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."
Simeone hails 'hard-working' Alvarez but calls for patience after first Atletico goal
Diego Simeone has called for patience with Julian Alvarez, after the forward opened his Atletico Madrid account last weekend.
The Argentina international netted his first goal for Los Rojiblancos against Valencia on Sunday, rounding off a commanding 3-0 victory at the Metropolitano Stadium.
It was Alvarez's fifth appearance since completing his move from Manchester City on a six-year deal reportedly worth up to €95million (£81.8million).
The 24-year-old linked up with his new team-mates following an extended break, having starred in Argentina's Copa America triumph in July.
Simeone insists Alvarez still needs time to settle into life in the Spanish capital, but is confident he will score plenty of goals throughout the campaign.
"[Alvarez] is a noble, hard-working boy, who surely has a lot of important things to give us," he told reporters at his press conference. "But he is coming from a summer, in which he had a brief holiday.
"It was that stir of: 'I'm going to go, I'm staying, have to start playing, got to go with Argentina, have to come back'. It was intense and, luckily, he is in a group of team-mates who are working very well and understand the situation.
"We are always going to demand what he can give us because we know and believe in his potential. Hopefully, him scoring his first goal the other day will be the first of many to come."
Alvarez could make his European bow for Atletico when they welcome Leipzig for their Champions League opener on Thursday.
And Simeone hopes his players and the Atleti supporters will respond to the occasion.
"We are looking forward to returning to compete in the Champions League," he added. "I can imagine a stadium with the energy required to return to this competition.
"Hopefully, we can transmit all the enthusiasm and energy that I'm counting on from this group."
Goretzka 'will continue to be important' despite lack of playing time, Kompany insists
Vincent Kompany insists Leon Goretzka "will continue to be important" for Bayern Munich, despite his limited game time this season.
The Germany midfielder has fallen down the pecking order behind the likes of new signing Joao Palhinha, and played just 21 minutes this term.
Nine of those came on Tuesday, when he scored as a late substitute to complete his side's 9-2 rout of Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener.
Though the 29-year-old has found opportunities hard to come by, Kompany maintains he is an integral part of Bayern's squad.
"He's important for us and will continue to be," Kompany told DAZN. "The team loves him. I only have players who want to play and accept the competition for places.
"At Bayern, it's always easy to talk about individual players. But I want to talk about the team. That’s important to me.
"He is very important in this team. He's doing well, but so are the others."
Goretzka has made over 200 appearances for Bayern since joining from Schalke in 2018, including 42 across all competitions last season.
The midfielder has also won five Bundesliga titles during his time with the Bavarian giants, as well as the Champions League in 2019-20.
Antigua's Grenades FC secure first Caribbean Cup point after 1-1 stalemate with AC Port of Spain
Antiguan outfit Grenades FC secured their first point of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup as they came from behind to hold AC Port of Spain to a 1-1 stalemate in a lukewarm Group B contest at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain on Tuesday.
Shackiel Smek Henry (21st) put AC Port of Spain in front, but that strike was cancelled out by Sean Tomlinson (90+5), who ensured Grenades FC registered their first point of the campaign.
AC Port of Spain remain third on two points behind the Dominican Republic duo of Moca FC and Cibao FC, both on four points each. Haiti’s Ouanaminthe sit fourth on a point, while Grenades remain at the foot of the five-team standings.
With both teams coming of losses in their previous encounters, it was anybody’s guess where the points would go. However, AC Port of Spain being the more illustrious of the two, coupled with the fact that they were at home, was slightly favoured to notch their first win of the campaign.
They seemed well on their way to achieving that feat when Henry pounced on a loose ball and fired home from close range.
Though they were forced into substituting goalkeeper Denzil Smith, who was replaced by Marvin Phillip, AC Port of Spain were still in safe hands. This, as Phillip immediately impacted the contest when he denied Quinton Griffith from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute.
Duane Muckette should have doubled AC Port of Spain’s lead from the penalty spot on the hour mark, but his tame kick was kept out by Zaieem Scott in goal for Grenades FC.
That missed opportunity would later haunt them as Tomlinson injected tempo in the latter staged of the contest for Grenades. He should have pulled them level in the 85th, but muffed his effort in a one-on-one situation with Phillip, who left his line well.
However, Tomlinson made amends on the final play of the encounter as he expertly headed home Keanu Barrett’s weighted cross, giving Phillip no chance at a save in time added.
With the point set to serve as a morale booster, Grenades will be hoping to convert it to a win when they square off against Ouanaminthe FC in Dominican Republic next Tuesday, while AC Port of Spain will host Cibao FC on the same day.
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