Rachel Arnold and Ivan Yew win in Chennai ahead of Worlds
By ALEX WAN – Squash Mad Asian Bureau Editor

The Malaysian contingent at the HCL SRFI Indian Tour Chennai Leg had plenty to celebrate for after Rachel Arnold and Ivan Yuen both won their finals, albeit in very contrasting fashion. While Rachel was dominant in her final despite dropping a game, Ivan had to fight tooth and nail in his final against local favourite Mahesh Mangaonkar.

Rachel, who was named September’s PSA Player of the Month after winning her biggest career title at the Malaysian Open, followed up her success with a splendid performance all week in Chennai. Winning the title at home in Kuala Lumpur must’ve done wonders to her confidence as she waltzed through most of her matches, never spending more than 38 minutes in court each time.

The 23-year old from Kuala Lumpur’s toughest match was perhaps against compatriot Aifa Azman in the last eight. Apart from that, she was in a class of her own in the other matches, punishing every loose shot sent her way. She was especially clinical in the first two games of the final against compatriot Lai Wen Li, who was simply at a loss for what to do.

“Winning the Malaysian Open gave me the confidence that I needed – knowing that I’m able to beat higher ranked players. It’s been a good start to this season, I couldn’t have asked for a better one. But I definitely want to start doing better in the bigger events, and that would be my next goal”, Rachel said when asked what she thought about her last couple of weeks.

Rachel will have her opportunity to see how she can carry this momentum into the bigger events and what better occasion than the biggest of them all, the World Championships in Cairo. She will be playing home player Salma Hany, the 13th seed in the opening round.

In the men’s final, the battle of the national champions of Malaysia and India provided the longest match of the tournament as Ivan Yuen edged past home favourite Mahesh Mangaonkar in 77 minutes over five games.

After the games were tied at two a-piece, it was Mahesh which looked the better bet for the title after he took 6-3 and 8-6 leads. But a determined Ivan was not to be beaten on the day as he strung together five points in a row to deny a home winner and secure a clean sweep for Malaysia.

“It always feels nice knowing you’re the top seed of the tournament, but at the same time, there is pressure to live up to it. Overall, I would say I’m quite pleased with my performance here. It’s nice to know that I’m playing well and on the right track ahead of the bigger events of the new season. More importantly, I’m especially happy with the consistency in the matches I played”, Ivan said of his week in Chennai.

The win is certainly a good boost for Ivan, who didn’t have the best start of the season after early losses at the China Open and HKFC International, where he lost to Henry Leung in a physical encounter, a loss which he avenged here in Chennai.

Ivan has been drawn to play Diego Elias at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, a player he’s never played before. While Diego is a tall order, Ivan is positive and looking forward to the encounter.

“I have not played Diego before in a tournament, but I’m sure it will be a good match. I still have time to work on a game plan and some things before going into the match. I’m really looking forward to that”, Ivan added.

Apart from the pair, Lai Wen Li was the other star of the Malaysian camp. The world number 81 played above her seeding by reaching the final before being halted by her top seeded compatriot Rachel. En-route to the final, Wen Li scored back-to-back upsets against India’s fourth-seeded Sunayna Kuruvilla and second seeded Egyptian Menna Nasser. On both the occasions, the petite Malaysian had come back from a game down to win in five games.

“I am really happy I was able to push through to get the win, as I felt I wasn’t playing my best squash. I really wanted to get the wins to boost my ranking and at the same time, knowing that if I did, it would definitely help build up my confidence again to play well on the tour”, Wen Li said of her feat in Chennai.

There were also good showings from the others in the Malaysian camp. Aifa Azman, semi-finalist at the World Juniors in Kuala Lumpur, reached the last eight after upsetting Egypt’s Farah Momen. Her world junior teammate, Chan Yi Wen was also a quarterfinalist after upsetting higher ranked compatriot Ooi Kah Yan. In the men’s, Addeen Idrakie made it to the last eight after an upset win over Hong Kong China’s Lau Tsz Kwan and put up a good fight against Mahesh Mangaonkar before crashing out in four.

Results (Finals).

[1] Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt [5] Lai Wen Li (MAS) 11-1, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5 (33m)
[1] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt [2] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 7-11, 12-10, 11-6, 4-11, 8-11 (77m) 

Pictures courtesy of Rachel Arnold  

We're reaching an interesting point in the NHL season. Now that we're three weeks into the schedule, most teams have either already played double-digit games or will be doing so shortly. While the start of a new season theoretically represents a clean slate for all players and teams alike, as analysts and fans, it's tough to completely shake the baggage we had heading in.

It's tough to know the precise right time to let go of our preseason expectations and embrace the possibility that we were wrong about certain situations, particularly because the early days of each season are filled with all sorts of wonky results. Although 10 good or bad games in the middle of a campaign wouldn't really register in most cases, it's all we really have to work with at this point. With that said, there are so many different variables to consider, and we'd be foolish not to account for all of the new information that's available, given the effects of all the offseason player movement, coaching changes and players who got better or worse for a variety of reasons.

So with that in mind, let's take the temperature of some notable teams that have gotten off to hot starts to assess whether they will continue.

All data cited in this piece is courtesy of either Natural Stat Trick or Corsica and is current through Tuesday evening's slate of games.

Colorado Avalanche

After the inspiring playoff run they went on last season, the Avalanche entered the 2019-20 season as arguably the most hyped team in the league. The only two primary reservations we had about them realizing those sky-high expectations were their ability to produce enough secondary scoring behind the Nathan MacKinnon-Gabriel Landeskog-Mikko Rantanen line, and how their unproven goaltending would be able to hold up behind that high-octane offense. So far, so good on both fronts.

The "New Guy" line of Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky and Joonas Donskoi has been terrific in the early going, outscoring the opposition 6-3 at 5-on-5 and providing the Avalanche with the second forward unit they can confidently throw out there when their stars require a breather. They've already squeezed 10 combined goalies out of those three, and there should be plenty more to come. The third line hasn't really gotten going yet because of J.T. Compher's brief absence, but Tyson Jost's hat trick on the road against the Lightning was an encouraging sign that better days are ahead for that group as well. After what appeared to be a gruesome looking lower-body injury for Rantanen, the Avalanche will need that supporting cast to step up even more than was initially expected.

The goaltending wasn't necessarily a concern as much as it was a question mark. Philipp Grubauer was terrific down the stretch last season and has performed well whenever he's gotten the opportunity, but this is also uncharted waters for him because he's never entered a season as the goalie who would start the majority of his team's games. After starting seven of Colorado's first nine games, he's on pace for 64 starts, which would nearly double his previous high of 33 (last season). If he does sputter at any point, his backup looks awfully interesting as a candidate for more action.

Pavel Francouz is a relative unknown in NHL circles considering that he's a 29-year-old who just started his first NHL game this month, but his track record suggests that was because of opportunity and not his ability. You never really know how to translate success in other leagues to the NHL because of the talent gap, but for goalies, the ability to stop the puck at every stop along the way is typically a good sign of future results. And Francouz has done just that regardless of where he's played:

• .924 save percentage in 164 Czech League games

• .945 save percentage in 83 KHL games

• .918 save percentage in 46 AHL games

He's continued to show off those skills in his limited action thus far, posting a .949 save percentage in his four NHL appearances. His most recent performance against the high-powered Lightning was littered with jaw-dropping saves, as he stopped 44 of the 46 shots he faced. He looked every bit the part of an experienced goalie who's traveled the world and performed at a high level wherever he's landed, looking completely unfazed as the league's most devastating offense peppered him with high-danger shots from all over the ice. The team will still rely on Grubauer to do most of the heavy lifting, but it's quite a luxury to have a second option like Francouz on whom to fall back.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks are a classic example of a team that has to really convince people that it might be good -- or at least not as bad as it was expected to be.

Anaheim finished 24th overall last season and was a punching bag for much of it. Its roster was ravaged by injuries, and its chances of competing on a nightly basis were decimated by questionable coaching. Both of those issues appear to have been addressed -- with Dallas Eakins taking over behind the bench -- and it's time to start embracing the possibility that the fundamental change in process could lead to legitimately improved results.

Unlike last season, when the Ducks similarly started off with a 5-1-1 record before the wheels came off, this appears to be an entirely different set of circumstances that are driving their early success. In those first seven games last season, the Ducks controlled a league-worst 41.5% of the shot attempts and 42.1% of the shots on goal, which indicated that there was no real substance to that team beyond goaltender John Gibson. He put up an admirable fight, doing everything humanly possible to steal games they had no business winning as he was barraged by shots. But once he got banged up and came back down to Earth, everything around him crumpled. Here are the underlying numbers for the 2018-19 campaign:

• 5-on-5 shot attempt share: 46.9% (27th in the NHL)

• 5-on-5 shot on goal share: 46.9% (28th)

• 5-on-5 expected goal share: 45.4% (29th)

• 5-on-5 high-danger chances against per hour: 12.3 (28th)

• All situations shot attempts against: 58.5 (30th)

• All situations shots against: 29.0 (21st)

• All situations expected goals against: 2.56 (29th)

• All situations high-danger chances against: 13.5 (30th)

Here's how they compare in each of those categories under Eakins thus far:

• 5-on-5 shot attempt share: 50.4% (15th)

• 5-on-5 shot on goal share: 50.3% (14th)

• 5-on-5 expected goal share: 49.2% (17th)

• 5-on-5 high-danger chances against per hour: 8.35 (9th)

• All situations shot attempts against: 53.8 (8th)

• All situations shots against: 29.5 (7th)

• All situations expected goals against: 2.34 (9th)

• All situations high-danger chances against: 8.2 (3rd)

Despite the improvements, there are still legitimate concerns about whether this team has enough offensive firepower to keep up with the best teams in the league. That's one of the main reasons we shouldn't expect them to keep winning six of every 10 games and staying ahead of teams like the Golden Knights, Sharks and Flames in the Pacific Division standings.

But it's all relative. At the very least, there appears to be a certain baseline level of competence with the Ducks this season, and that shouldn't be discounted. When you have a goalie as good as Gibson is, the threshold you need to clear to give yourself a chance to be competitive is quite low.

He's never finished in the top five of Vezina Trophy voting, but Gibson is a rock star in net, with his play unquestionably warranting recognition ever since he entered the league. What he needs in front of him to not only give the team a fighting chance but also finally start get himself some credit in the discussion for best goalies in the league is quite reasonable -- keep the shots and chances against him to a manageable level, and provide the bare minimum for offensive support.

The Ducks weren't able to clear that low bar last season, but it appears they now have a chance under a new coach and a collection of young players who should only continue to get better as the season progresses.

Arizona Coyotes

There were two big stories involving the Coyotes last season: their almost comically anemic offense, and how good Darcy Kuemper was in carrying them nearly to the playoffs despite it. Both of those trends are once again in the spotlight, but they appear to be aligning in the same direction, making Arizona a dangerous team.

The team's ability to generate goals this season has been in stark contrast to last season, when no player reached either the 20-goal or 50-point threshold. It's still too early to project individual paces because one strong game here or there can change the entire outlook, but it's worth noting that the Coyotes have scored four or more goals in four of their past six games, a benchmark they hit only 27 times in 82 games last season. They've also scored five goals twice already, which they did only five times all last season.

In the first few games it looked like it was going to be the same story again after they were shut down by Gibson and the Bruins' Jaroslav Halak, but since then, they've feasted against less stingy competition. Here's a look at that improvement across the board, sorting their league rank offensively by game state:

• Last season: 31st at 5-on-5 scoring, 26th on the power play, 27th overall

• This season: 18th at 5-on-5 scoring, 10th on the power play, 14th overall

The two biggest driving forces have been the addition of Phil Kessel and the fact that the group is finally healthy and intact. The Coyotes haven't really started turning their looks into goals quite yet at 5-on-5, but the top line of Kessel, Derek Stepan and Clayton Keller will if it keeps dominating like it has thus far. They have just two goals to show for their work, but they're controlling 61.5% of the shot attempts, 65.1% of the shots on goal and 70.0% of the high-danger chances. That's a recipe for success, and it appears that Arizona is getting the shot in the arm it hoped for when it traded for Kessel.

Kuemper's ascension as he approaches 30 is quite the development, becoming the latest example of how seemingly random the goaltending position can be. While everyone salivated at the idea of Antti Raanta finally being healthy enough to soak up a full workload, Kuemper has quietly sneaked into the Coyotes' crease and taken the job for himself based on his play. It's fair to say that it's been a surprising turn of events at this stage of his career, considering that he'd never really shown himself to be anything more than a league-average backup before last season:

• From 2012-2018: 114 starts, .912 save percentage, minus-22.7 goals saved above average

• Since the start of last season: 61 starts, .927 save percentage, plus-15.4 goals saved above average

We're ultimately going to need to see more of these trends continuing before we can say with any real confidence that the Coyotes should be considered a threat at the top of the Pacific Division. But if they can prove to be simply competent offensively, that should be enough to win plenty of games when paired with this kind of goaltending.

Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers

These two franchises seem to always be inextricably linked. They've been the dregs of the league for the better part of the past decade -- which peaked in the epic tank battle for the Connor McDavid sweepstakes -- and they're now each sitting atop their respective conferences in a stunning turn of events to start the season.

In a way, they've also followed a similar formula for their early success: strong goaltending, a lethal power play and their best players doing a lot of the heavy lifting. The Oilers are fifth in save percentage, their power play has generated the third-most goals per hour, while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are second and fourth in league scoring while north of 1.5 points per game. The Sabres are fourth in save percentage and fourth in goals per hour on the power play, and Jack Eichel has been playing like a man possessed this season, with 14 points in 10 games.

If we have to pick between the two, the Sabres' success appears to be more sustainable. They've been the superior 5-on-5 team, hovering around the 50% mark in all of the shot-based metrics. (They're at 50.0% in shot attempts, 50.2% in shots on goal, 54.8% in high-danger chances and 51.1% in expected goals.) That represents a marked improvement from where they were last season, even when they were on their big 10-game winning streak. The various renovations they made to the lineup this summer have paid immediate dividends, significantly increasing their floor by removing many of the black holes, and turning their blue line from a liability into a net positive.

The case for the Oilers' continuing this level of success seems flimsier. They haven't been nearly as good as a group at 5-on-5, relying more heavily on those other aforementioned strengths. They're currently squeezing every remaining ounce of juice out of their goaltending, which doesn't seem very likely to continue for much longer based on the players involved. The duo of Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith have stopped north of 92.5% of the total shots they've faced to this point, which is a figure that's going to inevitably dip down to something around 91% (if not lower) if the past is any indication. We saw this kind of a strong start for Koskinen last season before he crumpled, while Smith has been on the wrong side of the hill for long enough now that we should know better than to buy into a couple of strong games strung together.

Dave Tippett's system has historically gotten the most out of its goalies (including Smith himself once upon a time in Arizona), and it wouldn't be the first time that a team's goalies got hot and stayed hot. But it's important to maintain some perspective and evaluate situations like this based on the larger sample size, because save percentages over a short period of time can mask a lot of underlying deeper rooted flaws. It's truly remarkable what a hot goalie will do for changing the overall perception of a team as a whole. I'm skeptical.

While James Neal's goal scoring has been a pleasant surprise, the degree to which this team relies on their top two players is really pushing the boundaries of what's humanly possible. It's currently leaning on Draisaitl to play the minutes of a No. 1 workhorse defenseman, and Connor McDavid isn't too far behind. Here are the leaders in average ice time for the season among all forwards:

• Leon Draisaitl: 23:42

• Mika Zibanejad: 23:08

• Connor McDavid: 22:43

• Jake Guentzel: 21:50

• Mark Scheifele: 21:43

• Nathan MacKinnon: 21:34

• Sidney Crosby: 21:27

• Patrick Kane: 21:27

• Artemi Panarin: 21:03

• Dylan Larkin: 20:52

The good news for the Oilers is that these two did this last season, and they did it well. In a way, there's something admirable about going to battle with your two best players, leaving it all out there, and going down swinging. Everyone knows all about McDavid's singular greatness, but Draisaitl appears to have taken his game to another level, shedding any lingering concerns that his production is just a byproduct of playing with the best player in the world. He's been dominant for large stretches this season, and he's either scored or directly set up half of the team's total goals.

The bad news is that it still doesn't seem like an ideal management of your best resources, especially when we're in the load-management era of optimizing player performance by closely monitoring workload. While they're going the way they have been early this season, Edmonton will be just fine; but, the margin for error is incredibly thin -- if either of McDavid or Draisaitl slows down or gets injured, everything could crumple around them like a deck of cards. That's a scary place to be in when talking about such a physical and dangerous sport like hockey.

Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks

Coming into the season, the Pacific was widely considered to be the weakest division in the league, largely because of its perceived lack of depth beyond the top three teams. But it's been surprisingly frisky in the early going, with no real obvious bottom feeders presenting themselves. We've already highlighted the Ducks and Oilers here, but even the Canucks and Kings are putting together nice little résumés of their own in the first couple of weeks.

No one has been more critical of the Canucks and their seeming lack of a forward-thinking plan when it's come to constructing their roster than I have, but I'm willing to admit that they already look a lot better than I thought they would following their series of offseason acquisitions. They've had the benefit of an awfully light schedule in the early going, but they also just finished off a largely successful four-game road trip and have won six of their past seven games.

Jacob Markstrom looks terrific in net, trying to prove that this level of performance in his new norm as he builds off his impressive play following the All-Star break last season. On the blue line, not only has Tyler Myers formed an excellent top pairing with Alexander Edler, but rookie Quinn Hughes also continues to make something special happen every time he steps on the ice. Travis Green has done a commendable job of properly evaluating what he's working with up front and putting his players in a position to succeed. He's divvied up the forward minutes appropriately, burying his bottom-six in defensive minutes in an effort to free his most skilled players for all of the premium offensive minutes they can handle. The de facto top line of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller has rewarded him, dominating possession when they've been out there. It's still early, but this team has a different feel to it than the ones from the past couple of lackluster seasons.

No team has had higher highs and lower lows than the Kings to start the season. They're 4-5-0 to date, and will likely be a .500 team for the entirety of the season. But it looks like they'll get there in a more entertaining path than we figured when we projected them to be the least watchable team in the league in the preseason. They've already been walloped by the Canucks by an 8-2 margin and gotten shut out in back-to-back home games by the Hurricanes and Sabres. But they've also returned the favor by drubbing the Predators and beating the division-rival Flames twice (while outshooting them in a single period by a 20-3 margin and a 20-4 margin in those two separate meetings).

Despite the losing record, there are a lot of positives to take from their first stretch of games this season. Anze Kopitar looks revitalized, showing major signs of bouncing back after he looked like his best days were behind him for much of last season. The team is playing a lot faster under Todd McLellan, jumping from 25th in pace at 5-on-5 last season to seventh thus far. As a group, they're top-5 in shot share, shots on goal, high-danger chances and expected goals, which is a significant improvement from the floundering even-strength club they were last season. Some flaws remain with this team, but it's giving off a dramatically different vibe from the overwhelmingly depressing situation of 2018-19.

LPGA veteran Kim Kaufman is setting the pace at Q-Series.

Kaufman shot a 6-under 65 Wednesday to take the first-round lead in what feels like a marathon for the 98 players who are at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina looking to win LPGA tour cards for 2020. She’s two shots ahead of Lauren Coughlin and Brianna Do and three ahead of a pack of seven players that includes Emma Talley and Celine Herbin.

The third and final stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament is scheduled to be contested over 144 holes, with the first 72 played at Pinehurst No. 6. A minimum of the top 45 and ties will win LPGA status at the end of the competition.

“I've never been to Q-Series, so this is all new to me,” Do said. “Obviously, it is a marathon, eight rounds and two weeks over two courses. I took the last two weeks to really refresh. It's been a tough season out on the LPGA and I just needed to figure a few things out. I did a good job of that and had a good day.”

Kaufman and Do are among LPGA pros looking to win back LPGA status after finishing outside the top 100 in money this season.

“It was nice to go out and make six birdies, no bogeys,” Kaufman said. “To see myself hit good shots and gain a little confidence, I’ll definitely take it.”

Yealimi Noh and Haley Moore got off to solid starts with rounds of 69 in their first Q-Series.

Noh turned pro as a 17-year-old earlier this year and made a couple runs at winning LPGA titles as a non-member. She played her way into events through Monday qualifying this summer, tying for second at the Cambia Portland Classic and tying for sixth at the Thornberry Classic. She’s 18 now.

Moore played an important role helping Arizona win the NCAA title in 2018. She clinched the title by winning her match in extra holes. She turned pro at the beginning of the summer.

Stanford’s Andrea Lee, No. 1 in the Golfweek Women’s Collegiate Rankings, is tied for 34^th after opening with a 72. Her teammate, Albane Valenzuela (71), No. 4 in the rankings, is tied for 25^th. Florida’s Sierra Brooks (72) is tied for 34^th. USC’s Jennifer Chang and Florida State’s Frida Kinhult each shot 74 and are tied for 66^th.

After a disastrous start to the Zozo Championship, Tiger Woods racked up the birdies in his first round in Japan, finishing with a 6-under 64.

Woods bogeyed each of his first three holes after starting on the back nine Thursday at Narashino Country Club, but he followed with three straight birdies, beginning with a 12-foot make at the par-5 14th.

Woods capped his first nine with his fourth birdie of the day, at the par-5 18th. He then rattled off another trio of consecutive birdies. His 18-foot make at the par-3 third got him to 2 under, one shot off the lead, and his 8-foot conversion at the par-4 fourth earned him a share of the lead, though briefly.

After Hideki Matsuyama and Gary Woodland moved to 4 under, Woods soon joined them with birdie at the par-3 fifth, his seventh circle in 10 holes.

Two holes later, at the par-3 seventh, Woods drained a 30-foot bomb to move to 5 under and take the outright lead.

At the par-4 finishing hole, Woods blocked his drive right but got lucky, his ball hitting a tree and kicking left. From a decent lie in the rough, Woods hit his approach to 5 feet and sank the putt for his ninth birdie of the day.

Tiger Woods caught fire after a slow start Thursday as he opened his season at the Zozo Championship in Japan. Here’s how everything unfolded at Narashino Country Club, where Woods shot 6-under 64 to grab a share of the first-round lead with Gary Woodland:

Leaderboard: Tiger Woods (-6), Gary Woodland (-6), Hideki Matsuyama (-5), Daniel Berger (-3), Sung Kang (-3), Ryan Palmer (-3)

What it means: Woods’ first-round 64 was historic. After bogeying each of his first three holes after starting on the back nine, Woods carded nine birdies in his final 14 holes to post the best season-opening score of his career, besting his previous mark of 66 at Torrey Pines in 2007. Woods also shot 67 at Torrey to open the 2008 season. He won both of those events. Whether or not Woods goes on to win this weekend, performance like the one Thursday may be just what Woods needs to pick himself for the Presidents Cup. Woodland, of course, also needs a pick. The U.S. Open champ birdied the last hole to deny Woods his first outright 18-hole lead since the 2009 PGA Championship.

Round of the day: After an ugly start, Woods gave himself birdie look after birdie look and converted. Woods said that most of his birdie putts were left-to-righters, though his 30-foot birdie make at the par-3 seventh was not. Woods had two different streaks of three straight birdies on the round. Woodland's round was less stressful, as he went bogey-free and birdied each of the three par-5s.

Best of the rest: Matsuyama put on a show for the home crowd, making seven birdies and carding 65. Berger’s 67 was his fifth sub-68 round in 11 rounds this fall.

Biggest disappointment: Graeme McDowell is last after an opening 11-over 81, but Jordan Spieth also can’t be happy with his start in Japan. After a T-4 finish last week in South Korea, Spieth made just two birdies and shot 74.

Main storyline entering Friday: It’s going to be a grind, folks. During his post-round interview with Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, Woods alluded to the bad weather that is expected to hit the area Friday. The Tour bumped up tee times an hour, to 7 a.m. local time (6 p.m. ET), but heavy rains will likely still force Round 2 into Saturday, which means we’re in store for a marathon weekend. Can Woods, who has looked great physically since knee surgery in August, handle the demand of a potentially 30-plus hole day?

Shot of the day: Even though he initially didn’t love it, Woods saved his best approach for last, at the par-4 ninth:

Quote of the day: “I was hitting a lot of good putts and the ball was rolling tight. … One of the stranger rounds I’ve experienced in a while. It seemed like every putt I made, other than the one on 7, was a left-to-righter. It was crazy. I must’ve made seven or eight left-to-righters today.” – Woods

A quick-fire strike from Lionel Messi and a second half own goal gave Barcelona a 2-1 win over Slavia Prague in a thrilling Champions League Group F encounter on Wednesday where both sides spurned multiple chances.

Barcelona swarmed forward from the kick off, keeping Slavia bottled up in their own end and denying them possession.

They took the lead in the third minute when Messi forced a turnover before feeding the ball to Arthur who returned it for the Argentine to slip past the goalkeeper.

- Champions League group stage: All you need to know
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The goal made Messi the first player in Champions League history to score at least once in 15 consecutive seasons in the competition, moving past Raul on the list. Messi also tied the Real Madrid legend for the most goals (3) scored within the first three minutes in Champions League history.

Slavia regrouped quickly and began pressing forward in numbers during a lively first half in which they out-shot Barcelona.

The hosts had three gilt-edge chances but were denied by Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen whose saves included a sprawling effort where he dove one way but used his foot to clear a Jaroslav Zeleny shot to safety.

"Ter Stegen has been our key player across all three Champions League matches so far," Barca manager Ernesto Valverde said.

The home side, pushed on by a roaring crowd, kept their foot on the pedal after the break and deservedly levelled in the 50th minute when Lukas Masopust held off a defender before threading a pass to Jan Boril who made no mistake in front of goal.

Barcelona, harried all night by a hard-running Slavia side, reclaimed their advantage in the 57th minute when a Luis Suarez shot from a tight angle bounced off Peter Olayinka and into the net.

Slavia continued to push forward but despite a number of efforts inside the box could not breach a stubborn Barcelona backline that defended in numbers and blocked several last-gasp shots.

"That was exactly the Slavia performance we expected. When we lost the ball they threw people forward and by the end they took so many risks it was like defending against an avalanche of attacks," Valverde said.

"Games like this we have to learn how to manage better. We had better, clearer chances but we lacked the cold-blooded calmness in their half which could have sealed the result."

Ter Stegen was notably critical of his side's play and performance.

"We didn't play at the level we wanted to. At least we've got the three points, which is the most important thing. We ned to speak about things. We have to do that among ourselves, I'm not going to say [about what] here, it's internal. There's a lot to improve. I'd like to speak first with the players that have been on the pitch."

The win puts Barcelona top of Group F with seven points from three games while Slavia are bottom with one point. Elsewhere, Inter Milan beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 and both teams are on four points in the group.

Liverpool produced a devastating attacking display to ease past Racing Genk 4-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday but manager Jurgen Klopp said he had not enjoyed it and was left wondering where his team was at afterward.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored two goals while playing in his first game in the competition for 18 months, and silky strikes from Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah gave the scoreline a convincing enough look.

Yet there were moments of unease for the European champions as they won away in the group phase for the first time in two years. Genk were unfortunate to have a Mbwana Samatta effort ruled out in the first half and spurned several other chances to equalise before Liverpool took charge.

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Such are the standards that Klopp has now set, however, that he was not entirely impressed despite his side moving second in Group E with six points, one behind Napoli.

"I didn't enjoy the game too much, but I enjoyed the result a lot," said Klopp, whose side's 17-match winning streak in the Premier League ended in a 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday.

"We've had two away games that were both difficult for different reasons. I don't know where we are at the moment. I know where we have to be on Sunday [against Tottenham Hotspur].

"There were good moments. We started well but lost a lot of easy balls, unexpected balls. Of course, those are the most difficult to defend against. Our first goal was brilliant -- all four goals were brilliant."

Klopp has an embarrassment of attacking riches with Oxlade-Chamberlain's return yet another option.

He struck a clinical opener after two minutes and his 57th-minute goal to double his side's lead, a nonchalant clipped effort with the outside of his right foot, was a gem.

It was Liverpool's 200th Champions League goal, but even Oxlade-Chamberlain got a "can do better" review from his manager.

"Ox was like the game was. The goals were brilliant, but he can do much better and he knows that," Klopp said.

"He's had a lot of time out and he lacked a bit of rhythm in some moments, but the goals were lovely. It was a big step."

Liverpool have now won 25 of their last 30 matches in all competitions, and the way they made a potentially tricky night into a relatively smooth one was a sign of the confidence and winning mentality now ingrained in the squad.

"In the years before we would have drawn it, maybe even lost, but it's all OK. It was intense, we needed concentration," Klopp added.

Chelsea's Christian Pulisic was left out of the squad entirely when they beat Lille in the Champions League earlier this month, but the 21-year-old's career sprang to life against Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday.

The forward joined Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of around €64 million in the close season to become the most expensive American player in history but has struggled for minutes, making only three Premier League starts.

Pulisic gave manager Frank Lampard a timely reminder of his talent by setting up fellow substitute Michy Batshuayi to score the winner in Chelsea's 1-0 triumph over last year's semifinalists Ajax at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

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"Sometimes the toughest part of management is leaving out players that really want to play week-in, week-out. You rely on them being positive and coming on to make an impact," Lampard told reporters.

"You have to give Christian huge credit because he looked so lively and the assist is just as important as the finish."

Pulisic had admitted to being frustrated by limited playing time, with the media speculating that he could leave Chelsea on loan during the January transfer window.

"I've tried to shut my ears to a lot of the outside talk ... I understand his quality, his young age and the fact that it's a big move for him," Lampard said.

"He wants to know what I want from him, what the Premier League is like and that's not always an easy ride but we've stayed calm and kept looking at the big picture."

Lampard said the result, which left Chelsea with six points after three games in Group H, had set the benchmark for his youthful side.

"It feels huge. That always scares me because there's a lot to do and it's just six points halfway through the group now, but we're entitled to be excited," he said.

"It can be a bit of a blueprint for us in terms of the work from the midfield players which was outstanding ... but there's no excuses for us now to dip from that.

"The younger players are still babies in Champions League minutes so this was a huge test ... but the balance of our team between young players ... and experienced players who they rely on to set examples was good."

GENK, Belgium -- In the aftermath of Liverpool's 2018 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid in Kiev, manager Jurgen Klopp was in his Formby home when he picked up a framed photograph of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The midfielder, who was crucial to the club reaching European football's showpiece, had suffered damage to multiple knee ligaments a month earlier. Klopp held the image up, telling assistant manager Peter Krawietz as well as a friend -- Die Toten Hosen lead singer Campino -- and a German journalist of his sadness at the English midfielder's injury situation.

He felt as though "Ox" had sacrificed his body to get Liverpool so far, only to be robbed of the chance to affect matters at the most pivotal juncture.

As the squad clapped their supporters at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium following Real's 3-1 victory, Klopp had to compose himself when he saw the player, on crutches, crying into his palms.

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On Wednesday night, however, the scenes were markedly different. On his first Champions League start in a year and six months, Oxlade-Chamberlain scored two absolute stunners -- the second worthy of being watched on loop for hours -- as Liverpool eased past Racing Genk 4-1 in Belgium.

Having waited so long for this moment, it took just two minutes for him to tattoo himself on the encounter with a finish into the bottom corner from almost 25 yards out.

In the second half, the drooling emoji decorated social media feeds as Ox hit a first-time shot with the outside of his right boot with such ease and nonchalance that went in off the underside of the crossbar.

"I don't know about the Champions League missing me, but I've definitely missed it!," he said after the match. "It was nice to be back out there. It's a special tournament to play in."

It was during the 5-2 semi-final home victory in this competition against Roma on April 24, 2018, when the dynamo suffered his devastating injury setback. Earlier that month, Ox had delivered a majestic strike against Manchester City, which was his last for the club before he took centre stage on Wednesday at the Luminus Arena in Genk.

It has been a long, challenging and mentally draining journey for the former Arsenal man to manoeuvre. Oxlade-Chamberlain has endured a long spell out and a gruelling rehabilitation schedule, all the while obsessing about getting back to his very best and forcing his way from Liverpool's fringes to the forefront of their midfield thinking.

The 26-year-old even ceded time off during the international breaks to fit in extra sessions and ensure he is in peak physical condition. His progressive play helped the Reds seal the equaliser at Manchester United on Sunday, and it was his double that switched a tricky contest in Genk to a platform for his side to showcase an attacking masterclass.

Alongside him, Naby Keita -- who has also battled back from troublesome injuries -- made his first Champions League start and was at the heart of Liverpool's progressive play. He made a game-high 118 passes (80 in the opposition half) and still managed to complete 93 percent of them.

The Guinea international had the most touches (138), contested the most duels (14), made the most possession gains (12) and added three tackles and an interception.

That was no surprise to insiders at Melwood, who told ESPN FC that he looked "ready to catch fire" during recent training sessions in which he was the standout performer.

It was the debut of Klopp opting for a midfield trio of Fabinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita, which is a more creative and proactive triumvirate than when two of Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner are stationed in front of the anchor. The combination is also more risky, but as evidenced against Genk, generates reward in the final third.

With all his options now fit and fighting it out to be part of the starting XI, Klopp has the luxury of altering his personnel based on the specific requirements of each game. Opponents -- as was the case with United at Old Trafford -- have looked to stunt the influence of full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson to force Liverpool to build attacks through their midfield.

While Henderson, Wijnaldum and Milner have their strengths -- discipline, tactical nous, physicality, experience -- that is not an ideal function for them, given they are not natural linebreakers in the mould of Keita or Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Klopp also can turn to Adam Lallana, who converted the equaliser against United, when he needs Liverpool to keep the ball in tight spaces and recycle possession intelligently.

"On Sunday, Adam scored the goal; now Ox has scored two. It's a great story," the manager said of his fit-again weapons.

Teams that have circled the midfield of the European champions as a potential weakness will now know that Klopp has various options to undo their tactical plans in that department.