Roy Hodgson admits every Premier League manager is looking for a player like Declan Rice to anchor their team as he prepares his Crystal Palace side to come up against the England midfielder on Monday.

The 24-year-old’s £105million move to Arsenal from West Ham last month made him one of four players in his position to have been bought for a nine-figure fee by European clubs during the last eight months, as the value placed by top sides on central midfielders has rocketed.

Rice is part of an elite group that includes World Cup-winner Enzo Fernandez and his new Chelsea team-mate Moises Caicedo – both signed by the Blues for British record fees – and England’s Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in July, with each having been signed for fees that could exceed £100m.

Hodgson’s Palace began the Premier League season with a 1-0 win at promoted Sheffield United but face a stern test when last year’s runners-up arrive at Selhurst Park, with Mikel Arteta’s side buoyed by the arrival of Rice to add steel to their midfield ahead of their return to the Champions League.

Experienced manager Hodgson said that, whilst it remains the game’s great goalscorers that command the highest fees, the importance of a deeper-lying central midfielder has been proven by English football’s most successful sides.

“I think it (central midfield) has always been big,” said Hodgson. “I don’t think it’s anything new. You will never be able to align it to centre forward because centre forwards will always be right up there as really big ones.

“It’s still Neymar and (Kylian) Mbappe that go beyond our hundred million pounds here. Harry Kane, yes he cost just over a hundred million (when he signed for Bayern Munich), but only because he was in the last year of his contract. If he’d have had a three-year contract, Tottenham would have been asking for a lot more money. They score the goals. The game is about goals.

“But I think the midfield area is an area where people within football have always understood the importance of it and the importance of getting good players in, none more so than Sir Alex (Ferguson) at Manchester United because he always had really, really top-class players in that centre of midfield, all of whom brought him trophies.

“(Rice) has got strength, he’s got energy, he understands the game very well. He gets from box to box, and when he’s in each of the boxes, he does a really good job. He knows how to defend and he also has an eye for goal, so really he’s the type of player that every person is looking for.”

Hodgson enjoyed the boost of winger Michael Olise turning down the chance to join Chelsea last week after Mauricio Pochettino’s side activated a £35m release clause.

The France Under-21 international, who Palace signed from Reading for a relatively modest £8m two years ago and has since flourished into an accomplished Premier League performer, instead opted to agree a new four-year deal to continue his development in south London.

He will be missing from Hodgson’s team to face Arsenal as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.

Yet it is Arsenal’s transfer business that occupied Hodgson’s attention ahead of Monday’s game, with Rice set to make his second Premier League start as the Gunners look to go one better and take the crown from champions Manchester City.

“It’s been an interesting development for him,” said the manager. “I’ve followed him a little bit myself through (James) Tomkins (who) told me about him many years ago. He said there’s a very good young player at West Ham, and I’ve seen that as he’s gone along.

“He’s done his apprenticeship really, coming through the ranks. He’s done his years at West Ham, each year getting better, and in the end becomes an international and clubs are (thinking) ‘who can I get who’s the best at his particular job for this role?’

“Declan Rice’s name is always going to be right up there on the top of the list, as was Bellingham of course at Real Madrid.”

The father of Spain’s World Cup final match-winner Olga Carmona has died, the defender’s club Real Madrid have announced.

The news comes just hours after Carmona scored the only goal of Sunday’s showpiece match against England in Sydney.

Carmona, who was captain for the tournament, struck in the 29th minute as Spain beat the Lionesses 1-0 at Stadium Australia to claim their first world title.

A statement from Real Madrid read: “Real Madrid, our president and our board of directors are deeply saddened by the death of the father of our player Olga Carmona.

“Real Madrid want to express our condolences and our love to Olga, her family and all her loved ones.”

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) also offered their condolences in a statement announcing the news, which read: “The @RFEF deeply regrets to report the death of Olga Carmona’s father. The soccer player learned the sad news after the World Cup final.

“We send our most sincere hugs to Olga and her family in a moment of deep pain.

“We love you, Olga, you are the history of Spanish football.”

Pep Guardiola claims the hunger shown by his Manchester City players so far this season has amazed him.

After the draining end to the treble-winning 2022-23 campaign, there were fears City could be off the pace come the start of the new term.

Any drop in energy levels, however, seems to have been more than compensated for by a strong desire and focus, even after the loss of key players.

On Saturday, City followed up their European Super Cup triumph over Sevilla in Athens three days previously by beating Newcastle to maintain their winning start in the Premier League.

“We are who we are,” said City manager Guardiola. “(There are) a lot of young players on the bench and that’s the difference – the guys who want to be here are here. The difference is always here (heart) – at the top of our bodies.

“The people respond because they see still we are there and I like it. We won already one title and we are six points from six, we’ve scored goals we don’t concede many chances.

“When you see that after what we have done, what can you say? Apart from thank you my friends, I love you so much.

“When you have that it is because a team is so special. Otherwise we cannot do what we have done for many years, it’s impossible. Saturday amazed me and made me happy.”

City have lost influential playmaker Kevin De Bruyne to an injury that could sideline him for up to five months while John Stones and Bernardo Silva were also absent at the weekend.

With Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez having left over the summer, and Aymeric Laporte another possible departure, Guardiola’s squad is taking on a different shape.

Guardiola said: “Over the next one or two months the club have to take some important decisions with the squad. We didn’t expect (the situation) with Kevin and we didn’t expect with Riyad.”

Son Heung-min says Dele Alli will always be part of the family and hopes his former Tottenham team-mate will not “have tough times anymore” as he looks to kick-start his career.

Things have gone awry for the 27-year-old since he helped Spurs reach the 2019 Champions League final, with the England international failing to make an impact at Everton after moving there in January 2022.

Alli recently revealed he had considered hanging up his boots in an emotional interview that saw him talk about how he was “molested” as a six-year-old and dealing drugs aged eight.

The attacking midfielder also spoke about alcohol problems, sleeping-pill addiction and addressing his mental-health issues by spending six weeks in a rehab clinic – situations he kept away from many of his nearest and dearest.

The football world has thrown its support behind Alli and he was warmly greeted at Tottenham on Saturday as he watched their 2-0 win against Manchester United, where the former Spur caught up with many of his former team-mates afterwards.

“Dele was always close, as a friend with me,” the recently appointed Tottenham skipper said.

“It was a really tough moment for him and obviously I’m always there to support him because he’s one of my closest friends.

“Christian (Eriksen), as well today. Yeah, it’s just old team-mates but I think this relationship (with Dele) is very special.

“He helped me a lot settling down in the UK when I was struggling. He was helping me a lot and is still a good friend of mine.

“It’s always good to see him and any time if he needs anything, any second, I will be always there for him. I don’t want him to have tough times anymore.”

Put to Son that it would be great if Alli could get his career back on track, he said: “We will always support him.

“Obviously it’s up to him now because he has to recover well, get fit and play well because his quality is not in doubt because he has been showing in the Premier League what he can do.

“Look, I’m always supporting him, like a member of family.”

Mauricio Pochettino is confident Chelsea will improve quickly despite an alarming 3-1 defeat at 10-man West Ham.

The Blues were the better side but James Ward-Prowse, making his Hammers debut, created goals for Nayef Aguerd and Michail Antonio, either side of Carney Chukwuemeka’s equaliser.

Enzo Fernandez had a penalty saved by Alphonse Areola and West Ham had to play the final 25 minutes a player down after Aguerd saw red.

Yet not only did David Moyes’ side cling on for a first win of the season, they wrapped it up in stoppage time.

While Chelsea’s £105million player missed a spot-kick, their £115million signing gave one away with Moises Caicedo, on as a substitute, sending Emerson Palmieri tumbling and Lucas Paqueta converting the spot-kick.

“I think today the result doesn’t reflect the performance but in football these situations happen,” said Pochettino.

“I am disappointed in the way we conceded the first goal. We know West Ham are good at set-pieces. That is a little bit disappointing and we need to work hard on that.

“Then I think also did really well in the first half and we should have been winning at half-time.

“But that is the process. We need to accept the defeat and keep on working.

“If we score the penalty we miss you are talking about a different game. We are going to perform better in the next games.”

Ward-Prowse was brought in to replace Declan Rice in West Ham’s midfield but he offers plenty more in attack.

His seventh-minute corner found Aguerd at the far post, and his clever ball over the top sent Antonio through on goal.

“His character is, in lots of ways, similar to Declan Rice,” said manager Moyes.

“He’s a really good boy. His delivery, his assists, that’s what he’s capable of and I thought he did a great job today. His corner gave us a great start.”

Paqueta was in the West Ham line-up despite being reportedly investigated by the Football Association for potential betting rule breaches.

The Brazil midfielder is said to be shocked by the probe, which is believed to centre around bets placed in his homeland on yellow cards awarded against him.

A move to Manchester City may have fallen through so the 25-year-old celebrated his goal with the ‘crossed Hammers’ sign.

“I thought 65,000 people stood to their feet and applauded him,” added Moyes.

“He played as well as anybody, he showed character and his performance was very good, especially in the second half.

“There was never any doubt (he would play). He’s a solid and tough character so no problems. He’s a very good player.”

The Viaplay Cup last-16 round concluded with drama at Rugby Park as Kilmarnock knocked out holders Celtic 1-0.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main talking points from the ties played over the weekend.

Shock defeat for Celtic

Kilmarnock defied the odds to beat holders Celtic 1-0 in the last 16 as Marley Watkins’ second-half goal set up a quarter-final clash with Hearts at Rugby Park. For Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers, it was his first domestic cup defeat in Scotland in 25 games and came as a shock to those who have watched them dominate Scottish football.

Hearts display their depth

Some Hearts fans were wary of how their team would cope in a relatively low-key fixture at home to Partick so soon after the euphoria of their thrilling Europa Conference League win over Rosenborg. The Jambos made six changes to the XI that started on Thursday but still made light work of their Championship visitors, with two of their summer signings – Odel Offiah and Kyosuke Tagawa – grabbing their first goals for the club and another in Alex Lowry making a big impact. The Jambos look spoilt for choice in most departments, but particularly in attack.

Hibs show they can handle Sunday service

Hibernian were heavily criticised for poor displays in their opening two cinch Premiership matches, both of which came on Sundays after Thursday night Europa Conference League qualifiers. Given they were facing Raith Rovers in the Viaplay Cup on the back of another gruelling European tie away to Luzern, many – including their own supporters – felt Lee Johnson’s inconsistent side might struggle to rouse themselves for the visit of the Championship side. They were made to work for a 2-1 win, but the fact Hibs secured their place in the last eight on the back of progressing in Europe will do wonders for confidence levels ahead of this week’s play-off showdown with Aston Villa and their former hero, John McGinn.

Not as easy for much-changed Rangers

With one eye on Tuesday night’s Champions League play-off game against PSV Eindhoven at Ibrox, Michael Beale made eight changes for the visit of Championship side Morton on Saturday. It was not an easy afternoon for the Light Blues, who fell behind to a 52nd-minute penalty from Grant Gillespie following a VAR check. However, Cyriel Dessers levelled from the spot on the hour, also following VAR intervention, before substitute Danilo ensured a place in the quarter-final draw when he beat Morton goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald.

Maybe VAR is not that bad after all

Several managers have expressed frustration with how video technology has been utilised in Scotland, but Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell was left counting the cost of its absence during his side’s 1-0 defeat by St Mirren. Kettlewell felt his side were denied a stonewall penalty for handball by former Well striker Mikael Mandron and claimed another former Fir Park player, Charles Dunne, should have been sent off by Willie Collum for a foul that left Mika Biereth with a knee injury. Kettlewell said: “I’m not throwing Willie under the bus, he’s one of our top officials, and rightfully so, but I asked the question about the penalty at half-time and he says ‘we have no VAR’. But I was on the understanding that if we didn’t have VAR, then the referee referees the game, like we were told it was only going to be an aid to help referees get more correct decisions.”

James Ward-Prowse set up two goals on his West Ham debut and Lucas Paqueta scored a late penalty as the 10-man Hammers somehow secured a 3-1 win over Chelsea.

Ward-Prowse, the £30million signing from Southampton, created goals for Nayef Aguerd and Michail Antonio, either side Carney Chukwuemeka’s equaliser.

But Mauricio Pochettino’s expensively-assembled side will wonder how on earth they came away from the London Stadium empty-handed.

Enzo Fernandez missed a penalty and West Ham had to play the final 25 minutes a player down after Aguerd saw red.

Yet not only did David Moyes’ side cling on for a first win of the season, they wrapped it up in stoppage time with Paqueta’s spot-kick.

Ward-Prowse is renowned for his ability from set-pieces but surely not even Moyes could have expected such an immediate impact.

Seven minutes in and from his second corner in a claret and blue shirt, Ward-Prowse swung in a cross which Aguerd nodded in unmarked at the far post.

Chelsea have now conceded a goal in each of their last 13 matches, their worst run since 1996.

But they were making inroads at the other end with Nicolas Jackson eager to get in behind West Ham’s back line.

One such run and cut-back was hacked away but when Ben Chilwell drove back in to the area, his cross was cleared by Kurt Zouma only as far as Chukwuemeka.

The 19-year-old steadied himself before lashing the loose ball past Alphonse Areola for his first Chelsea goal.

Paqueta was in the West Ham line-up despite being reportedly investigated by the Football Association for potential betting rule breaches.

The Brazil midfielder is said to be shocked by the probe, which is believed to centre around bets placed in his homeland on yellow cards awarded against him.

Paqueta did pick up a first-half booking for dissent after complaining about the award of a corner, but moments later he was inches away from scoring, dragging the ball down in a crowded penalty area only to clip a post.

Chelsea were gifted the chance to go ahead before half-time after Tomas Soucek tripped Raheem Sterling in the area, but Fernandez’s penalty was saved by Areola.

Instead Antonio fired West Ham back into the lead eight minutes into the second half when he raced on to Ward-Prowse’s cute ball over the top.

Pochettino turned to Chelsea’s latest record signing, Moises Caicedo, for his debut on the hour mark, the Ecuadorian immediately sending a long-range shot wide.

West Ham were then reduced to 10 in the 68th minute after Aguerd was shown a second yellow card for needlessly fouling Jackson.

But Chelsea, it seemed, had run out of ideas and could only muster a deflected Noni Madueke shot which was tipped wide by Areola.

And the away fans left en masse even before Paqueta rubber-stamped the victory from the spot after Caicedo fouled Emerson Palmieri.

Hibernian assistant manager Adam Owen insists the team will relish the challenge of trying to defy the odds in Wednesday’s glamour European clash with Aston Villa.

After seeing off Raith Rovers in a hard-fought 2-1 Viaplay Cup last-16 tie on Sunday, Hibs can now turn their full attention to their Europa Conference League play-off first leg against their English top-flight counterparts.

Former Hibs favourite John McGinn’s return to Easter Road as Villa captain is also an exciting sub-plot to the game and Owen insists the Leith side are looking forward to the battle.

He said: “The anticipation of the game has probably been bubbling around outside the club rather than in the club.

“We have been going from one place to another, travelling, playing, recovering, travelling, playing, recovering. You don’t really think about it until it’s your next game.

“We go in with an underdog mentality. I’ve always quite enjoyed that, to be honest with you.

“From where we are the lads are looking forward to it, the staff are looking forward to it.

“We will be well prepared and we are really pleased we managed to get through this one without extra time with the squad rotation being a big part of that. Everyone is looking forward to it.”

Asked specifically about Scotland international McGinn, Owen said: “Obviously ex-players’ names are going to be brought up but they have a fantastic squad of players so we’re fully aware of the challenge it brings.”

Hibs made hard work of overcoming Raith to reach the quarter-finals. Following a nondescript first half Elie Youan powered home a header from Joe Newell’s corner before Callum Smith levelled for the visitors.

But Dylan Vente scored the winner in the 69th minute after climbing off the bench.

The Dutchman, however, was forced off in stoppage time with a bloodied nose after being caught by a high boot from Liam Dick, which earned the Raith defender a red card.

Raith manager Ian Murray was pleased with how his team performed despite the result.

He said: “I was very happy, I thought we played really well at times in the game, particularly after the first 10 minutes.

“Hibs had all the ball and then we pretty much controlled the second half, I felt, in terms of our passing.

“I said to the players before the game, the result will take care of itself, we just want to come here and play well and show everybody how good we can be as individuals and as a team. I thought we did that.”

Aston Villa bounced back from their heavy opening-day Premier League defeat by cantering to a 4-0 home win against Everton.

Captain John McGinn and Douglas Luiz’s penalty gave Villa a 2-0 lead at the break and after second-half efforts from Leon Bailey and substitute John Duran, Unai Emery’s side put last week’s 5-1 loss at Newcastle behind them.

It was all too easy for Villa as they cashed in on some wayward Everton defending, which prompted half of their fans to leave Villa Park long before the final whistle.

Everton have lost their opening two games for the second successive season and their cause was not helped by the first-half withdrawal of the luckless Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The England striker, who scored only two goals last season after being dogged by injury, failed to recover from an early clash of heads with Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez and was eventually forced off in the 38th minute.

Villa were without key players Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia (both knee) and Jacob Ramsey (foot) due to long-term injury, but midway through the first half they had established a comfortable lead.

McGinn fired them in front in the 18th minute, volleying home Bailey’s cut-back after the latter had wriggled his way to the byline.

Villa doubled their lead from the penalty spot in the 24th minute after VAR ruled Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had taken out Ollie Watkins with a flailing arm.

Watkins’ had moments earlier seen his shot cleared off the goal-line, while Pickford, making his 250th Premier League appearance, was booked for delaying the spot-kick, which was coolly dispatched by Douglas Luiz.

England’s number one went some way to redeeming himself soon after when turning Moussa Diaby’s goal-bound volley on to a post.

Everton troubled Martinez for the only time before the interval when a low, angled shot from Calvert-Lewin’s replacement, summer signing Arnaut Danjuma, forced the Argentinian into a near-post save.

The visitors were forced into another change soon after the restart when Alex Iwobi hobbled off and was replaced by Neal Mapauy.

It got worse for Everton in the 51st minute when Villa put the result beyond doubt. Bailey pounced after Everton defender Michael Keane had miscontrolled a throw-in into the box and fired home a low shot under Pickford.

Watkins went close to adding a fourth when his angled effort rolled inches wide before Martinez superbly blocked Maupay’s close-range effort at the other end following a corner.

Keane was caught out again in the build-up to Villa’s fourth, miskicking from former Villa defender Ashley Young’s throw-in and Duran ran clear to bury his first goal for the club, less than a minute after stepping off the bench to replace Watkins.

England boss Sarina Wiegman felt the Lionesses exhausted every effort to win their first Women’s World Cup final despite coming up just short with a 1-0 loss to Spain in Sydney.

The Dutch boss, who led England to their first major trophy at last summer’s European Championship, finds herself with a silver medal in two consecutive attempts after steering 2019 runners-up the Netherlands to the title-decider four years ago in France.

Second place is still a best-ever finish for the Lionesses in a global showpiece, beating their bronze medal from 2015, but the three-time FIFA Best winning coach knows from experience it may take some time before the sting subsides.

Wiegman, who reiterated her commitment to remaining in England on multiple occasions this week, said: “That’s hard to take now, and of course we did everything, we gave everything, we’ve overcome lots of challenges and today we did everything we could to win.

“It feels really bad, of course, and very disappointed, but still very proud of the team.

“I’m just hurt about this moment. Losing a game and in a final, when you’re in a final you want to win it. I guess you mean because it’s a second final, I don’t see it (like that), this was a different game, a different team.

“I was totally convinced before the game that it would be a very tight game but we were confident that we were able to win it. I hope in the future I get a new moment with the team I work with, that would be amazing, because it’s very special to play finals.”

Lauren Hemp came inches away from scoring an opener with a first-half attempt that clipped the crossbar, and it remained England’s best chance of the contest.

Spain took a 1-0 lead when Mariona Caldentey slipped the ball to the onrushing Olga Carmona, who finished past Mary Earps with a left-footed effort into the bottom right corner after 29 minutes.

Wiegman initially employed the 3-5-2 shape that had been so successful in England’s 6-1 victory over China, but reverted to a 4-3-3 in the second half, when she brought in Lauren James – available for the first time following her two-match ban – and Chloe Kelly after the break.

Spain could have doubled their advantage in the second half when Keira Walsh was punished for a handball inside the penalty area following a lengthy VAR check, but the competition’s Golden Glove winner Earps read Jennifer Hermoso’s spot-kick perfectly and produced a fine save to keep England in the contest.

Wiegman said: “I think we played better in the second half. We changed shape, we got momentum, we got more in their half. Then they got the penalty and when Mary saved it I thought, ‘OK, now we’re going to score a goal and get the 1-1’, but we didn’t.”

The 2027 Women’s World Cup hosts will be announced at the 74th FIFA Congress in May, while England will defend their European title in Switzerland in 2025.

First comes UEFA’s newly launched Nations League, which also serves as a qualifier for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

England, Scotland or Wales would need to reach the final to qualify as Team GB, or finish third if automatically qualified hosts France are one of the last two.

Wiegman managed the Netherlands during the postponed 2020 Tokyo Games, but was disappointed by the Covid-19-impacted experience, remarking earlier in the week that “it felt like a jail. We were stuck in a hotel.”

So rather than thinking about the next World Cup in an as-yet-undecided location, Wiegman was looking ahead to just over a month’s time when England will kick off their Nations League campaign against Scotland at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on September 22.

She added: “Four years is a little bit of a long time. We will start in September in the Nations League to try to qualify for the Olympics.

“You want to improve all the time. This team and this group of players are so eager to be successful. We want to grab every moment to be better. We hope we come back and play good games again to win.”

David Martindale has urged Livingston to learn to rein in their attacking instincts after watching them reach the quarter-finals of the Viaplay Cup.

An early goal from Joel Nouble and a second-half strike from Cristian Montaño eased the Lions past Championship hopefuls Ayr United with a 2-0 win at Almondvale.

But Martindale reckons his side should have coped better with being two goals ahead in the closing stages, when Jack Bryden passed up a gilt-edged opportunity to get Ayr back into the tie.

He wants his players to temper their natural enthusiasm when wins are within their reach.

He said: “At that point, I’m just looking for them to manage the game a little bit better than what they did.

“If I had a frustration, that’s what it would have been. I’ll speak to the boys about that on Monday morning.

“At some points, we’re away gung-ho. We’re down the left flank, we’re down the right flank and our two number sixes are away joining in on the wings. That’s just down to game management.

“But it’s down to the appetite of the players on the park and it’s kind of in our DNA and how we train and how we coach the players, in terms of the aggression and the intensity.

“But sometimes I would like them just to come off that a little bit at 2-0 and manage the game a bit better.”

Martindale also felt his players should have been more comfortable with taking their early lead.

Jason Holt’s lofted pass was flicked on brilliantly by Kurtis Guthrie and Montaño benefitted to burst to the bye-line. His pinpoint cutback was fired into the net by Nouble from eight yards out.

It was the ideal start for the Premiership hosts, who were bidding to avoid the shock defeat they suffered against Championship opponents Inverness Caley Thistle in last season’s Scottish Cup.

Ayr gave as good as they got throughout but could not find the attacking edge to get themselves back into the tie.

And Montaño sent Livi into the last-eight when he was played through on the left side of the box and shot past Robbie Mutch in the Ayr goal with the aid of a ricochet.

Martindale added: “The second goal brought a lot of confidence to us as a group and we knew at that point the game was ours to lose as long we controlled the game within our shape.”

Meanwhile, Ayr manager Lee Bullen is excited for the future for his side this season, despite the defeat.

The Honest Men defeated St Johnstone in the group stage of the tournament last month and are looking to build on last season’s runners-up spot in the Championship.

Logan Chalmers signed on loan from Dundee United ahead of kick-off and veteran winger Aidan McGeady was making his first start.

Bullen said: “It excites me, the group of players that we’re trying to put together.

“Aiden and Logan are X-factor players. When they’re fully up to speed and I get Jamie Murphy fit then there’s shoots of excitement I think.”

Jude Bellingham has made a flying start to his Real Madrid career but that comes as no surprise to Gus Poyet due to the midfielder's mentality.

Carlo Ancelotti's side saw off competition from Liverpool and a host of other European clubs to sign Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund ahead of the 2023-24 season.

The England international has soon settled into life in Spain, scoring three goals in his first two LaLiga games after Saturday's brace against Almeria.

Poyet, like many other coaches and former players, pinpointed Bellingham's mentality and told Stats Perform the former Birmingham City man was always going to go to the top.

Poyet said: "I knew Bellingham because I had an interview with Birmingham four or five years ago, before he went to Dortmund, and I watched the team obviously.

"I watched him play and I was thinking 'wow' at the potential he had at 17 or 18 years old.

"So you see the player, but then you need to meet the person, the personality, the passion, how can he handle the pressure, what he likes and what he doesn't. And I think that is what people are seeing now at Real Madrid. 

"We knew that he had the quality, we knew that he made a big impact at Borussia Dortmund, especially when you saw him at Dortmund sometimes being the captain. You think that he must be special because of this.

"The quality, everyone can see, but I think the most important quality of Bellingham is his mentality.

"He is very strong, he believes in himself, he knows what he wants. He made decisions early in his life, leaving England his comfort zone to go to Germany at that age and now, boom, he is at Real Madrid."

Bellingham, aged 20 years and 51 days, is the second-youngest player to score in his opening two LaLiga games – only behind Markel Susaeta in 2007 (who was 19 years and 275 days old).

Poyet does not foresee Bellingham slowing down any time soon either, as Madrid eye a fruitful period with one of the world's most exciting talents in their ranks.

"I think he's going to be at Real Madrid for a long, long time," Poyet added. "He is going to be very good for the club and for himself."

The 20-year-old also had an assist against Almeria. He is just the third player to be involved in four goals in his first two LaLiga outings in the 21st century, along with Wesley Sneijder (2007) and Mounir El Hamdaoui (2013).

Jurgen Klopp was delighted with Wataru Endo’s Liverpool debut in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth after admitting the new signing would have had “no clue what to do” tactically.

The Japan captain only completed his £16million move from Stuttgart on Friday and was a late addition to Liverpool’s matchday squad after his international clearance narrowly came through on time.

But the 30-year-old was thrown in at the deep end when asked to come on moments after Alexis Mac Allister was sent off just before the hour mark – even if the task was made slightly easier as Diogo Jota made it 3-1 to Liverpool as Endo was waiting to come on.

“It was a horrible first game coming in,” Klopp said. “He did absolutely all right. But he came there, he had no clue what to do. I spoke in the morning with him about how with 11 players it would look, but 4-4-1 was not involved in our conversation.

“I don’t think he slept a lot in the last two nights but he came on and threw everything he had on the pitch.”

Endo’s job was to help Liverpool shut up shop at the end of a frantic fixture, in which Antoine Semenyo had fired Bournemouth in front just three minutes in amid a terrible start from Liverpool, before Luis Diaz levelled and Mo Salah’s penalty put the hosts in front before the break.

While Endo was making a full debut quicker than expected, Saturday’s match was a first Anfield appearance for both Mac Allister and fellow summer signing Dominik Szoboszlai.

The 22-year-old Szoboszlai won the penalty when he made the most of an outstretched leg from Joe Rothwell, and it was his shot which Neto could only parry to allow Jota to make it 3-1.

“His away debut was not too bad either,” Klopp said of the £60million signing from RB Leipzig. “I had to hold him back a little bit. He was the only one who has the power for more.

“He was part of the double six, running everything, but the general performance level he showed since he was here is really, really good. And his involvement in the goal is obviously super important.

“His shooting we didn’t see properly yet but we will probably see more in the future. Macca’s home debut was impressive as well, it just wasn’t as long.”

The win takes Liverpool to four points from their opening two fixtures after last Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea.

“I think it’s the minimum we should expect from these two games,” Klopp said. “When we look at the games we don’t say where we should win or lose but when you start at Chelsea I don’t think anybody goes there and books the points in, ‘OK we have them already’.

“Of course against Bournemouth, our first home game, we want to win. It’s an OK start. If we wouldn’t have won we would think differently.”

Bournemouth goalscorer Semenyo was the one change Andoni Iraola made to his starting line-up and the January signing from Bristol City suggested he is fully over the shin surgery he had at the end of last season with a strong display.

“He was really good (last week against West Ham) when he came in and gave us a lot of energy for 20 minutes,” Iraola said. “He has been training well and here he has scored. He finished really tired like a lot of players did but it’s good news.

“I think he can play both wings and as a number nine. He is physically powerful and we need this.”

Julian Alvarez’s fine first-half strike handed Manchester City a hard-fought 1-0 win over Newcastle in their first home match since winning the treble on Saturday.

The World Cup winner curled a shot into the top corner after 31 minutes of a tight Premier League encounter at the Etihad Stadium and it proved enough for the champions to claim all three points.

Newcastle, buoyed by thrashing Aston Villa 5-1 in their season opener last week, had travelled in hope of claiming their first league win at City for almost 23 years.

Yet the hosts, despite making just two changes following their draining European Super Cup venture in Athens in midweek, were too strong and successfully nullified Eddie Howe’s side.

Pep Guardiola’s men were far from their fluid best, but they produced a professional performance to follow up their opening win at Burnley and in Alvarez and Phil Foden they had the brightest players on the pitch.

Newcastle fought to the end but it ultimately proved a frustrating night for the visitors, who had five players booked.

City started slowly but began to step up the pressure midway through the first half and threatened for the first time when Manuel Akanji curled a long-range attempt over.

Alvarez then whipped in a low cross but failed to find Erling Haaland before Mateo Kovacic and Foden both had efforts blocked.

Foden grew into the game and was a lively presence, having stepped into the playmaking void left by long-term injury victim Kevin De Bruyne.

Foden was instrumental in City’s goal, finding space and darting into the area before pulling back for Alvarez.

The Argentinian then did the rest, picking his spot from the edge of the area and firing a shot beyond Nick Pope.

Foden threatened to seize control of the game and was crudely pushed over by Sandro Tonali after another dangerous run. He then slipped Haaland in on goal but the Norwegian’s low shot rolled narrowly wide of the far post.

Haaland was close again early in the second half, first after holding off Sven Botman to shoot at Pope and then mishitting another shot wide, again from a Foden pass.

City’s failure to kill off the game allowed Newcastle to come back into it in the closing stages.

Harvey Barnes was presented with a good chance after a rare misplaced pass by Rodri, but he shot straight at Ederson from distance.

Miguel Almiron also had a powerful effort blocked but City continually got numbers back and remained dangerous on the counter-attack.

Both Foden and Rodri led late raids from deep, but neither could set Haaland free for the goal that would have sealed it.

In the end, Alvarez’s strike was sufficient and City, who began the evening parading last season’s silverware, could celebrate a job well done.

Erik ten Hag cut a frustrated figure after Manchester United suffered a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham and insisted their wasteful display showed why Rasmus Hojlund was signed.

The Red Devils went down in the capital on Saturday night after Pape Sarr slid home the opener in the 49th minute before Lisandro Martinez deflected the ball into his own net late on.

United could have easily been ahead by this point with Marcus Rashford denied by Guglielmo Vicario and Bruno Fernandes heading wide from six yards, while Antony curled against the post minutes after Sarr’s goal.

Tottenham did also create plenty of opportunities in the first half but stepped up their display after the break to earn new head coach Ange Postecoglou a maiden Premier League win.

It left United to reflect on what might have been and Ten Hag, who watched them claim a nervy 1-0 win over Wolves on Monday, pointed to injured £64million forward Hojlund as a reason for optimism.

“You have seen today, the performance first half (was) very good, but you have to understand you have to score a goal,” he insisted.

“Because of the meaning of the first goal, players have to take responsibility. Focus, passion and desire in this moment to keep the overview and score the first goal.

“It’s about belief and we believe these players because of last year as well. They can score goals.

“But it is obvious why we signed a striker. If everything goes well, (Anthony) Martial is on (his) way back, Hojlund is coming, so we have more players capable to score a goal, but also the players on the pitch, they can score goals.”

Hojlund, who joined from Atalanta in a deal that could rise to £72million, is currently absent with a back injury and missed the Spurs clash.

Ten Hag named two goalkeepers on the bench with Harry Maguire out with a minor injury and Brandon Williams and Donny van de Beek also not considered due to the futures of the trio being uncertain.

He added: “Yesterday in final training, H (Maguire) was out with a small issue. So after September 1 everything can change, but we need players who are totally with their heads in our team.

“I won’t say the players you mention, they are not, but it’s also obvious that in this moment they are looking for something else.

“But when they are here they always do their best, every training (session).”

While United, playing under the cloud of continued talk about Mason Greenwood’s future, will go back to the drawing board ahead of Nottingham Forest’s visit next weekend, Spurs fans are back on cloud nine.

It has been a difficult 2023 with a disastrous March extending the club’s trophy drought and record goalscorer Harry Kane leaving to join Bayern Munich earlier this month.

A protest with hundreds of Spurs fans occurred before kick-off, arranged by the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, over the club’s decision to increase matchday ticket prices for this season, but there was a lively atmosphere inside the stadium.

Postecoglou credited the home crowd for helping his young, new-look team navigate their way through some nervy opening stages, but they delivered a superb display after with Sarr firing home from Dejan Kulusevski’s cross before Ben Davies’ scuffed effort was diverted past Andre Onana by Martinez.

“The atmosphere was incredible. Our supporters were outstanding. The energy they created in the stadium right from the first whistle was brilliant and it helped us. In the first half we just looked a bit nervous,” Postecoglou said before he reflected on taking everything in post-match.

“But we got them in at half-time and settled them down a little bit. Then I thought the boys were brilliant.

“You want to win and that gives everyone the joy they need but I felt the manner in which we played, it’s a great starting point so when the final whistle goes from my perspective that’s a fantastic fertile ground for me to get going.

“You want to feel that moment because I have always said, to me I love what football does to people, particularly in those moments.

“So, you kind of take a moment to think about the 60,000 here or the ones who were watching at home because they will be smiling for the rest of the week.

“I love that it does that, the game. For me that moment is just about appreciating I am pretty blessed to be doing what I am doing, being in the middle of a stadium leading a fantastic football club and then you start to think about next week, mate.”