The exciting Brazilian forward scored twice on his full international debut as Brazil beat Ecuador 3-0 – despite not having Fernandinho in their ranks – and Sky Sports report: “Gabriel Jesus won a penalty and notched a late brace on his full international debut as new Brazil coach Tite began his reign with a 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over 10-man Ecuador in Quito.
“Barcelona forward Neymar opened the scoring through a 72nd-minute penalty, and Ecuador defender Juan Carlos Paredes was sent off for two bookable offences four minutes later to further assist the Selecao’s cause.
“Nineteen-year-old Jesus, who will join Manchester City from Palmeiras in January, made the result safe on 87 minutes and then added another for good measure in stoppage time.”
And it didn’t end there. Marca are quoted heavily by Sports Witness after David Silva’s majestic display in Spain’s 2-0 win in Belgium.
The City play-maker scored both goals against a Red Devils side that included Kevin De Bruyne and they write: “It’s fair to say David Silva impressed for Spain on Thursday night as the country’s national team beat Roberto Martinez’s Belgium 2-0 away from home.
“Spanish newspaper Marca point out in their Friday edition that Silva was so impressive, when he was taken off on 75 minutes, having controlled the pace of the game until that point, even the home fans applauded his efforts on the pitch.
“The praise sent Silva’s way is gushing to say the say least. Marca call it ‘The orchestra of Silva’, label his efforts ‘spectacular’ and name him Spain’s Most Valuable Player of the night.”
Finally, after being nominated for the Etihad and Premier League Player of the Month, Raheem Sterling could be forgiven for having a wry smile this morning.
After a summer of torment for the young winger, he has quickly blossomed under Pep Guardiola and is starting to silence his critics.
EPL Index sing his praises as they write: “Raheem Sterling’s career should be divided into a ‘pre-Guardiola’ and ‘post-Guardiola’ phase to just understand the extent to which he has improved under Manchester City’s freshly appointed manager.
“Sterling has been remarkably brilliant for City so far. He has scored two goals and three assists in his four appearances, and he can break through the toughest of defences, with an average 3.7 dribbles per game. In fact, those might be the best numbers of the tournament at this point.
“There must’ve been something about Pep noticed and wanted to develop, once he was in charge. Pep immediately showed his confidence in Sterling – who, after being booed and after a terrible Euro performance, was facing a crisis. In a recent report, Guardiola has even said that it wasn’t any tactical or technical change, it was merely a case of helping him adjust his mentality. Guardiola gave him the authority to go forward, and to take risks. That, in turn, increased his dribbling in every game.”
Read the full article here:
That’s all for today – more of the same tomorrow…
