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• Bellingham hails 'big player' Mbappe in Stuttgart triumph

  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."

• Ronaldo's Al Nassr dismiss head coach Castro

  Al Nassr are on the hunt for a new boss after dismissing head coach Luis Castro, the Saudi Pro League side confirmed on Tuesday.

  Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. have struggled through an underwhelming start to the season, winning just one of their opening three league fixtures of the campaign.

  The Riyadh club were also defeated in the Saudi Super Cup final 4-1 against champions Al Hilal last month.

  Al Nassr have seen enough, swiftly moving to part ways with 63-year-old Castro, who previously took charge of Brazilian Serie A side Botafago.

  "Everyone at AlNassr would like to thank Luis and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 14 months," the club said in a brief statement on social media.

  Castro, a fellow Portugal compatriot to Ronaldo, led the club to lift the Arab Club Champions Cup last year, a competition contested by 37 teams from Asia and Africa.

  However, Al Nassr finished second in the league last season, 14 points behind Jorge Jesus' Al Hilal, who were inspired by the goal-scoring exploits of Aleksandar Mitrovic.

  Al Nassr drew 1-1 against Al Shorta of Iraq on Monday in the opening game of the AFC Champions League Elite, which proved to be Castro's final match at the helm.

  Stefano Pioli, formerly of AC Milan, is one of Al Nassr's preferred replacements according to reports in local Saudi media.

• Ronaldo can reach 1,000-goal milestone before retirement - Jorge Andrade

  Cristiano Ronaldo is capable of reaching 1,000 career goals as long as he continues to look after his body, according to Jorge Andrade.

  The five-time Ballon d'Or winner netted his 900th goal for club and country in Portugal's 2-1 Nations League win over Croatia on 5 September.

  Ronaldo then added to his tally with a late winner in the 2-1 victory over Scotland three days later, setting him on his way to reaching the four-figure milestone.

  Former Portugal star Jorge Andrade, speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, backed his compatriot to do just that.

  "With Cristiano Ronaldo, nothing is impossible," Andrade said to Stats Perform. 

  "Since we've watched football, the idea of the 1,000 goals is associated with our great idol, Pele. 

  "But nowadays, both Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have managed to overcome other idols, Diego Maradona and Pele. 

  "They managed to be the highlight of the football game in a short time. It's not surprising Ronaldo can break that record. He looks after his body. 

  "He has a history of very few injuries. In terms of the Portuguese national team and the league he is in, he manages his efforts well."

  Ronaldo has scored 132 of his goals for Portugal, with whom he won Euro 2016, while the other 769 have come at club level.

  The 39-year-old has scored 68 times for current club Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he has spent the past 20 months.

  While Ronaldo continues to score freely in the Middle East, long-time rival Messi is now plying his trade in the United States with Inter Miami.

  Andrade, best remembered for his time at Deportivo during his playing career, believes both deserve credit for taking on challenges elsewhere.

  "The most important thing for them is that they share the experiences they have even in adverse environments," he said. 

  "For example, Messi now plays in MLS. It's a difficult league; it's a league that doesn't have much visibility. 

  "He managed to be there and increase visibility. Cristiano Ronaldo went to Saudi Arabia and it's a complicated environment. 

  "He increased the visibility of that championship, making it attractive for other players to play who had just the five major leagues as the main goal to play.

  "In other words, these two players have changed the world of football."