Arne Slot aims to utilise the set-pieces that proved fruitful in his first Champions League game in charge of Liverpool when they welcome Bournemouth to Anfield this weekend.

Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk netted headers from corner kicks in the Reds’ 3-1 win over Milan in midweek, bouncing back from their shock defeat to Nottingham Forest last Saturday.

Liverpool’s loss to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side marked the first of Slot’s era since taking over from Jurgen Klopp, but the Dutch head coach is confident that the Red’s new-found weapon can punish the Cherries and get their Premier League campaign back on track.

“I don't look at the other team, I always look at my own team,” Slot said.

“I think we were a bit disappointed with the result against Nottingham Forest, [but] we were also disappointed from getting eight corner kicks and not scoring, but we were very close.

“I think [it was] two very good set-pieces and two very good headers that got us two goals, which was important because I think we were very comfortable on the ball, pressed well, but in the end, you need goals as well.”

Bournemouth, meanwhile, were on the end of a late defeat to Chelsea in their last Premier League fixture as Christopher Nkunku came off the bench to score for the visitors.

The Cherries had the opportunity to take the lead against Enzo Maresca’s side from the spot, only for £40million record signing Evanilson to see his spot-kick saved by Robert Sanchez.

In his first three league games, Evanilson has failed to score with his seven shots on goal, but head coach Andoni Iraola is confident the Brazilian will soon find his feet in England.

"I will not value his performance because he has scored. He has had a lot of chances. He created the penalty, and he has been very good," Iraola said. 

“He wants to score for sure, but I will not focus on this. I am very happy with his performance.

"It's football. We played at home against Newcastle and Chelsea with two very good games, and we have one point. We played very well, had more chances, pushed them and you have to punish them, and we didn't.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

Salah has enjoyed previous meetings against Bournemouth, netting nine goals in nine Premier League appearances against them.

Should he score against the Cherries this weekend, it will be the fourth team he has reached double figures against in the competition (after Manchester United, Arsenal and West Ham).

It would also make the Egyptian the sixth player to score 10+ goals against four different opponents after Alan Shearer (12), Wayne Rooney (seven), Harry Kane (six), Andrew Cole (six) and Thierry Henry (four).

Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo

Semenyo has started the campaign in fine form for Bournemouth, recording three goal involvements (two goals and one assist) in his first four Premier League games.

The Ghana international also has previous at Anfield, having scored in the third minute of the Cherries’ 3-1 defeat on Merseyside at the start of last season.

MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

Liverpool come into the encounter as the overwhelming favourites to return to winning ways in the Premier League, having won nine of their last 10 Premier League meetings with Bournemouth, with the exception being a 1-0 away defeat in March 2023.

However, the Reds have now lost two of their last five Premier League home games (W3), having lost just one of their previous 58 at Anfield. They’re looking to avoid consecutive home league defeats for the first time since March 2021 (a run of six).

But no side has faced fewer shots (28) or conceded fewer goals (one) than Liverpool in the Premier League this season, while the Reds also have the lowest expected goals (xG) against (2.8) and fewest shots on target faced (10).

The Cherries have struggled on Merseyside in recent years, losing nine of their 10 away games against Liverpool in all competitions, with the exception being a 2-2 draw in the Premier League in April 2017.

Bournemouth have also only won two of their 29 Premier League away games against teams starting the day in the top four, losing 25 of those matches (D2) – the exceptions are wins at Stamford Bridge over Chelsea, 3-0 in January 2018 and 1-0 in December 2019.

But Iraola’s side have shown signs of their attacking improvement. Only Brighton (67) and Manchester City (66) have had more shots than Bournemouth (65) in the Premier League this season, with the Cherries’ average of 16.3 per game their highest in a single top-flight campaign.

OPTA WIN PROBABILTY

Liverpool – 69.7%

Draw – 16.9%

Bournemouth – 13.4%

The WNBA announced Wednesday it has awarded an expansion franchise to the City of Portland that will begin play in 2026.

Portland joins the California Bay Area and Toronto as new franchises set to enter the WNBA within the next two years, bringing the league to 15 teams. The Golden State Valkyries will debut in 2025, with Portland and Toronto starting the following season.

The Portland franchise will be owned and operated by the Bhathal family, which paid $125 million for the club. Lisa Bhathal Merage will serve as controlling owner and WNBA Governor, while Alex Bhathal was named Alternate Governor. 

“For decades, Portland has been the global epicentre of sports lifestyle and today, we are now the global epicentre of women’s sports,” said Lisa Bhathal Merage. “We believe in the transformative power of women’s sports and are thrilled that the W will call Portland home.

"We know that Portland’s vibrant and diverse communities will highly support and rally around this team. Our goal is to grow this organisation in partnership with the Portland community, and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world when they take the floor at the Moda Center in 2026.”

The Bhathals also own the National Women's Soccer League's Portland Thorns and are investors in the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

Portland previously had a WNBA team, known as the Fire, that folded after three seasons in 2002. 

“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Portland has been an epicentre of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans. Pairing this energy with the Bhathal family’s vision of leading top-flight professional sports teams will ensure that we deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area.”

Engelbert said in April the WNBA's goal is to expand to 16 teams by 2028, though it's unlikely the league adds another franchise before 2027.

Marcus Rashford is hopeful Manchester United can build on their dominant EFL Cup success over Barnsley when they go to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday, highlighting the importance of their attackers building positive relationships.

Rashford scored twice as United routed the third-tier side 7-0 at Old Trafford, reaching the fourth round of a competition they won in Ten Hag's first season at the helm in 2022-23.

On Saturday, they return to the scene of one of their most humiliating defeats under the Dutchman, facing a Crystal Palace side that thrashed them 4-0 in May.

Rashford – who also opened his Premier League account for the season in last week's 3-0 victory at Southampton – believes the confidence garnered from United's midweek win could take them far.

"It's important to have those relationships on the pitch but I think as a front unit, linking with the midfield, we did very well," Rashford told Sky Sports.

"Before the first goal, it was a little difficult but after the first one, we found better spaces and we probably made better decisions in order to score."

Asked if the goals would now start to flow for him, Rashford said: "It's early to say but I hope so. We'll move onto the next game now and just rest, recover and focus on the next one.

"Football is football, sometimes you have ups and sometimes you have downs. We have to use these games to find momentum and find consistency."

Palace, meanwhile, are 16th in the table with two points from four matches, though they did earn a 2-1 EFL Cup win at Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday.

Having netted on his return to his former club, attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze said: "Of course, to come back here and to score is a great feeling.

"That was the main thing as to what we wanted to come here and do: win, go through to the next round, and put in a performance.

"It's a difficult place to come. You can see the atmosphere, it's not easy to play under, but we did what we needed to do, and that's the most important thing."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta

Since Glasner's first game in charge in February, only Erling Haaland (19) has scored more Premier League goals than Mateta (15 in 17 games), including a goal in May's 4-0 rout of the Red Devils.

In that time, he has also scored multiple goals on four occasions (three braces, one hat-trick) – only Wilfried Zaha has ever scored more than once in more different Premier League games for the Eagles (six braces).

Manchester United – Bruno Fernandes

United captain Fernandes has had more shots without scoring than any other player in the Premier League so far this season (13).

Overall, United have the third-highest expected goals total in the Premier League this term (7.9 xG) but have scored five goals, with only Southampton (4.6 xG, one goal) registering a worse underperformance. They will hope Fernandes can lead from the front here.

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

Glasner's Palace beat United 4-0 in the Premier League last season – only eight managers have ever won their first two games against the Red Devils in the competition, most recently Roberto De Zerbi with Brighton in September 2023.

That victory was part of a Premier League double by the Eagles, the first time they have ever beaten United in consecutive league matches.

United have now lost two of their last three away league games against Palace (one draw), having gone unbeaten through their previous 13 such visits to Selhurst Park, winning nine and drawing four.

The Red Devils have struggled in London more generally under Ten Hag, only winning two of their last 16 away Premier League games in the capital (four draws, 10 defeats), with both victories coming at Fulham (2-1 in November 2022, 1-0 in November 2023).

With Palace winless in the Premier League so far this season (two draws, two defeats) after ending 2023-24 with six victories in their final seven games (one draw), it may not be a surprise to see the spoils shared.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY 

Crystal Palace – 35.9%

Manchester United – 39.1%

Draw – 25%

Vincent Kompany insists Leon Goretzka "will continue to be important" for Bayern Munich, despite his limited game time this season.

The Germany midfielder has fallen down the pecking order behind the likes of new signing Joao Palhinha, and played just 21 minutes this term.

Nine of those came on Tuesday, when he scored as a late substitute to complete his side's 9-2 rout of Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener.

Though the 29-year-old has found opportunities hard to come by, Kompany maintains he is an integral part of Bayern's squad.

"He's important for us and will continue to be," Kompany told DAZN. "The team loves him. I only have players who want to play and accept the competition for places. 

"At Bayern, it's always easy to talk about individual players. But I want to talk about the team. That’s important to me.

"He is very important in this team. He's doing well, but so are the others."

Goretzka has made over 200 appearances for Bayern since joining from Schalke in 2018, including 42 across all competitions last season.

The midfielder has also won five Bundesliga titles during his time with the Bavarian giants, as well as the Champions League in 2019-20.

Sean Dyche is hoping Everton can find their clinical edge upon their return to Premier League action having been dumped out of the Carabao Cup in midweek by Southampton.

Everton were beaten on penalties by the Saints on Tuesday after seeing Abdoulaye Doucoure’s goal cancelled out by Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

The Toffees ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.54 compared to Southampton’s 0.53, but could only manage four shots on target, the same as their opponents.

Taking opportunities in front of goal has been a persistent problem for Everton this season, with Dyche acknowledging his side must improve when they travel to face Leicester this weekend.

“Yet again we’ve created golden chances, and you’ve got to score those chances and that changes the whole game,” Dyche said.

“There’s been times we’ve scored goals and looked like we can score goals, but you’ve got to kill games off. If you’re not keeping clean sheets, you have to kill games off and we’ve not done that.

“That’s a nemesis for us. It’s been here a long time, and we’ve tried to correct it and tried to find those moments, but that’s the hardest bit as a manager.

“We’ve got in some amazing positions again tonight, with one on ones, but we haven’t scored a second goal. Obviously, the work continues.”

Leicester, meanwhile, had to settle for a point in their controversial 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace last time out as Jean-Philippe Mateta’s penalty shared the spoils at Selhurst Park.

Foxes head coach Steve Cooper was left wanting answers from decision-makers at the Premier League following the award of Palace’s first goal, having seen it initially ruled out for offside, only for VAR to overturn the decision.

However, Cooper insisted he was pleased with his side’s display against the Eagles, saying his players must keep going in their quest to get their first three points on the board.

“There was so much good in the performance, particularly in the first half, but I'm not going to shout that from the rooftops because of obviously how we're feeling about the results,” Cooper said.

“We come up against a team who have invested over a number of years and put a team together and been in the Premier League for a long while.  

“It's a pity that we conceded the goals in the way that we have because I don't think that really typified the mentality that we showed, but we have to own it, and we have to keep going. We have to stick together, be positive, and that's what we'll do.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Leicester – Wilfried Ndidi

Ndidi has assisted three goals in his last two Premier League appearances for Leicester, as many as he had in his previous 62 games combined in the top-flight.

He is only the second Foxes player to assist three goals in their opening four Premier League games in a season, along with Marc Albrighton in their title-winning campaign of 2015-16.

Everton – Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Calvert-Lewin has scored in 14 Premier League defeats for Everton, including in his last two games against Bournemouth and Aston Villa.

That’s the most games scored in and lost for the Toffees in the competition, one ahead of Duncan Ferguson who lost 13 times when scoring for Everton.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Both sides head into the encounter at the King Power Stadium in search of their first three points of the season, but Leicester have struggled against the Toffees of late.

The Foxes have won just one of their last seven Premier League meetings with Everton (D3 L3), a 2-0 away win in November 2022.

And for only a fourth time, Leicester have failed to win any of their first four Premier League games in a season (D2 L2) – in all three previous seasons in which they’ve won none of their first four, they were relegated, in 1994-95, 2003-04 and 2022-23.

However, Everton failed to win any of their first five league games in both 2022-23 (D3 L2) and 2023-24 (D1 L4). In Premier League history, the only team to fail to win any of their opening five games in three consecutive seasons is Sunderland, who did so in four in a row between 2013-14 and 2016-17.

Dyche’s side have been 2-0 up in each of their last two Premier League matches but gone on to lose both 3-2 against Bournemouth and Aston Villa, becoming just the second team in Premier League history to lose consecutive games from 2+ goals ahead, after the Cherries in November 2022. No team has ever failed to win in three games in a row when leading by two or more goals.

But 16 of the 34 Premier League meetings between Leicester and Everton have been drawn, the highest percentage for any fixture to have been played 30+ times in the competition (47%).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Leicester – 38.5%

Draw – 26.3%

Everton – 35.2%

Paulo Fonseca cited a loss of "mental balance" that contributed to Milan starting their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Tuesday. 

Milan made a flying start when Christian Pulisic netted after two minutes and 47 seconds, the earliest the Serie A side had scored in the competition since Alexandre Pato's goal against Barcelona in 2011 (24 seconds). 

But two headers from Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, both from set-pieces, gave the visitors the lead before Dominik Szoboszlai sealed the victory after the break.

Liverpool dominated proceedings after their early setback, registering 23 shots on goal, 11 of which were on target compared to Milan's eight and two. 

Arne Slot's side ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 3.09, while Milan could only muster a tally of 0.61 from their attempts on goal. 

Ahead of kick-off, Fonseca expressed the importance of being defensively perfect against the Reds, but upon Espen Eskas' full-time whistle, the Milan head coach was left furious with his side's display. 

"We played against Liverpool, who are a huge team," Fonseca began.

"We started well, both attacking and defending, but then we conceded two goals from set plays that changed the game.

"We lost our mental balance because when the team lacks confidence, we develop problems and don’t do what we prepared in training.

"I told the players, you cannot make those mistakes in this kind of game.

"At the same time, I have to admit Liverpool are more of a team right now than we are, we need to keep working to have not 20 good minutes, but 70, 80, 90 minutes playing our football.

"After we conceded the second goal, the team stopped playing, and it became difficult after that.”

Milan's danger man Rafael Leao also endured a quiet evening, despite completing more dribbles (five) than anyone during the fixture. 

The Portugal international lost possession 15 times, the most in the Milan side, with Trent Alexander-Arnold coming out on top in their respective duels. 

Fonseca reiterated his game plan was for Leao to attack Alexander-Arnold but lamented the lack of service provided to the winger by his midfielders. 

“It was something we prepared in the little time that we had, try to put Leao against their right-back," he said.

"We did it once or twice in the match. What we prepared was to send Rafa one-on-one against him and we hardly did it.”

Jude Bellingham lauded yet another landmark moment in the career of Kylian Mbappe after the Frenchman marked his Champions League debut for Real Madrid with a goal. 

Mbappe, who has five goals in his first seven games for his new club, opened the scoring in Los Blancos' 3-1 win over Stuttgart on Tuesday. 

The 25-year-old's effort saw him net his 49th Champions League goal, with only Robert Lewandowski (61) scoring more in the competition since Mbappe's debut. 

He also became the second Frenchman to score on his debut for Madrid in the competition, joining Christian Karembeu who netted against Bayer Leverkusen in 1998. 

Bellingham explained how quickly Mbappe has settled into life in the Spanish capital, saying: "He's going to be a huge player for us, this season and beyond.

"He always delivers so far, it's a lot of pressure coming to a club like Madrid, but he's taken to it really easily and the lads love him already."

The encounter against Stuttgart also marked Bellingham's return to the side after the England midfielder missed the last four games with a muscle injury. 

Upon his return, Bellingham won more tackles (two) and accumulated the highest pass accuracy (93.3%) of anyone in the Los Blancos side. 

Across all competitions last year, Bellingham made 42 appearances, notching 23 goals and laying on a further 13 assists in his debut year at the Santiago Bernabeu. 

Having also starred for England at Euro 2024, the 21-year-old was excited to be back out on the pitch and is aiming for more success this term. 

"Three-and-a-half weeks [out] has been difficult. I've not been injured a lot in my career, so whenever it happens, I'm a bit impatient," he said.

“But this time I wanted to take it slowly and agreed this would be the game I came back in – maybe off the bench – but I was buzzing to start.

"In the first half I left it all out there, I was that excited and all over the place, just wanting to create and get in the box.

“Second half, I probably just ran out of a bit of steam, so I stayed a little bit deeper, but I'm getting used to being back, finding my feet again and I'm sure I'll be fine this season."

Adrien Rabiot's wait to find a new club is finally over after his move to Marseille was officially confirmed on Tuesday. 

Rabiot joins the Ligue 1 club following his departure from Juventus at the end of last season and has signed a two-year contract with Roberto De Zerbi's side. 

The 29-year-old was reportedly of interest to several Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, but the France international has opted to return to his homeland. 

Rabiot offers the French outfit an experienced option in midfield, having made 163 Ligue 1 appearances during his seven-year stint with Paris Saint-Germain. 

He won 18 major titles during his time with the Parisiens before making the move to Juventus in 2019. 

The Frenchman appeared 212 times in all competitions for the Serie A giants, netting 22 times and laying on a further 15 assists across his five-year stay in Turin. 

In his final season with Juventus, Rabiot made 31 league appearances, with his 39 tackles won a total only bettered by Bremer (42) and Manuel Locatelli (43) in their squad. 

Rabiot becomes the latest addition to a Marseille side that has started the new campaign with 10 points from their opening four games under new head coach De Zerbi. 

Jordan Spieth is expecting to return to action for the 2025 PGA Tour season after undergoing successful wrist surgery last month. 

Spieth, who last competed at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind, failed to find his best form during the recent campaign out on the course. 

The former world number one started the season strong, finishing third in The Sentry and then, a few weeks later, tied for sixth in the WM Phoenix Open

But the American missed the final two playoffs in the BMW Championship and Tour Championship, while also missing seven cuts, one of which included the Masters. 

Spieth was seen sporting a cast on his first appearance since the surgery and was able to reveal the timeline for his return to action. 

"I think that by 2025, by Jan. 1, it's my goal to be tournament-ready," Spieth told Golfweek in a Q&A published on Monday.

"And for me, that would be not just going out and seeing how it feels, you know, but expecting to play at my ceiling."

Spieth has three major wins and 13 overall victories on the PGA Tour but has not emerged victorious since the RBC Heritage in April 2022.

The American did not earn entry into the 2025 season-opening tournament. However, he is able to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii at the start of January.

While the 31-year-old's main reason for surgery was to see him return to form, he also detailed the personal reasons for his decision to go under the knife. 

"I would say the number one reason why I ended up getting it done was because it affects my way of life at home," Spieth said.

"Like when it would dislocate and I couldn't get it back in, it would happen when I'm getting my daughter out of the bath, I'm putting a sweatshirt on or it just so random that it was like, I didn't want it to continue, and it happened more and more.

"And it wasn't going to heal itself based on a number of different docs and scans and whatever. So it's just inevitable."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner assumes Lando Norris is the number one driver at McLaren because he is "paid five times more" than Oscar Piastri.

Despite Norris being the leading driver in the drivers’ championship standings and the highest-paid racer in the McLaren stable, it has been Piastri who has shone of late.

The Australian claimed his second career win in Baku last time out and has now scored more points (135) in the European leg of the season than any other driver. 

Piastri is now 32 points behind Norris in the standings, having taken five top two finishes in his last seven races for the British-based team. 

Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren boss Andrea Stella revealed the team would favour Norris in a bid to topple Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship.

However, Horner rebuffed McLaren's claim that they have two number one drivers, suggesting Norris is being paid significantly more than Piastri.

"Usually those are things that are dealt with behind closed doors, those things, so I'm not actually sure what those rules are," said Horner. 

"There still seems to be some confusion in them. 

"Every team is different. Our rules of engagement are very clear and what the focus is until the end of the year.

"We've got a driver that's fighting for the world championship. It's a team sport. So it's very clear that Checo's job is to support Max until the end of the year.

"Different teams operate different ways. When you've got an asset like Max Verstappen, you don't make him a No 2 driver.

"Lando Norris, they're paying five times what they pay Oscar, so I would assume he would be their number one driver, or their biggest asset.

"So, therefore, the confusion comes when you're not up front from the beginning of what your plans are."

Thanks to McLaren's success in Baku, they now have a 20-point lead over Red Bull in the constructor's championship. 

The British-based team now lead the standings for the first time since 2005, but their way to the top has not come without its problems. 

During the Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris initially refused to hand first place back to Piastri before team orders were eventually followed to give the Australian his maiden victory in the competition. 

But with McLaren's comments about prioritising Norris for the last seven races of the season, Horner believes that decision should have come much sooner. 

"I think the other one is causing them headaches because he [Piastri] is winning races, and he's doing a very good job," continued Horner.

"It was like when Daniel Ricciardo came to us in 2014.

"He was clearly meant to be the number two to Sebastian Vettel, and he won three races that year to Sebastian's none. Sometimes it causes you a headache like that.

"For sure, they took Oscar with the expectation, as Mercedes probably did with George [Russell] and Ferrari did with Carlos [Sainz], that you've got a prime asset and a support asset.

"And when the second driver starts outperforming the first driver, that's when you tend to have a headache."

Roma have confirmed the sacking of head coach Daniele De Rossi after the Italian failed to win any of his first four Serie A games this season. 

De Rossi replaced Jose Mourinho as interim boss back in January, and had only signed a contract extension with the club in June until 2027.

But a run of three draws and one defeat to start the new campaign has seen the 41-year-old part ways with the club he made 616 appearances for as a player. 

Roma's draw with Genoa last Sunday marked only the fourth time in their history after 1974-75, 1984-85 and 2010-11 that the Giallorossi had failed to win any of their first four Serie A games. 

Koni De Winter's late leveller for Genoa also extended Roma's barren run to just one win from their last 11 games in all competitions (drawn six and lost four).

"AS Roma announces that Daniele De Rossi has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the first team," a club statement said. 

"The club's decision is made in the best interests of the team, to get back on the desired path as soon as possible at a time when the season is still in its early stages.

"A heartfelt thank you to Daniele, who will always be at home at the Giallorossi club, for the work he has done in recent months with passion and dedication.

"Communication regarding the team's technical guidance will follow."

The Italian oversaw 30 games in charge of Roma in all competitions, winning 14 of those (drawn nine and lost seven), while scoring 46 goals. 

His time at the Stadio Olimpico came to an end having averaged 1.70 points per match, accumulating a total win percentage of 46.67%. 

Carlo Ancelotti hailed Endrick's display in Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Stuttgart in the Champions League, saying he has unique gifts that set him apart. 

Endrick emerged from the bench to notch Madrid's final goal of a nervy encounter, striking from distance and beating Alexander Nubel in the bottom corner. 

The Brazilian's effort saw him become the youngest South American player to score on his Champions League debut, aged 18 years and 58 days.

Endrick is also the youngest to score on his Los Blancos debut in the competition, overtaking Javier Portillo in 2002 (19 years, 355 days).

"He is able to do things that no-one can think of," Ancelotti said. 

"He has the gift that strikers dream of, the gift of being very effective, decisive.

"You can see that he has something special, something I have never seen. And he has such a strong and very fast shooting.

"Endrick had courage because it was the last ball of the game.

"The best solution was to take advantage of the three against one, with Vinicius and Rodrygo open in the wings, but he did it very well, even though it was perhaps the most complicated solution."

But the reigning champions did not have it all their own way at the Santiago Bernabeu, with their German opposition creating several opportunities on the night. 

Stuttgart ended the match with 17 shots, seven of which were on target, while also producing an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.94 compared to Madrid's 2.61. 

However, they were thwarted by the hands of Thibaut Courtois, with the Belgian making six saves throughout the contest. 

Ancelotti was pleased with his side's start to the defence of their European crown, but said improvements were needed if they were to secure a 16th Champions League title. 

"If anyone thinks that winning games is easy, they are wrong," Ancelotti said. 

“I have coached more than 200 games in the Champions League and I can't remember a game without suffering.

"Nobody knows better than Real Madrid what it's like to win a Champions League with suffering.

"We are still trying to find our best version. It's a work in progress."