go, because then you knew that in the third and fourth game you would have played the same opponent, home and away," Inzaghi said.

"Now it's a bit of everyone against everyone. It's a winning formula with two extra games, with more difficulties. You can't make calculations, because it's a sort of one-off game."

Those extra European games mean that rotating his team will be of even more importance this season, and Inzaghi is still unsure about who will start up front against Red Star.

"I still have to decide between Lautaro (Martinez), (Marcus) Thuram, (Marko) Arnautovic and (Mehdi) Taremi," he said.

"They will probably have a good chance to play all four of them. I don't know who will start, tomorrow I will have to evaluate today's training."

Piotr Zielinski has yet to start a league game this season, but Inzaghi confirmed the midfielder will be in the lineup against the Serbian side and expects a tough challenge against an outfit who lost their opening league phase game to Benfica.

"It's a team that started on July 20. They've had nine league games. They've played in the preliminaries," Inzaghi said. "It's a very well-trained team, with excellent players." 

A frustrated Dejan Stankovic believes Rangers’ 3-0 win over Red Star Belgrade on Thursday was flattering.

Although the Red Star coach admitted it would be tough to turn the tie around in the return leg, his side deserved more from Ibrox.

After an eventful 90 minutes, the end of the match saw Stankovic head straight down the tunnel and decline to shake hands with counterpart Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who was visibly annoyed. The antagonism only resumed in the post-match news conference.

"The result is flattering, and we didn’t have a subordinate role [in the game]. The result didn’t reflect the balance of power on the pitch," Stankovic said afterwards. "We created our chances, offside three times, hit the frame of the goal, a missed penalty."

After a VAR intervention, Rangers took the lead from the penalty spot through James Tavernier, and Alfredo Morelos doubled the margin on 15 minutes.

Aleksandar Katai failed to convert a penalty of Red Star’s own nine minutes later, and had the better opportunities as the match progressed. Rangers capitalised on their chances however, leaving Stankovic to rue what could have been.

The 43-year-old was nevertheless in a defiant mood afterwards, claiming the tie is not yet over, with a return leg at the notoriously hostile Rajko Mitic Stadium looming.

"They were awarded a soft penalty also, and scored three goals from three dead balls. It’s just a shame that the result is disproportionate to what we showed. If we were to lose, the result should have been different with at least one goal scored, if not two. But that’s football," Stankovic said.

"I am convinced that the stands will be packed [in the second leg]. We showed that we can put them in real problems even though they’re a solid, well organised team. I am a realist though, and it will be tough because we didn’t score, but never say never."

The return fixture in Belgrade is next Thursday, with Red Star and Rangers facing Metalac and Dundee respectively on the weekend in domestic competitions.

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst emphasised that the job is not done after his side’s commanding 3-0 home win in the first leg of its Europa League last-16 tie against Red Star Belgrade.

Van Bronckhorst heaped praise on his side’s defensive structure and adaptability through the midfield, after a game that saw three Red Star goals disallowed,

"The midfield was key today because we had to change our defensive shape sometimes,” van Bronckhorst said at the post-game news conference. 

"John [Lundstram] had a really good part in that in making sure we put on pressure really early, and sometimes you need to drop into the back five. 

"I think we were very good on the ball to create chances, and I am more than happy with the result today.”

While he was more than content with his side’s showing, van Bronckhorst acknowledged the unpredictable nature of Europa League football, and anticipated a high-pressure clash when Rangers travel to Belgrade for the second leg.

"I think that [Red Star] are very strong – they are here for a reason," he said. "I'm happy with the result, but this tie isn’t over yet. 

"There are many goals in this competition, so to score three against Red Star is a great performance, but as I said when we played Dortmund away, we are only half way. 

"The key in Europe against really tough sides, you have to be dynamic and versatile in the shapes that you play – that’s what I told the players as well.

"If we wanted to go through to the next round, we had to make sure we were ready to make changes.

"I'm really happy to go to Belgrade next week, it’s going to be very hard, but we have a three-goal difference with us. This tie isn’t over yet.

"We have to be ready, but we will park Europe at the moment, and we'll work and prepare ourselves for Dundee on Sunday."

Barcelona will face Galatasaray in the last 16 of the Europa League.

Xavi's side were 4-2 winners on aggregate over Napoli in the round of 32 after dropping into the competition from the Champions League.

They will now meet the Turkish Super Lig giants, with the first leg at Camp Nou to be played on March 10.

Sevilla, winners of a record six trophies, will face David Moyes' West Ham, while rivals Real Betis will play Eintracht Frankfurt.

Rangers, who shocked Borussia Dortmund in the previous round, take on Red Star and RB Leipzig will play Spartak Moscow. Spartak's home leg must be played at a neutral venue due to the military invasion of Ukraine ordered by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The first legs will be played on March 10, with the exception of Porto versus Lyon and Betis' game with Frankfurt, which will be held a day earlier. The second legs are a week later.

Europa League last 16:

Rangers v Red Star
Braga v Monaco
Porto v Lyon
Atalanta v Bayer Leverkusen
Sevilla v West Ham
Barcelona v Galatasaray
RB Leipzig v Spartak Moscow
Real Betis v Eintracht Frankfurt