Young stars Yamal and Wirtz shine in Champions League but with mixed results

Shortly after lighting up the European Championship, two of the world's most exciting young players shone on club soccer's biggest stage.

With mixed fortunes, however.

Teenager Lamine Yamal's goal couldn't prevent 10-man Barcelona from falling to a 2-1 defeat at Monaco on Thursday in the Champions League — ending the Spanish club's perfect start to the season.

Meanwhile, it took Florian Wirtz less than five minutes to score his first Champions League goal on his debut in Europe’s elite club competition.

Wirtz also netted another as Bayer Leverkusen romped to a 4-0 win at Feyenoord.

Leverkusen lost in the Europa League final in May, its only defeat in a remarkable season that saw it win the Bundesliga and German Cup.

Atalanta, the team that beat Leverkusen four months ago, had a penalty saved in a 0-0 draw with Arsenal at home.

Atlético Madrid beat Leipzig 2-1 and Benfica topped Red Star Belgrade 2-1, while Brest's first-ever appearance in European competition ended in a 2-1 win over Sturm Graz.

It was the third evening of the new Champions League format which replaces the traditional group stage.

Now, 36 teams each play eight different opponents through January and are ranked in a single league table to decide which teams advance to the knockout phase.

Unusually, Lamal's goal was not yet another record for the precocious 17-year-old.

Lamal boasts a number of scoring milestones for Barcelona and for Spain and became the youngest-ever scorer at the European Championship in the summer on the way to helping Spain win the tournament.

But his first Champions League goal saw him become the second youngest goalscorer in the competition, behind teammate Ansu Fati, who was 28 days younger when he netted his first goal in December 2019.

Yamal's 28th-minute equalizer canceled out Maghnes Akliouche's opener.

Barcelona had faced an uphill struggle after after defender Eric Garcia was sent off with less than 11 minutes played and 18-year-old forward George Ilenikhena scored with a fine finish for Monaco in the 71st.

Barcelona hosts Young Boys on Oct. 1.

Wirtz has had a great start to the season, with three goals in as many Bundesliga games.

And the 21-year-old continued that streak on Thursday in Rotterdam. Robert Andrich intercepted a poor Feyenoord pass and slipped the ball through to Wirtz, who surged forward before firing into the bottom right corner.

Leverkusen doubled its lead on the half-hour mark as Victor Boniface’s clever pass from the edge of the penalty area released Jeremie Frimpong on the right and his cross was slotted in by Alejandro Grimaldo at the far post.

Another Frimpong cross was volleyed in by Wirtz six minutes later.

Leverkusen hardly needed any help but it was given it on the stroke of halftime when a howler by Feyenoord’s German goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther saw him turn the ball over the line following Edmond Tapsoba’s header.

David Raya came to Arsenal’s rescue with a double save at a penalty in the 51st minute after Thomas Partey tripped Ederson.

Mateo Retegui’s spot kick was saved by the Spain international but the ball came back out to the striker, whose header was clawed off the line by a scrambling Raya.

Arsenal struggled in attack with the injured Martin Odegaard, its biggest creative force, and relied on its typically obdurate defense — and Raya — to preserve a point in Bergamo. In the next round, Arsenal hosts Paris Saint-Germain.

Brest first-ever goal in European competition was scored by midfielder Hugo Magnetti at home, but far away from its own stadium.

Brest’s stadium did not meet UEFA’s requirements and so the club’s European home games were re-located to Guingamp’s Stade de Roudourou — located roughly 114 kilometers (71 miles) away.

Brest finished a remarkable third in the French league last season. It is Sturm's first appearance in the Champions League proper in 24 years and came after it ended Salzburg’s run of 10 consecutive Austrian titles.

New Benfica coach Bruno Lage made it two wins out of two thanks to goals from Turkey internationals Kerem Aktürkoğlu and Orkun Kökçü.

Kökçü’s strike was particularly sumptuous as he curled a free kick into the top right corner from 25 yards.

Felicio Milson scored late for the home team.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Benfica's Orkun Kokcu, right, scores a free kick, his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Red Star and SL Benfica, at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Benfica's Orkun Kokcu, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Red Star and SL Benfica, at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Leverkusen's head coach Xabi Alonso holds the ball during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Feyenoord and Leverkusen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz scores during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Feyenoord and Leverkusen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz reacts after he scored during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Feyenoord and Leverkusen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick looks on prior to the start of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Monaco and Barcelona at the Louis II stadium, in Monaco, Monaco, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Monaco and Barcelona at the Louis II stadium, in Monaco, Monaco, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press declared President-elect Donald Trump the winner in Arizona on Saturday night after vote updates in Maricopa and other counties added to his overall lead, putting the state out of reach for Vice President Kamala Harris.

At the time the AP called the race at 9:21 p.m. ET, Trump led Harris, 52.6% to 46.4%, a margin of about 185,000 votes. Harris needed to win about seven out of every ten votes of the roughly 443,000 uncounted ballots remaining, a percentage that has steadily grown as additional votes were counted.

Trump has now swept all seven of the hotly contested presidential battlegrounds, winning 312 electoral votes, compared to 226 for Harris. The number needed to clinch the presidency is 270.

In 2020, President Joe Biden carried the state narrowly over Trump, but he won Maricopa County by a margin of 50 percentage points to 48. On Saturday, Trump was leading Harris 52 to 47.

The AP only declares a winner once it can determine that a trailing candidate can’t close the gap and overtake the vote leader.

Here’s a look at how the AP called this race:

CANDIDATES: President: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Jill Stein (Green).

WINNER: Trump.

POLL CLOSING TIME: 9 p.m. ET Tuesday. Arizona does not release votes until all precincts have reported or one hour after all polls are closed, whichever is first, usually 10 p.m. ET.

ABOUT THE RACE: Both Harris and Trump crisscrossed this border state, where immigration is a prominent issue, multiple times before Election Day.

Trump put immigration at the center of his candidacy, promising to deport people without legal documentation while Harris called for pathways to citizenship as well as tighter security at the border.

Independent voters are the largest bloc in the state, followed by Republicans then Democrats, who have succeeded in winning Senate contests and the governorship since 2018.

Biden became just the second Democrat to win the state in more than 70 years.

Both candidates made a play for vote-rich Maricopa County, which is home to Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe. Trump carried the county by 3 points in 2016, while Biden won with a 2-point margin four years later. Arizona is primarily an early voting state. In 2016, just over three-quarters of the votes were cast early. In 2020, that climbed to nearly 90%.

WHY AP CALLED THE RACE:

In statewide elections going back a dozen years, Democrats have always carried four counties in both winning and losing campaigns: Apache, Coconino, Pima and Santa Cruz.

Harris had large leads over Trump in all four counties, but she far underperformed Biden’s showing from 2020.

She was trailing Trump in decisive Maricopa County, which Biden won in 2020 and has been a must-win county for statewide Democratic candidates in recent elections.

Although Harris very briefly led in the statewide vote count on election night, Trump has consistently led since then.

The AP’s analysis of Arizona's voting history and political demographics at the county level showed there was no scenario that would allow Harris to close the gap. The analysis also showed that even if remaining updates showed vote swings in Harris' favor, they would not be enough to give her the lead.

Learn more about how and why the AP declares winners in U.S. elections at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Voters arrive to a polling station on the Navajo Nation in Fort Defiance, Ariz., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)