Carlo Ancelotti has conferred the Champions League favourites tag upon Manchester City but the Real Madrid head coach insisted there may be some “surprises at the end”.

The most successful side in Europe’s premier club competition with 14 wins, including lifting the trophy five times in the last decade, Madrid are often tipped to progress into the latter stages at the outset.

But Real, who open their Group C campaign on Wednesday against Union Berlin at the Bernabeu, were eliminated in ruthless fashion at the semi-final stage by Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning City side in May.

It is the Premier League giants that have a target on their backs, according to Ancelotti, who nevertheless intimated no team can ever take anything for granted.

“City are favourites because they have a squad that saw them win it last season and they haven’t changed much,” Ancelotti told a press conference.

“However, in the Champions League, like always, there are surprises at the end.

“Real Madrid are a team that are going to fight until the end. We never think of ourselves as favourites, just as I think City don’t.

“But they won it last year, they can win the Champions League. You could say they are the favourites.”

Luka Modric has started only once in this campaign and Toni Kroos just twice, with Ancelotti favouring younger options such as Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni in the middle of the park.

Ancelotti acknowledged Modric, the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner and widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of his era, is adjusting to less playing time but the Croatian will feature on Wednesday.

“He’s fine, I speak to him every day like I do with all the players,” Ancelotti said. “It’s a personal relationship that we have.

“The fact that he is not playing as much as he used to can sometimes affect him a bit. But that doesn’t affect the personal relationship, which is still fantastic and will continue to be fantastic. He’s going to play (against Union).”

Lucas Vazquez will replace the injured Dani Carvajal at full-back for Madrid, who face an unknown quantity having never before played against Union.

The Bundesliga side, who finished fourth in the division last season, are the dark horses in a group also containing Serie A champions Napoli and Portuguese outfit Braga.

A trip to the Spanish capital to take on the Champions League’s most prolific side represents a daunting challenge for Union, who are in the competition for the first time in their history.

“They’re a new team in the Champions League but the fact they’re here means they’ve done very well,” Ancelotti added.

“They’re well-organised defensively, they’re solid and they play with intensity. We’ve studied them carefully and hopefully we can put in a good performance. We will need to play at a high intensity.

“We’re ready, like last year. The Champions League is a special competition for us. We’re going to treat the game as something special. We want to get off to a good start.”

Joselu made another telling contribution to help Real Madrid continue their perfect start to the new LaLiga season with a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad.

Espanyol loanee Joselu scored in Madrid’s last-gasp victory over Getafe before the international break a fortnight ago and produced the winner on this occasion to make it five wins from five for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Ander Barrenetxea had put Sociedad in front after five minutes but Federico Valverde produced a long-rang special straight after half-time before Joselu’s header on the hour mark clinched all three points for Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu.

Jude Bellingham received the acclaim of the home crowd before kick-off when he was awarded the LaLiga player of the month for August following a stunning start to life in the Spanish capital.

Sociedad silenced the Bernabeu faithful in the fifth minute when Barrenetxea eventually applied the finishing touch to a slick move by the visitors.

After building up play from the back, Kieran Tierney passed into Take Kubo, who crossed in for Barrenetxea and, despite Madrid’s on-loan goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga saving the first effort of the Sociedad attacker, Barrenetxea was first to the rebound to force the ball over the line.

Kubo continued to impress against his old club Madrid and ended a fine first half for the away side with a cheeky nutmeg on Toni Kroos.

The Madrid supporters were on their feet straight after the interval when Valverde sidefooted home from the edge of the area.

It took Ancelotti’s team only 40 seconds of the second half to level when he rifled into the corner after being teed up by Fran Garcia.

Garcia was also the creator in chief for what proved the winner in the 60th minute.

Left-back Garcia was given too much space out wide and clipped in a superb delivery for the unmarked Joselu to head in from six yards for the Spanish veteran’s second goal of the season.

Ancelotti brought off the forward two minutes later with Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga introduced and they helped Madrid hold on to secure a fifth straight LaLiga victory this season, but only after Bellingham was denied another goal when his late diving header was stopped by Alex Remiro.

Madrid now turn their attention to the Champions League, which resumes in midweek and the 14-time European Cup winners begin their campaign with a home fixture against Union Berlin on Wednesday.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has praised the “consistency” of Jude Bellingham’s recent performances ahead of his side’s clash with Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Madrid have won all four of their league games so far this season, including a 2-1 win over Getafe last time out in their first game back at the Bernabeu, where Bellingham netted a stoppage-time winner.

The 20-year-old has scored five times in those opening games and his streak continued into the international break where he also netted in England’s 3-1 friendly win over Scotland.

Ancelotti has spoken highly of Bellingham following the bright start to his Real Madrid career and thinks he will remain grounded, despite the increased attention.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference, Ancelotti said: “He’s evaluated by what he does on the pitch and he’s doing well.

“He wasn’t widely known because he played in the German league and he didn’t have the role he has now. He’s playing in an important league and at an important club. He’s doing very well and I’m not surprised.

“He’s very serious, focused and professional. I don’t think he’s the type of player who will let it go to his head if someone praises him.

“He has the ability to get to the opponent’s box early and threatening. We talked about him in pre-season and he’s good in this position. He shows consistency and he has great physical strength.

“I don’t know how many goals he can score, but he has to maintain this consistency because he helps us a lot in our attacking play.”

Los Blancos are preparing for two games in a week for the first time this season, welcoming Real Sociedad before they kick-start their Champions League campaign with the visit of German side Union Berlin, who are making their debut in the competition.

Ancelotti admitted he may have to rotate some players over both games to ensure they remain fit.

He continued: “Tomorrow’s game is an important one against tough opposition.

“We’ve got a lot of games and I’m going to rotate a bit more compared to when we played one game a week. Everyone is going to be involved.

“For us, what is important is that we’re given time to recover properly. That’s enough. The internationals have returned in good shape and with more desire and enthusiasm after scoring goals and playing well in matches. They’ve come back in good condition.”

Vinicius Jr has been absent for Real Madrid since the second game of the season as he recovers from a hamstring injury suffered in their victory over Almeria in August.

Ancelotti does not know when he will get the playmaker back but insists he is recovering well from the problem.

“I don’t know the exact day he will be back,” Ancelotti said. “He’s recovering very well and we don’t want to force his recovery. The scar is fine and he’s increasing the workload.

“Next week he’ll do some work with the team and we’ll see. I think he’ll recover before the six weeks that were said.”

Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is defying expectations and can bring "joy and visibility" to LaLiga, according to former Spain midfielder Marcos Senna.

The England midfielder has enjoyed a blistering start to life in Madrid since joining from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth an initial €103million, which could rise to €133.9m.

Bellingham is the top scorer in LaLiga with five goals, while his stoppage-time winner against Getafe last time out made him only the third Madrid player – after Pepillo and Cristiano Ronaldo – to net on each of his first four competitive appearances for the club.

The 20-year-old's exploits have caught the eye of ex-Villarreal captain Senna, who was part of the Spain squad that won the 2008 European Championships.

Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit, Senna told Stats Perform: "He is really impressing, and the numbers are there for everyone to see. He is doing more than could have been expected. 

"For LaLiga, it is very important that players like him and others who arrive in the league continue being very competitive and visible in the world. 

"He is a player that can bring [Spanish football] joy and visibility, and he is proving it already."

The 47-year-old also spoke about former club Villarreal, where he racked up over 350 appearances during his 11-year stay, helping them reach the Champions League semi-finals in the 2005-06 season.

But the Yellow Submarine have endured a poor start to 2023-24 with three defeats in four games culminating in the departure of Quique Setien, who was replaced by Pacheta.

The former Elche and Real Valladolid boss will take charge for the first time when Villarreal welcome fellow strugglers Almeria on Sunday, but Senna is confident the club's fortunes will soon improve.

"Villarreal didn't start the season the way we wanted and now there is a change of manager," he said. "But I believe we have a lot of time to turn the situation around, and we have a group of great players. 

"It's a great club that knows what it's doing. The goal this year is to finish as high as possible in the table, among the European places, and to be the Villarreal that everyone knows."

On Pacheta, Senna added: "It's a great opportunity for him, he is a great professional. This is one of the clubs with the most expression, and he will have the opportunity [to show his methods]. We hope he does a good job and can help us."

Vinicius Junior has enjoyed a "meteoric" rise at Real Madrid but Mauro Silva believes the Brazil winger could still get better with the world "yet to see the best" from him.

The Los Blancos forward soon became a fan favourite in Madrid after scoring three times in his first five games of the 2020-21 season, following his 2018 transfer from Flamengo as a 16-year-old.

While Vinicius only managed three goals and four assists in his next 44 games for Los Blancos, the 23-year-old helped Madrid to the LaLiga and Champions League double in the 2021-22 term.

Vinicius continued to shine in the Spanish capital last campaign, contributing to 42 goals across all competitions (23G, 19A) – only Mohamed Salah (46), Kylian Mbappe (50) and Erling Haaland (61) managed more in Europe's top five leagues.

That illustrious list of regular Ballon d'Or contenders – and Europe's top marksmen – only serves to purvey the quality of Vinicius, whose progression was hailed by Silva.

"What is clear is that the evolution and the progression of Vinicius Junior in recent times has been meteoric," Silva, a former Brazilian international midfielder, told Stats Perform at the Thinking Football Summit.

"When he arrived at Madrid he was questioned a lot, there were a lot of doubts and he was able to progress, he had a great evolution.

"He is a very young player, with a great future, it is clear. I still think we are yet to see the best of Vinicius Junior.

"He is a player who, at his age, has a lot to progress, to improve on and also perhaps [develop] as a striker, because in recent games he got used to being there but improving at scoring goals is fundamental."

Silva believes Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has been key to Vinicius' development.

"You can see the confidence, you can also see Ancelotti's work when it comes to working on this footballer's self-esteem and confidence," the ex-Deportivo player added.

"But what is clear is that he has a great future and it is difficult right now to say how far he can go.

"I hope he can fight with Neymar to be among the great footballers of Brazil.

"In a team like Madrid and with the pressure they have and with the demands they have, that such a young player is capable of doing what Vinicius is doing makes us think that he could go very, very far."

Ancelotti's future at Madrid has come under regular speculation, with suggestions the Italian remains a target of the Brazilian national team – a move that Silva would welcome.

"It is clear that Ancelotti is one of the best coaches in the world. And when you are looking at a coach, I honestly don't think you have to take into account his passport or his nationality," Silva continued.

"If you think that the game model fits in Brazil, and in this case Ancelotti, the relationship he has with Brazilian soccer players, the ability to adapt that he has shown throughout his career, winning titles in all countries, well, it makes him as one of the best in the world at the moment, along with [Pep] Guardiola, with [Jurgen] Klopp.

"A coach of this level is capable of making a team like the Brazilian one, with the players they have, with the football culture that exists around them.

"Ancelotti [already] has a lot of relationships with Brazilian footballers, [he has had it] throughout his entire career, [all these things] makes us think that he could do a great job with Brazil."

The Saudi Pro League continues to edge closer to competing with Europe's elite competitions as lucrative contracts entice players who "work for money".

That was the message from Portuguese winger Fabio Martins, who switched Braga for Saudi Arabian football and plays his football for top-tier side Al Khaleej.

Martins' compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo – as well as Neymar, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson and N'Golo Kante – all followed suit with moves from Europe to the Middle East and have reaped financial rewards.

The ethics of those transfers, in a country where same-sex marriage is prohibited alongside questions over its human-rights record, have been scrutinised – but Martins understands why Europe's top talent are moving ashore.

Martins, a former Portugal youth international, told Stats Perform at the Thinking Football Summit: "I believe that all of us, players or not, work for money.

"You are a journalist and you work for money and I'm sure that if some brand or some [newspaper] came to you to give you more money to change your job, you will change it because all of us want money.

"I believe that people are free to choose what they want for their life. I'm not critical because I'm here too for sure.

"When I arrived here I came 80 per cent because of the money because they pay me much more than in Portugal, so it's a thing that I don't understand people judging the others because of his choices.

"We have freedom to choose what we want what we want for our life, and what we want for our career."

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos labelled Gabri Veiga's move to Al-Ahli as "embarrassing" after the promising Celta Vigo youngster was tempted into a Saudi Arabia move.

But Martins insists players, whether at the end of their career or the start, cannot refuse the proposals on offer in case they do not come to fruition again.

"I understand Kroos because maybe he saw a lot of potential in Veiga, and he was kind of young [but at 21] if he gets one proposal like this, you don't know if in two, three or four years [that another proposal like this will come]," Martins added.

"I said a lot of times to the people beside me, around me, that in Portugal we say [the train does not stop in the same place twice].

"You get the proposal. You don't know if the proposal will come again with these numbers, with this money, so we have a time to say yes or say no and we have to make choices.

"I believe that all the players that are here are happy.

"The people around football and out of football, they all change places, they change jobs too because of the money, so I don't understand this judgement."

A plethora of Europe's top talent from the Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga have joined the Saudi Pro League, as the Middle East look to close the gap on football's top competitions.

Martins believes the next step for the development of the Saudi Arabian top tier will come from investing in management and well-known head coaches.

He continued: "I believe the league still has a lot of potential to grow but without a doubt is getting closer to these big leagues.

"However, I think it's not in the same step yet.

"But with these kind of players arriving I think the one thing that I would invest in, if it was me with the money, is about the professionalism in the management too.

"I would bring some foreign managers to the clubs because with this level of investment, if you have good management too and not only good players, the league will grow much faster.

"With these and with a lot of sponsors and marketing, the league will grow and in three, four or five years, I think that the Saudi league will be in the level of the Premier League."

England midfielder Jude Bellingham has made a stunning start to his Real Madrid career following his £88.5million move from Borussia Dortmund in June.

The 20-year-old has hit the ground running in LaLiga and last week was named the division’s August player of the month.

Here, the PA news agency looks at Bellingham’s impact at Los Blancos, after he become only the second Real Madrid player – following Cristiano Ronaldo – to score in his first four LaLiga games for the club.

How has Bellingham played?

Birmingham-born Bellingham has netted an impressive five goals and claimed one assist in Real’s opening four matches, which has seen them take 12 points to sit top of LaLiga.

A debut goal against Athletic Bilbao was followed by a brace away at Almeria in a 3-1 victory, before he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win to Celta Vigo.

The midfielder managed to top that fine start with a stoppage-time winner against Getafe in his first Bernabeu outing as he continues to excel in an attacking role behind Joselu and Rodrygo.

What has the reaction been?

Carlo Ancelotti lauded the new Galactico, who looks set to help Real Madrid rival 2022/23 champions Barcelona at LaLiga’s summit.

The Italian has trusted Bellingham from the get-go, preferring him to the likes of Luka Modric, who has made just one league start so far this term.

Ancelotti told a press conference: “We deserved to win (against Getafe) with a goal from Bellingham who is used to scoring. Bellingham’s quality doesn’t surprise us, the number of goals surprises us.

“Bellingham can reach 15 goals this season.”

The former Birmingham player has won over the Real Madrid fans, who serenaded him after his late winner on Saturday.

He told Real Madrid TV: “It’s the loudest moment I’ve heard in a stadium.

“When they were singing ‘Hey Jude’ at the end, I got goosebumps.

“I just wanted to stand still and listen to them. My legs were shaking.”

What’s next?

Bellingham is in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming games against Ukraine and Netherlands and he looks certain to play a key part in preparations for next summer’s European Championship.

Real Madrid drew Napoli, Braga and Union Berlin in this season’s Champions League group stages which kick off on September 20 and Bellingham’s form could be instrumental if his new club are to claim a record-extending 15th European title.

England international Jude Bellingham came to Real Madrid’s rescue once again with a last-gasp winner against Getafe to maintain their perfect start to the LaLiga campaign.

The 20-year-old scored his fifth goal in four games since his £88.5million summer move from Borussia Dortmund to snatch a 2-1 victory five minutes into stoppage time at the Bernabeu.

Getafe, who did not include controversial deadline-day signing Mason Greenwood in their squad, took an 11th-minute lead through Borja Mayoral, but Real emerged with the points after Joselu levelled to hand Bellingham the role of match-winner for the second successive weekend.

Takefusa Kubo’s first-half double set Real Sociedad on their way to a thrilling 5-3 victory over Granada.

The Japan international struck either side of Robin Le Normand’s own goal before Martin Zubimendi, Ander Barrenetxea and Miki Bosch’s own goal secured the points despite late efforts from Lucas Boye and Bryan Zaragoza.

Valencia defender Cenk Ozkacar also got the better of his own keeper to hand Alaves a 1-0 win, while William Jose’s second-half strike was sufficient to secure victory by the same scoreline for Real Betis over Rayo Vallecano.

Mathys Tel came off the bench to head Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich to a 2-1 victory at Borussia Monchengladbach as England striker Harry Kane drew a blank.

Monchengladbach had taken a first-half lead through Ko Itakura, but Leroy Sane levelled after the break and Tel snatched the points with three minutes remaining.

Victor Boniface helped himself to a double as Bayer Leverkusen routed Darmstadt 5-1 to top the table on goal difference.

Oscar Wilhelmsson had restored parity after Boniface broke the deadlock. Exequiel Palacios, Boniface again, Jonas Hofmann and substitute Adam Hlozek all scored to wrap up a comprehensive win.

Chris Fuhrich and Serhou Guirassy both struck twice as Stuttgart also hit five with substitute Enzo Millot also finding the back of a net in a 5-0 mauling of Freiburg.

Marvin Ducksch’s third-minute penalty set Werder Bremen on their way to a 4-0 home win over Mainz, although they had to wait until the second half for Jens Stage, Leonardo Bittencourt and Justin Njinmah to cement the win.

John Brooks, Maximilian Beier and Robert Skov were all on target as Hoffenheim came from behind to beat Wolfsburg, who had gone ahead through Tiago Tomas, 3-1, and Takuma Asano scored both Bochum goals in a 2-2 draw at Augsburg.

Serie A champions Napoli suffered a rude awakening as Lazio’s Daichi Kamada condemned them to a shock 2-1 defeat at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Piotr Zielinksi looked to have put the home side back on track when he cancelled out Luis Alberto’s opener, but Kamada secured the points seven minutes after the break.

Former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca’s double helped to ease Atalanta into third place in in the table following a 3-0 victory over Monza at the Gewiss Stadium.

The £22.5million summer signing struck either side of half-time after midfielder Ederson had opened the scoring.

Goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Giovanni Fabbian handed Bologna a 2-1 win over Cagliari, who had gone ahead through Zito, while Udinese and Frosinone finished goalless.

Monaco went two points clear of Marseille at the top of Ligue 1 after a 3-0 win over Lens at Stade Louis II.

Wilfried Singo set them on their way with a 24th-minute header and further goals from Aleksandr Golovin and Guillermo Maripan before the hour mark eased them home.

Brest and Rennes, however, could not be separated as they fought out a 0-0 stalemate at Stade Francis-Le Ble.

Jude Bellingham’s late goal kept Real Madrid’s winning streak alive after they beat Getafe 2-1 at the Bernabeu.

The visitors took the lead in the early stages of the game through Borja Mayoral before Joselu levelled after the break.

With the game heading towards a draw, England midfielder Bellingham continued his fine start to life in the Spanish capital with a late winner on his first appearance at the Bernabeu.

The three points see Real remain top of the LaLiga table regardless of the weekend’s remaining results, while Getafe drop to 13th.

Prior to the game, the Madrid members of Spain’s Women’s World Cup-winning team were welcomed onto the pitch at the newly-renovated Bernabeu with a guard of honour from both sides.

However, the hosts got off to a poor start when Getafe took the lead 11 minutes in through Mayoral.

The former Real forward capitalised on a poor back-pass to break forward and slot the ball past Kepa.

Rodrygo had a chance just minutes later, firing a shot over the bar, and Madrid were awarded a penalty in the 24th minute when Bellingham was fouled in the area, but VAR overruled the decision.

David Soria was forced to make a great save from Luka Modric’s diving header, tipping his effort over the bar. Joselu sliced an effort wide and the forward had another great opportunity to level but Soria saved again.

Joselu found the net two minutes into the second half to equalise after Getafe were unable to clear the ball and the Spain international smashed the ball home first-time.

Substitute Toni Kroos then had an excellent opportunity to double the hosts’ lead, but his shot thundered off the post and Dani Carvajal was subsequently denied by the woodwork.

Soria stepped in again to make saves from Joselu and Rodrygo, but Bellingham continued his stunning start in the Spanish capital with a last-minute winner.

The 20-year-old took advantage after Soria spilled the ball to roll it into the bottom corner, scoring his fifth league goal of the season since joining from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is “excited” to get back in front of the home fans as his side look to make it four consecutive wins when Getafe visit the Bernabeu on Saturday.

Ancelotti’s side have picked up maximum points from their opening three matches, which have all been away from home while renovations were carried out at the Bernabeu.

Madrid are the only team in LaLiga to have picked up three wins from three but will face a challenge from Getafe, who have already taken a point off Barcelona this season.

Ancelotti told a press conference: “We’re really excited to be back at the Bernabeu, it looks quite different now.

“It’s important to get back to our stadium in front of our fans after some good performances in the opening three games. We can’t wait to return and pick up the three points.”

“I’m not in the mind of the fans. I am very excited about the season.

“Every single one of us, when the season starts, we are hungry to have an incredible campaign.

“It’s happened many times in the past and could very well happen again this year.”

Madrid will be without their playmaker Vinicius Jr for the clash after he was brought off in the 18th minute of their 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo with a hamstring injury.

The 23-year-old is likely to be missing for several weeks and Ancelotti understands he will be a big miss.

He continued: “Being without Vini Jr means we lose a hugely decisive player for the next few games.

“Our approach won’t change but we’ll replace him with a player who has different attributes, so we’ll try to adapt our attacking movement.”

“We can replace Vinicius with Joselu and Brahim (Diaz). We don’t have to play with three forwards but I might well play with someone coming inside.

Despite losing Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema to Al-Ittihad and Marco Asensio to PSG, Real have reinforced their squad with other options, including Jude Bellingham, who has made a fast start to life in Spain.

The 20-year-old has scored four goals in his opening three matches, becoming the first person to do that in Real Madrid colours since Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Ancelotti thinks the fans will be happy to see Bellingham play in front of the home crowd for the first time.

He added: “The fans will be delighted to see Bellingham play live at our ground. He’s got such a strong personality, he’ll love playing at the Bernabeu.

“I’m very happy with the squad. As I said before, we did all the work we had to do early on and when the season got underway, we were all sorted.

“It’s a competitive squad because we have a mix of quality, strength, energy and experience.

“We’re in good shape, despite having some real problems, which is always the way over the course of the season.

“It’s a good squad and we can replace our injured guys without many issues.”

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has begun his recovery since undergoing surgery to repair his torn anterior cruciate ligament.

The Belgium international sustained the serious injury to his left knee in a training session and has now returned back to the Real Madrid setup to begin his first steps in rehabilitation.

Courtois took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to give supporters an update on his fitness, he said: “Thank you to everyone for the support and the energy!

“Little by little I’m taking the first steps in my recovery.”

Since the injury to Courtois, Real Madrid have signed Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on a season-long loan deal as a replacement and the Spain stopper kept a clean sheet on his debut, a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo on the weekend.

Kepa, 28, has previously spoken of his intention of making the move permanent and could compete with Courtois for the number one jersey when the Belgian returns to the fold.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr faces a spell on the sidelines after damaging a hamstring.

Vinicius came off injured after 18 minutes of Real’s 1-0 LaLiga win at Celta Vigo on Friday.

“After the tests carried out on our player Vini. Jr, by the Real Madrid medical services, (he) has been diagnosed with an injury to the right biceps femoris muscle,” read a club statement.

“His progress will be monitored.”

The 23-year-old Brazilian is set to miss Real’s final game before the international break at home to Getafe.

There also fears Vinicius could now be absent for Real’s league games against Real Sociedad and city rivals Atletico after the international break, as well as the start of their Champions League campaign next month.

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).

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has completed a season-long loan move to Real Madrid.

The 28-year-old Spain international, who joined the Blues in a £71.6million switch from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018, is contracted at the Bernabeu until June next year.

Real needed a new keeper after Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for the majority of the season with an ACL injury.

A statement on Real’s official website said: “Real Madrid CF and Chelsea FC have agreed on the loan of the player Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is linked to the club this season, until June 30, 2024.

“In his five seasons at Chelsea, he has won one Champions League, one Club World Cup, one European Super Cup and one Europa League.

“This year, he has received the award for the best save in the Premier League for the 2022-2023 season.

“Kepa is an international with the Spanish team, with which he has been proclaimed champion of the 2023 Nations League. With Spain, he also won the U19 European Championship in 2012.”

Kepa will be formally presented as a Real Madrid player on Tuesday afternoon.

His return to Spain follows the arrival of 25-year-old compatriot Robert Sanchez at Stamford Bridge.

Sanchez made a £25million switch from Brighton earlier this month and started Sunday’s 1-1 home draw with Liverpool as youngster Lucas Bergstrom provided the back-up on the bench.

Kepa has 163 Chelsea appearances under his belt and was handed the captaincy last season.

However, he has become surplus to requirements under new boss Mauricio Pochettino and will now work for a season under former Chelsea head coach Carlo Ancelotti.

A statement on the club’s official website said: “Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has completed a season-long loan move to LaLiga side Real Madrid.

“The club wish him well for the season ahead in Madrid, where he will work with former Chelsea head coach Carlo Ancelotti.”

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a serious knee injury.

The Belgium international is believed to have suffered the anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee in training and will undergo surgery in the coming days.

A statement on Real’s official club website read: “Following tests carried out on Thibaut Courtois, the player has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The player will undergo surgery in the coming days.”

The 31-year-old has made over 200 appearances for the club since joining from Chelsea in August 2018 and has been a near ever-present in the Spanish capital.

Courtois produced a man-of-the-match performance in the 2022 Champions League final when Los Blancos beat Liverpool 1-0 in Paris.

Spain international David De Gea, who was previously linked with a big-money move to the Santiago Bernabeu, could be an option for Carlo Ancelotti’s side after his contract at Manchester United expired earlier this summer.