Who should win the men’s Ballon d’Or? That's the question our reporters asked 100 people in football — players and managers, past and present, coaches, sporting directors, scouts, presidents and other executives from around the world. There were some slightly eyebrow-raising selections. A current Bundesliga sporting director voted for Declan Rice in second place. A former international player and manager picked Marc Cucurella in third. A former Premier League coach chose Marquinhos in third place. The winner? Harry Kane. By some margin. 📝 @NickMiller79, @Conor0Neill_ Free to read 🆓 bit.ly/4yzwqoa

Como laid waste to Manchester United. This is how they did it: ▪️ The ‘Disney’ business model ▪️ 14-page dossier on how to beat United ▪️ Big - but shrewd - spending ▪️ Landing Messi’s heir @JamesHorncastle goes behind the scenes with Italy’s most exciting club - also featuring Florence Pugh. nyti.ms/4yFaybl

“That’s a different game than we normally play…” Mikel Arteta wasn’t wrong. Arsenal’s trip to Bayern Munich was a serious examination of their quality, resilience and European nous. They passed the test impressively - and still left room for improvement. 📝 @ArtDeRoche nyti.ms/4izt9AA

Before the final whistle blew at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Michael Carrick knew what he was going to do. He acknowledged Cesc Fabregas on Como’s 4-1 win, then strode across the pitch and held up his hands in apology to the few dozen or so Manchester United fans who had stayed through the rain and an utterly lifeless performance. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did similar when losing by the same scoreline to Watford in November 2021. For Solskjaer, the act very much felt like a farewell gesture — indeed he has said he knew his reign was over at half-time. It is now inevitable to wonder if Carrick is waving goodbye to Manchester United, too. 📝 @lauriewhitwell nyti.ms/4sfHLIC

Only two players have made more appearances in the Champions League/European Cup than Manuel Neuer. [@Will_Jeanes]

Yan Diomande scored at the weekend against Sevilla — and he scored again tonight, against his former employers. And much like on Sunday, his strike was a thumping hit. He rounded off a 4-1 Real Madrid win against RB Leipzig. 🎥 @footballontnt

Arsenal's old north London nemesis strikes again. Harry Kane adds a goal from the penalty spot to his earlier assist. The Bayern Munich striker has now scored in 10-straight Champions League games, becoming only the second player to do so behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Thibaut Courtois made some big saves in the first half to stop RB Leipzig from taking the lead against Real Madrid. And Jose Mourinho's team went into the break 1-0 up, thanks to Bernardo Silva — who has his first goal since joining in the summer.

Bruno Fernandes has appeared to question his team’s tactics and say they need to be “more brave” after their 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como. Fernandes told UK broadcaster TNT Sports after the match that it was “a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man”, when asked about their abilities to problem-solve. “I think sometimes we have to be more brave under pressure, take a risk of getting that press very high and making them uncomfortable, as they did to us,” he added. “The centre-back was coming to mark me all the way into my own half. I think sometimes we had to do that as a team and we were not really able to do it.” More from @JessMCHopkins & @lauriewhitwell nyti.ms/4zcvvv9

Eberechi Eze, who was replaced at half-time in Arsenal's win at the weekend, opens the scoring against Bayern Munich three days later. Played onside by the finest of margins from Josip Stanisic, he fired past Manuel Neuer after latching onto a stunning pass from Martin Odegaard.

Bukayo Saka limped off inside the opening 10 minutes of Arsenal's Champions League tie against Bayern Munich. The winger went down clutching his quad after kicking the ball across the pitch, and has been replaced by Eberechi Eze. A big blow for the Gunners.