Erling Haaland said he is learning from Zlatan Ibrahimovic after his stunning goal against Schalke, while Jadon Sancho hailed Borussia Dortmund's "goal machine".
Haaland scored a brace, including a spectacular volley, as Dortmund crushed lowly Schalke 4-0 in Saturday's Revierderby at the VELTINS-Arena.
After netting twice in the Champions League win at Sevilla on Wednesday, in-demand Norway international Haaland took his Bundesliga tally for Dortmund to 30 in 32 matches.
Reflecting on his memorable 45th-minute goal – teed up by star team-mate Jadon Sancho, Haaland told Bundesliga.com: "It was a nice goal.
"Obviously it was a good assist from Jadon. We try to work a lot and it's a pleasure to play with this guy."
Asked if he had developed a taste for spectacular goals from Swedish great Ibrahimovic, Haaland – who has been linked to the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Barcelona, Juventus and Manchester United – replied: "Maybe. Maybe I'm learning a bit from him!"
Sancho became the youngest player to reach 35 goals in Bundesliga history, aged 20 years, 10 months and 26 days.
Tipped to join Premier League powerhouse United at the start of the season, England international Sancho lauded Haaland post-match.
"He's a goal machine," said Sancho. "I'm happy to assist his crazy goal, his first goal.
"On the training pitch, me and Erling work together so hard so I'm wasn't surprised that he's able to do some of the things he does on the pitch. He deserves all the credit."
Interim Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic heaped praise on both Haaland and Sancho afterwards.
"They've been fantastic in the past weeks as well," Terzic said. "You can see the quality those boys bring to us. At the second goal the cross by Jadon has already been remarkable and the way Erling hammered it in was extraordinary.
"But from a manager's perspective I have to say I preferred the third goal, because it was a great team effort where we've seen the exact things we practice in training, the way we want to combine and then quickly get behind the defence through one touch on the wings and play a cross. So the third goal makes me even happier and prouder."
On Sancho specifically following a slow start to the season, Terzic added: "It was clear that Jadon hasn't unlearnt how to play football. He is a very talented player, and we are quite spoilt seeing him on the pitch in the last couple of years, because he’s always been very productive.
"It wasn't an easy time for him, and we went through it together. I was asked a lot of times about how we deal with him. We talked a lot and we worked with him individually and tried supporting him as a team. He plays on the other side on and with Raphael Guerrero he's got a great partner with whom he can combine well. He found back to being a dangerous attacker and makes assists.
"He's back at his old strength but it doesn't mean we will stop progressing. We will continue and we have several tasks we need to achieve, and we need Jadon in top form for that."
Shaw, Layzell on target as Man City stun holders Barcelona in Women's Champions League
Naomi Layzell enjoyed a dream Women's Champions League debut as her goal and assist helped Manchester City stun holders Barcelona 2-0 on Wednesday.
Layzell was playing her football in the Women's Super League last season with relegated Bristol City, but was the star of the show at the Joie Stadium.
City were making their first appearance in the competition since falling to a 4-2 quarter-final loss to the Catalan side in March 2021, and exacted their revenge with a plucky display.
The hosts, however, almost found themselves a goal behind with just three minutes on the clock when Caroline Hansen took aim and saw her effort cannon off the post, shortly before Lauren Hemp struck the woodwork with a strike of her own.
City grew into the contest and almost got the goal their performance merited in the 35th minute when Vivianne Miedema teed up Khadija Shaw, only to see her effort saved by Cata Coll.
But from the resulting corner, Gareth Taylor's side got their noses in front as Miedema brilliantly headed the ball from the back post and back into the danger area, with Layzell sliding in to mark her Champions League debut with a goal.
Barcelona had only failed to score once in their past 79 games heading into the encounter, and improved after the interval in their search for an equaliser.
Aitana Bonmati forced Ayaka Yamashita into making a smart save down to her right, with substitute Claudia Pina going close from distance as City were forced to withstand a relentless wave of pressure from the defending champions.
But the hosts landed a sucker punch in the 77th minute on the counter, with Layzell turning provider for Shaw, with the striker riding the challenge of Patri Guijarro before rounding Coll to seal a memorable triumph for City.
The Citizens ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.68 compared to Barca's 1.5, despite having four fewer shots than their opponents.
Gareth Taylor's side sit level on points with Hammarby in Group D, after the Swedish side beat Austria's St. Polten 2-0 earlier on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in Group C, Juventus edged out Norwegian side Valerenga to kickstart their campaign with a victory at the Intility Arena.
Sofia Cantore's 29th minute strike proved to be the difference, with the Italian curling a fine right-footed effort beyond the grasp of Tove Enblom against the run of play.
Juventus continued to struggle throughout the contest, with Valerenga registering 25 shots, with six of those on target, ending with an xG total of 2.2.
Man United's Diallo withdraws from Ivory Coast squad
Manchester United's Amad Diallo has withdrawn from the Ivory Coast's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Sierra Leone due to illness.
Diallo, who has made six appearances for his country, has since returned to Manchester ahead of the Red Devils' upcoming Premier League fixture against Brentford.
The 22-year-old earned his first cap for the Elephants in 2021, and was recalled to Emerse Fae's group after a 15-month absence in June for wins over Zambia and Chad.
Ivory Coast know that two wins against the Leone Stars will seal their progression to the tournament, which takes place in Morocco at the end of next year.
A statement by the Elephants read, “The Ivorian Football Federation informs the Press and the public that the player, Amad DIALLO, arrived in group on Monday October 7, 2024, as part of the 3rd and 4th Days of the CAN qualifiers Morocco 2025, is declared forfeit for health reasons.”
Diallo is the latest player within Erik ten Hag's ranks to withdraw from international duty with their respective nations.
Argentina's Alejandro Garnacho, England's Kobbie Mainoo and Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui are the other players left out as a precaution.
Diallo has made 10 appearances for United this season in all competitions, scoring once in his side's 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
However, he has yet to fully nail down a starting berth, with Ten Hag so far rotating his wide options with Garnacho and Marcus Rashford.
Daniel Maldini the missing piece to Italy puzzle, believes Spalletti
Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti believes Daniel Maldini has been the creative spark the national side has been lacking ahead of their Nations League clash with Belgium.
Maldini could follow in the footsteps of his father, Paolo, and grandfather Cesare, both former Italy captains, should he represent the Azzurri at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.
The 22-year-old came through the ranks at Milan, managing 24 appearances in all competitions and scoring once, but spent three seasons out on loan from 2022 to 2024.
Maldini spent the second half of last season on loan with Monza before making his move permanent in July, netting five goals in 19 outings to help Raffaele Palladino's side to a 12th place finish in Serie A.
Now under the guidance of Alessandro Nesta, Maldini has begun to flourish, completing more dribbles (12) than any of his team-mates in the league so far.
The young Italian was one of four players given their senior call-up by Spalletti for their Nations League fixtures against Belgium and Israel, with the Monza forward replacing Lazio's Matteo Zaccagni.
And Spalletti is confident Maldini can make an impact, saying: "He is the (kind of) player we were missing."
Italy come into the contest off the back of an impressive opening to their Nations League A2 group, beating Israel and France last month.
After a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign that saw them lose to Switzerland in the round of 16, Spalletti insisted that their encounter against Belgium is crucial to their development.
"We will immediately become a great team in every match where we will be able to give the best of ourselves," Spalletti said.
"It is a crucial match for our future."
Spalletti, however, has his eyes set on the 2026 World Cup, a tournament the Azzurri have won on four occasions throughout their history.
But Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 editions of the competition, but have since won the European Championships against England in 2021 under Roberto Mancini.
While Spalletti signified the importance of the World Cup's influence on the Azzurri's illustrious history, he said his players must focus on each game as it comes.
"It is a tournament that has determined our history, it has made many people happy," Spalletti concluded.
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