Jude Bellingham described captaining Borussia Dortmund as "the biggest honour of my career so far" as he warned it will be tough to finish off Chelsea in London.
The England midfielder led Dortmund to a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, with the 19-year-old skippering the hosts as 38-year-old Thiago Silva wore the armband for Chelsea.
The result on Wednesday gave Dortmund a first win over English opposition in the competition since a 2-0 victory against Arsenal in September 2014, halting a winless run of nine games (D1 L8).
Bellingham said of his leadership experience: "I think it comes quite naturally, but for me it's probably the biggest honour of my career so far, to captain this football club.
"I have brilliant role models like Marco [Reus] and Mats [Hummels], and I know how to carry myself when I see them. They carry themselves so well, so I take a lot of examples from that.
"I know that without the captain's armband I can still try and lead the team and this is a bit more for show, but we need to all be captains in the second leg. It's important that we all show up and we all get the job done."
Bellingham has four goals and an assist for Dortmund in this season's Champions League, and this form coupled with his maturity has pushed him towards the responsibility Edin Terzic trusted him with on Wednesday.
In October, Bellingham became just the third teenager in history to score in four consecutive Champions League appearances, after Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
At the beginning of the same month he captained Dortmund for the first time, in a league clash with Koln.
Former Birmingham City player Bellingham is the leading scorer among midfielders aged under 21 from Europe's top five leagues this season, with 10 goals.
He told CBS Golazo of his relish for the second leg on March 7 at Stamford Bridge, comparing the first 90 minutes at Signal Iduna Park to what awaits Dortmund when they head to England.
Dortmund have won all seven of their matches in 2023. Beating Premier League opposition, albeit by a slender margin, fuels the anticipation for their next European trip.
"It's a small win in comparison to the challenge that we've got facing us in a few weeks' time," Bellingham said. "We've got to go to Stamford Bridge and get another positive result.
"We can be really pleased with how we played and especially how we defended in the second half, but we need to understand it's not over, and they can definitely come back with a lot of power."
Dortmund got 'fully deserved victory' over Freiburg, says Sahin
Nuri Sahin praised Borussia Dortmund for getting "a fully deserved victory" over nine-man Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Dortmund remained perfect on home soil this season as they cruised to a 4-0 win at Signal Iduna Park after Patrick Osterhage and Junior Adamu were both sent off for the visitors.
Maximilian Bieier and Felix Nmecha scored in the first half before Julian Brandt and Jamie Gittens secured the points in the second during a dominant display as they limited Freiburg to just three shots on target at the other end.
Dortmund have now won 11 home games in a row in all competitions. Since the Bundesliga was founded, they have won more consecutive home matches in a row only once, winning 14 in a row at home in 1994.
Sahin has come under pressure recently for the Black and Yellow's less impressive away form, but he was delighted with the showing he saw from his side.
"We started very well. We controlled the spaces. We allowed very little," Sahin said.
"Overall, it was a mature performance from my boys. We scored great goals, showed good energy.
"We kept them away from our goal throughout. It was a fully deserved victory and I, as a coach, am very satisfied."
Dortmund were, however, without Serhou Guirassy, who is their top scorer in the Bundesliga with six goals, as he pulled out of the game due to a virus.
Next up for Sahin's side is a trip to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, and the head coach is hopeful he will be available for that tie.
"[Saturday] morning again, we got the bad news. Serhou tried everything to play today, but it did not work," Sahin added.
"I hope it will be enough for Zagreb. He is a very important player for us."
Girona 4-1 Espanyol: Miovski bags double as hosts ride on first-half blitz
Bojan Miovski scored twice as Girona thrashed Espanyol 4-1 in LaLiga at Estadi Municipal de Montilivi on Saturday.
Bryan Gil and Ladislav Krejci were also on the scoresheet as the home side raced to a 4-0 lead inside the first half hour, with Javi Puado scoring the visiting side's only goal after the break.
After the match was halted because of a fan being taken ill in the crowd, Gil opened the scoring when he unleashed a stunning long-range strike into the bottom corner with four minutes on the clock.
Gil was behind the second goal for Michel's side too, as he capitalised on a defensive error and crossed to Miovski, who made it 2-0 in the 16th minute before the pair combined again for a third five minutes later.
Donny van de Beek's header from Yaser Asprilla's corner was pushed in by Krejci for Girona's fourth in the 27th minute.
Espanyol got a consolation goal 10 minutes into the second half when Puado hit a long-range strike that found the back of Paulo Gazzaniga's net.
Girona, last season's surprise package, climbed to fifth in LaLiga with 21 points, while Espanyol are 19th and in the relegation zone with 10 points.
Milan 0-0 Juventus: Bianconeri maintain unbeaten start after Rossoneri stalemate
Milan and Juventus shared the spoils following a dour goalless draw at San Siro.
The Bianconeri maintained their unbeaten start to the Serie A season, but missed the chance to go second behind leaders Inter after a game lacking in quality and chances.
With the likes of Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik out injured, Juventus began the game without a recognised striker, as Teun Koopmeiners and Weston McKennie led the line.
Koopmeiners hit the side-netting from a tight angle after 10 minutes, while Kenan Yildiz grazed the post following a fine individual run midway through the half.
Alvaro Morata had Milan's best chance at the other end, but the former Juventus striker could only head wide from Rafael Leao's free-kick.
Opportunities did not fall as freely in the second half either, and both teams left the field to a chorus of boos on the referee's final whistle.
Data Debrief: Stubborn Juve take clean sheet tally into double figures
Juve are the first team to register 10 clean sheets in their opening 13 matches of a Serie A season since Roma (also 10) in 2013-14.
The Bianconeri have also kept five clean sheets in their first six away league games in a campaign for only the fourth time, also achieving the feat in 1967-68, 2004-05, 2023-24.
Meanwhile, Thiago Motta is only the fifth Juventus manager to go unbeaten in his first 13 league matches in charge (won six, drawn seven), after Jesse Carver, Cestmir Vycpalek, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.
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