Jude Bellingham lauded yet another landmark moment in the career of Kylian Mbappe after the Frenchman marked his Champions League debut for Real Madrid with a goal.
Mbappe, who has five goals in his first seven games for his new club, opened the scoring in Los Blancos' 3-1 win over Stuttgart on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old's effort saw him net his 49th Champions League goal, with only Robert Lewandowski (61) scoring more in the competition since Mbappe's debut.
He also became the second Frenchman to score on his debut for Madrid in the competition, joining Christian Karembeu who netted against Bayer Leverkusen in 1998.
Bellingham explained how quickly Mbappe has settled into life in the Spanish capital, saying: "He's going to be a huge player for us, this season and beyond.
"He always delivers so far, it's a lot of pressure coming to a club like Madrid, but he's taken to it really easily and the lads love him already."
The encounter against Stuttgart also marked Bellingham's return to the side after the England midfielder missed the last four games with a muscle injury.
Upon his return, Bellingham won more tackles (two) and accumulated the highest pass accuracy (93.3%) of anyone in the Los Blancos side.
Across all competitions last year, Bellingham made 42 appearances, notching 23 goals and laying on a further 13 assists in his debut year at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Having also starred for England at Euro 2024, the 21-year-old was excited to be back out on the pitch and is aiming for more success this term.
"Three-and-a-half weeks [out] has been difficult. I've not been injured a lot in my career, so whenever it happens, I'm a bit impatient," he said.
“But this time I wanted to take it slowly and agreed this would be the game I came back in – maybe off the bench – but I was buzzing to start.
"In the first half I left it all out there, I was that excited and all over the place, just wanting to create and get in the box.
“Second half, I probably just ran out of a bit of steam, so I stayed a little bit deeper, but I'm getting used to being back, finding my feet again and I'm sure I'll be fine this season."
Saint Lucia, Haiti stay perfect in Groups B and C of League B
Saint Lucia and Haiti consolidated their leads atop their respective Concacaf Nations League groups following contrasting wins in their League B encounters on Friday.
Caniggia Elva’s late brace in the 76th and 90th propelled St Lucia to a 2-1 win over Saint Martin, who led for most of the contest courtesy of Axel Raga’s 30th-minute strike in their Group B clash at the Darren Sammy Ground.
The win moved Saint Lucia to maximum nine points from three games. Curacao and Grenada, who played out a goalless stalemate in the other group contest, sit second and third on four points each, while Saint Martin is still yet to get on the board.
Over in Group C, Haiti beat host Aruba 3-1 at Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadion.
Tyron Perret Gentil fired Aruba in front in the sixth minute, but Haiti responded through Frantzdy Pierrot (31st), and a brace from Duckens Nazon, who scored from the penalty spot in the 38th, followed by a 61st-minute close range effort.
The win saw Haiti move up to nine points from three games, three points ahead of Sint Maarten, who clipped Puerto Rico 3-2 in the other fixture.
Chovanie Amatkarijo (44th, 85th) and Imar Kort (49th) got the job done for Sint Maarten, while Rodolfo Sulia (2nd) and Alec Diaz (90+5) got Puerto Rico’s goals.
Puerto Rico remain on three points, with Aruba still pointless.
Saka and Jones withdraw from England's Nations League squad
England have confirmed that Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Liverpool's Curtis Jones have withdrawn from the squad ahead of their Nations League clash with Finland on Sunday.
Saka was replaced by Noni Madueke in the 51st minute during England's shock 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday after picking up an injury in his right leg.
It only adds to Mikel Arteta's injury worries ahead of facing Bournemouth next Saturday after Martin Odegaard was injured on international duty for Norway last month.
Saka has enjoyed a fine start to the Premier League campaign, scoring two goals and laying on a further seven assists in the Gunners' opening seven games.
The England international has also created more chances (27) than any other player in the division, with his nine goal involvements a total only bettered by Chelsea's Cole Palmer (11) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (10).
Lee Carsley will also be without uncapped Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, who was added to the Three Lions squad earlier this week, but has since withdrawn due to a personal commitment.
Jones earned his first call-up in May as part of Gareth Southgate's provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2024, but did not make the final cut.
The 23-year-old was part of the Young Lions side that won the 2023 European Under-21 Championship under Carsley, scoring the only goal in their 1-0 win over Spain in the final.
Former Liverpool defender Matip confirms retirement
Former Liverpool defender Joel Matip has confirmed his retirement from professional football.
Matip, who joined Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016, has been without a club since leaving Anfield at the end of last season and has since decided to call time on his 15-year career.
The 33-year-old started his career at Schalke, making 258 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit and helping them lift the DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup in 2011.
Matip was among the first signings made by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, joining in the same window as Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and Loris Karius.
He helped the Reds return to the Champions League in Klopp's first full campaign in charge, making 29 Premier League appearances and keeping nine clean sheets.
However, his spell with the Reds was marred by repetitive injuries, sustaining 16 different issues across his eight-year spell on Merseyside.
The former Cameroon international's final appearance for Liverpool came in a 4-3 win over Fulham in December 2023 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the same game.
Matip made 201 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and winning six major honours, which included the Reds' sixth Champions League triumph.
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