Joao Felix has started to discover his "best moments" since joining Atletico Madrid ahead of their Champions League clash with Porto, according to Diego Simeone.
The Portugal international became the fifth most expensive signing in history when he joined Atleti from Benfica for €126million in July 2019.
Only Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele have moved for larger fees in world football than Joao Felix, who signed a seven-year deal but has struggled to deliver thus far.
The 22-year-old offered encouraging signs at the start of the 2022-23 season, though, assisting all three goals in the 3-0 opening-day LaLiga win over Getafe.
While Joao Felix is yet to find the net this season, Simeone believes the forward is finding his feet in the Spanish capital as Atleti prepare to host Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday.
"Joao is at the best moments in the years since we have been together, more mature, stronger, more sure of himself, involved in what the team needs," Simeone said.
"He has all the talent, the ability… he just has to tap into it."
Joao Felix will likely line up alongside Alvaro Morata against Porto, but Atleti could be without Jan Oblak, who was forced off with injury in the closing stages against Real Sociedad on Saturday.
"It will be assessed tomorrow morning. From there we will see what can happen," Simeone said of Oblak's fitness. "Ivo Grbic is ready, we believe in him, he is ready to play."
Atletico were narrow 1-0 aggregate losers to Manchester City in the quarter-finals of last year's competition, and Simeone is relishing the challenge of going further this campaign.
"The Champions League is not just another game, it is different," he added. "We will have to do things well from the first game, with our people, in our stadium, to grow in the competition.
"It's clear that the Champions League is always very difficult, but it's an opportunity. Last season we had a good Champions League, we were close to being among the best, but we competed very well.
"It's just beginning, we have to demonstrate what we imagine and what we're excited about, hopefully with the team's work we'll have a good Champions League."
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."
'I love where I am,' says Simeone after 700th game in charge of Atletico
Diego Simeone said he is "calm and at peace" at Atletico Madrid after his side edged Deportivo Alaves 2-1 in LaLiga in his 700th game in charge of the club.
Atletico went behind through a Jon Guridi penalty in the seventh minute, but Antoine Griezmann drew them level from the spot in the 76th minute.
The winner came via Alexander Sorloth in the 86th minute as Atletico moved four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Simeone, who has been in charge of Atletico since 2011, is the first coach to manage 700 matches with the same LaLiga club.
"I live in the present, we are having a good time, the boys are working very responsibly," Simeone told DAZN.
"I am calm and at peace. I love where I am and that's it."
He managed Atletico to LaLiga title triumphs in 2014 and 2021 and also helped Los Rojiblancos win two Europa League titles in 2012 and 2018.
The game against Alaves was Simeone's 492nd LaLiga match in charge, and the Argentine has also managed the third-most games with a single club in the Champions League (109), after Alex Ferguson with Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Deportivo Alaves: Sorloth hits late winner in Simeone's 700th game
Alexander Sorloth hit an 86th-minute winner as Atletico Madrid defeated Deportivo Alaves 2-1 in Diego Simeone's 700th game in charge of the club.
Atletico went behind early on in Saturday's LaLiga clash as Javi Galan conceded a penalty for a handball, with Jon Guridi sending goalkeeper Jan Oblak the wrong way from the spot to make it 1-0 in the seventh minute.
But the hosts found a way back when Sorloth's header hit the arm of Abdel Abqar and Antoine Griezmann converted the penalty to draw level in the 76th minute.
The game looked to be heading for a draw, but Rodrigo De Paul fed Sorloth and the Norwegian attacker squeezed in the winner at the near post four minutes from time.
Atletico moved up to second place in the Spanish top-flight. Meanwhile, Alaves are 16th with 13 points from 14 matches.
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