Ten Footballers Who Sparkled on Their Debuts Around Europe This Season

With all five of the major European leagues now back underway for the 2020-21 season, we’ve been given a glimpse of new signings in action across the continent. There have been some eye-catching displays. Here are the 10 most impressive.

10) Gabriel, Arsenal
Given how little Gabriel had played since the early curtailment of the Ligue 1 season back in March, it was a surprise to see the Brazilian line up for Arsenal against Fulham in the opening game of the Premier League season. Nevertheless, his fitness didn’t seem to be a concern whatsoever. Mikel Arteta’s selection was vindicated after an excellent debut. He even scored in Arsenal’s 3-0 win, which was something of a surprise given that he only managed two goals in as many seasons at Lille. Gabriel attempted 114 passes and completed 108 of them – more than any other player achieved on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

9) Amine Gouiri, Nice
Having failed to break into the first team at Lyon, 20-year-old Amine Gouiri made the move to Nice and made an instant impression in the very first Ligue 1 start of his career. Operating from the left of a front three, the youngster scored both goals for Patrick Vieira’s side as they came from behind to beat newly-promoted Lens 2-1. Gouiri had three shots in total, finding the net with both of his efforts on target.

8) Adrien Truffert, Rennes v Monaco
While Adrien Truffert was not a summer signing for Rennes (he stepped up from the youth team), his recent substitute appearance against Monaco was one he will never forget. When starting left-back Faitout Maouassa picked up an injury in the first half, Truffert was given his chance. The 18-year-old came on and turned the game in his side’s favor. Rennes were trailing to a goal from Wissam Ben Yedder before Truffert set up a late Steven N’Zonzi equalizer and then scored the winner himself in injury-time. As well as a goal and assist on his debut, the full-back completed 28 of the passes he attempted to secure our man of the match award.

7) Birger Meling, Nîmes
Birger Meling has made a superb start to life at Nîmes since his move from Rosenborg, particularly on his debut against Brest. The 25-year-old Norwegian left-back set up youngster Kevin Denkey’s early opener before scoring Nîmes’ second goal in a comprehensive 4-0 win.

6) Willian, Arsenal
If Willian needed to win over Arsenal fans following his move from Chelsea, he did it in one afternoon in Fulham. He was brilliant in his debut at Craven Cottage, even stealing the limelight from fellow Brazilian Gabriel. Having hit the woodwork with a trademark free-kick in the first half, the 32-year-old set up both of Arsenal’s goals in the second half to ensure a comfortable 3-0 win. On top of that, he misplaced just one of his 26 passes.

5) Timothy Castagne, Leicester
Timothy Castagne is another player who popped up with an unexpected goal on his debut. The versatile Belgian full-back arrived from Atalanta and was put straight into the Leicester team for their season opener against West Brom. Leicester missed the attacking outlet of the injured Ricardo Pereira in the second half of last season, but Castagne has stepped up admirably. The 24-year-old broke the deadlock in an eventual 3-0 win over the Baggies, while winning five aerial duels and three tackles to pick up our man of the match award.

4) Luis Milla, Granada
Luis Milla signed for Granada from second-tier Tenerife and carried on his happy knack of scoring from midfield. The 25-year-old was on hand to score Granada’s second goal in a 2-0 win over AthleticBilbao on what was his La Liga debut. He also won four aerial duels, made three interceptions and completed two dribbles in a fine all-round display, earning our man of the match award.

3) Jeff Hendrick, Newcastle
Jeff Hendrick stole the show for Newcastle on his debut against West Ham. Having assisted fellow debutant Callum Wilson with an intelligent flick-on at the near post, the former Burnley midfielder rifled home a second late on to ensure that Newcastle picked up all three points. Having never scored and set up a goal in a Premier League game before, Hendrick picked some time to do it.

2) Dejan Kulusevski, Juventus
Dejan Kulusevski had to wait for his Juventus debut after agreeing to join the club in January, but he made sure it was worth it. The 20-year-old was one of the breakout stars in Serie A last season and he picked up in Turin where he left off in Parma, albeit in a new role, partnering Cristiano Ronaldo up front rather than starting from wide. The Sweden international tucked away the first goal of the Andrea Pirlo era after just eight minutes with what was his only attempt. In a complete performance, he created three chances, completed three dribbles and made two interceptions to secure our man of the match award.

1) Leroy Sané, Bayern Munich
Leroy Sané’s long-awaited debut for Bayern Munich is the pick of the bunch. He was merciless against his former club Schalke. In 72 minutes on the pitch the 24-year-old scored once and set up two more in a thumping 8-0 victory. Sané did not look like a player who had missed most of last season with injury. He hit the target with both of his attempts at goal and created five chances for his teammates. The addition of Sané makes the European champions an even more frightening attacking proposition.

(The Guardian)

Once paralyzed by the pressure to win a Grand Slam title, Madison Keys is now at peace with her lot as she prepares for a blockbuster Australian Open semi-final with Iga Swiatek.

The 19th seeded American booked her third semi-final at Melbourne Park on Wednesday, overhauling Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 3-6 6-3 6-4 with her customary firepower.

Nearly 16 years after turning professional at the age of 14, Keys is still going strong at the majors even if the silverware has eluded her.

The closest she has come was a run to the 2017 US Open final where she was beaten 6-3 6-0 by Sloane Stephens in an all-American clash.

Negotiating second seed Swiatek, who has crushed all five of her opponents at Melbourne Park, will be a huge task for Keys on Thursday but pressure is unlikely to be a problem for the hard-hitting American.

"I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to appreciate my career for what it has been, and it doesn't have to have a Grand Slam in order for me to look at it and say, 'I've done a really good job, and I've really left everything out there'," the 29-year-old told reporters.

"Now, while that's obviously still the goal, there have been periods of my career where it felt like if I didn't win one, then I hadn't done enough, and I didn't live up to my potential in all of that.

"That kind of took a lot of the fun out of the game, and there were times where it felt paralyzing out on the court because it felt as if I needed it to happen instead of giving myself the opportunity to go out and potentially do it."

While Swiatek has been unstoppable in Melbourne and holds a 4-1 winning record over Keys, the Illinois native can go toe-to-toe with the world's best when her power game is on song.

It took a while for it to warm up against Svitolina but soon proved overwhelming for the outgunned 28th seed.

While rarely associated with defense, patience or even much of a Plan B, Keys said she would be wary about being too aggressive against Swiatek.

"The biggest thing that makes her so difficult to beat is because since she moves so well, if you miss your spot just slightly, she has enough time to recover, and then the point goes back to neutral," she said.

"So then there's just such a balance of being aggressive and trying to get her to move and going for things, but not pressing too hard and not going for anything too quickly.

"So I think she just does such a good job at making people start going for a little bit too much too quickly."

Ten Footballers Who Sparkled on Their Debuts Around Europe This Season