Brendan Rodgers knows no Scottish Premiership title is secured after the first game, but says Celtic managed a "critical" step after thrashing Kilmarnock on Sunday.
Reo Hatate, Liam Scales, Nicolas Kuhn and Anthony Ralston were all on target as the Scottish champions hammered their visitors 4-0 at Celtic Park.
Celtic have won their league opener in 16 of the last 17 seasons, losing the other 2-1 away to Hearts in 2021, though Rodgers acknowledged this is just the start for the Hoops.
"I thought we were very connected, some of our passing and the speed of our game was very good," the Celtic manager told BBC Scotland.
"Defensively we were very strong, the first goal came from that counter press. I have to be so pleased for the first game of the season.
"Being at the top of the league at the end of the season is what's important but the first steps are critical and we made a really good step today."
Matt O'Riley continues to draw attention from Premier League clubs, as well as Serie A's Atalanta, as the Celtic midfielder's future remains uncertain.
The Denmark international assisted Scales' header in the first half against Kilmarnock, reminding potential suitors of his quality with transfer speculation continuing.
Rodgers is focused on adding to his Celtic squad, though, as he aims to build a side capable of competing in the Champions League and Scotland's top division.
"Currently our focus is very much the players that are here but naturally we want to improve the squad," Rodgers added.
"It's our duty to do that for the players and we'll speak about that. I will never say anything that I've not spoken to my bosses about.
"We want to take the club forward, we know the challenges that we have on every front and for that we want to improve the squad. Hopefully, we can get in the players that can help us kick on this season.
"I'd love to have more tools to have a go at the Champions League, that's one of our big goals this season. We want to get into the play-off phases and for that, we want to improve the squad."
Lopetegui to assess Fullkrug as focus remains on trusting the process
Julen Lopetegui has refused to rule out Niclas Fullkrug’s involvement when West Ham return to Premier League action against Fulham on Saturday.
Fullkrug, who was signed from Borussia Dortmund during the transfer window, picked up an injury on international duty with Germany during their 5-0 win over Hungary, a game the 31-year-old scored in.
Lopetegui has picked up one win from his first three league fixtures at the helm, but the Spaniard says his side are still in the process of becoming the team he wants them to be.
"Let's see, he has a little problem, it was a pity,” Lopetegui said on Fullkrug. “But it's true that we will evaluate him too, today.
“Yesterday we thought he was a little bit better, today we're going to see how he is exactly and tomorrow we are going to make the last decision about him.
"It's a process, and we have had 10 days here to work with the players. Unfortunately, a lot of them weren't here, so it's not easy, but we've done what we could.
“It's a quick turnaround now to Fulham, but we're putting all our focus on our next match."
Fulham, meanwhile, entered the international break off the back of a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road, with the Cottagers sitting in 12th in the early-season table.
Marco Silva’s new-look squad showed signs during their encounter with the Tractor Boys that they are close to kicking into gear, having taken four points from their first three Premier League games.
While Silva acknowledged his players were forced to adopt a different style of play in their last fixture, he is confident they can continue their unbeaten run on home soil.
"Tough Premier League game, as always, against a side that you know are going to be really hard to play against,” Silva said. “We know it can be tough to play here because last season we played against them in a different competition with great support from the home crowd.
"We were solid in the second half, but not in the way that we like to play, not with that quality in our build up, and it was more difficult for us to create chances.
"It's a game, of course, that we wanted to win, we wanted the three points. We got one point, and we move on to prepare for the next one."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fulham – Antonee Robinson
Since the start of last season, only Kieran Trippier (10) has more assists among defenders in the Premier League than Fulham’s Robinson (eight).
All eight have come in open play, with only Mohamed Salah (13), Brennan Johnson (10), and Anthony Elanga (nine) having a better 100% open-play assist rate in the division during that time.
West Ham – Jarrod Bowen
Bowen has nine Premier League goals away from home since the start of last season, with only Erling Haaland (16) and Ollie Watkins (10) netting more, while his only goal this term came away at Crystal Palace.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Fulham won both Premier League meetings with West Ham last season by an aggregate score of 7-0. They’ve not won three consecutive league games against the Hammers since between October 1965 and October 1966.
During his time in charge of the Cottagers, Everton and Watford, Silva has more Premier League wins against West Ham than any other side (P9 W6 L3), with the 17 goals his sides have scored against the Hammers in the competition also being his most.
Fulham have also lost only one of their four top-flight games that followed an international break last season (W2 D1), while West Ham lost three of their four such games in 2023-24 (W1).
West Ham’s only win so far in the Premier League this season came away to Crystal Palace (2-0). They last won their opening two away league games of a season in 2015-16 (first three).
The Hammers have also won 16 of their 28 Premier League games against Fulham, their best win rate against any side they’ve faced at least five times in the competition (57%).
But so far this campaign, only Newcastle United (54) have faced more shots in the Premier League this season than West Ham (52), while their expected goals against total of 6.4 is also the second-highest, behind newly promoted Ipswich (6.9).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Fulham – 40%
Draw – 26.2%
West Ham – 33.8%
Nagelsmann pleased with Germany development after Euro 2024 disappointment
Julian Nagelsmann believes Germany have taken the next step in their development after sharing the spoils in an entertaining clash with the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Tijjani Reijnders handed the hosts the lead with just a minute and 39 seconds on the clock, only for Deniz Undav and Joshua Kimmich to respond before the break.
The Netherlands drew level five minutes into the second half through Denzel Dumfries, leaving the pair joint-top of Group A3 after the opening round of fixtures.
But with German ambitions of being strong contenders at the next World Cup after their Euro 2024 disappointment, Nagelsmann is looking to see improvements in every match despite the tournament being just under two years away.
“There is an awareness that every game is important,” Naglesmann said.
“We have the Nations League now, the qualifiers next year and then hopefully off to the World Cup. We have 18 games left until then - if all goes well.
“The team believes in itself and that is the key. That is what we all want to see. Today we saw a team that wanted to win."
But in an enthralling encounter, Nagelsmann acknowledged that improvements need to be made at both ends of the pitch.
Germany managed just five shots on target from the 21 they attempted, registering an expected goals total (xG) of 2.94 during the contest.
While only restricting the Netherlands to 11 shots, their opponents created four big chances to Germany's three, with the Oranje also winning 53.1% of their duels compared to 46.9% for Nagelsmann's side.
“Both defences were too vulnerable but offensively, we were stronger, tried to create more and took a bit more risk," Nagelsmann said.
“In the early stages of the second half, we tried a little too hard and were maybe a bit too aggressive in the tackles.”
The Germany head coach was particularly pleased with his side's response to falling behind early on Reijnders' finish.
“The way we came back was very good. It took us five or six minutes, but then we were well in the game," Nagelsmann concluded.
Germany continue their Nations League campaign with two away fixtures next month, starting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by a reunion with the Dutch on October 14.
Bellamy earns maiden Wales win in 'toughest game of his career'
Craig Bellamy praised his players for overcoming some of the toughest conditions he has witnessed to earn him his first win as Wales head coach against Montenegro in the Nations League.
Kieffer Moore opened the scoring after just 36 seconds at the Stadion Kraj Bistrice, with Wales netting inside a minute for the first time since Robert Earnshaw in 2004.
But the Dragons doubled their advantage with two minutes and 27 seconds on the clock, this time Harry Wilson found the back of the net with a fine finish from distance.
It was the first time Wales had scored twice within the opening three minutes of a game since April 1961 against Northern Ireland to give Bellamy a dream start.
However, the conditions in Montenegro were far from ideal, with the rain-soaked pitch allowing Driton Camaj to pull one back for the hosts in the 73rd minute.
Wales were able to see out the remaining minutes to seal their first win of their Nations League campaign, building on their impressive showing against Turkiye.
"These are the toughest conditions I've been in. Nothing about coming here has been easy," Bellamy said.
"You could have had a lot of excuses about this trip. The change of venue, the travel here, a bus driver who took his time, the conditions. But sometimes you learn from it.
"There is a reason why this group have qualified for major tournaments. It wasn't a football match. The conditions weren't going to allow it."
Wales are now unbeaten in their last eight competitive fixtures (W4 D4), their longest such run since a run of 11 between September 2019 and November 2020.
Bellamy's appointment has seemingly revitalised Welsh football, with his expansive and exciting style of play catching the eyes of those across Europe.
The Dragons return to action next month when they face Iceland and Montenegro once again, something that Bellamy is already counting down the days for.
"Last night I was really excited about the game but also sad as it ends tomorrow," Bellamy said.
"What happens on Tuesday? They're all going to leave me and I don't want them to go.
"You want your first win of course and you want it quick. Longer-term I see us being able to affect games in a positive way."
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