Lionel Messi was again sidelined for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and in the Argentine's absence it was Idrissa Gueye and Julian Draxler who scored as the Ligue 1 leaders beat Montpellier 2-0 on Saturday.

Senegal midfielder Gueye crashed a shot into the roof of the net from 20 meters to give PSG an early lead at Parc des Princes in Paris and substitute Draxler added a late second as Mauricio Pochettino's team maintained their perfect start to the French season.

They have won eight matches out of eight in Ligue 1 and are already 10 points clear of second-placed Marseille, who do nevertheless have two games in hand.

"I don't know if this was a perfect evening but it was a good evening. Eight matches, eight victories," said Pochettino.

His side host Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday looking for revenge for their defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola's side in last season's semi-finals.

"The Champions League is such an important objective for this club that it's best to prepare for it by winning and avoiding any more injuries," Pochettino added.

The hope is that Messi will be able to play in that match after he sat out a second straight game for PSG with the knee problem that led to him being substituted against Lyon.

Messi has made just three appearances for the Qatar-owned club since arriving from Barcelona in early August, playing a total of 190 minutes.

Liverpool's 3-3 draw away to Brentford was a thrilling spectacle for the fans but Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was not in a position to enjoy it as much as those on the terraces as his side dropped two points in the Premier League title race.

Liverpool came from a goal behind on Saturday to lead twice in an end-to-end affair but they conceded an 83rd-minute equalizer and were lucky to hang on for a draw after the Bees had a late goal ruled out for offside.

"Not sure 'enjoy' is the right word. It was a wild ride," the German coach told Sky Sports. "They deserved their three goals for the way they played. We obviously couldn't deal with the long balls today but we should have scored more goals."

Premier League newcomers Brentford showed no signs of being overawed by the 2020 champions, charging into tackles and not letting their heads drop despite going behind.

"They deserved it. I don't think you can control them much better, we created a lot of clear-cut chances but couldn't deal with them defensively," Klopp said.

(With input from agencies)