Salah shining again but Barcelona and Juventus on the brink of disaster: Champions League winners and losers

Without an open-play goal for almost a month, and after being hauled off with the game on the line against Arsenal on Sunday, there is no question that Mohamed Salah needed even the smallest of wins.

But when he was named on the bench against Rangers on Wednesday, it seemed like the wait for that win would last at least a few more days.

Against a team as inferior as the Scottish side, though, Salah does not need long to make an impact.

Despite being on the field for just 22 minutes and having only nine touches at Ibrox, the Egyptian star still found the time to not just score a hat-trick, but score the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history.

Confidence presumably restored, his sights are now set on continuing that form against Manchester City this coming weekend.

For so long, Spanish teams had a stranglehold on the Champions League. This season, though, there is a real chance that La Liga will have just one representative in the knockout stages.

Barcelona's likely demise will take most of the headlines, with the Blaugrana now requiring favours from lowly Viktoria Plzen to qualify after their dramatic 3-3 draw with Inter.

The potential financial disaster that elimination would spark at Camp Nou means that their exit is set to be one of the biggest footballing stories of the next few months, but that should not mean the other underperforming Spanish sides in the competition should be ignored.

Atletico Madrid have picked up just four points from their opening four games in the competition after their goalless home draw against Club Brugge.

Sevilla, meanwhile, showed improvements under new manager Jorge Sampaoli in earning a point away at Borussia Dortmund, but a five-point gap is a lot to make up in two matches, especially when you factor in a trip to the Etihad Stadium is still to come.

Even Real Madrid looked ropey despite securing their passage to the next round, with the defending champions requiring Antonio Rudiger to go the extra mile in stoppage time to rescue them from defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk.

No wonder they all keep prattling on about the Super League...

While there are host of question marks surrounding the England team heading into the World Cup, Gareth Southgate will have been pleased to see some of his talented midfielders proving their readiness for Qatar by starring on the European stage.

Mason Mount put on a masterclass for Chelsea in Milan on Tuesday, playing a key role in both goals while almost getting on the scoresheet himself in a performance that showcased exactly why he is so trusted by every coach he comes into contact with, either at club or international level.

Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, is still earning Southgate's trust, but the case for him to start against Iran on November 21 grows by the game.

His goal against Sevilla meant he has now scored in all four of Dortmund's Champions League games this season. The only other teenagers to score in four successive top-tier European matches? Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. It's decent company to be keeping.

There was even time for Harvey Elliott to score his first Champions League goal in the closing stages of Liverpool's thrashing of Rangers, and there is surely a case for the 19-year-old to be given a chance at senior level with the Three Lions in 2023.

Four games into what was meant to be a triumphant return to the Champions League for Scotland's most iconic clubs, and both Celtic and Rangers have already been eliminated.

Celtic will rue missed chances against RB Leipzig, as they again matched the Bundesliga side for much of the game at Parkhead, only to give up two second-half goals that sealed their exit with two games still to play.

Rangers, meanwhile, have been a massive disappointment. Last season's Europa League finalists came into the competition with good recent memories of causing shocks on the continent, but they have been thoroughly outclassed.

No team has conceded more than the 16 goals that they have shipped in their four matches, and with a trip to a buoyant Napoli next up, things might be about to get a whole lot worse.

While VAR certainly helped get some decisions right this week – see Tottenham's first-half penalty against Eintracht Frankfurt, or Sergio Gomez's red card for Manchester City – it also showed off why there are so many who want it gone from the game.

The main issue with VAR seems to have been that it has shone a light on the ridiculousness of the offside and handball laws, and it was the latter that came squarely into view on matchday four.

Who (other than FC Copenhagen fans) wanted to see Rodri's thunderbolt for Man City get ruled out because the ball had brushed Riyad Mahrez's fingers earlier in the move? Not us, that's for sure.

City were also somewhat fortunately awarded a penalty in the same game (that they missed) after VAR adjudged Nicolai Boilesen to have handled in the box, but that was far from the harshest call of the week.

That belonged to the decision to award a handball against Jurrien Timber for Ajax in their game with Napoli.

Having got themselves back into the game after half-time, the Dutch champions were sucker-punched after VAR called for a spot-kick to be given, even though Timber's arm was down by his side as he went to block a shot.

Change is needed, but will it ever come?

Juventus's historically bad start to the season hit a new low on Tuesday, as defeat away at tournament minnows Maccabi Haifa all-but ensured their elimination from the competition.

As if that wasn't bad enough, though, it was then revealed that the manager overseeing this shambles, Massimiliano Allegri, still has the confidence of the board, and will not be sacked anytime soon.

Likely out of the Champions League and already facing an uphill struggle to qualify for next season's tournament after a poor start to their Serie A campaign, there is little to look forward to for Juve fans right now.