Liverpool's Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick as they maintained their perfect UEFA Champions League campaign this season with a flamboyant second-half display in a 4-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield on Tuesday.
Arne Slot's men, who top the Premier League table, also lead the standings of Europe's elite club competition with their fourth win in four matches.
Aston Villa, who had been unbeaten in Europe's club competition after three games, suffered their first defeat of the season, going down 1-0 to Belgian side Club Brugge.
Leverkusen's loss, meanwhile, spoiled the return of manager and former Liverpool hero Xabi Alonso, who hoisted the Champions League trophy with the Reds in 2005.
Sporting CP climbed to second in the table after a 4-1 win over Premier League champions Manchester City. A Viktor Gyokeres hat-trick helped Sporting come from behind to crush Man City.
The loss to Sporting Lisbon was a third straight defeat for the English champions Man City -- the first time that has happened since 2018.
The top eight teams qualify directly for the Round of 16 of the Champions League. The next 16 will head to the playoffs for the remaining eight places. Meanwhile, the last 12 teams in the standings will be eliminated completely from Europe's club competition.
As things stand, 15-time champions Real Madrid are going to head to the playoffs after they suffered a second straight defeat in all competitions, going down 1-3 to AC Milan at the Bernabeu in yet another poor display by the defence.
The eight teams that are in contention to qualify automatically for Round of 16 are Liverpool, Sporting CP, Monaco, Brest, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Aston Villa.
Latest UEFA Champions League points table:
