Graham Potter urged Chelsea to not "wait around for luck" but hailed a "dominant" performance despite a slender defeat at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last 16.

Karim Adeyemi's third goal in as many games for Dortmund in all competitions, one more than in his previous 20 appearances, proved the difference in a narrow 1-0 win at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday.

Chelsea should have arguably been out of sight before Adeyemi's 63rd-minute strike, with Joao Felix squandering a pair of glorious first-half opportunities in an entertaining encounter.

Gregor Kobel had a fine game in goal for Edin Terzic's side too, and Potter appeared far from worried after an encouraging display ahead of the return meeting at Stamford Bridge on March 7.

The Chelsea head coach told BT Sport: "I thought we were the dominant team in the second half.

"It is half-time in the tie, we have to regroup. You can see the supporters' reaction, they were really positive, they can see the performance of the team, they gave us a fantastic reception.

"We are a team in progress, we know there are a lot of positive things there.

"You always need a bit of luck but you can't wait around for luck, you have to keep working.

"The boys have been fantastic with their work but we are still suffering at the moment. But we will keep on working."

Visiting Chelsea had 21 shots to their hosts' 14, with six more on target than Dortmund's two, as the Blues dominated without reward in Germany.

Potter's side amassed an expected goals tally of 2.14 to the 1.41 of Terzic's men as well, although all that mattered was Adeyemi's brilliant finish after a roaring counter-attack from a Chelsea corner.

Struggles in front of goal are not a new problem for Potter, with Chelsea managing just four goals in nine matches in all competitions and failing to score in five of those games.  

The Blues have drawn a blank in more outings in 2023 than any other Premier League club, yet Potter was pleased with what he saw – apart from Adeyemi's ruthless finish.

"It was a very strong performance, especially the second half," he added. "We created a lot of chances and efforts on goal but I am disappointed with the goal we conceded.

"It is a counter-attack from a corner, we were close to scoring ourselves. They broke on us. It is disappointing, we need to do better.

"Apart from that, we were really, really good, we just have to score. We had good attacking movements, clarity in terms of how we wanted to attack and got into the right areas. The attitude was really positive as well."

Andrey Rublev suffered a first-round defeat to Alex de Minaur on a bad day for the big names at the Rotterdam Open.

Second seed Rublev won this event two years ago but there will be no such run this time around after his 6-4 6-4 loss on Wednesday.

De Minaur broke the world number five early in each set and sealed the win at the first time of asking, moving to a 3-0 head-to-head record against Rublev on hard courts.

The Australian will face Maxime Cressy in the next round, who bounced back from his Open Sud de France final defeat by beating Tim van Rijthoven.

Jannik Sinner saw off Cressy in that Montpellier showdown and the Italian carried that form into this tournament, though he needed three sets to overcome Benjamin Bonzi.

Frenchman Bonzi forced a decider but Sinner regained his composure in the final set to prevail 6-2 3-6 6-1 and set up a heavyweight clash with top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

There was no such progress for Alexander Zverev, who joined Rublev in suffering an early exit.

The German came unstuck 4-6 6-3 6-4 to home favourite Tallon Griekspoor, whose four wins over top-20 opponents have all come in Rotterdam.

Stan Wawrinka, the champion in 2015 and runner-up four years later, will face the winner of that tie, after he beat Richard Gasquet 6-3 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

Holger Rune reached the semi-finals in Montpellier, and like Sinner the fourth seed progressed into round two, claiming a routine straight-sets victory over qualifier Constant Lestienne.

"It was tricky. It's a lot about finding the rhythm here in the beginning of the tournament and first match you have to really be on your toes, especially I played a qualifier today who already has two matches in his bag," Rune said.

"It made it more difficult, but I'm happy how I handled every situation today."

Hubert Hurkacz was another seed to fall out, with the world number 10 going down 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) to Grigor Dimitrov.

Mikel Arteta bemoaned Arsenal's mistakes handing Manchester City a significant psychological blow in the Premier League title race.

Pep Guardiola's champions battled to a 3-1 victory at Emirates Stadium to move ahead of Arsenal, who have played a game fewer, on goal difference at the top-flight summit.

Kevin De Bruyne punished Takehiro Tomiyasu's errant pass to open the scoring before second-half goals for Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland ensured Bukayo Saka's first-half equalising penalty would prove irrelevant.

Manager Arteta, who coached City under Guardiola before taking the Arsenal role, acknowledged the Gunners were punished for their mistake-laden display in north London.

"We lost it, it was an incredible battle against two teams and we had them - but we gave them the goals," Arteta, who has lost eight of nine games against Guardiola in all competitions, told Amazon Prime Video.

"We had them in big moments, but in the big moments they were better than us. We were really imprecise, we put ourselves in trouble, in certain areas of the pitch we overplayed and we got punished.

"We had three big chances but didn't put them away and that was the difference. To beat them we have to be over our level because they are such a good team.

"The atmosphere and performance was really good, if you take away the way we gave them three goals."

Despite defeat, Arteta says the performance only served to further his belief Arsenal can claim their first title since the 2003-04 'Invincibles' campaign.

"I have more belief than I had before the game, with the performance and the level the team put in against City," he added to BBC Sport.

"They wanted to play a different game than the one we played and with the crowd we have we can do it.

"They still have it [the belief], I can sense it. They feel they can do it."

City had just 36 per cent possession in the victory, the lowest figure on the ball in a league game for a team managed by Guardiola in his top-flight managerial career.

While dominating possession, Arsenal's only shot on target in the game came from Saka's penalty after Eddie Nketiah was felled by Ederson.

Captain Martin Odegaard was far from his usual lofty standards and the Norway international lamented his side's performance at either end of the pitch.

"The game is decided in the boxes and we were not sharp enough in front of the goal and in our own [box] as well," Odegaard told Amazon Prime Video.

"They were better [in the boxes]. Apart from that, we played a good game, did many good things and had many good periods, but we have to be better in the boxes.

"It is football. Sometimes chances go in, sometimes not. But that is where we need to improve and be more clinical. And [we must] defend our box. That is not just about one player, but the whole team.

"As we have said all season, work hard and take it game by game. It is the same now.

"It is one game we have lost here and now we look to the next one.

"It was an unbelievable atmosphere and we are so grateful to everyone who came here and made the game special. We will work hard to give them something to make them happy about."

After going three straight Premier League games without a win, Arsenal travel to play Aston Villa on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola believes his decision to change his "horrible" first-half tactics was the key to Manchester City's crucial 3-1 victory over Arsenal.

City headed into Wednesday's vital clash at the Emirates Stadium three points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, but Kevin De Bruyne struck to give City the lead after 24 minutes.

Although Bukayo Saka levelled from the spot, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland scored second-half goals to earn three points for City and put them top on goal difference.

Arsenal had seven first-half shots to City's four, and a much-improved display was required from the champions after the interval to hold the Gunners to no shots on target in the second period.

Guardiola, who has now won eight of his nine matches against Mikel Arteta's Arsenal after having him on his coaching staff at City between 2016 and 2019, pointed to a change in tactics at the break as the key reason for his team's excellent second-half performance.

"The first half they were much better than us," Guardiola told Amazon Prime. "The second we were much, much better.

"We were not playing, we were defending because they were so good. In the first half, my tactics, I tried something new and it was horrible.

"We adjusted in the second half and we were more aggressive towards [Martin] Odegaard and controlled more of the ball. Erling used his power to keep the ball.

"We suffered in the first half, but in the second we were there, we were more aggressive, winning duels, and when that happens we are a better team. We are built to go as a crazy team."

When asked why he felt City were better in the second half, Haaland also noted Guardiola's half-time changes, explaining: "[There were] small adjustments in half-time from Pep.

"In the end, we have good quality players and we have to get it out of every player and we did today.

"We have to play a little bit more like this sometimes and that is what we did today."

Despite City leapfrogging Arsenal to the Premier League summit, the Gunners hold a game in hand as they look to lift a first title since the 2003-04 'Invincibles' season.

Guardiola knows the title race is far from over, saying: "Now we are top of the league, but they have one game in hand. We have a lot of games to play.

"Arsenal will be back. In three days we have another one. [There are] still many, many games to play for everyone, and we are not an exception."

Jack Grealish joined Manchester City for moments like this.

Upon completing a £100million move from Aston Villa in August 2021 – a British-record fee that was eclipsed by Enzo Fernandez's move to Chelsea last month – Grealish was asked about his biggest motivation after leaving his boyhood club.

"Competing for major trophies is something that I wanted to do," he replied. "[The move] was something I couldn't turn down. Let's hope it is a successful one."

With a Premier League title under his belt from last season, Grealish had already achieved that aim. But after playing a peripheral part in that first triumph, the England international is starting to make far more of an impact this time around.

Never was that more evident than in Wednesday's top-of-the-table showdown with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, in which his 72nd-minute goal helped City on their way to a 3-1 win that moved them above the Gunners in the table.

A poor Gabriel Magalhaes pass was pounced upon, and Grealish had the ball in the net seconds later to restore City's lead after Bukayo Saka's penalty had earlier cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne's opener. 

At 1-1 with less than a quarter of the pivotal clash to go, sitting three points clear with a game in hand to play, Arsenal would still have considered themselves title favourites. Grealish's goal, which Erling Haaland added to before full-time, changed the complexion of the title race entirely.

Grealish had impressed in spells up until his decisive moment, with no player on the field completing more dribbles (four), but it is goals and assists he was brought into the team to provide.

The 27-year-old admitted as much in a candid interview at the turn of the year when saying he never expected to find life at City so difficult. How quickly the narrative can change.

From scoring just one goal and providing no assists in eight Premier League appearances heading into the World Cup break, Grealish now has two goals and three assists in nine matches since.

Not that Arsenal were not already aware of his quality when he has the ball at his feet in the box, as he proved with an assist for Nathan Ake's winning strike when these sides met in the FA Cup last month.

Another telling Grealish contribution made Arsenal pay as they suffered an 11th successive league loss to City – their longest losing run against any opponent in their league history – and squandered top spot.

There will be plenty of twists and turns ahead, particularly with the two sides set to face off again at the Etihad Stadium in April, but City's pursuit of Arsenal has had a sense of inevitability about it. From eight points adrift a month ago, they are top on goal difference.

This was undoubtedly a huge psychological blow for Arteta's side, who did well to respond to a City lead that was self-inflicted as Takehiro Tomiyasu's blind pass was seized upon by De Bruyne. The Belgian needed only one touch to loop the ball over a stranded Aaron Ramsdale for his sixth league goal against his favourite opponents.

Arteta said on the eve of this match he would not be satisfied with an apology for the officiating in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Brentford until Arsenal were given their two dropped points back.

A controversial penalty award in Arsenal's favour might have gone some way to easing those tensions as Ederson was adjudged to have felled Eddie Nketiah, allowing Saka to convert his fourth successful spot-kick from four since his Euro 2020 heartbreak.

Another big call went Arsenal's way when a penalty awarded for Gabriel's challenge on Haaland was overturned by the VAR as the prolific striker was marginally offside. 

However, the referee was not the big talking point come the end of this huge tussle thanks to Grealish's crucial strike paving the way for what was a deserved victory in the end for Pep Guardiola's side.

Having already matched his tally for both goals and assists (three each) from the whole of last season's Premier League campaign, Grealish may yet prove to be City's difference-maker – even accounting for Haaland's goals – in a title race that looks set to go right down to the wire.

Benfica have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after second-half goals from Joao Mario and David Neres saw them beat knockout round debutants Club Brugge 2-0 in Wednesday's last-16 first leg.

Brugge gifted their visitors two huge chances at Jan Breydel Stadium and were duly punished.

Jack Hendry's foul on Goncalo Ramos allowed Joao Mario to score from the spot six minutes after the restart, with Simon Mignolet only able to push the ball in off the crossbar.

Fredrik Aursnes, Antonio Silva and Rafa Silva passed up opportunities in the space of six first-half minutes, but Neres was on hand to ensure their misses did not prove costly when he capitalised on Bjorn Meijer's mistake in the 88th minute.

Scott Parker – the third English manager to take charge of a non-English team in the Champions League, after Bobby Robson and Gary Neville – saw his side have a Denis Odoi goal disallowed for offside before the break.

But Brugge never did enough to test Benfica, who won a third straight game in the competition for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign.

Parker has won just one of his eight games in charge of Brugge, and they face a tough ask in the second leg on March 7 if they are to go and extend their dream run, especially given Benfica are unbeaten at home in all competitions this season.

Chelsea were punished for a profligate showing at Borussia Dortmund after Karim Adeyemi's second-half strike secured a slender 1-0 lead in the Champions League last 16.

Graham Potter's side will have home advantage in the return match at Stamford Bridge on March 7 but left Signal Iduna Park ruing missed chances on Wednesday.

Joao Felix spurned a pair of glorious first-half opportunities in an entertaining encounter in Germany, before Adeyemi's 63rd-minute goal inflicted further misery on Chelsea after a ruthless counter-attack.

The Blues still have the chance to turn the tie on its head, but Potter and his men cannot afford similar struggles in front of goal in the second leg in west London.

Thiago Silva had the ball in the back of the net after 16 minutes, only to see the goal ruled out and the centre-back cautioned for a seemingly intentional handball past Gregor Kobel.

Chances continued to flow in a frenetic first half as Marius Wolf sliced a golden opportunity wide and Sebastien Haller fired narrowly off target from a presentable opening.

Joao Felix wastefully blazed over before hitting the crossbar after a driving run, while Wolf arrowed just wide with Kepa Arrizabalaga scrambling.

Kobel produced an expert stop to deny Reece James' pinpoint free-kick after the interval, before the Dortmund goalkeeper thwarted a bouncing volley from the England right-back soon after.

Adeyemi was clinical when Dortmund broke from the resulting corner, released by Raphael Guerreiro and powering past Enzo Fernandez before rounding Kepa to score.

Emre Can then cleared off the line after Kalidou Koulibaly's effort squirmed under Kobel, who kept Dortmund's narrow lead intact with a fine stop from Fernandez in the final minute.

What does it mean? Advantage Dortmund

Dortmund defeated an English side in European competition for the first time in 11 attempts, although their first such victory since March 2016 – against Tottenham – came with a degree of fortune.

Potter will wonder what his Chelsea side must do to get past Kobel in the return meeting after Joao Felix's pair of misses came back to haunt the Blues on the road.

A repeat performance at home may be enough to down Dortmund, but Potter's men cannot bank on having such a plethora of chances again as they stare down the barrel of an early European exit.

Adeyemi the difference

While the brilliant Brandt created four chances in a productive display, Adeyemi will steal the headlines for his remarkable goal on the break.

The 21-year-old has scored in each of his last three competitive appearances – one more than in his first 20 games for BVB.

Havertz's Dortmund wait goes on

Kai Havertz has repeatedly been trusted by Potter to lead Chelsea's line, but the Germany international suffered a familiar fate against BVB.

The forward managed to create four chances and also attempted four shots, but he has now played eight games against Dortmund without scoring – more than against any other opponent in his club career. He has lost all five away games against Dortmund.

What's next?

Chelsea return to Premier League action at home to Southampton on Saturday, while Dortmund host Hertha Berlin the following day in the Bundesliga.

Karim Benzema became Real Madrid’s second-highest LaLiga scorer of all time as Los Blancos eased past bottom side Elche in a 4-0 victory.

The Madrid captain was on target twice from the penalty spot at Santiago Bernabeu, where Marco Asensio had broken the deadlock, while Luka Modric completed the rout later on.

Benzema surpassed legendary striker Raul by taking his Spanish top-flight tally for the club to 230 goals, with only Cristiano Ronaldo (311) netting more.

With Barcelona in Europa League action on Thursday, Carlo Ancelotti’s side capitalised by closing the gap on the league leaders to eight points.

Fresh from claiming a record-extending fifth Club World Cup crown, Madrid took the lead in the eighth minute. Receiving the ball from Dani Carvajal, Asensio weaved through a couple of challenges before slotting past Edgar Badia.

Benzema doubled the lead just after the half-hour mark when he calmly tucked away from 12 yards after his header had been blocked by Enzo Roco’s hand.

Madrid star Benzema repeated the feat in first-half stoppage time, sweeping past Badia after Diego Gonzalez felled Rodrygo.

The hosts looked to stretch their advantage further after the break. Badia kept Rodrygo out twice in as many minutes, while the Elche goalkeeper also denied Benzema his hat-trick.

Benzema and Eduardo Camavinga were marginally off target and Asensio drew smart reflexes from Badia with his fierce volley as Madrid looked to put the icing on the cake.

And they eventually did 10 minutes from time when substitute Modric controlled in the box before superbly drilling into the top corner 

Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland all scored to put Manchester City top of the Premier League with a vital 3-1 victory against title rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal headed into Wednesday's top-two clash with a three-point lead, but De Bruyne ruthlessly punished Takehiro Tomiyasu's error for the opener,

Bukayo Saka's penalty looked to have maintained Arsenal's advantage at the summit, only for Grealish to strike in the 72nd minute before Haaland added a third to make it seven straight away victories for City against the Gunners.

Arsenal drop points for a third game in a row, though they do hold a game in hand over City as they look to win their first title since the 2003-04 'Invincibles' campaign.

Eddie Nketiah missed a golden early opportunity when he headed Oleksandr Zinchenko's pinpoint cross wide, and Arsenal were made to pay moments later, De Bruyne latching onto Tomiyasu's shocking backpass before lofting first-time into the net.

After Tomiyasu skied a decent chance to atone for his mistake by volleying over, the Gunners were awarded a penalty when Nketiah was wiped out by Ederson, who avoided a second yellow having been previously booked for time-wasting.

Saka stepped up, and coolly stroked into the bottom-left corner to restore parity heading into the break, though City did hit the bar in added-time when Rodri's header deflected off Nathan Ake and onto the woodwork.

The hosts received a huge let-off after the interval when a penalty was awarded for Gabriel hauling down Haaland, with a VAR review adjudging the City striker to have been offside before the foul had taken place.

Grealish, having been fed by Ilkay Gundogan, excellently buried a low effort into the bottom corner to restore City's advantage, before Haaland expertly drilled past Aaron Ramsdale having been teed up by De Bruyne eight minute from time to secure what could prove to be a vital triumph.

Karim Benzema has surpassed Raul as Real Madrid's second-highest goalscorer in LaLiga.

Benzema moved onto 229 LaLiga goals, from 428 appearances in the competition, as he slotted in from the penalty spot to nose Carlo Ancelotti's side into a 2-0 lead against Elche on Wednesday.

Marcos Asensio's superb goal gave Los Blancos an early lead at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Benzema doubling their advantage just past the half-hour mark after Enzo Roco had handled in Elche's box.

Benzema subsequently scored his 230th LaLiga goal before half-time, converting his second spot-kick of the match.

Madrid great Raul took 550 matches to net his 228 LaLiga goals, meaning Benzema has overtaken him in 122 fewer games.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who is Madrid's record goalscorer, stands way clear of Benzema on 311 goals from just 292 LaLiga appearances.

Benzema was already Madrid's second-highest goalscorer across all competitions, having surpassed Raul last year in that regard.

Jose Mourinho insists Roma "know what they can expect from me" amid speculation surrounding his future with the club.

The 60-year-old is under contract with the Giallorossi until 2024 and recently revealed he turned down the opportunity to replace Fernando Santos as Portugal head coach after the World Cup.

Roma are fourth in Serie A - level on points with third-place Atalanta and fifth-place Milan - and have suffered just a single defeat in nine league games.

However, Mourinho came under scrutiny following his side's surprise Coppa Italia quarter-final exit at the hands of relegation-threatened Cremonese.

There have also been suggestions Mourinho is seeking assurances there will be sufficient investment in the playing squad for next season before committing to stay.

The Portuguese addressed his future ahead of Roma's Europa League clash with Salzburg, hinting he would like the matter to be resolved sooner rather than later.

"It's mid-February, do you think the club will talk to me in June? I guess it would be too late," he told Sky Sport Italia on the eve of Thursday's game.

"I don't expect anything, they know what they can expect from me. Nobody works more than me in Trigoria.

"I had the chance to leave, but I decided not to, and the story ended.

"Tomorrow's game is the most important. We want to win and we can't look beyond the next match. There are still 24 clubs in the competition, we are far from the end."

Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach John Mitchell has confirmed his retirement after a 29-year stint with the organisation.

Mitchell, the first African-American football player at the University of Alabama who won two Super Bowls as an NFL assistant, announced his retirement on Wednesday.

He had been with the Steelers since 1994 after being hired by Bill Cowher and remained on their staff ever since.

The 71-year-old was part of Pittsburgh's last two championship teams, one in 2005 under Cowher and the most recent coming in 2008 under Mike Tomlin.

"I'm not sure that I can offer sufficient praise and admiration for Mitch, as both a man and football coach," Tomlin said in a team statement.

"Mitch has been a central figure in the success of the Pittsburgh Steelers for nearly three decades. He has coached some of the best players in this franchise's illustrious history, and each one of them, to a man, would tell you their success was a direct result of not only Mitch's coaching acumen, but also his mentorship, leadership and character."

Mitchell spent a total of 50 years as a coach, a career which began at alma mater Alabama in 1973 under the legendary Bear Bryant.

The Crimson Tide won a national title in 1973 with Mitchell working as the team's defensive line coach.

He would later have coaching stops at Arkansas, Temple and LSU as well as the USFL's Birmingham Stallions before a three-year run as the Cleveland Browns' defensive line coach under Bill Belichick from 1991-93.

Mitchell's greatest notoriety, though, came in 1971 when he and running back Wilbur Jackson became the first Black players at the storied Alabama programme. Mitchell was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection as a defensive end for the Crimson Tide and earned All-America honours in 1972.

"When you consider his path, as both a player and coach, Mitch created opportunities in football for young Black men that quite honestly, didn't previously exist," Steelers president Art Rooney II said.

"He has left an imprint on this franchise, and the sport and culture of football, that continue well beyond his retirement."

Xavi warned Barcelona they must deal with "one of the most dangerous players in Europe" in Marcus Rashford when they host Manchester United on Thursday.

The two European heavyweights will face off in the Europa League at Camp Nou in the first leg as the pair bid for a place in the last 16.

Runaway LaLiga leaders Barca have been in fine form, winning 11 straight games in all competitions since the start of 2023 ahead of the high-profile clash in UEFA's secondary club competition.

But the Blaugrana will have to deal with the in-form Rashford, who has scored 13 times in 15 games since the World Cup, and Xavi acknowledged the danger the England international will pose.

"In the transition he is very, very dangerous, so we need to take care of all of them but especially Rashford," the Barca coach said on Wednesday at his pre-match press conference.

"He's one of the most dangerous players now in Europe."

While Barca will be tasked with coping against the resurgent Rashford, United will get a taste of what could have had when they face Frenkie de Jong.

Erik ten Hag's side tried and failed to sign the Netherlands international in the transfer window ahead of the 2022-23 season, with the Dutchman subsequently emerging as a key cog in Xavi's midfield.

"Frenkie is an incredible player and for every club in the whole world he will strengthen the squad because he has a unique quality," said Ten Hag, who managed De Jong during his time as Ajax coach.

"If you can get him in the squad your team will be stronger. In Spain, he became even better.

"He's a fantastic player, plays out from the back, he always has time and it was a pleasure to work with him."