Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti lauded Vinicius Junior as the "most decisive player in world football" after inspiring Tuesday's 5-2 Champions League win over Liverpool.
Madrid found themselves trailing 2-0 early on thanks to goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, the latter coming after a calamitous Thibaut Courtois error.
But Vinicius scored twice before half-time to level the score – his first a wonderful finish into the bottom-right corner, the second a fortuitous goal that involved him blocking Alisson's clearance into the net.
He then won the free-kick that yielded Madrid's third goal just after the break and got the assist when Karim Benzema made it 5-2.
Seven players from Europe's top five leagues have more than Vinicius' 27 goal involvements across all competitions this term, though Ancelotti would seemingly not swap any of them for the Brazilian.
"Today, in my personal opinion, he is the most decisive player in world football," Ancelotti told reporters of Vinicius, who became the youngest (22 years and 224 days old) away player to score twice against Liverpool at Anfield in major European competition since Johan Cruyff in December 1966 (19y 233d).
"He doesn't stop. He dribbles, assists, scores. Now he is the most decisive. Hopefully he can continue like this."
The match was a far cry from the two teams' previous meeting in last season's Champions League final, which Liverpool dominated before losing 1-0.
It was put to Ancelotti that Liverpool had changed a lot – regressed, even – since that game in Paris, but he was not so sure and looked to impress on his players that the tie is not over yet ahead of the return leg on March 15.
"I only know that we have taken advantage in these 90 minutes and we have to manage the 90 in Madrid well," Ancelotti added.
"Liverpool are a very competitive team, who have created many problems for us. Unfortunately, the tie has not ended.
"They are still a great team in my opinion. They play with intensity and a very high pace, it is difficult to see teams like that in Europe.
"They haven't changed, but we proposed a game plan that was different from the one in the final. Then we played with a low block, and this time our plan was very different."
Carsley's confidence boosted by victory over Ireland
England interim manager Lee Carsley believes he is capable of taking the job on a full-time basis, but conceded he had his doubts.
Carsley oversaw a 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in his first match in charge since stepping in to replace Gareth Southgate on a temporary basis.
An extended audition continues on Tuesday when England take on Finland in their second Nations League match.
And Carsley acknowledged the performance and result against Ireland, who he represented as a player, has provided a much-needed confidence boost.
He said: "In the back of your mind you always think... you know, it's easy to be the England manager, isn't it, when you're sat in the house.
"There have been times when I've thought I'm not sure if I could do it.
"But it has done my confidence good, and the rest of the staff as well, that actually we're OK, we'll be all right.
"I spoke about it at the first press conference, [being] a safe pair of hands. I feel like we’re in a good position with the players.
"I think it's natural to have doubts.
"Going into the Euros with the Under-21s, with the record that we've got, there was a worry we could go home in 10 days. But I've learned with experience and dealing with setbacks, having good people around you, that it gets easier."
England managed some slick play in Dublin, in particular for their second goal, when Jack Grealish – returning to the fold after he was left out of the Euro 2024 squad – tucked home at the culmination of a sweeping team move.
The Three Lions controlled possession (76.4%), had 16 shots and accumulated 2.67 expected goals (xG), while Carsley handed starts to Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, Anthony Gordon on the left flank and then brought on Morgan Gibbs-White and Angel Gomes for their debuts.
"The end goal is doing that against the top teams in the world in the biggest moments," said Carsley.
"They have got two years to get to that point [before the 2026 World Cup]. We have gone a good way to doing that. We've had four training sessions, so it's early. The players have to take huge credit for trying a few things that we have worked on and going out there and doing it for themselves.
"We have to be careful with the term 'freedom'. We have tried to get really effective players in really effective areas, to do what they're good at.
"If you call that freedom, maybe it is. But within that there comes a real responsibility out of possession. I thought we did really well in that area. We made the pitch really small and were able to suffocate Ireland and get the ball back."
Tedesco 'still hurt' by France defeat at Euro 2024
Domenico Tedesco says Belgium are still hurting after their Euro 2024 exit to France as they prepare to meet them in the Nations League on Monday.
Belgium suffered a 1-0 defeat to France in the round of 16 at the Euros, conceding an 85th-minute Jan Vertonghen own goal to send them crashing out after a poor tournament.
It was a tight affair when the sides met in July, with both only managing two shots on target, though France's came from 19 overall attempts compared to Belgium's five.
And Tedesco would rather forget about that meeting as he targets a more positive result this time around.
"At the European Championship, it was a close one against France. We could have won too,” Tedesco told reporters.
"France were a bit better, they deserved to win, but we also had our chances. It would be a lie if I said that match is forgotten. It still hurts. I often think about the European Championship, but you also must look ahead.
"Looking back is not always the best solution. We have to be ambitious; it's been a long time since we beat France in a competitive match with commitment. Let us perform well, and then the rest will follow."
Tedesco also admitted that Belgium over-prepared for that meeting with France, with their adjustments to the game plan proving detrimental.
"The last match at the European Championship was different from the one now, it was a knockout match," he added.
"We learned that we adjusted our own plans a bit too much then. You always have to analyse your opponent, but we adjusted excessively."
Clarke believes Scotland 'deserved something' following defeat to Portugal
Scotland boss Steve Clarke has declared that his side "deserved something" from their Nations League clash with Portugal after losing 2-1 thanks to a late Cristiano Ronaldo goal.
Scott McTominay gave Scotland an early lead after seven minutes, but Portugal fought back through goals from Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo to take all three points in Group A1.
Ronaldo's goal came in the 88th minute and was his 901st career goal.
It leaves Scotland on their longest-ever winless run as they remain without a win in their last eight competitive games in all competitions, but Clarke feels they should not have left Lisbon empty-handed.
"I'm disappointed to lose a game where it looked, for a large period, we would get something from it," he told the BBC.
"I'm really disappointed for my players because I think they deserved to get something from the game.
"If you ignore the results, [there are a lot of positives], but we're professional, so it's disappointing.
"We played well in these two games, but we don't have anything to show for it. I've told the players not to be too hard on themselves. They have to understand the work that we're doing."
Scotland did well to prevent Portugal from getting any further sight at goal, defending a total of 26 shots during the match with seven ending up on target.
The 16 shots the Scots had to defend in the opening 45 minutes were the most they have faced in a first-half since October 2012 when Belgium also let loose 16 efforts.
"With the amount of balls that go into the box, you know one of them can go in the back of the net and that's what happened to us," added Clarke.
"When you bring quality players from the bench like Roberto [Martinez] can do, you always know there's a risk, but I felt we handled it well.
"We'll go away and analyse these games, and hopefully, we can give the lads a few pointers for the games next month, which don't get any easier."
Gamechanger Ronaldo was brought on at half-time by Portugal manager Roberto Martinez, a move that was well thought through and had the desired effect.
"Ronaldo did 17 sprints against Croatia. He is the player who made the most sprints. So we need to protect the players. One more game in 72 hours is impossible to have a physical performance [equal]," Martinez explained.
"The question was whether Ronaldo played the first half and left or came in and finished the game. That was the decision.
"He is an asset to the national team. When he comes in, if the [team] needs goals, Cris gives energy and a feeling to the fans. The stadium is different.
"If Cris leaves, it's the opposite and facilitates what the opponent would like to do when playing away from home in Portugal."
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