Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said Julian Alvarez needs time to find his feet after a 3-0 win over Girona, predicting the forward will be "incredible" for Los Colchoneros.
Atleti got off the mark for the new campaign with a comfortable win over last season's LaLiga runners-up, with Antoine Griezmann, Marcos Llorente and Koke scoring.
Alvarez was quiet on his first start following his €95million (£81.5m) switch from Manchester City, but Simeone is certain he will come good.
"Top players demand things to happen, people go to the stadium to watch them. We know what Julian brings and what he can give us," Simeone said.
"We will try to exploit his best qualities, as a first striker or second striker, or on the wing...
"He is still missing connections but that will come with training and matches, he has only just arrived but we have to give him time."
The Argentine coach then heaped praise on Llorente, who also added an assist for Koke's goal from right-back.
Simeone added his fine form will boost competition with fellow right-back Nahuel Molina, saying: "I am very happy to see that after one or two years looking for an important place for a player with his characteristics, we have found a spot for him.
"This calls for Molina to improve, to show the World Cup and Copa America winner he is.
"We need competition. Because Llorente will not always be able to play at the same pace and we have another great player like Molina who will do the same as Marcos in that position."
Bompastor pleased with Chelsea progress after Arsenal win
Sonia Bompastor hailed her Chelsea players for taking her ideas on board quickly following Sunday's 1-0 friendly victory over Arsenal.
New arrival Sandy Baltimore scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea overcame their London rivals at Audi Field in Chicago.
Chelsea begin their quest for a sixth straight Women's Super League crown against Aston Villa on September 20, following a period of upheaval at Stamford Bridge.
Former Lyon boss Bompastor took the reins after Emma Hayes left to take the United States job and has overseen two pre-season victories, with the Blues also beating Gotham FC 3-1 on Monday.
Though she acknowledges there is more work to do ahead of their WSL opener, Bompastor believes her new players have already made plenty of progress.
"What I take from the game is that we worked really hard as a team and even if we had difficult moments, we were able to manage them," Bompastor said.
"This is a good team spirit and I like that. Of course, the result was good even if we know we still need to work. These have been two good games for us to build on and to progress.
"We are in the beginning. It's not even been one month working with the team and it takes time to make sure all the girls understand our game model and the expectations I have of them on the field.
"I'm really happy. I think what we have wanted to work on since the beginning has been about the team spirit and from the two games we've played you can see we are playing like a team together, even when we have hard moments in games.
"From these two games, we will be working, progressing and reinforcing the messages on the game model.
"I'm already happy with the girls, their performance and what they're achieving on the field."
Conte sees Bologna win as a turning point for Napoli
Antonio Conte believes he witnessed a turning point for his Napoli side as they strolled to a 3-0 win over Bologna in their Serie A home opener on Sunday.
Napoli were trounced 3-0 at Verona in Conte's first league game at the helm last week, but they bounced back with a comfortable win over the Rossoblu on Sunday.
The Partenopei's victory was their first on home soil without conceding since they beat Sassuolo 2-0 in August 2023, and Conte feels it was an important moment in his team's development.
"Today we had a great responsibility, that of giving a great response after the second half in Verona," Conte told reporters.
"I had no doubts, these guys are good guys. I see them working... and I got important answers.
"These are three points that are the start of our journey, my first three points as Napoli coach.
"I was emotional, I really cared about it. It's a starting point, we know that we have a journey to make.
"We have to gain confidence and continue to give this sense of unity that we felt today. This makes me happy, we hadn't won for a long time and we did it against an important opponent. Now let's think about Parma."
Napoli had gone eight league games without a victory prior to Sunday's match, with their previous win coming by a 2-1 scoreline against Juventus in March.
Winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia contributed a goal and an assist, and he feels having Conte at the helm is close to a guarantee of success, saying: "I really wanted to get on the pitch and give my contribution to the cause to bring home a very important win.
"I am a footballer who always wants to learn new things, to acquire useful notions to continue my path of growth.
"Having Conte on the bench is certainly a guarantee. Let's hope we can take great satisfaction throughout the whole championship."
Atletico Madrid 3-0 Girona: Simeone's side seal first victory of LaLiga season
Marcos Llorente scored a fine individual effort as Atletico Madrid claimed their first LaLiga victory of the season with a 3-0 win over Girona.
Antoine Griezmann and substitute Koke were also on target for Diego Simeone's side at Estadio Civitas Metropolitano.
Atletico, who handed a debut to new signing Conor Gallagher later on, broke the deadlock six minutes before half-time.
Griezmann stepped up and drilled a fierce 18-yard free-kick beyond Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who had been penalised for handball just outside his own penalty area.
Gazzaniga was helpless again within three minutes of the restart, as Llorente embarked on a powerful solo run from just inside his own half, before rifling into the roof of the net from 20 yards.
And Los Rojiblancos sealed the victory in stoppage time following a swift counter that culminated in Llorente crossing for Koke to volley home.
Data Debrief: Griezmann picks up where Suarez left off
Since the 2015-16 season, Atletico have scored 10 goals directly from free-kicks in all competitions, with Griezmann scoring nine of those.
His effort today was the first such goal by a Los Rojiblancos player since Luis Suarez against Cadiz back in January 2021.
Griezmann also continued his personal scourge of Girona. Indeed, that was the midfielder's fifth goal against them in LaLiga (equalling Borja Iglesias), with no player registering more.
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