Casemiro declared he is "raring to go" after completing his £60million (€70m) move to Manchester United, while describing the Premier League as "a dream to play in".
The Brazil enforcer became United's fourth major signing of the transfer window on Monday, following Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez to Old Trafford after ending a nine-year spell with Real Madrid.
The five-time Champions League winner was in the stands to watch United pick up their first win of the season against Liverpool, as Erik ten Hag's side inflicted the Reds' first league defeat of 2022.
Casemiro could hardly contain his excitement when speaking to the club's media channels for the first time since his arrival.
"I felt great affection from the moment I arrived and I think it's a new challenge. I'm absolutely delighted," Casemiro said. "I feel like I'm 20 or 18 years of age! I'm raring to go.
"I feel it’s a great challenge and a new challenge for me, so I want to work hard to make it happen.
"I played in a competition here when I was 15 at Sao Paulo. You come back here to play for Manchester United and not in your wildest dreams would you imagine yourself playing here. I'm the happiest man alive and I can't wait to get on the pitch and help my team-mates.
"The Premier League is a dream to play in. It's a wonderful league. The respect that fans have for players, the players have for fans, the passion of the clubs… when you go from the airport to the city, you feel that the city has football in the air.
"More than a city, I feel it's a footballing nation. I think English football is very physical and without doubt, it's very tough, but what I like most about the players, referees, fans in this country is that they are fair. Everyone is fair.
"Every game is very tough. All of the teams are equally matched, the top team can lose to the bottom one and that's what the league is like. It's beautiful that it is so competitive."
Casemiro will find several familiar faces in United's squad, chief among them Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane, who both featured alongside the Brazilian in one of the most successful teams in Madrid's history.
The 30-year-old revealed he leaned on Varane for advice before making the move, as he hailed Ronaldo as one of the all-time greats.
"They are two players that I've had the pleasure of playing alongside," he added. "We could spend all day talking about Cristiano, he's one of the best players in the history of football.
"With Varane, and all his time at Real Madrid, I think we spent seven years together. So it's an honour to play once again with these players, but not just these guys, I'm looking forward to meeting my new team-mates, to helping them and them helping me to.
"I've spoken to Rapha, he tells me he's happy, his family is very happy in Manchester, and I feel Manchester United have a great centre-back in him.
"As we know, Cristiano is up there as one of the best players in the history of football and I think he'll keep achieving things."
Meanwhile, Casemiro will also team up with Brazil international Fred in the Premier League, and he has no doubts over the ability of his fellow Selecao midfielder.
"Well, before coming here I spoke to Fred, he's a friend who I've played alongside in the national team for a good number of games and years," he said.
"He's a great player and that's why he plays for Manchester United and for the Brazilian national team, which is difficult to get into. So, I have a special relationship with him.
"Of course, he's a great player. Fred has a lot of qualities. I think he's a player that has good movement, he's very mobile, passes the ball well, has a good shot on him. He's a very important player at this club and I think he'll help me a great deal as he's Brazilian. Without a doubt, it's important to me."
Having not been registered in time to feature in the win over Liverpool, Casemiro could make his United debut when they visit Southampton on Saturday.
Mbappe position switch works wonders for Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied his tactical decision to switch Kylian Mbappe's position in attack paid off in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Leganes.
Mbappe scored his seventh goal of the season to help Madrid to a comfortable victory in LaLiga on Sunday.
However, his position in Madrid's front line has been a topic of debate since he joined the Spanish champions, with Mbappe having often played out wide while at Paris Saint-Germain.
And Ancelotti elected to switch Mbappe out to the left flank against Leganes, with Vinicius Junior spearheading Los Blancos' attack.
"Mbappe played on the left side, where he did well, and Vinicius on the inside," Ancelotti told reporters.
"We have to highlight their play to open the scoring. They did very, very well. Mbappe scored, after a fantastic assist from Vinicius. Little by little, they're both improving.
"Kylian is more used to playing there and today, for the team and for him, it was the best thing.
"Because playing on the outside brings more effort and Vinicius was back on Thursday. Meanwhile, Kylian had been training here for a week and a half, he was fresher."
Mbappe was not called up by France coach Didier Deschamps for this month's Nations League games, despite being Les Bleus' captain.
With an injury crisis at the back and a trip to Anfield to face Premier League and Champions League leaders Liverpool coming up, Ancelotti added he was hopeful of Lucas Vazquez, who has a hamstring strain, and Aurelien Tchouameni, who is recovering from a sprained left ankle, returning to action.
He was also upbeat about the contribution of Federico Valverde, who scored from a free-kick while filling in at right-back.
"The truth is that Fede, at the back, has done very well," said Ancelotti of the Uruguayan, who also wore the captain's armband.
"He's a fantastic fullback. After Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, the best right-back in the world. His problem is that he can play at this level in many positions and is the coach's problem to choose the best position for the team.
"Let's see if Lucas and Tchouameni can recover. If not, we will make decisions."
Jude Bellingham netted Madrid's other goal as Ancelotti's team closed to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Madrid also have a game in hand on Hansi Flick's side.
Orlando City 1-0 Atlanta United: Enrique strike sets up Red Bulls clash
Atlanta United beat Inter Miami in the first round of the MLS playoffs, yet their postseason came to an end with a 1-0 defeat to Orlando City.
The Five Stripes went into Sunday's Eastern Conference semifinal at Inter&Co Stadium full of confidence after ditching Lionel Messi and the rest of Miami's stars out of the playoffs last time out.
Yet it was Orlando who, for the first time in club history, booked their place in the Eastern Conference finals thanks to Ramiro Enrique's 39th-minute winner.
Enrique tucked in from close range after Atlanta failed to clear their lines from a corner.
That goal came after Orlando had started brightly, with Dagur Thorhallsson hitting the woodwork early on before Facundo Torres saw an effort cleared off the line.
Buoyed by a fine record against Orlando, who they had lost to just four times in 22 meetings ahead of this contest, Atlanta pressed for an equaliser after the break, but they could not find a way through a robust Lions defence.
Orlando will now host the New York Red Bulls in next week's Eastern Conference final, with a place in the MLS Cup final on the line.
Data Debrief: Stay away from the Lions' den
Fresh from the Orlando Pride's victory in the National Women's Soccer League on Saturday, Orlando had plenty to live up to if they wanted to cap a great sporting weekend for the city.
And they did just that, with the backing of a vociferous crowd that helped them get over the line. Those fans will be called on again next week when the Red Bulls roll into town, but Orlando need not fear. They have lost only one of their last 14 home matches in all competitions (W9 D4 including two penalty shootout wins and one penalty shootout loss).
And while Atlanta huffed and puffed, they never really threatened to blow the door down, as Orlando limited them to just eight shots, with none of those hitting the target.
Indeed, Orlando had openings on the counter and could have put the match to bed with a bit more composure, as they finished with 1.3 expected goals to Atlanta's 0.4 xG.
Conte: Napoli need to focus on improvement, not Serie A lead
Napoli should pay little attention to their place at the top of Serie A, so says Antonio Conte, who has demanded improvement from his team.
Romelu Lukaku's second-half goal handed Napoli a 1-0 win over Roma on Sunday.
That victory sent Napoli back to the summit of Serie A, with Conte's side one point ahead of Atalanta, Inter, Fiorentina and Lazio, while Juventus are only four points back in a six-team title race.
Napoli needed to get back to winning ways after a draw against Inter and a 3-0 loss to Atalanta before the international break, and Conte insists his team must sharpen up.
"Before the match, I told the lads not to look at the table, but to focus on ourselves and improving what we are working on," Conte told Sky Sport Italia.
"I maintain that now too because we need to take a series of steps to raise the level.
"I was satisfied with the performance for a good 65 minutes today, we could’ve taken more of our chances and were up against a strong Roma who have great players.
"Roma were also making their debut under a new coach and therefore were very eager to prove themselves, but we still should've dealt with the final 15-20 minutes better, as we sat too deep and made it complicated for ourselves."
Roma, playing under new boss Claudio Ranieri, came close to equalising when Artem Dovbyk hit the woodwork with a header.
Ranieri came out of retirement to take charge of Roma following Ivan Juric's dismissal earlier in November, though the visitors had just six shots and accumulated only 0.6 expected goals (xG) at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
"If we look back, we have some problems and that is why I was called. We were up against a team that is fighting to win the Scudetto," Ranieri told Sky Sport Italia.
"Having said all of that, I am happy with the performance from my players. We made some mistakes that we will talk about during the week, but the hunger, the determination to get back on track was there.
"We have a lot of work to do, but I feel positive.
"We know there is work to be done, we have to focus on reacting rather than sitting there feeling sorry for ourselves.
"The [players] need the right character to help themselves and then others. Naturally, when I arrived, the team was a little closed up, but I think we started to open up a bit by the second half."
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