Monaco came from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw at Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League at a rain-sodden Stadion Maksimir, with Denis Zakaria equalising with an 89th-minute penalty.

Petar Sucic put Dinamo ahead in first-half stoppage time with a delightful chipped finish, later doubling their lead in 66th minute when Martin Baturina rifled home from outside the area.

Having been crushed 9-2 at Bayern Munich in their opening game, it looked like the Croatian side would bounce back in style, with Monaco struggling to get going on a sodden pitch.

However, Mohammed Salisu headed in from a corner with 16 minutes left to provoke a Monaco onslaught, and Maxime Bernauer fouled Folarin Balogun to concede an 89th-minute spot-kick.

Zakaria converted to put Monaco on four points after they beat Barcelona in their first match, with Dinamo defender Nenad Bjelica subsequently sent off when he picked up a second booking for dissent.

Data Debrief: Monaco show fighting spirit

Monaco looked set for a demoralising defeat in Croatia when they went 2-0 down, struggling to get their slick passing style to work on a pitch that was close to waterlogged.

However, they showed great resilience to fight back in the latter stages, avoiding defeat from two or more goals down in a Champions League match for the first time since May 2004, when they earned a 2-2 draw versus Chelsea en route to making the final.

Vincent Kompany insists Leon Goretzka "will continue to be important" for Bayern Munich, despite his limited game time this season.

The Germany midfielder has fallen down the pecking order behind the likes of new signing Joao Palhinha, and played just 21 minutes this term.

Nine of those came on Tuesday, when he scored as a late substitute to complete his side's 9-2 rout of Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener.

Though the 29-year-old has found opportunities hard to come by, Kompany maintains he is an integral part of Bayern's squad.

"He's important for us and will continue to be," Kompany told DAZN. "The team loves him. I only have players who want to play and accept the competition for places. 

"At Bayern, it's always easy to talk about individual players. But I want to talk about the team. That’s important to me.

"He is very important in this team. He's doing well, but so are the others."

Goretzka has made over 200 appearances for Bayern since joining from Schalke in 2018, including 42 across all competitions last season.

The midfielder has also won five Bundesliga titles during his time with the Bavarian giants, as well as the Champions League in 2019-20.

Harry Kane insisted Bayern Munich have further room for improvement after scoring four goals in their record-breaking 9-2 Champions League rout of Dinamo Zagreb.

Kane netted four times – including three from the penalty spot – as records tumbled in the Bavarian giants' first European outing under new boss Vincent Kompany.

Tuesday's four-goal haul took Kane to 33 Champions League goals, surpassing Wayne Rooney (30) as the top-scoring Englishman in the history of the competition.

It was the 24th hat-trick of Kane's professional career for club and country, while he became the first player to ever score three penalties in a single European Cup/Champions League game.

Bayern, meanwhile, are the first team to ever score nine times in a Champions League match, with Real Madrid being the last side to do so in the old European Cup in 1990 (9-1 versus Wacker Innsbruck).

Kane, however, told DAZN there are areas in which Bayern must improve, having been joined on the scoresheet by Michael Olise (twice), Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka.

"It was an amazing game. The first half was really good, we took our chances," the England captain said.

"We didn't start the second half well and got caught from a couple of second balls. We'll have to learn from that. 

"Today we got away with that bad start in the second half, but against top opposition we could get punished for that.

"But the reaction afterwards was really good. It's great to score all these goals."

 

The only blot on Bayern's victory – which took them to the top of the Champions League's new 36-team league table – came as Manuel Neuer was substituted at half-time.

The goalkeeper had earlier appeared to be in discomfort after colliding with Zagreb striker Bruno Petkovic, but he played down concerns over his condition after the match.

Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone, Neuer said: "I collied there and I was a bit gone. 

"Then I hit a few balls and the pain stabbed me in the thigh. But it's nothing serious, a small matter."

Harry Kane produced a remarkable four-goal haul to make English history as Bayern Munich demolished visitors Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in their record-breaking Champions League opener.

Kane, who scored a hat-trick in their Bundesliga win over Holstein Kiel on Saturday, converted a 19th-minute penalty before goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Michael Olise in the first half on Tuesday.

Bruno Petkovic and Takuya Ogiwara led a fightback early in the second half, with Dinamo hoping to find a way back, but Bayern responded through goals from Kane and Olise.

Kane netted his third and fourth with penalties shortly after, helping him onto 33 strikes in the competition and comfortably past Wayne Rooney's 30-goal record among English players in the Champions League.

Leroy Sane added another in the 85th before fellow substitute Leon Goretzka headed in the hosts' record-breaking ninth finish, the most by one team in a single match since the Champions League was introduced.

Data Debrief: Penalty perfection for Kane

Deadly finisher Kane accumulated 3.76 expected goals (xG) of Bayern's total 6.27 tally for the match, with the 31-year-old finding the target with six of his eight attempts in what proved to be a total domination.

Kane is the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in a European Cup/Champions League match, and the first Englishman to score four in a match in the competition since Alan Smith for Arsenal against FK Austria Wien in 1991.

There was history elsewhere, however, as Thomas Muller appeared in his 152nd Champions League match for Bayern, breaking Xavi's record for the most matches with one club in the competition (151 for Barcelona).

Vincent Kompany will be looking forward to the rest of this European term, too, after Bayern started a 21st straight campaign in the competition with victory, with their last such defeat coming against Deportivo de La Coruna back in 2002-03.

Harry Kane stretched to further record-breaking ground by surpassing Wayne Rooney for the most goals by an English player in Champions League history.

Bayern Munich forward Kane opened the scoring against Dinamo Zagreb with a penalty at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

That moved the England captain level with former Manchester United star Rooney on 30 Champions League strikes, the joint-most by any player from their country.

Kane later eased past Rooney's mark in the second half, powering home his 31st strike in the competition to take the outright English record.

Kane netted eight times in UEFA's top club competition last season, his most in a single edition, and has got off to a blistering start in the revamped 2024-25 format.

His second finish of the game helped Bayern to a 4-2 lead before Michael Olise's second goal extended the hosts' advantage further shortly after.

Barcelona's determination to bring Lionel Messi back to Camp Nou is going to be a major storyline during the next transfer window.

But their pursuit of the 2022 World Cup winner is complicated given the Blaugrana's financial situation.

As a result, Barca's squad are on notice, with expectations that key players may need to be offloaded.

 

TOP STORY – PREMIER LEAGUE TRIO TO SWOOP FOR RAPHINHA

Raphinha is set to be sold by Barcelona in the off-season with three Premier League clubs circling for his signature, according to reports.

The Blaugrana will need to let Raphinha go to free up space for Messi to return given the club's financial issues, claims Fichajes. Messi is out of contract at Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this season.

Raphinha joined from Leeds United last year and his stay could be short. AS claims Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle United are all interested in the 26-year-old.

 

ROUND-UP

– Milan forward Rafael Leao has declined offers from both Real Madrid and Chelsea, claims La Gazzetta dello Sport.

– Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic is drawing interest from Manchester United , according to Croatian outlet Jutarnji, with the Red Devils uncertain on David de Gea 's future.

Chelsea are tracking Brentford pair David Raya and Ivan Toney, reports Football London.

– Football 365 claims Aston Villa are circling for Emile Smith Rowe,  who is "disappointed" with his lack of game time at Arsenal.

– Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu's planned move to Atletico Madrid is signed and sealed, according to Fabrizio Romano. The Turkish defender's contract will run until 2027.

– Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg claims Yann Sommer could leave Bayern Munich in the off-season, with new head coach Thomas Tuchel set to restore Manuel Neuer to the side when he returns to full fitness.

Croatia are mourning the death of their former coach Miroslav Blazevic, who led them to a third-place finish at the 1998 World Cup.

Blazevic enjoyed a coaching career spanning 47 years up until his retirement in January 2015.

He won trophies with six different clubs and described ending Dinamo Zagreb's 24-year wait for the Yugoslav First League title in 1982 as his greatest honour.

The former winger spent six years in charge of Croatia and guided them to a bronze medal at France 98 in their first World Cup finals appearance.

Croatia's Football Federation (HNS) confirmed Blazevic's passing in a statement on Wednesday, two days before his 88th birthday.

The statement added: "HNS would like to express the deepest condolences to his loved ones, on behalf of the entire Croatian football family, which lost the 'coach of all coaches'."

Blazevic coached four other national teams – Switzerland, Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and China's Under-23s – in a coaching career that started in 1968.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin was among those to pay tribute to Blazevic, who was previously diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"He is the father of modern Croatian football, and one of our game's greatest coaches," Ceferin said. "His legacy goes beyond any trophy or victory, of which there were many.

"His success on the field earned him a place in football history, and his authenticity, charisma and unique sense of humour established for him the cult status that only true legends of the game deserve."

Southampton have signed Croatia winger Mislav Orsic from Dinamo Zagreb in an attempt to boost their Premier League survival hopes.

Orsic – who made six appearances for Croatia at the World Cup in Qatar and scored a sublime winner in their third-place play-off success against Morocco – has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at St Mary's.

Southampton reportedly convinced Dinamo to part ways with Orsic by making a bid of £6million plus add-ons after Everton and Nottingham Forest were also linked with the 30-year-old.

Saints sit bottom of the Premier League table and three points adrift of safety after Wednesday's 1-0 defeat to Forest, their sixth consecutive loss in the competition.

Southampton manager Nathan Jones was only appointed as Ralph Hasenhuttl's successor in November, but he is already under pressure after becoming the second Saints boss to lose each of his first four Premier League games after Nigel Adkins in the 2012-13 season.

Jones will hope Orsic can transfer his outstanding record against English teams in continental competitions into the Premier League.

Orsic scored the only goal of the game as Dinamo beat Chelsea in their Champions League opener earlier this season, while he also netted a stunning hat-trick in a Europa League win against Tottenham in 2021.

Paris Saint-Germain are regularly a topic of transfer speculation, with plenty of discussion around Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi recently.

But Neymar is another who has been linked with a move away from Parc des Princes in the past, having been with PSG since 2017.

The former Barcelona forward signed a contract extension in 2021 after originally joining on a five-year deal.

TOP STORY – PSG OPEN TO OFFERS FOR NEYMAR IN JANUARY

Paris Saint-Germain have put Brazil superstar Neymar up for sale, according to Fichajes.

The French champions are willing to listen to offers for the 30-year-old, who is contracted until 2025.

The report claims PSG have lowered their price to €50million, which may attract the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle United and Manchester City.

 

ROUND-UP

– The Mail reports Manchester United have opened talks with Monaco defender Axel Disasi, although the 24-year-old is also being tracked by a few other Premier League clubs.

– Manchester United target Mohammed Kudus has had a £40m price tag slapped on him by his Dutch club Ajax, claims The Star. The 22-year-old Ghana midfielder impressed at the World Cup.

– Real Madrid are bullish about their prospects of beating Liverpool in the race to sign Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, claims Marca.

– Calciomercato reports Madrid will rival Juventus in the chase to sign 18-year-old right-back Ivan Fresneda from Real Valladolid.

– Sevilla are circling to sign Sergio Ramos once his PSG contract expires at the end of this season, claims Fichajes, although he will need to take a pay cut for the move to transpire.

– Fabrizio Romano reports struggling Premier League club Southampton have agreed to a £6m deal to sign Croatia international Mislav Orsic from Dinamo Zagreb.

Mykhaylo Mudryk has informed Shakhtar Donetsk that he wants to join Arsenal amid talk of interest from Chelsea, reports 90min.

Graham Potter fears for the fitness of Ben Chilwell after the Chelsea full-back limped off against Dinamo Zagreb, just 19 days before England start their World Cup campaign.

Denis Zakaria scored what proved to be the winner just 30 minutes into his Chelsea debut after Raheem Sterling had cancelled out Bruno Petkovic's seventh-minute opener on Wednesday.

Chelsea congratulated one another with muted celebrations at the final whistle, though, after Chilwell was helped off the Stamford Bridge pitch by the Blues medical team following a hamstring injury.

Head coach Potter conceded the left-back's injury looks "not great" and leaves both Chelsea and England concerned over the left-back's fitness.

"Not great, he pulled up like that when he turned – not positive at the moment," Potter said of Chilwell's injury after the 2-1 Champions League win.

"It's a blow for us after an otherwise positive game, to see him pull up like that is not a great sight.

"Fingers crossed when we get it scanned it isn't as bad, it can be not as severe, but clearly we are disappointed."

Potter became the first Chelsea boss since Roberto Di Matteo, who won the competition in the 2011-12 season, to go unbeaten in his first five Champions League games in charge.

The Blues had already secured progression to the knockout stages as Group E winners, but delivered a performance that matched Potter's expectations in their final group game.

"I'm really pleased to get the win. I thought Denis was really good, he played with enthusiasm, he got forward and I'm really pleased with him. It was a great debut," Potter told BT Sport.

"The worry would be if you're not creating the chances. Our intent was good, our play was good and the quality was there from the players.

"We got a win, we got a performance. We're a work in progress but we can be pleased with our Champions League performance."

Zakaria became the 15th player to score on his Champions League debut for Chelsea, with what was his first attempt for the club, though he was made to wait for his chance for the Blues after joining on loan from Juventus in the last transfer window.

"Very, very difficult I have to say. I like to play and always want to play," Zakaria told BT Sport when asked about the wait for his debut.

"When you have to see your team-mates from the bench it is not easy but I was always behind the team and was waiting for my chance. Today it came and I took my chance."

Chelsea host Arsenal in Sunday's crunch Premier League clash and Zakaria hopes an impressive debut will work him another start, adding: "I hope so but I think that is a question you will have to ask the coach!"

Denis Zakaria scored the winner on his Chelsea debut as the Blues recorded a fourth straight Champions League win with a 2-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb at Stamford Bridge.

Zakaria has struggled to break into the first team since joining on loan from Juventus in the last transfer window but his 30th-minute strike proved decisive after Raheem Sterling had cancelled out Bruno Petkovic's opener.

The Blues had already secured progression to the knockout stages as Group E winners prior to Wednesday's clash, where goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic impressed to keep Dinamo in the game in the second half.

Dinamo could not muster a comeback, though, and were eliminated from Europe after finishing bottom, while Chelsea responded in encouraging fashion after a 4-1 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

Petkovic headed Dinamo into a seventh-minute lead after Chelsea failed to deal with Sadegh Moharrami's right-wing cross but the Blues soon levelled.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang flicked for Sterling to dance onto his left foot and coolly find the bottom-left corner.

Sterling missed a great chance when he powered Kai Havertz's centre over from close range, but Zakaria fired into the bottom-left corner from a similar distance after another cutback pass from the German to put Chelsea ahead.

Edouard Mendy pushed away Josip Sutalo's header after the interval, while Livakovic parried over an Aubameyang curler before Ben Chilwell blasted just off target from a tight angle.

Mason Mount's whipped free-kick was denied by another fine Livakovic stop in the closing stages as Chelsea eased to victory.

What does it mean? Good omens for Potter in Champions League

Potter has taken well to life in European football and became the first Chelsea manager to go unbeaten in his first five Champions League games since Roberto Di Matteo in the 2011-12 season.

Di Matteo guided the Blues to European glory that campaign and Potter will be hoping to replicate the feat after Chelsea extended to 11 home games unbeaten in the competition's group stage, last losing to Valencia in September 2019.

While Chelsea have made an underwhelming start in the Premier League, where they sit sixth, they will at least have some confidence in Europe ahead of Monday's last-16 draw.

Super Sterling

Sterling has faced scrutiny for a diminishing role in the Chelsea side in recent weeks, with some questioning whether the forward should be in England's starting line-up at the World Cup.

Yet, while the 27-year-old missed a gilt-edged first-half chance, only Wayne Rooney (30) has more Champions League goals among English players than Sterling (20) after his equaliser.

Away day misery for Dinamo

While Dinamo may not have expected to become just the second side – after Basel in the 2013-14 season – to beat Chelsea home and away in the Champions League group stage, their performance left much to be desired.

Despite Petkovic's opener, Ante Cacic's visitors offered little to trouble Mendy as Dinamo made it 21 away games in the competition without victory (L18 D3), dating back to a 1-0 win over Ajax in November 1998.

What's next?

Chelsea host Arsenal in the Premier League in Sunday's crunch London derby, while Dinamo are at home to Sibenik on the same day.

Salzburg will have to do what no other Austrian side has done before at Milan to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages, while Jude Bellingham has his eyes on an achievement managed by only two players previously.

The Rossoneri need only a point from the game at San Siro and the historical facts suggest they will achieve their aim to make it out of Group E.

For Bellingham, he can put his name in the record books alongside former team-mate Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe by scoring for Borussia Dortmund at Copenhagen.

There is plenty to play for as the Champions League group stage wraps up on Wednesday, and Stats Perform has trawled through the data to shine a light on the most interesting angles.

Milan v Salzburg

With a win, Salzburg will advance to the knockout stages for the second consecutive season after never making it out of the group stage previously.

They will need to defy the odds on their trip to Milan, where the Italian side are undefeated in home fixtures against Austrian opponents in the competition (W4 D1), while averaging 3.8 goals per game.

Salzburg have never beaten Milan in their three previous Champions League meetings, but after losing the first two, they collected their first point with a 1-1 draw in this campaign's reverse fixture.

While Olivier Giroud became the oldest player in Champions League history to reach 20 goals (36 years old) during Milan's win at Dinamo Zagreb last time out, Salzburg boast the youngest starting XI in the competition with an average age of 22 years and 279 days.

Shakhtar Donetsk v RB Leipzig

Shakhtar have only won one game in the group stage, but sit three points behind second-placed. A win would see them through to the knockout stages for the third time in the past four seasons.

The reverse-fixture was a memorable one for Shakhtar and exciting young winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who showed why he is so in-demand with a goal and two assists in a 4-1 away win.

Unfortunately for the Ukrainian side, that was their only victory from their past 12 Champions League matches (D6 L5).

Meanwhile, Leipzig have found some form in the competition, with back-to-back victories against Celtic before making it three wins in a row when they beat Real Madrid 3-2.

Manchester City v Sevilla

City are eyeing an undefeated group stage when they host Sevilla, having only conceded one goal in total from their five games until this point.

English sides have given Sevilla trouble for years now, with their last Champions League win over a Premier League team coming back in 2007 against Arsenal. 

If Jorge Sampaoli's side are to stand any chance of a shock win, they will need to pay special attention to Jack Grealish, who has impressed in the group stage with 10 chances created from open play, the most in Pep Guardiola's squad.

Maccabi Haifa v Benfica

If Juventus can salvage even a draw in their clash with Paris Saint-Germain, then Benfica will be able to win Group H by defeating Maccabi Haifa.

It has been a special run of form for Benfica, who for the first time since 1990 have gone six Champions League games without a loss (W3 D3).

Maccabi will have their backs against the wall, as only Malmo have a worse winning percentage (17 per cent) than their 24 per cent among teams to have played at least 15 Champions League games.

Also working in Benfica's favour is manager Roger Schmidt's record in the competition. Between his time with Bayer Leverkusen (2014-2017) and Benfica in this campaign, his run of 13 games unbeaten is the most by any active manager qualified for this season's Champions League.

Other fixtures:

Juventus v Paris Saint-Germain

- Juventus are looking to avoid becoming the second Italian side to ever lose five matches in a Champions League group stage, after Roma in 2004-05.

- Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe has six goals in the group stage. With one more he can tie Christopher Nkunku (last season) for the most by a French player in a single group stage, while with two more he can tie Zlatan Ibrahimovic's club-record of eight in 2013-14.

Copenhagen v Borussia Dortmund

60  - Despite Copenhagen still being without a win in Group G, they have kept a clean sheet in 60 per cent (nine-of-15) of their Champions League home games – the best ratio of any team with at least 10 appearances.

- With a goal, Bellingham can become just the third teenager to ever score in all three away games in a Champions League group stage, following Mbappe (2017-18) and Haaland (2019-20).

Chelsea v Dinamo Zagreb

10  - Chelsea are undefeated in their past 10 group stage games in the Champions League dating back to September 2019 (W6 D4). Over that period, they are averaging 2.3 goals per game.

10  - Along with City's Grealish, Chelsea's Mason Mount is the only other Premier League player from this Champions League campaign to tally at least 10 shots and 10 chances created.

Real Madrid v Celtic

20  - Since the beginning of last season's Champions League, no player has been involved in more open-play sequences that have resulted in a goal than Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior (20).

14  - Celtic's Matt O'Riley has attempted the most shots in the Champions League this season without scoring, with no goals from his 14 shots.

Graham Potter accepts he is always "90 minutes away from a crisis" as Chelsea's head coach, but is shutting out the noise following Saturday's 4-1 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion.

Having gone unbeaten through his first nine games since swapping Brighton for Stamford Bridge in September, Potter suffered his first defeat as Blues boss against his old club.

Chelsea conceded twice as many goals in Saturday's resounding loss (four) as they did in their first five Premier League games under Potter (two), leaving the team open to heavy criticism.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Champions League fixture against Dinamo Zagreb, however, Potter said he is unaffected by external opinions.

"In my job, or where I'm sat, you've got to be careful what you listen to. People can talk and say whatever. It's just part of life," he said.

"You understand at a club like this, you're only 90 minutes away from a crisis and you have to put things into perspective. 

"You have to understand where you've been and what has happened, and look at it as intelligently as you can. 

"Whatever people say from the outside, there's always opinions, there's always people that don't like you, there's always people that will have a different view of how the situation is. 

"You can't control that. All I can do is focus on how I think, what I think and how I act, and let the noise carry."

Although Chelsea lost ground in the Premier League last time out, they are yet to taste defeat under Potter in the Champions League (W3 D1).

If the Blues avoid defeat on Wednesday, Potter will become the first Chelsea boss to go unbeaten through his first five games in the competition since Roberto Di Matteo, who led them to the trophy after doing so in the 2011-12 season.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst bemoaned Rangers' failings against "immense" Champions League opponents after another hammering at Napoli edged them closer to an unwanted record.

Rangers have shipped 19 goals in the Champions League this season, the most in a single group stage by a Scottish side, after a 3-0 dismantling by in-form Napoli in Group A on Wednesday.

Van Bronckhorst's side have lost five straight games in Europe for just a third time, with this being their first such sequence in a single campaign.

But Rangers could hit a new low with defeat in their final group outing against Ajax, entering that match with a goal difference of -18.

Dinamo Zagreb hold the worst group-stage record in Champions League history, pointless and with a -19 goal difference in the 2011-12 campaign.

Van Bronckhorst has repeatedly called on his side to learn in the face of high-quality opposition, and he echoed that message after yet another humbling in Naples.

"You can't imagine the opponents we are facing. We think about our performances, of course, but we have to be realistic," the Rangers manager told BT Sport.

"The level we are facing in this group is immense. You have to be ready for 90 minutes – I think the moments we created in the game, we should have taken.

"In too many games we are conceding too many goals. You want to compete at the highest level. It is tough, I said that when we qualified, but you want to be here.

"The more you play it, the more experience you will have as a team and as a player. It's a competition we want to keep competing in. You have to start well in an environment like the one we faced today.

"The two goals we conceded in the first 15 minutes, we are two against one in the centre against one striker. For us to give those goals, it's too easy.

"The reaction we showed afterwards was very positive. We had a big moment to score just before half-time. In the second half, we showed character, we were well organised and tried to push for the goal.

"We created some big moments, but if you don't take those moments in these kinds of games it is difficult to win."

Rangers host Ajax on Tuesday, when they must avoid defeat to avoid claiming at least a share of unwanted history.

Van Bronckhorst added: "[The Ajax game] is a chance to get our first points. We want to leave the tournament with our heads held high, and it's another chance to play at home."

Chelsea manager Graham Potter praised his side for qualifying for the Champions League last-16 with a game to spare having lost their opener to Dinamo Zagreb.

The Blues booked their ticket for the knockout stages with a 2-1 away win over Salzburg, after impressive strikes from Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz in each half, either side of Junior Adamu's goal.

Chelsea had lost their opening game of the group stage, 1-0 at Dinamo Zagreb, leading to Thomas Tuchel's dismissal, but under Potter have bounced back with 10 points from four games, including strong away wins at Milan and Salzburg, securing top spot in Group E.

"Very [satisfied]. It’s not easy to win here as you can see from the record they have and the quality of the team," Potter told reporters.

"We had to play well and I thought we did. We created some good chances in the first half and were unlucky not to go more than 1-0 up.

"Then one action, with the quality at this level, and it’s 1-1. I thought our response was really good then, so I am delighted to go through, delighted with the performance of the players. I thought they were fantastic tonight.

"To go through with a game to spare is brilliant considering where we started the competition."

Havertz's 64th-minute winner was a spectacular left-foot strike that cannoned in off the crossbar.

The goal was the German's first this season in the Champions League, and third in all competitions. It was also Havertz's first goal away from Stamford Bridge for the Blues since April.

"His quality is there; he’s an incredibly talented player," Potter said. "He’s been nearly there and obviously, scoring a goal like that is bound to help.

"I wouldn’t be able to score a goal like that to be fair, I can only imagine. It’s a fantastic strike and an indication of the quality he has, so I’m really pleased for him."

Potter brushed off concerns about his side's wastefulness in front of goal, having had 15 shots, including 11 on target, while he hinted they may rotate their squad for their final group game against Dinamo having already qualified.

The Blues take on Potter's former club Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, followed by Dinamo (November 2), Arsenal in the Premier League (November 6) and Manchester City in the EFL Cup (November 9) in quick succession.

"We're at home at Stamford Bridge [against Dinamo] and we'll try our very best," he said. "We want to win every game we play, that is the mentality we have to have.

"But clearly, we have a game at the weekend and another game the weekend after, so maybe we can rotate a little bit. But we will try our best."

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