Champions League: Barcelona and Manchester City win big while Liverpool stays perfect

Barcelona and Manchester City notched lopsided victories as the first round of this season's UEFA Champions League continued on Wednesday with nine matches to close out Matchday 3.

Raphinha scored a hat trick in Barça's 4-1 win, with 17-year-old Lamine Yamal helping set up the Brazilian's third with a spectacular long-range pass:

Liverpool, Inter Milan, Lille, Dinamo Zagreb and Feyenoord also won, while Atlético Madrid, Benfica and FC Salzburg and Young Boys all lost at home.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Wednesday's games.

Three years after Lionel Messi left Barcelona, are the five-time European title winners finally legitimate contenders for the Champions League crown once again?

The Blaugrana sure looked like it on Wednesday, rocking Bayern Munich to put the exclamation point on this round's results in the world's marquee club competition.

Truth be told, Barça weren't really in the running during Messi's final few years at the club. Who can forget the 8-2 drubbing Bayern hung on the GOAT & Co. in the 2020 quarterfinals that signaled the beginning of the end of Barcelona most successful era?

Bayern went on to win the Champions League that season. Their coach? Hansi Flick, who has been a revelation during his first season at the helm in Catalonia. Barça is currently leading Spain's La Liga with a 9-1 record.

Flick's team has everything left to prove. Last month's 2-1 loss in Monaco was a red flag even if it was marred by an early red card. Same for the league defeat at Osasuna less than two weeks later. At their scintillating best, though, Barcelona should fear nobody. Wednesday's rout left little doubt about that.

Speaking of trophy contenders, the Reds went into Wednesday's contest in Leipzig knowing that they