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Brahim Diaz scored his first goal for Milan as they claimed a 2-0 Serie A win away to Crotone on Sunday.

Franck Kessie opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half before Brahim struck early in the second to secure a fourth win in four games in all competitions in 2020-21.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was again absent after testing positive for coronavirus on Thursday, but Stefano Pioli's men were in control throughout at Stadio Ezio Scida as they stretched their unbeaten Serie A run to 14 matches.

There was a blow for Milan, though, who saw Ante Rebic leave the pitch in the second half with a nasty arm injury sustained after he tripped and fell.

Milan's early control of possession yielded little in terms of chances, although a header from Simon Kjaer bounced off the turf and then the crossbar from Hakan Calhanoglu's corner.

As the half moved into injury time, Rebic was felled by Luca Marrone in the penalty area and, after the forward escaped a possible handball following a VAR check, Kessie made no mistake with an emphatic finish from the spot.

Milan doubled their advantage just five minutes into the second half, Brahim finishing low on the turn after the ball fell kindly to him in the six-yard box at the end of a swift break involving Alexis Saelemaekers and Calhanoglu.

Crotone did not lack endeavour but Gianluigi Donnarumma's goal was rarely threatened as the Serie A newcomers slipped to a second successive defeat.

What does it mean? No Zlatan, no problem for Rossoneri

While the 3-2 win over Bodo/Glimt on Thursday was a little closer than Milan would have liked, this was an assured and controlled outing in Calabria.

Crotone did not manage a shot on target as the visitors eased to another victory and clean sheet and a fifth league game without defeat against this opposition.

Brahim building bridges

Not only did he score one of his two shots on target, Brahim also completed all but one of his 23 attempted passes, 15 of which were in the final third.

The Real Madrid loanee might have been on the fringes of things in the Spanish capital, but he is already at the heart of things in the Milan attack.

Can I be blunt?

Crotone's starting attacking pair of Simy and Denis Dragus managed not one shot or chance created between them. Crotone will not last long in the top flight if they cannot start at least threatening a goal.

Key Opta Facts

- Milan have gone 17 matches unbeaten in all competitions (W13 D4) for the first time since March 1996, under Fabio Capello (27 in that case).
- Milan have scored in in 22 consecutive matches  in Serie A for the first time since March 2009.
- Milan have won six matches in a row in all competitions for the first time since August 2017.
- Milan have won their first two games of a top-flight season without conceding a goal for the first time since 2002-03 under Carlo Ancelotti.

What's next?

Milan head to Rio Ave in the Europa League play-offs on Thursday before hosting Spezia in Serie A three days later. Crotone head to Sassuolo next Saturday.

Jamie Vardy became the oldest Premier League player to score a hat-trick in 17 years in Leicester's stunning 5-2 win against Manchester City on Sunday.

After Riyad Mahrez put City in the lead, the striker levelled the score when he converted a penalty in the 37th minute after he was fouled by Kyle Walker.

The Foxes were in control soon after the restart when Vardy struck again with a lovely backheel flick and then scored another penalty just four minutes later. James Maddison then extended Leicester's lead with a superb effort before Nathan Ake pulled one back for the hosts. 

Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans then heaped more misery on Pep Guardiola's team when he converted another spot-kick for the Foxes in the 87th minute, making Brendan Rodgers' team the first in Premier League history to score three penalties in one match.

At 33 years and 260 days old, Vardy is now the oldest player to register three goals in a single game in the English top flight since former England star Teddy Sheringham did so for Portsmouth against Bolton in 2003, at the age of 37. 

England international Vardy, who was the top scorer in the division last season, is also the first to win two penalties and score both in the Premier League since Milan Baros did it for Liverpool against Crystal Palace in November 2004.

The attacker is also in esteemed company when it comes to scoring trebles against teams managed by Guardiola. It is only the third time the Catalan coach has seen an opposition player net three times. Lionel Messi was the first to do so when Barcelona demolished City in Guardiola's first season in charge, with Vardy putting three past City just two months later as Leicester won 4-2.

Furthermore, it had been 18 years since City conceded a hat-trick at home in a Premier League game, with Liverpool hero Michael Owen the last to do it in 2002. 

Leicester have won all three of their Premier League matches so far and are in action again next Sunday when they host West Ham at the King Power Stadium.

Leon Balogun has expressed his delight following his return to action for Rangers in their 5-1 victory over Motherwell in Sunday’s Scottish Premiership game.

The 32-year-old has only featured four times for Steven Gerrard’s men since teaming up with the side from Championship club Wigan Athletic in July due to injury.

The Nigeria international suffered a muscle strain against St. Johnstone in August and has been struggling with the problem since then.

The injury forced him to miss Rangers’ last seven games, including their 4-0 victory over Willem II in the Europa League third qualifying round.  

Balogun, however, returned to action against the Dossers after recovering from his injury, replacing Filip Helander on the hour mark.

The centre-back gave a good account of himself in the encounter as he made 18 touches, won four aerial contests and made four clearances.

The Super Eagles defender has taken to social media to share his excitement on his return from injury.

“Great feeling to be back out there with the boys and get another important win. Well done lads,” Balogun posted on Instagram.

Balogun will hope to play a prominent role when Rangers square off against Turkish side Galatasaray in their next Europa League game on October 1.

The defender has spent most of his career in Germany, playing for Hannover 96, Werder Bremen, Fortuna Dusseldorf, Darmstadt 98 and Mainz 05.

Balogun moved to England in the summer of 2018, joining Premier League club Brighton and Hove Albion before teaming up with Wigan.

The centre-back has featured in more than 30 appearances for the Nigeria national team since he made his debut against Mexico in 2014.

The 32-year-old was part of the Super Eagles side at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and featured for the side in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Balogun is part of Gernot Rohr’s side that will take on African champions Algeria and Tunisia in friendlies next month.

AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda has explained what saved the club from going down in a difficult 2019/20 season.

Ingwe were forced to depend on fundraisers and well-wishers to honour their games after SportPesa walked away as their sponsor.

Shikanda had been elected into office just before the financial turmoil began and he says the lean office enabled them to make quick decisions that ended up helping the club.

“When I got into this office after I think 26 days, our sponsor walked away. I actually found a shell of a club and after recruiting players, my wage bill jumped to about KSh4.3M per month,” Shikanda told Bonga Futaa Online TV.

“We sat down and looked at ourselves in the eyes and asked the difficult questions; what can we do now?

“Should we throw in the towel because the demands were just too much? The leaner management helped us especially because the decision-making process was quicker and it was easy to agree. It really saved me.

“We did not have time for politics, we had to come with ways of helping AFC Leopards honour all matches and not give away walkovers.”

The former Gor Mahia and Ingwe player also criticised views held by the majority of Kenyans who are yet to see football as a professional occupation.

“The problem with our culture is it treats football as a hobby, not as a professional undertaking. I think many people see footballers as failures and ones who have nothing to do after failing in various fields,” he added.

“But for heaven sake, football is the biggest industry in the world.

“When you look at football as a hobby, as something where people who do not have anything to do reside and without a constructive goal then we are losing the plot.”

The chair also spoke about his long-term vision he would like to implement in order to help the club in the long run even after he exits office.

“AFC Leopards is a work in progress now and what I know is that the club does not have physical structures even way back during my playing time,” Shikanda explained.

“In a nutshell, what I need to do is to put in place structures so that we can have a professional football club. We cannot call ourselves a professional club, established in 1964, and we have nothing to show about football whatsoever.

“We do not have our own field to train, but at least now we have a physical office, although I need to set up a motion in place of having our own stadium. 

“Lack of structures made things hard for this club and when fans react, they think you are part of the problem.”

Unlike their KPL rivals, AFC Leopards have not made public any of the new signings although they have unveiled their 2020/21 home kit.

Luis Suarez revealed he felt the need for "fresh air" before leaving Barcelona as he scored twice in a remarkable debut for Atletico Madrid.

Suarez came on in the 70th minute at Wanda Metropolitano with Atleti 3-0 up against Granada thanks to goals from Diego Costa, Angel Correa and Joao Felix, while Saul Niguez had missed a penalty.

A stunning cameo followed, with Suarez netting a brilliant double after providing an assist for his fellow substitute Marcos Llorente.

Suarez also won a penalty for Atletico, before a VAR check reversed that decision.

The 33-year-old was deemed surplus to requirements at Barcelona as the Catalan club look to rebuild under Ronald Koeman, but Suarez believes the time was right for him to move on.

"Very good, very happy for the debut, for the three points," he told Movistar. "When you make your debut and help the team with goals, you are always happy.

"It is a moment in which I needed fresh air, it is important to change and accept it.

"I come to a club that has given me a spectacular welcome, the atmosphere is very good from the beginning and that is reflected on the field."

Before Suarez stole the show, Joao Felix had put in an impressive display partnering Costa up front, having teed up Correa's goal prior to getting on the scoresheet himself.

"We're feeling good about ourselves. We've completed a great game, scoring many goals and creating lots of chances," the Portugal international told Atleti's club media.

"We have to continue like this. I'm feeling good. I'm happy and enjoying myself. Things are going well.

"This was just the first game, but we want to complete a very, very good season. We're working towards that. We started today and have to continue against Huesca."

Costa meanwhile was excited at the prospect of forming a hard-nosed partnership with Suarez, joking: "One of us bites and the other kicks.”

Atletico will face two games in the next six days as they continue their La Liga campaign: an away match against Huesca on Wednesday before a return home on Saturday against Villarreal.

Yanga SC assistant coach Juma Mwambusi has said they will reach a point when they will be scoring as many as 10 goals per game

The 27-time champions have not scored more than one goal each of the four 2020/21 Tanzania Mainland League matches they have played.

The latest one was against Mtibwa Sugar where they won by a solitary goal.

"We are still in the process of building a team and we are close in achieving the target," Mwambusi told reporters after Sunday's victory over the Sugar Millers.

"These players and the technical bench had about 20 days together, and without proper pre-season, we could not get the results we wanted instantly. It is a process and we are close in achieving it.

"Soon we will be hitting teams for eight or 10 goals, we are in the process of achieving it."

The experienced tactician has also stated they are delighted by getting maximum points away against their hosts.

"It is not easy getting a win when you play Mtibwa away, it is an important win for us," Mwambusi added.

"The commitment from the players was good, we created many chances but we managed to use only one which is a plus to us."

In the match against the Sugar Belt charges, Angola midfielder Carlinhos started in the wing and the tactician has explained why.

"It was our game plan to ensure we played him there to help us create chances to score," he continued.

"Yes, he could have played in the middle, but remember the opponents are aware of the threat he possesses. They could have limited him from playing meaning he was going to be less effective for us, and it is for this reason that we sent him wide.

"We are happy the tactic worked, but again as I said, every day we are improving. We are in the process of making a team, not yet there but we are close."

After this weekend's matches, Azam are the only team that have not conceded and with a 100% winning record.

Simba SC are second with 10 points, same as the Jangwani Street-based charges who have an inferior goal difference.

Nigeria international Victor Osimhen had an assist to show for his impressive display as Genoa suffered a 6-0 obliteration against Napoli on Sunday evening.

Getting his first start in a competitive game for the Blues since his record move from Lille, Osimhen caused the visitors a lot of problems as they were blown apart inside Stadio San Paolo.

The game’s first chance fell before the Nigeria international, but he fired his effort over the cross bar from inside the box after latching onto a short pass from Hirving Lozano.

Few seconds later, he collected a rebound and his promising attempt flew towards the bottom left corner, but goalkeeper Federico Marchetti did well to make an amazing save.

Gennaro Gattuso’s men took the lead in the 10th minute with Lozano scoring with a brilliant shot after being released by a lofted pass from Dries Mertens.

Two minutes later, the Super Eagle failed to register his name among the goalscorers when he shot wide after controlling a fine pass that came his way.

Osimhen’s ill-luck continued in the 29th minute as his header from a free-kick flew inches over the woodwork despite showing good awareness deep inside the visitors’ goal area.

Gattuso’s team approached the second-half aggressively and were rewarded just one minute into the second 45 minutes after Piotr Zielinski was fed with an accurate pass from the 21-year-old before sending a low shot past Marchetti.

Mertens made it three for the hosts after 57 minutes before Lozano completed his brace eight minutes later.

The Blues showed no signs of stopping the harvest of goals with Lorenzo Insigne’s replacement Eljif Elmas slotting home the fifth goal of the evening before Matteo Politano completed the damage 18 minutes from full-time.

In the closing stages, Osimhen was cautioned for dissent – but that could did not rob his performance of some shine.

For his performance against Rolando Maran’s men, the youngster - who was in action for the duration - recorded five total shots, won three aerial battles with a passing accuracy of 61.5%.

Kalidou Koulibaly starred for every minute while Algeria's Faouzi Ghoulam was introduced in the 73rd minute for Piotr Zielinski.

Napoli face Juventus in their next outing on October 4.

Leicester’s 5-2 thrashing of Manchester City on Sunday marked the first time in Pep Guardiola's managerial career that one of his sides had conceded five goals.

Guardiola’s side were left stunned at Etihad Stadium as a Jamie Vardy-inspired Leicester ran riot.

The former England international hit a superb hat-trick, two of which came from the penalty spot, as Brendan Rodgers’ side secured a third successive victory to return to the top of the table.

Leicester went a goal down early on, with former Foxes forward Riyad Mahrez scoring a superb opener after just four minutes.

However, Manchester City’s vulnerability at the back was ruthlessly exposed by Leicester, who levelled through Vardy from the penalty spot before the break.

Vardy’s neat flick put Leicester ahead at the start of the second half, before his second penalty made it 3-1 and completed his hat-trick.

Nathan Ake pulled a goal back for City but further goals from James Maddison and Youri Tielemans, the latter also a penalty, sealed a stunning victory for the 2016 Premier League champions.

It was a truly chastening afternoon for Guardiola, who had witnessed a side he managed concede five goals for the first time in his career, in his 686th game as a manager.

It was just the second time Guardiola has lost his opening home game of a league season, having previously done so while in charge of Barcelona against Hercules in 2010-11.

It is also the first time Manchester City have conceded five goals in a home game for 438 matches, stretching back to a 5-1 defeat against Arsenal at Maine Road in February 2003.

It leaves the club languishing in the bottom half of the table, though they have only played two matches having started the season a week later than most of their rivals because of their European commitments over the summer.

Guardiola will now hope the club can bring in reinforcements before next week’s transfer deadline, particularly in defence, where they have often been accused of failing to properly replace Vincent Kompany, who left last year.

Benfica’s Ruben Dias is reportedly their prime target, though Atletico Madrid’s Jose Gimenez and Sevilla’s Jules Kounde are also said to be on their shortlist.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has confirmed that Barcelona were among several clubs to make an offer for him before he signed a contract extension with Arsenal.

The 31-year-old attacker committed to a new three-year contract with the Gunners earlier this month, putting an end to the speculation that had been growing as his previous deal entered its last 12 months.

Barcelona had been linked with a move for the Gabon international and Aubameyang has admitted they tried to lure him to Camp Nou, but Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta gave him enough reason to remain in north London.

“There were several offers, notably from Barca, but also other clubs," he said on Canal Football Club.

"My priority was to stay for two reasons: the first is the coach, Mikel Arteta, because we spoke a fair amount during the 'lockdown', as they say here, we were at home and spoke several times and he convinced me, notably in terms of the project.

"Of course, secondly, is the love that I receive from the fans and people at the club. Since I have been here I have been treated like one of their own, and as I am one of their own, I am going to stay here, it is as simple as that.”

Reports claim Arsenal are trying to sign Houssem Aouar and have had a €35 million (£32m/$41m) offer rejected by Lyon, who are said to value him at around €60m (£55m/$70m).

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has spoken out on Twitter, saying that the Gunners are not close to meeting his side's valuation.

Aubameyang has admitted that he wants to see his side bring the 22-year-old to the Premier League before the transfer window closes on October 5.

"He's a very good player," Aubameyang said of Aouar. "I hope we will be lucky to have these types of players at the club, I'm sure he can bring a lot to us. I hope he will come even though he's a Lyonnais."

Arsenal have won both of their Premier League games so far this season and will take on reigning champions Liverpool on Monday.

Aubameyang is hopeful that his side can reach the Reds' level and believes they can start with a win at Anfield.

"It would be great to compete with Liverpool. It's going to be a big test on Monday," he said. "We're ready, we're going without fear. Obviously we want to annoy them. It's a dream, and a goal for us."

Simy Nwankwo did not register a single shot in Sunday's Serie A encounter as AC Mian defeated Crotone 2-0.

The Super Eagles attacker played 90 minutes at the Stadio Ezio Scida but could not open his goal account for the 2020-21 season.

Ivory Coast midfielder Franc Kessie opened the scoring for AC Milan on the stroke of half-time with his effort from the penalty spot and Brahim Diaz sealed maximum points for the visitors five minutes after the restart.

Simy failed to contribute to the Pythagoreans' attack with no key passes, no shot on target and no dribbles made. In addition, he was the most dispossessed player in Giovanni Stroppa's team.

Aside from the 28-year-old’s disappointing performance, Crotone struggled to break Milan’s defence and did not register a single a shot on target

Kessie featured for the duration while his Algerian teammate Ismael Bennacer replaced Sandro Tonali in the 63rd minute for his second appearance of the season.

Sunday's result was Crotone second straight loss in Serie A after earning promotion from the second division.

They started their 2020-21 campaign with a 4-1 loss to Genoa last Sunday, and they now sit at the bottom of the table with no points after two matches.

Simy, who scored 20 goals in Serie B last season, will be looking to rediscover his goalscoring form when Crotone travel to Sassuolo for their next top-flight outing next Saturday.

The victory stretched Milan's unblemished start to the Serie A season, as they are yet to concede a goal in two wins. They are third in the Serie A table, level on six points with leaders Napoli and Hellas Verona.

Stefano Pioli's side host Spezia for their next league game on October 4 after Thursday's Uefa Europa League qualifying match against Rio Ave.

Tottenham forward Son Heung-min is likely to be out for some time with a hamstring injury, according to Jose Mourinho.

Son, who twice hit the woodwork in the first half after Lucas Moura opened the scoring, was replaced by Steven Bergwijn for the second period, with the match finishing in controversial fashion when Callum Wilson equalised with a 97th-minute penalty after Eric Dier was punished for handball via a VAR check.

Head coach Mourinho, who walked down the tunnel after Wilson scored from the spot, later told reporters Son's injury is not insignificant.

They meet Chelsea in the Carabao Cup last-16 on Tuesday, just two days before hosting Maccabi Haifa in their Europa League play-off.

The north London club have already played five games in 15 days so far this season, and it would have been six had they not received a bye in the Carabao Cup after Leyton Orient were forced to postpone their third-round clash on Tuesday because of a Covid-19 outbreak among their squad.

"Tottenham is a big club. Our history in terms of trophies is not as big as other clubs and I realise that I'm coaching with a lot of passion and love.

Ajara Nchout provided an assist and netted four goals for Valerenga in a 7-0 win over Klepp in a Norwegian Toppserien fixture on Sunday.

The Cameroon international was handed her 12th league start in the encounter and she made the best of her presence, hitting a quadruple to help her side claim their ninth win of the season.

Besides the big win, the 27-year-old forward was able to end her goal drought, having gone eight games without finding the back of the net, with her last goal being a brace against Arna-Bjornar on August 1.

After returning from the break, Nchout aimed to help Valerenga build on their momentum when she handed her side the lead, slotting in a pass from Synne Jensen 18 minutes into the encounter.

Sigrid Heien Hansen doubled the lead for the Initilty Arena outfit two minutes later after being beautifully set up by Nchout, before Dejana Stefanovic headed in a third for the hosts from Andrine Tomter's cross on the hour mark.

On the brink of half-time, Ingibjorg Sigurdardottir rose high above her fellow contenders to head in a fourth of the match off Sherida Spitse's cross.

Four minutes after the restart, Nchout converted her easiest goal of the season so far, poking over the line an indirect assist from Rikke Marie Madsen for her brace and Valerenga's fourth of the match.

Sigurdardottir and Jensen combined brilliantly with a fine build-up for Nchout to hit her hat-trick in the 75th minute before she profited from a defensive blunder three minutes later to bag her fourth.

Nchout, who played from the start to the finish, has now scored eight goals in 13 appearances this season for Valerenga.

The result means Valerenga have accrued 31 points from 14 matches to hold a three-point lead at the top, ahead of closest rival and holders Lillestrom, who have a game in hand.

They will aim to maintain their title pursuit when they take on Rosenborg in their next league fixture on October 18.

Kenya international Michael Olunga continued with his goal-scoring prowess in Japan as he grabbed a goal but could not help his side Kashiwa Reysol as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Yokohama F. Marinos on Sunday.

The former Gor Mahia striker had gone for two matches without finding the back of the net but against Yokohama, he put his side in the lead in the 40th minute after powering home a header from a corner kick.

However, Yokohama turned the heat in the second half and managed to level matters in the 77th minute through Erik Lima. This was before Takuma Ominami scored an own goal to make it 2-1 in favour of Yokohama.

Daizen Maeda then powered home the third in added minutes to end Resyol’s fight to grab at least a point from the match.

The defeat has seen Reysol drop to the eighth position in the 18-team league table with 30 points from 19 matches while the win enabled Yokohama to jump to position 13th with 20 points from the same number of matches.

Olunga and Resyol will now shift their focus to the next league match against Yokohama FC on Saturday.

Despite his current form, Kenya’s Harambee Stars will not be able to use the player in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers set for November.

The Harambee Stars, under the tutelage of coach Francis Kimanzi, are scheduled to play Comoros in Nairobi on November 9 before clashing with the islanders in Moroni four days later.

However, Goal exclusively reported on Friday Olunga, will not be able to travel for the two matches, as well as the planned friendlies against Zambia and Sudan.

A source close to the player told Goal Kashiwa Reysol are not ready to release Olunga for the international assignment as the player will miss seven matches should he travel to Kenya owing to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

“Japan have put in place tough rules owing to Covid-19 and it might not be easy to have Olunga for the Afcon qualifiers against Comoros home and away,” the source, who did not want to be named, told Goal on Friday.

“Why Kashiwa Reysol are concerned is because should they release the player to play for Kenya, then when he returns to Japan, he will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine and in that period they have important league matches to play, so they are not ready to release the player.”

Apart from the foreign-based players, Kimanzi will have a headache to pick his squad for the double-header with the KPL yet to resume after the government extended the ban on contact sports until further notice last Friday.

Kenya started their campaign for the 2021 Afcon, to be held in Cameroon, with an impressive 1-1 draw away to Egypt. They followed it up with another draw, by the same margin, in Nairobi against Togo.

In Group G, Comoros, who started their campaign with a 1-0 win against Togo before settling for a goalless draw against the Pharaohs, lead with four points.

Premier League clubs must do their bit to support lower league teams deal with the financial problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, culture secretary Oliver Dowden says.

Clubs have suffered a huge financial blow since fans were no longer allowed to attend matches and the EFL has said its teams are set to lose a further £200 million ($255m) over the course of this season.

After meeting with the governing bodies of various sports earlier this week to discuss the financial impact of the restrictions currently in place, Dowden says the UK Government are willing to chip in to help keep clubs afloat but urged those in the top flight to "step up to the plate".

"We stand ready to support clubs because they are such an important part of our local community. They were there at the height of the crisis, they had our back and now it's time for the Government to have their back," Dowden told Sky News. "The first thing we need to look to is the Premier League and I've been in contact with them this week.

"We're all agreed the Premier League needs to step up to the plate and they're having intensive discussions with the EFL over how they can support those clubs. They're ready to play their part, and the Prime Minister and I have been urging them to do that.

He added: "The direction is clear, we understand the Premier League needs to play its part. I'm in close consultation with them and I'm hopeful they will be able to reach a deal and provide that level of support. Most people would agree against this backdrop of rapidly rising cases now is not the time to bring back crowds."

This week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson froze plans to allow fans back into stadiums from October 1 and Dowden says he is unsure if they will be able to attend games by December. 

"I would desperately love that to happen and we keep the situation under constant review," he said.

"We are also investigating the use of new technology, working with the clubs who have done a fantastic job until now, but in this rapidly moving situation with the virus, we just need to exercise a little bit of caution which is what we've done in relation to October 1.

"Most people would agree against this backdrop of rapidly rising cases now is not the time to bring back crowds."

Netherlands international and Ajax attacker Quincy Promes has expressed his amazement by the early exploits of new club additions Mohammed Kudus and Antony dos Santos.

The duo, who joined Erik ten Hag's outfit earlier this year, are enjoying a fine start to their time in Amsterdam following outstanding performances in the opening games of the Dutch Eredivisie.

Kudus, who was acquired from Danish fold Nordsjaelland in July, was adjudged Man of the Match on his debut on matchday two. In Saturday's matchweek three fixture, he assisted the match-winner, scored by Antony.

"I am pleasantly surprised that they [Kudus and Antony] are already making a difference," Promes told Voetbal International.

"You know that if a player goes abroad he can have adaptation problems. I think those guys don't have much of that.

"They are well received and luckily they translate it on the field."

Promes took a deeper look at Saturday's hard-fought win over Vitesse Arnhem, Ajax having to finish the game with 10 men after Edson Alvarez was sent off one minute to half-time.

The Dutch star scored first for the hosts in the 21st minute before Riechedly Bazoer drew Vitesse level on 56 minutes.

Kudus then went on a surging run to set up Antony for the winner for Ajax 20 minutes to full-time.

"In the beginning, they had two good chances, but then we took the lead and there was nothing wrong," Promes said.

"The red card changed the game. With 10 men you have to run extra. The team deserves compliments.

"We went very deep to find out. to turn it around, it was a heavy pot."

Kudus will be hoping to reproduce his fine showing in their next league match away to Groningen on Sunday.

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder joined Ajax on a five-year deal after being linked to Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, AC Milan and Everton.

On Friday, he was listed by Ghana among a squad of 23 players invited for an international friendly game against Mali on October 9.

He will be looking to make his third appearance for the Black Stars after a scoring debut against South Africa last year and a second-half appearance against Sao Tome and Principe four days later.