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• Ancelotti lauds 'unique' Endrick after Champions League debut

  Carlo Ancelotti hailed Endrick's display in Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Stuttgart in the Champions League, saying he has unique gifts that set him apart. 

  Endrick emerged from the bench to notch Madrid's final goal of a nervy encounter, striking from distance and beating Alexander Nubel in the bottom corner. 

  The Brazilian's effort saw him become the youngest South American player to score on his Champions League debut, aged 18 years and 58 days.

  Endrick is also the youngest to score on his Los Blancos debut in the competition, overtaking Javier Portillo in 2002 (19 years, 355 days).

  "He is able to do things that no-one can think of," Ancelotti said. 

  "He has the gift that strikers dream of, the gift of being very effective, decisive.

  "You can see that he has something special, something I have never seen. And he has such a strong and very fast shooting.

  "Endrick had courage because it was the last ball of the game.

  "The best solution was to take advantage of the three against one, with Vinicius and Rodrygo open in the wings, but he did it very well, even though it was perhaps the most complicated solution."

  But the reigning champions did not have it all their own way at the Santiago Bernabeu, with their German opposition creating several opportunities on the night. 

  Stuttgart ended the match with 17 shots, seven of which were on target, while also producing an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.94 compared to Madrid's 2.61. 

  However, they were thwarted by the hands of Thibaut Courtois, with the Belgian making six saves throughout the contest. 

  Ancelotti was pleased with his side's start to the defence of their European crown, but said improvements were needed if they were to secure a 16th Champions League title. 

  "If anyone thinks that winning games is easy, they are wrong," Ancelotti said. 

  “I have coached more than 200 games in the Champions League and I can't remember a game without suffering.

  "Nobody knows better than Real Madrid what it's like to win a Champions League with suffering.

  "We are still trying to find our best version. It's a work in progress." 

• Kane believes Bayern can improve further after nine-goal Zagreb rout

  Harry Kane insisted Bayern Munich have further room for improvement after scoring four goals in their record-breaking 9-2 Champions League rout of Dinamo Zagreb.

  Kane netted four times – including three from the penalty spot – as records tumbled in the Bavarian giants' first European outing under new boss Vincent Kompany.

  Tuesday's four-goal haul took Kane to 33 Champions League goals, surpassing Wayne Rooney (30) as the top-scoring Englishman in the history of the competition.

  It was the 24th hat-trick of Kane's professional career for club and country, while he became the first player to ever score three penalties in a single European Cup/Champions League game.

  Bayern, meanwhile, are the first team to ever score nine times in a Champions League match, with Real Madrid being the last side to do so in the old European Cup in 1990 (9-1 versus Wacker Innsbruck).

  Kane, however, told DAZN there are areas in which Bayern must improve, having been joined on the scoresheet by Michael Olise (twice), Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka.

  "It was an amazing game. The first half was really good, we took our chances," the England captain said.

  "We didn't start the second half well and got caught from a couple of second balls. We'll have to learn from that. 

  "Today we got away with that bad start in the second half, but against top opposition we could get punished for that.

  "But the reaction afterwards was really good. It's great to score all these goals."

   

  The only blot on Bayern's victory – which took them to the top of the Champions League's new 36-team league table – came as Manuel Neuer was substituted at half-time.

  The goalkeeper had earlier appeared to be in discomfort after colliding with Zagreb striker Bruno Petkovic, but he played down concerns over his condition after the match.

  Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone, Neuer said: "I collied there and I was a bit gone. 

  "Then I hit a few balls and the pain stabbed me in the thigh. But it's nothing serious, a small matter."

• Inzaghi focused on revamped Champions League, not 2023 final 'rematch' with Man City

  Simone Inzaghi is not treating Inter's Champions League opener at Manchester City on Wednesday as a rematch of last year's final.

  The Scudetto winners were beaten 1-0 by Pep Guardiola's side in the 2023 final, as Rodri's finish in Istanbul proved the difference.

  Inzaghi is adamant that changes to the Champions League format and the fact that there is much less riding on the result make it very different to their previous encounter.

  "Tomorrow starts a new Champions League, that will be very different," the Inter head coach told a press conference on Tuesday.

  "I re-watched [the final] a month ago when we were in training camp. I don't think it's a rematch because it's not a final, it's a group game in the new Champions League format."

  Inzaghi was enthusiastic about the changes to the format, with clubs playing eight matches in a 36-team league phase instead of the previous group stage.

  But he said he was also aware of the burden on players from the amount of games they will now play after Man City midfielder Rodri said players were on the verge of going on strike.

  "We know that you play a lot and we coaches are aware of that. I can say that preparing these games for a coach is beautiful and exciting," Inzaghi added.

  "I know there are problems, but we are counting on getting through. I will have to alternate as many players as possible, we are without [Federico] Dimarco and [Marko] Arnautovic, but we have been used to having a sometimes limited rotation for two years now."

  Inzaghi added that he was pushing his team to be aggressive and determined despite City having not lost at home in the competition since 2018.

  "We will need a lot of components to make a great match," he concluded.