Carlo Ancelotti insists Real Madrid must be patient with Kylian Mbappe following his lacklustre home debut in the 3-0 win over Real Valladolid.
Mbappe failed to find the net on his first appearance at Santiago Bernabeu since his blockbuster move from Paris Saint-Germain, despite registering joint game-high tallies of three shots on target and eight touches in the opposing penalty box.
Madrid took until the 50th minute to break through against Valladolid courtesy of Federico Valverde's vicious free-kick, while substitutes Brahim Diaz and Endrick climbed off the bench to seal the victory late on.
Mbappe was substituted in the 86th minute, but Ancelotti leapt to the defence of the France captain, who he maintains needs time to gel with his new team-mates.
"Mbappe is a spectacular striker, very quick, he moves very well without the ball," the Italian told reporters at his post-match press conference.
"In this position, he is going to score as he has always scored. He doesn't need to play on the left or in the centre. In the end, he will score goals. Wait and see."
Ancelotti also saluted the impact of his substitutes in securing Madrid's first LaLiga win of the new season.
"The taste of a win is always good. When we win a game, I have to be happy, taking into account the difficulties we had, especially in the first half when we were slow and soft," Ancelotti told a press conference on Sunday.
"We were better after the break, with much more mobility and speed in possession. I am very happy for those who come off the bench and take advantage of the few minutes they have.
"Setting the line-up is always complicated, it bothers me, it makes me a bit sad, even though it's my responsibility. I'm the one who has to choose the 11 players that start the match.
"Bearing in mind that in this period of the season, in the heat, it is expected that players get tired. So, it would be right that when a player is tired, he should raise his hand and ask to be replaced. But in my 40 years in football, it has never happened.
"So, it is up to me, the coach, to pick out the ones I think are tired. I think the players have to be more responsible with that. I say it here because I have said it to them privately. I have a lot of resources to use in this squad."
Fulham full of confidence for Palace trip after dramatic derby win
Fulham are preparing to visit Crystal Palace with renewed confidence after a dramatic late win in another London derby against Brentford.
Marco Silva's men were trailing heading into stoppage time at Craven Cottage on Monday, only for a sensational Harry Wilson double to snatch a 2-1 victory.
That was a first win in four in the Premier League for Fulham, although their performances might have merited more points.
Alex Iwobi certainly believes so, explaining: "It's a big lift because we feel like our performances recently deserved a lot more, in terms of getting points and results.
"And the way we did it, against Brentford, we knew it wasn't going to be an easy game, a derby as well... To win it in the manner we did has definitely given us a confidence boost going into another London derby against Palace."
Palace have themselves been given a big lift in the past couple of weeks, following their belated first league win of the season against Tottenham with an EFL Cup defeat of Aston Villa and a controversial draw at Wolves.
The Eagles are still only a place above the relegation zone, and Iwobi is hoping Fulham can check their progress.
"We know it's not going to be easy," he said. "Another derby, it's never easy at their stadium.
"We know it's always tough to go and play there, but we're going to analyse, see their weaknesses. It's not easy, but we'll analyse and see what we can do.
"They've only had one win this season – hopefully it remains that way against us and we'll get the result we want."
Will Hughes had a message for the Palace fans ahead of their return to Selhurst Park: "Thanks for sticking with us, as usual.
"It's not been the best of starts for us in the league, but hopefully they can see, especially over the last few games, that we're turning a corner, not only results wise but the intensity we're playing with.
"We were so difficult to play against at the end of last season with our intensity, and I think we've got that bit of mojo back. Hopefully, we can keep pushing on."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta
Goals have been hard to come by for Palace this season – especially at Selhurst Park.
Oliver Glasner's side have netted a league-low three times at home, but all of those have been scored by Mateta, continuing his strong form from the end of last season. He has 14 goals in his past 12 home league games for Palace.
They will again rely heavily on the French striker, with Eberechi Eze injured and fellow forward Eddie Nketiah struggling for form. New signing Nketiah has attempted 17 shots without scoring, the most in the Premier League this season.
Fulham – Harry Wilson
There is increased competition in the wide areas for Fulham this season, with Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson signed and battling with Iwobi, Adama Traore and Wilson for minutes.
But if Wilson cannot get his opportunity after sensationally stealing a win against Brentford last time out, he might wonder if he will ever return to the XI, still waiting for his first league start of the season.
His cutting edge was exactly what Fulham had previously been missing, attempting against Brentford 26 shots – their most in the Premier League for over 10 years – but requiring that late show to come away with the points.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Following their comeback against Brentford, Fulham are unbeaten in six Premier League London derbies – their longest run since 2006-07 – and also their past five matches against Palace.
Yet four of those clashes with the Eagles have ended all square, including each of the last three.
Palace will hope for more as they look to move clear of the bottom three, but they have not won consecutive league derbies since April 2017 and were victors in their last capital clash against Spurs.
Perhaps 0-0 is therefore the most likely scoreline. Fulham have kept three consecutive clean sheets at Selhurst Park, and their five away matches in the league this season have seen only 11 goals scored.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Crystal Palace – 37.5%
Draw – 26.3%
Fulham – 36.2%
Sparta Prague 1-2 Brest: Visitors continue flying start among Europe's elite
Brest continued their exceptional start in the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Sparta Prague on Wednesday.
Edimilson Fernandes fired Brest, the surprise package of the new-look league phase, ahead in the 37th minute from a half-cleared corner, his shot zipping across the rain-soaked surface and in.
Ten minutes before full-time, Brest had daylight thanks to an own goal from Sparta's Kaan Kairinen, who got the final touch following a scramble on the goal line.
Victor Olatunji reduced the deficit deep into stoppage time, but Sparta were unable to find a leveller and sit just outside the play-off spots with four points from as many matches.
Brest, meanwhile, are now in a fine position as they target the knockout stages, sitting fourth with 10 points, level with Sporting CP, Monaco and Inter.
Data Debrief: Brest join exclusive club
Brest are the fourth French side to go unbeaten through their first four matches in the Champions League, taking to Europe's premier club competition like a duck to water.
Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux previously achieved that feat, while only Liverpool (12) have won more points than Brest in the competition this term.
'Obvious' Arsenal should have had penalty before Inter, claims Arteta
Mikel Arteta felt Arsenal were "very harshly done by" in a 1-0 Champions League defeat to Inter that was decided by Hakan Calhanoglu's penalty.
Inter scored the only goal of the game after Mikel Merino was punished for handling inside his own area on the stroke of half-time.
But boss Arteta felt that decision was harsh, and particularly so when Merino had earlier not been awarded a spot-kick of his own.
The Spain midfielder appeared to beat Yann Sommer to a high ball in the Inter box and took a punch to the head in the process.
That incident was cleared following a VAR check, while the decision to penalise Merino at the other end of the pitch was quickly approved.
"I am very proud of my players, the level of domination we had," Arteta told TNT Sports. "We were very harshly done by in the sense that is obvious. Both penalties.
"If you are going to give a penalty, the other one has to be because he punches him in the head.
"There is no deflection, nothing you can do in the box, so can he get away from it? If he is going to give that, the other has to be 100% a penalty."
Arteta, who reintroduced Martin Odegaard as a late substitute following injury, also sought to focus on the positives, however.
Although Inter made a number of changes to their first XI, Arteta was enthused by the manner in which Arsenal dominated their opponents, having disappointed in another 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday.
"We should have scored a couple at least, but the way the team played, that was us at least," he added. "Every decision in the box makes a difference.
"The way we played tonight, the team can go to Chelsea and win."
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