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Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers hailed a “perfect performance” after his side equalled the biggest win in Premier League history by demolishing 10-man Southampton 9-0.

Ayoze Perez and Jamie Vardy both scored hat-tricks as the Foxes matched Manchester United’s thumping March 1995 victory over Ipswich. It was also the biggest away win in the English top flight.

Ben Chilwell, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison were also on the scoresheet at St Mary’s as Leicester climbed up to second place in the table.

Embarrassed Saints played for 78 minutes a man light after Ryan Bertrand became the first top-flight player to be shown a red card following a VAR review after his dangerous challenge on Perez in the build-up to Chilwell’s early opener.

“It was the perfect performance. From the very first whistle in the game we showed our intent,” said Rodgers.

“I’m so pleased with the performance, it had everything you could want.

“We went in front, deservedly so. And then when Ryan got sent off, we showed a wonderful demonstration of how to play against 10 men.

“The players made it look a lot easier than it actually is.

“All round collectively it was an absolutely outstanding night and brilliant for the supporters to travel all the way down here on a wet night.

“To see the team score nine goals and be very focused, hopefully they will be very proud.

“It’s a brilliant win that equals records.”

The sensational scoreline inflicted a record defeat on the desperate hosts.

Perez and Vardy, meanwhile, became only the second set of team-mates to score trebles in a Premier League after Jermaine Pennant and Robert Pires managed it against Saints for Arsenal in May 2003.

They each left the stadium clutching a match ball.

After being five goals up at the break, Rodgers was thrilled to see his players maintain their ruthless display in the second 45 minutes.

“The message at half-time when it was 5-0 was to see it as 0-0 and go out and show we’re a really, really good side by pushing and showing a hungry mentality,” he said.

“To go out and do what we did and show that ruthless streak, it shows we’re making steps to being a ruthless side.”

Unai Emery hailed Nicolas Pepe’s match-winning impact as “perfect” after Arsenal’s club-record signing came off the bench to score a brace of free-kicks and see off Vitoria.

The Europa League tie appeared to be heading in the direction of the Portuguese side after they twice took the lead at the Emirates Stadium, only for the £72million summer arrival to hit two free-kicks – the second of which came in stoppage time – and seal an undeserved 3-2 win.

After losing at Sheffield United on Monday night, Emery launched an impassioned defence of his tenure as Gunners boss on the eve of the Group F clash.

But what followed was a below-par performance rescued by the brilliance of Pepe, who until then had struggled to live up to his hefty price-tag.

Without a goal from their first two games and with no away win in Europe since 2005, Vitoria stunned the home crowd as former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards opened the scoring before Bruno Duarte restored their lead following Gabriel Martinelli’s equaliser.

With more than one “Emery Out” banner displayed and the crowd singing for Mesut Ozil – again absent from the matchday squad – it was clear Emery’s calls for patience from supporters had largely fallen on deaf ears.

But the stadium erupted as Pepe took centre stage late on.

“We are very happy for him and for us because those two goals, from two set-pieces, were perfect,” Emery said of the Ivory Coast international.

“He was trying a lot of set-piece shooting on the training ground last week and I was watching his shooting.

“The most important thing is the three points and that some individual players can improve, that they can take confidence for us and for them.

“Every player, usually, they need time to adapt. Pepe is a very good player and we believe in him, totally.

“The way he’s going, sometimes he feels better, sometimes it’s with more difficulty on the pitch.

“He’s improving and tonight those two goals are really important for us first, and then secondly for him. He’s continuing the adaptation in his process and as soon as he can adapt, that’s better for us.”

Ozil’s absence was likely to be the elephant in the room should Arsenal have failed to maintain their winning start to their Europa League campaign.

The German has now been entirely left out of the last five games but Emery would not be drawn on the continued ostracism of the club’s highest earner.

“Tonight is not the day to speak about that,” he added.

“I prefer to speak about the match. We have all the players who played. He’s not in the squad. That is the decision tonight. Now we are going to work towards Sunday.”

Vitoria remain without a point in Group F despite such a spirited performance, achieved with a lengthy injury list and a number of players rested for the weekend Primeira Liga match with Sporting.

“We are sad,” admitted defender Frederico Venancio after the game.

“Losing a game in the last second is hard on any team, especially after the excellent performance we made.

“We worked well, in a fantastic stadium and under a fantastic environment. Unfortunately, tiredness got the better of us in the final moments and two amazing free-kicks made the difference.”

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong said his side were “lucky” to come away with all three points after a 2-1 win at Slavia Prague.

Lionel Messi put the visitors up inside three minutes at the Sinobo Stadium and became the first player to score in 15 consecutive seasons of the Champions League.

Czech champions Slavia deservedly levelled through Jan Boril early in the second half, but Barca an own goal from Peter Olayinka ensured Barca went top of group F.

Speaking after the match, De Jong said: “I think we were a bit lucky today.

“They did good, we were not good enough especially on the ball and then (in terms of) pressure it was not our best game.

“But at the end we won an away game in the Champions League so we are happy about this.

“Sometimes you have games like this. Hopefully not too many this season but today was one of them.”

Victory for Ernesto Valverde’s men moved them on to seven points from three European fixtures and above Borussia Dortmund on the table following the German club’s 2-0 loss to Inter Milan at the San Siro.

Slavia, meanwhile, were left with nothing to show from a positive performance and slip to the bottom of the standings on a solitary point.

In-form Barcelona wasted little time asserting themselves on the contest and went ahead when Messi seized on sloppy play from Petr Sevcik to claim his 113th Champions League goal.

The Argentinian anticipated a loose pass from the Czech midfielder and, after exchanging passes with Arthur, emphatically slotted a composed first-time finish into the bottom left corner.

But the hosts quickly regained composure and had the better of the first-half chances as Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was forced into a string of fine saves.

The hosts continued to rattle Barcelona and were rewarded with a deserved equaliser five minutes after the restart.

Masopust made amends for squandering his earlier chance, chesting down a long ball forward and producing a perfectly weighted pass for left-back Boril to poke beyond Ter Stegen.

Barca were on the back foot but regained the lead against the run of play seven minutes later thanks to a large slice of luck.

Former Liverpool forward Suarez, without an away goal in the Champions League for more than four years, attempted to divert a deep Messi free-kick back across goal and saw the ball take a heavy deflection into the net off the unfortunate Olayinka.

Slavia manager Jindrich Trpisovsky was quoted on the club’s website saying: “If you have to lose, you should lose in this style.

“When we have five chances and we don’t score, it hurts, because we know that every mistake we make and every chance by our opponent is dangerous.

“Jan Boril is the only winner on our side tonight, it will always be written in history that he scored against Barcelona.

“But if you waste chances in the last minutes that could equalise against Barcelona, it will stay inside you for a long time.”

Zinedine Zidane said he was “delighted” to achieve a 1-0 win over Galatasaray after recent criticism of his Real Madrid side.

Toni Kroos scored the only goal in his 100th Champions League appearance to lift Los Blancos off the bottom of Group A.

A loss to Paris St-Germain, a draw with Club Brugge, and a LaLiga defeat to Mallorca on Saturday had put pressure on both Zidane’s side and his position, with Jose Mourinho linked to the job.

Speaking after the win in Istanbul, Zidane told the Real Madrid website: “I’m delighted for the whole team because there’s been a lot of criticism, it’s not an easy place to come to and we showed good character.

“It’s important to win when you play every three days and tonight we were focused right from the off.

“We created a lot of chances after some really good moves and I would have liked to have seen us get a second and even a third because that would have meant that the opposition would have eased off in terms of their pressing.

“At 1-0 they still believed they could level things up right until the end, but we were focused from the first minute until the last.

“We worked hard and were strong and that’s what got us the win.”

Zidane’s side were knocked off top spot in LaLiga by Barcelona after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Mallorca but responded with a crucial win, which could have been by a wider margin had it not been for Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

Muslera made a string of outstanding saves to keep Galatasaray in the tie, while the Turkish side were not without their chances.

Casemiro headed Rodrygo’s early cross just wide and Galatasaray’s on-loan Brighton forward Florin Andone fired straight at Thibaut Courtois after being sent clear by Younes Belhanda.

Andone forced Courtois into a better save, low in the bottom corner, but after efforts from Rodrygo and Karim Benzema had tested Muslera, Real took an 18th-minute lead.

Eden Hazard cut the ball back inside the area and Kroos scored off a deflected shot, which flew into the top corner and silenced the partisan home fans.

The win lifts Madrid past Brugge and Galatasaray into second place with four points, while Paris-St Germain maintained their 100% record with a 5-0 win in Belgium.

Jamie Carragher has admitted Liverpool made a “massive mistake” by backing Luis Suarez in the 2011 racism row with Patrice Evra and apologised to the former Manchester United left-back.

Suarez was given an eight-match ban by the Football Association after being found guilty of misconduct for using insulting words to Evra, which included a reference to the defender’s colour, at Anfield in October 2011.

Liverpool’s players – including Carragher – responded to the suspension by wearing t-shirts with Suarez’s face on before a Premier League match with Wigan in December 2011 in a show of support for their striker.

Former Reds defender Carragher, who was appearing on Sky Sports alongside Evra on Monday, accepts the club and players made an error of judgment.

“Apologies, we got it massively wrong,” said Carragher. “There’s no doubt we made a massive mistake.

“I’m not lying on that and saying I wasn’t part of it because as the club we got it wrong and I was vice-captain. I’m not sure who was actually behind it.

“What I would say is that maybe I, as an individual, lacked the courage to say I wasn’t wearing it.

“I don’t think everyone at Liverpool thought what we were doing was right.

“Your first reaction – no matter what someone does – is to support them even if they are wrong.”

Speaking about Liverpool’s decision to wear t-shirts supporting Suarez, Evra said: “I saw it. I was watching the game. I was like, this is ridiculous. It is unbelievable.

“I understand you always have to support your player because this is your team. But this was after the ban.

“What message do you send to the world? Supporting someone being banned because he used some racist words.”

Suarez and Evra left Liverpool and Manchester United respectively in the summer of 2014, while Carragher retired from playing in 2013.

Unai Emery believes Arsenal can achieve something important this season, appearing to suggest they can finish in the top four and challenge Liverpool and Manchester City at the top.

The Gunners have only lost once in the Premier League this term and were third ahead of the weekend’s fixtures while they have enjoyed success in the Carabao Cup and Europa League with more games to come in those competitions before October is over.

Arsenal lost out to Chelsea in the final of the Europa League last season and finished fifth, but Emery is positive they can achieve even more after recent chats with head of football Raul Sanllehi and technical director Edu.

“I am speaking every day with Raul, Edu and with the players,” Emery said ahead of their trip to Sheffield United on Monday.

“Our work is more important than our speak (words) and really now I am very happy at the club. I am really happy with the players. The last two, three, four weeks, every player – and Mesut Ozil – is working very well.

“This is why we can be positive and we can think we are going to do something important this year. I was speaking with Raul and this is the same idea when he is speaking with me.”

A feather in Emery’s cap is his use of young, English players with Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Rob Holding, Calum Chambers, Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka all handed opportunities since the Spaniard took over in the summer of 2018.

He believes they are a key part of the process which will see the Gunners return to the upper echelons of the table and challenging for the title again.

“We can play better each match. It’s one process. Little by little we’re using the young players to achieve the performance, giving them confidence and experience in the matches,” Emery added.

“For example, Bukayo Saka is improving, helping us and taking a good performance. I know he needs to break more steps ahead in his improvement. Other players are the same.

“This is the way he can give us the best performance and best way to do our way, playing maybe better sometimes. I think this is one process.

“For us it’s very important to be competitive each match. We are being competitive at the moment. Being competitive we can then achieve a better way for how we can play.

“If we are competitive we can use different players in different moments, some with more skill, some with more capacity to do pressing and transition. We can use them if we, like a team, can feel strong in our mentality and being competitive and consistent each match.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says they are still not ready to win the Champions League, insisting they must improve if they wish to achieve that goal.

The Premier League champions responded to the 2-0 loss to Wolves at the beginning of October with a win by the same scoreline at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

City still trail Liverpool in the table after losing twice already in the league this season and are next in action on Tuesday at home to Atalanta in Group C of the Champions League.

It is a competition the club and Guardiola have longed to win, but the Spaniard suggested after the victory at Selhurst Park it is a long way off yet.

“We miss a lot of chances in the final third and we have to do that to be clinical. When the people say about the Champions League being the target, we are still not ready,” he said.

“We create a lot and we don’t concede, but we can still improve. We are a team in the last two seasons who score a lot and create a lot. I don’t have doubt about that, but still we have to keep going and work on that.”

Guardiola referenced the save Ederson made from Christian Benteke in the second half, which ensured City remained in control at Selhurst Park.

Had the Palace substitute netted in the 76th minute, it would have set up a dramatic finale in south London.

Yet City remained on top and should have scored a couple more late on with Kevin De Bruyne hitting the post and Raheem Sterling firing wide from close range.

It did not matter, after first-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and the excellent David Silva, and Guardiola praised the Brazilian forward, who netted his 50th goal for the club since moving to the Etihad in January 2017 from Palmeiras for a deal worth a reported £27 million.

“He will have a long career and with his mentality always he will have success. He is hungry, he will become an important striker around the world and we are lucky to have him,” City’s manager added.

“Gabriel was always good from the beginning. Unfortunately he had the two tough injuries. Last season it was tough for him, after the World Cup it was not easy, but he is strong.

“He is a number nine for Brazil. The club brought an incredible, young player for an incredible price. One of the best signings.

“To compete with Sergio (Aguero) is maybe the most difficult thing. Sergio is a legend, an outrageous player – amazing, but Gabriel is so calm.

“He is a competitor, he accepts the decision and every training session he fights like an animal, but he is so young and can improve.”

Zinedine Zidane complained of Real Madrid’s inconsistency after his side lost their unbeaten LaLiga record to Real Mallorca and top spot to Barcelona.

Real suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at promoted Mallorca and had full-back Alvaro Odriozola sent off 17 minutes from time.

Lago Junior’s superb seventh-minute strike – his first in LaLiga – settled the contest to cap a thoroughly miserable day for Real.

Barcelona had leapfrogged them earlier on Saturday with a 3-0 win at Eibar and now hold a one-point advantage over Real after nine games.

“The problem is that every three days we have to prove that we’re a good side,” Real manager Zidane said at his post-match press conference.

“That’s our problem and it’s what we’re not doing. We need to have more continuity.

“We did some things well, to be honest. But, in truth, we can’t play a game like that.

“I’m not going to tell you I’m concerned, but we need to have more continuity.

“We need to bring a bit more life to our play if we want to achieve big things this year.”

Although Real had won five and drawn three of their opening eight league games, they have struggled in Europe this season.

Real lost their Champions League opener 3-0 to Paris St Germain before being held 2-2 at home by Belgian outsiders Club Brugge.

Their latest setback came with Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos all sidelined by injury and Eden Hazard missing after his wife gave birth.

Karim Benzema struck the crossbar in the first half but Real were running out of ideas when they were reduced to 10 men by Odriozola’s second yellow card.

“Injuries are part of football. We had other players and they need to do better,” Zidane said.

“Having players out is the circumstances we face and we have to overcome that.

“There are other players, who are good. We need to show that every player has the ability to play here.

“We didn’t play the game we wanted. When we start a game the way we started this one it makes it tough.

“They scored, then they sat back and we couldn’t find the solution.

“We need to analyse it properly. We can’t be happy with the match.”

Real return to Champions League action on Tuesday with a trip to Galatasaray in Turkey.

“We know what we’re playing for,” Zidane said.

“We need to play to win because there’s no other option there. We need to focus on winning on Tuesday.”

Mallorca’s third win of the season took them out of the relegation zone and in to 14th place.

Goalkeeper Manolo Reina had few serious saves to make, even though Mallorca had to defend for long periods.