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Bendtner shines on Danish debut

As his Arsenal FC team-mates lost the UEFA Champions League final, Nicklas Bendtner scored twice in a 2-0 friendly win against Spain on his Denmark Under-21 debut.

On the same night that his Arsenal FC team-mates lost the UEFA Champions League final, young Nicklas Bendtner scored twice against Spain on his Denmark debut.

Superb debut
The 18-year-old's first appearance for the Danish Under-21s in a warm-up friendly for the UEFA European U21 Championship in Portugal ended in a 2-0 triumph in front of 4,500 fans at the Brøndby stadium in Copenhagen. Bendtner starred in the absence of the injured Morten 'Duncan' Rasmussen.

Impressive skills
He opened the scoring after 36 minutes, picking up possession in midfield and dribbling past two opponents before giving the Danes a deserved lead with a fine shot. He then sealed victory with a header from Thomas Kahlenberg's left-wing free-kick.

Happy debutant
"Of course, this was a terrific debut but my team-mates made things easy for me," said Bendtner. "I have been welcomed by this team and it has been very easy to fit in." Coach Flemming Serritslev added: "I was not surprised at all by Nicklas Bendtner's fine start.

Serritslev cautious
He continued: "If Morten 'Duncan' Rasmussen gets fit in time for the finals, I'll be facing a big but positive problem. I found answers to some of the questions I had before the match, but we were a little careless in our defending and missed one or two chances too many."