Following the shocking injury blow to Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich is debating whether the “obvious solution” of recalling Alexander Nubel from his loan at Monaco would be the best course of action.
After Neuer’s broken leg forced him to miss the remainder of the season, Hasan Salihamidzic, the club’s sporting director, mentioned Nubel as a possibility Bayern may consider.
Although Sven Ulreich, Neuer’s regular backup, may have the chance to stake a claim, it wouldn’t be shocking if Bayern brought in a new goalkeeper in January.
If Monaco agrees to a request to shorten his loan and if Bayern believe he is the best candidate, that decision looks to determine if they will bring Nubel back from Monaco.
Nubel has been a regular for Monaco since joining the team in June 2021 on a two-season arrangement, having previously spent a year mostly confined to the bench with the Bundesliga champions.
Salihamidzic told Sport Bild: “It is important that we find the best solution for our team in the short term.
“Of course, Alexander Nubel would be an obvious solution. In the end, Monaco have the last word.”
Nubel has been a regular for Monaco since joining the team in June 2021 on a two-season arrangement, having previously spent a year mostly confined to the bench with the Bundesliga champions.
Salihamidzic told Sport Bild: “It is important that we find the best solution for our team in the short term.
“Of course, Alexander Nubel would be an obvious solution. In the end, Monaco have the last word.”
The injury to club captain Neuer came as he took a holiday following Germany’s exit from the World Cup.
Bayern last week ruled out a move for Dinamo Zagreb keeper Dominik Livakovic, who shone at the World Cup for Croatia, with CEO Oliver Kahn saying the 27-year-old was “not within the scope of our interests”.
Bayern Munich has denounced the racist taunts directed at Kingsley Coman following France’s World Cup final loss to Argentina on penalties.
Coman had an impact after coming on as a 71st-minute replacement with France trailing 2-0 on Sunday. Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick helped Les Bleus force the decisive penalty kicks at the conclusion of a thrilling 3-3 draw.
The winger, though, was the first shooter to miss in the shoot-out when Emiliano Martinez made a good stop to his right, and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni missed the following attempt for France.
Following France’s 4-2 shootout loss, Coman received racist comments on social media, which prompted his club to denounce those responsible.
A statement issued via the Bundesliga champions’ Twitter account read: “FC Bayern strongly condemn the racist comments made towards Kingsley Coman.
“The FC Bayern family is behind you, King. Racism has no place in sport or our society.”
On the eve of the World Cup, the French Football Federation condemned racist messages addressed to midfielder Eduardo Camavinga following suggestions he was responsible for an injury suffered by Christopher Nkunku in training.
FC Bayern strongly condemn the racist comments made towards Kingsley Coman.
The FC Bayern family is behind you, King. Racism has no place in sport or our society. pic.twitter.com/9Mvhrt0Zc9
Lucas Hernandez has successfully undergone surgery after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in France’s 4-1 World Cup opening win against Australia on Tuesday.
Hernandez’s club Bayern Munich confirmed he had the operation in Innsbruck on Thursday, with his rehabilitation to commence in Munich in the coming days.
The defender was ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup due to the injury that saw him replaced after only 13 minutes.
Bayern did not provide a timeframe on Hernandez’s recovery but it is expected he will miss the rest of the 2022-23 season.
Hernandez is the latest injury blow for the world champions, who saw Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku all ruled out before the tournament started.
France head coach Didier Deschamps said after Tuesday’s game: “Like the whole group, players and staff, I am extremely sorry for Lucas.
“We are losing an important element. Lucas is a warrior and I have no doubt that he will do everything possible to return to the game.
“I know him well. Courage, he will have it, that’s for sure. On behalf of the group, I wish him the best possible recovery.”
Hernandez has made 11 appearances, including 10 starts, for Bayern this season, having missed six weeks with an adductor injury sustained in September.
Jamal Musiala admits being compared to Lionel Messi is a “big honour” as the Germany midfielder prepares for his World Cup bow.
The Bayern Munich star, who played just nine minutes at Euro 2020, has enjoyed an impressive start to the Bundesliga season, scoring nine goals and providing six assists.
The 19-year-old’s 15 goal involvements are the most registered by any teenager across Europe’s top five leagues and just two shy of Messi’s tally for Paris Saint-Germain (seven goals, 10 assists).
“I think it’s a big honour to be compared to Messi,” said Musiala, who will hope to feature in Germany’s Group E opener against Japan at the Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday.
“He has been playing at the top level for his entire career. It’s always hard to compare yourself to others. I prefer to focus on myself and on where I can improve.
“It’s important to remain relaxed about what’s happening and to not put too much pressure on yourself. You also have to have some fun, and then everything will work out.
Die Mannschaft team-mate Niklas Sule, who was part of the side that exited the group stage in Russia four years ago, hopes Musiala can maintain his solid form at the finals.
“I much prefer to play alongside him, instead of against him. But, I also know how to defend against him,” the Borussia Dortmund defender laughed.
“We played a friendly [against Bayern’s under-19s side] one time, and you could already see what an exceptional talent he is. He then deservedly moved up to the first team.
“I don’t want to praise him too much, because I don’t want him to get too full of himself. But, I’m not worried that that will happen. I hope that his strong form at Bayern will carry over to this tournament.”
Sadio Mane could face several months on the sidelines after undergoing the surgery that ended his slim hopes of playing for Senegal at the World Cup.
The Bayern Munich forward underwent what his club described as a successful operation on Thursday.
Bayern said in a statement: “During the operation, a tendon was reattached to the head of his right fibula.
“The FC Bayern forward will therefore no longer be available to play for Senegal at the World Cup and will begin his rehab in Munich in the next few days.”
According to widespread reports in Germany, Mane’s recovery is unlikely to be a quick one, with the former Liverpool forward said to be facing possibly three to four months out of action.
ℹ️ Sadio Mané underwent successful surgery in Innsbruck on Thursday evening. He will therefore no longer be available to play for Senegal at the World Cup.
African player of the year Mane sustained the leg injury when playing in Bayern’s 6-1 win against Werder Bremen last week.
He was initially judged fit enough to be included in Aliou Cisse’s 26-man Senegal squad for the World Cup, with hopes he could be available by the knockout stages, but subsequent medical checks confirmed the need for surgery.
A short statement from the Senegalese Football Federation read: “The FSF wishes a speedy recovery to its player Sadio Mane.”
Senegal face Netherlands in their Group A opener on Monday before meeting Qatar and Ecuador.
Bayern are due to resume their Bundesliga campaign against RB Leipzig on January 20. They headed into the World Cup break as leaders, chasing an 11th consecutive German league title.
They face a Champions League last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain, with games scheduled for February 14 and March 8 in that heavyweight contest.
Sadio Mane has been named in Senegal’s squad for the World Cup despite suffering a fibula injury less than two weeks before the tournament begins.
The Bayern Munich attacker limped out of his side’s 6-1 Bundesliga thrashing of Werder Bremen on Tuesday, and the Bavarian giants subsequently confirmed he had injured his right fibula head.
Reports in Germany and France said Mane’s availability for Senegal’s World Cup campaign – which begins against the Netherlands on November 21 – was in question, but Bayern did not rule him out of the tournament.
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse has opted to take a risk on Mane by naming him in his 26-man party for the trip to Qatar, though he acknowledges the former Liverpool star’s condition must improve if he is to feature.
“We are monitoring the situation and have sent one of our doctors to assess him,” Cisse said at a press conference in Dakar on Friday.
“On Thursday, Sadio spent the whole day in Munich before travelling to Austria for further tests. The good news is that he does not need an operation.
“We want the situation to evolve in two to three weeks. I don’t want to rule him out.”
Mane scored the winning penalty as Senegal beat Egypt to win their first Africa Cup of Nations title earlier this year, and he has been directly involved in 12 of the last 25 goals scored by Senegal players at major tournaments (AFCON and World Cup), netting nine and assisting three.
Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly will captain the Lions of Teranga in Qatar, with Blues team-mate Edouard Mendy also set to start in goal.
👌🏾 La liste des joueurs pour la Coupe du Monde 2022 ✅ 🇸🇳
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The list of players for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. ✅ 🇸🇳
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German giants, Bayern Munich have provided an injury update on Sadio Mane as he races against time to be fit for the World Cup.
The former Liverpool star suffered an injury while in action for Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
Earlier reports in the media suggested Mane could miss the World Cup due to a reported tendon injury suffered in Bayern Munich’s 6-1 Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen.
But a statement from Bayern Munich confirmed the Senegal stars injury but refused to rule him out of the mundial.
The German club added that they are in contact with the medical team of Senegal.
The Bayern statement read: “Sadio Mane has suffered an injury to the head of his right fibula in FC Bayern’s 6-1 win against Werder Bremen.
“Africa’s Footballer of the Year will miss Saturday’s game against Schalke. Further examinations will follow in the coming days.
“FC Bayern is also in contact with the medical staff of the Senegalese Football Association.”
Julian Nagelsmann feels Bayern Munich’s100 per cent record in the Champions League group stage was “not rewarded” after being drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.
Nagelsmann’s men won all six group games to finish top of Group C, including home and away victories over Inter and Barcelona, becoming the first side in competition history to be victorious in all of their group matches in back-to-back seasons.
Despite this, Monday’s draw pitted Bayern against French champions PSG, who boast the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in their squad.
Nagelsmann believes his team have not received the full benefit for their group-stage heroics, telling reporters: “PSG are a difficult opponent.
“The perfect group phase is not rewarded with [drawing that opponent] – they have a lot of world-class players just like we do.
“But this is the Champions League, so it’s normal that there are no easy opponents in the round of 16.”
6 – Paris have won six games against Bayern Munich in European competitions, more than against any other side (L5). Only against Real Madrid (12), have Bayern lost more games than they have versus Paris (6) in their European history. Lucky? https://t.co/bMVbkSxOAi
PSG themselves went undefeated in the group stage, winning four and drawing two of their matches.
But a remarkable 6-1 win for Benfica over Maccabi Haifa on the final matchday saw Christophe Galtier’s team have top spot snatched off them by virtue of the Portuguese side scoring more away goals.
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn echoed Nagelsmann’s sentiments on the difficulty of the draw, but also spoke of his excitement over watching two of Europe’s elite clubs face off in a repeat of the 2019-20 final, which the Bavarian side won 1-0 thanks to a Kingsley Coman winner.
“We can look forward to two great games with the best players in Europe,” Kahn told Sky. “I think these will be two highly attractive games.”
Manuel Neuer is expected to return from his seven-match injury absence for Bayern Munich‘s trip to Hertha Berlin on Saturday, according to Julian Nagelsmann.
A shoulder injury has kept Neuer sidelined since Bayern’s dramatic 2-2 draw with Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund last month, causing concern for both club and country.
While the goalkeeper’s absence led to speculation he could miss Germany’s World Cup opener against Japan on November 23, Nagelsmann repeatedly dismissed those concerns while urging caution over his return.
That approach looks to have paid off, with Nagelsmann revealing on Friday that Neuer was likely to replace Sven Ulreich between the sticks in the German capital.
“If the final training session goes well, Manu will come along and also play,” he said at a pre-match news conference. “I assume it will, but we’ll see how the shoulder reacts. This week went well.
“We didn’t consciously wait longer, we just waited until he was pain-free. When you start again after an injury, there is always some risk, but I don’t calculate that, it’s the doctors.
“If they give the clearance, [the risk] is obviously so small so that he can play, but anything can happen when you have a bruised shoulder. Football is a contact sport, so you can never rule everything out.”
While Neuer’s return is a huge boost for Bayern – who are one point adrift of surprise Bundesliga leaders Union Berlin, they will be without Thomas Muller and Matthijs de Ligt at the Olympiastadion.
“Thomas and Matthijs are still out. Matthijs’ knee reacted again, so we could not increase [his workload],” Nagelsmann added.
“It was originally the idea [for De Ligt to return], but unfortunately it doesn’t work. That’s why he won’t be flying to Berlin, the same with Thomas. The plan is for them to come back during the week.”
Bayern finished their Champions League group-stage campaign with maximum points by beating Inter 2-0 last time out, becoming the first side to achieve that feat in consecutive seasons.
That means Bayern will be paired with one of Liverpool, Club Brugge, Milan or Paris Saint-Germain in Monday’s last-16 draw, and Nagelsmann believes none of those sides will want to face them.
Asked about the prospect of meeting Liverpool, he said: “There are easier draws, but you can also turn the tables. There aren’t too many teams who want to play against us.
“It’s all very hypothetical, the next Champions League game is in a few months. The current form of Liverpool, or us, or Milan, or PSG or Brugge is not decisive.
“Until then, a lot will happen. I also read all of this, I know who our potential opponents are and I have an opinion on all of them. But I’m not making the choice, so we’ll wait and see.”
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich will be targeting top spot when they take on Hertha Berlin in the capital.
Rivals Borussia Dortmund are aiming to continue their upturn in form against second-bottom side Bochum.
Elsewhere, leaders Union Berlin will look to retain their No1 ranking at struggling Bayer Leverkusen, while it is seventh versus sixth as Hoffenheim face RB Leipzig.
Third-placed Freiburg then host FC Cologne on Sunday in the hope of capitalising on any slip-ups from the top two.
Game of the week: Hertha Berlin vs Bayern Munich (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Recent history favours Bayern Munich in this fixture — they have won each of their last five meetings with Hertha Berlin.
Die Roten will hope to take a commanding lead before the break, having scored a Bundesliga-record 24 first-half goals in their 12 games this season.
Hertha, meanwhile, have netted just four strikes before half-time — the lowest tally in the league this season.
The hosts sit in 14th place and have struggled in attack this term. They are the only team yet to score more than twice in a single game, while just the bottom two clubs — Schalke and Bochum — have scored fewer goals (both 11) than their 14.
Additionally, Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann is unbeaten in his 13 matches as a manager against the Old Lady (nine wins, four draws) — more than against any other side.
Borussia Dortmund vs Bochum (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Jude Bellingham scored his third league goal of the season at Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend
Fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund will expect to extend their Bundesliga winning run to three games as they host a Bochum side who have mustered just seven points from their opening 12 matches.
But the visitors have only picked up more top-flight away points against Borussia Monchengladbach (26) than they have against BVB (25 — converted to three points for a win where applicable) in their history.
Nevertheless, Dortmund should be confident of scoring in this fixture and extending an ongoing club record.
They have found the net in each of their last 40 Bundesliga games at home, while Bochum have not kept a clean sheet on the road in the competition during any of their last 18 outings.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Union Berlin (Sunday, 2.30pm)
Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin played out a 2-2 draw when the teams last met
Leverkusen are third-bottom and Union sit top of the pile — but the history of this fixture tells a different story.
The visitors have just one competitive professional win against Leverkusen in nine attempts. However, their sole victory came after losing each of their first five and they are unbeaten since, drawing three times.
Die Werkself are enduring their second-worst start to a Bundesliga campaign, with just nine points from their 12 games so far, while Union have accrued 26.
The league leaders also boast the best defensive record in the division, conceding just nine times, while Leverkusen have shipped 25 goals — the third-worst tally in Germany’s top tier.
Hoffenheim vs RB Leipzig (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Christopher Nkunku is the Bundesliga’s joint-top scorer with nine goals this term
Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig are seventh and sixth respectively — and will see this fixture as a perfect opportunity to get ahead of their rivals as they bid to finish in a European spot.
But the hosts have won just one of the pair’s last nine meetings (two draws, six defeats) and only have a worse points-per-game record against Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen.
Leipzig are unbeaten in their last 10 outings in all competitions (eight wins, two draws) and will be boosted by Wednesday’s 4-0 win against Shakhtar Donetsk which secured their Champions League last-16 spot.
Freiburg vs FC Cologne (Sunday, 4.30pm)
Only two points separate Freiburg from the Bundesliga summit.
The Breisgau Brazilians’ 24 points is their best-ever return after 12 games, having never previously managed more than 22 at this stage of a campaign.
Since September 2000, Freiburg have lost just one of their 16 home encounters with FC Cologne across all competitions, winning 10 and drawing five.
Christian Streich’s outfit have kept a league-high seven clean sheets this term, while Cologne have managed just one — the joint-worst record in the division.
The weekend’s other games
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Stuttgart (Friday, 7.30pm)
Mainz vs Wolfsburg (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Augsburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Manuel Neuer and Lucas Hernandez were back in Bayern Munich training on Monday, with their respective hopes of being fit for the World Cup seemingly receiving a boost.
Bayern captain Neuer had been struggling with a shoulder injury that forced him to miss six games, but he returned to goalkeeper training ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Inter.
As recently as last week Nagelsmann did not want to commit to Neuer being ready to feature for Germany at the World Cup, saying he is not a “mystic”.
But he appears hopeful of being able to call upon the 36-year-old away to Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
“We hope he’ll be available again for the weekend. He came through training well and didn’t show any reaction. But we’ll have to wait and see,” Nagelsmann told reporters.
Tuesday’s game will also come too soon for Hernandez, not that the match has much riding on it – Bayern and Inter are already confirmed as Group C winners and runners-up respectively.
However, the France international is close to a return to action after suffering an adductor tear in September, with Monday seeing him take part in full team training.
Thomas Muller remains sidelined for the time being as well.
The Germany attacker has struggled lately with a hip issue, and Nagelsmann accepts he may not even be available to face Hertha.
“We’ll reduce Thomas’s workload this week and see how things are for the weekend,” Nagelsmann said.
“But I’m leaning more towards him not being back at the weekend.”
When he scored a hat-trick in Napoli’s 4-0 victory over Sassuolo, Victor Osimhen in Italy’s top division, he matched achievements from both seasons.
In this article, GOAL’s Seye Omidiora selects a few obscure statistics from this week that you might have missed and explains what they represent for the top talents in Africa.
Kelechi Iheanacho
Iheanacho did not start Leicester City’s 1-0 defeat by old side Manchester City on Saturday lunchtime but had a decent impact off the bench.
Patson Daka, also introduced with 20 minutes to play, outshot Vardy despite limited game time as the Foxes went for broke in the final quarter of the game.
Ademola Lookman
Atalanta returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win at Empoli with Lookman finding the back of the net in La Dea’s fifth away victory this term.
The attacker has now netted more league goals than he did in 2020-21 (four) and is now one goal from matching last term’s tally (six) with Leicester City.
In this form, the Bergamaschi will believe Lookman will surpass his previous best in England’s top flight.
Sadio Mane
The Bayern forward scored and assisted two in a 6-2 success over Mainz over the weekend, a result that saw Julian Nagelsmann’s crew maintain second spot on the Bundesliga table.
It was probably Mane’s finest game for FC Hollywood since signing from Liverpool, with his raw and underlying numbers blowing previous games out of the water.
Mane was involved in nine shot-creating actions, higher than his previous best (six), three goal-creating actions (previous best was one) and his expected assists (xA) of 0.8 bettered his xA from September’s draw with Union Berlin (0.2).
After a mixed start, is the Senegal international returning to his best?
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
In the same game, Choupo-Moting scored and assisted to take his tally to three goals and two assists in seven appearances (three starts).
The Cameroon international is now a goal behind last season’s Bundesliga return and has matched three goals scored from his first season in Bavaria.
Nagelsmann was seemingly against playing a natural centre-forward earlier in the season but Choupo-Moting’s recent run has brought about a slight change in approach by the Bayern boss.
Thomas Partey
Partey’s curled effort past Dean Henderson in Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest was his second goal of the campaign in a matter of weeks, following his goal in the North London derby success over Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the month.
The Ghana international’s strikes this term have both come from outside the box, signalling his threat from long-range to Arsenal’s opponents.
Interestingly, both of Partey’s Premier League goals last season were netted from inside the box and he has now matched that with two scorchers from distance in 2022-23. Balance.
Victor Osimhen
A stunning hat-trick in Napoli’s 4-0 hammering of Sassuolo not only took Osimhen to the summit of the goalscoring standings but means the Nigerian has now netted in three successive Serie A games for the third time.
The Super Eagle netted in four straight league games in 2020-21, scored in three games on the trot last season and has hit the back of the net in his last three domestic appearances this term.
Osimhen could match his scoring streak from his debut campaign if he scores in the Partenopei’s next Serie A outing with high-flying Atalanta.
Bayern Munich have top spot in their sights — and they could reach the Bundesliga’s summit by securing a result against Mainz.
But that would require current leaders Union Berlin to drop points at home to Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday.
Meanwhile, inconsistent Borussia Dortmund face a tricky trip to fellow European hopefuls Eintracht Frankfurt, while RB Leipzig host lowly Bayer Leverkusen.
And bottom side Schalke could be in for another tough afternoon, with high-flying Freiburg their next opponents.
Game of the week: Bayern Munich vs Mainz (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Bayern Munich host in-form Mainz on Saturday — and there are sure to be goals at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern have only failed to score in one of their 32 league meetings with Die Nullfunfer, averaging an eye-watering 2.75 strikes per game across those fixtures.
Recent performances also suggest that a high scoreline could be on the cards, with both teams netting seven times without reply in their previous two Bundesliga matches.
Saturday’s clash will feature two red-hot strikers with Die Roten’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Mainz forward Marcus Ingvartsen both finding the net in each of their last four appearances.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Dortmund (Saturday, 5.30pm)
The omens are in Dortmund’s favour ahead of their trip to Frankfurt — BVB have not beaten any Bundesliga side more often than Die Adler (47 times).
However, they come up against a team who have picked up 12 points from their last five league matches (won four, lost one) and will be relishing this weekend’s match-up.
Dortmund have lost each of their three previous away games in the competition, so will be severely tested by Frankfurt’s free-scoring attack.
Oliver Glasner’s men pose a particular threat from corners and free-kicks, having scored the most set-piece goals in Germany’s top tier this season (nine).
Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham is emerging as one of Europe’s most complete midfielders
Union Berlin vs Borussia Monchengladbach (Sunday, 2.30pm)
Leaders Union Berlin lost to Bochum in their last league outing — but will fancy their chances of getting back to winning ways on home soil.
Urs Fischer’s side are on an 11-game unbeaten league run at the Stadion An der Alten Forsterei (won eight, drawn three) and have won their last five matches in the capital without conceding.
Die Eisernen will need to pay particular attention to Marcus Thuram though, with the Monchengladbach striker scoring five in his last four Bundesliga appearances.
The 25-year-old has previously netted three league goals against Union, so will be optimistic about extending that hot streak on Sunday.
A Max Kruse double saw Union Berlin emerge victorious from their last meeting with Borussia Monchengladbach
RB Leipzig vs Bayer Leverkusen (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Buoyed by a memorable Champions League victory over Real Madrid in midweek, RB Leipzig will be hopeful of beating surprise strugglers Bayer Leverkusen.
Die Roten Bullen have picked up a commendable 11 points from six Bundesliga games since appointing former Dortmund manager Marco Rose, while no team has a better record at home this season (13 points).
And with just two defeats in 12 meetings with Leverkusen, history is also in Leipzig’s favour.
But right-back Jeremie Frimpong could be a thorn in the hosts’ side — he has the best chance-conversion rate in the division, scoring five goals from 50% of his shots.
Christopher Nkunku is the Bundesliga’s joint-top scorer with eight league goals to date
Schalke vs Freiburg (Sunday, 4.30pm)
Rock-bottom Schalke are desperate for a win after suffering defeat in each of their last six competitive games — the longest losing run in the club’s history.
However, the home side could be facing Freiburg at a good time, with the visitors failing to win their three most recent away league fixtures (drawn two, lost one).
They will still face a tough task breaking down one of the Bundesliga’s most resilient defences though.
The Breisgau Brazilians have kept more clean sheets than any other team in Germany’s top tier (six) and have conceded just 13 times — that is half of Schalke’s goals against tally (26).
Bayern Munich eased to a 3-0 win to compound a miserable day for Barcelona as they were eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage for a second successive season.
Inter’s 4-0 win against Viktoria Plzen earlier on Wednesday had already sealed Barca’s fate, which led to a sombre mood from the first whistle at Camp Nou.
First-half goals from Sadio Mane and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting were followed by a Benjamin Pavard strike with the last kick of the game.
Bayernwere already through from Group C but confirmed themselves as group winners ahead of Inter with this win, with Barca dropping into the Europa League.
2 – #FCBarcelona has been eliminated of UEFA Champions League #UCL group stage in back-to-back seasons, something that had not happened since the 1997-98 and 1998-99 campaings under Louis Van Gaal. Disappointment. pic.twitter.com/GkcqNp2Ncq
It took just 10 minutes for Bayern to strike after Serge Gnabry played a ball through to Mane, who outpaced Hector Bellerin before calmly dinking the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The second also came thanks to an assured pass from Gnabry as Bayern countered and Choupo-Moting was slipped in on the right of the penalty area, firing his shot through the legs of Ter Stegen just after the half-hour mark.
The hosts thought they had a penalty just before half-time when referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot after Robert Lewandowski was felled by Matthijs de Ligt, but a VAR check revealed the Dutch centre-back got a touch on the ball before any contact was made with the former Bayern man.
Gnabry had the ball in the net with a terrific left-foot finish to Ter Stegen’s right 10 minutes into the second half, yet his effort was ruled out for offside.
A game that had the feeling of a dead rubber fizzled out, with Lewandowski and Co. never looking like getting back into the game before Gnabry had his third assist of the night as his volley from a corner found Pavard at the far post for a tap-in.
What does it mean? Another season of Champions League heartache for Blaugrana
It was a somewhat eerie night at Camp Nou, with their relegation to the Europa League confirmed before a ball had been kicked.
That coupled with the early goal from Mane seemed to put the writing on the wall, with a number of Barca fans seemingly leaving the stadium at half-time as their team failed to land a single shot on target compared to the visitors’ eight.
This was the first time Barca have been dumped out of the Champions League group stage in back-to-back seasons since the 1997-98 and 1998-99 campaigns under Louis van Gaal.
Bogey boys Bayern beat Barca… again
Barca and Bayern seem to face each other on a regular basis on Europe’s biggest stage, which has been pretty bad news for the Catalan giants.
This was just the fifth time they have been beaten twice by the same team in a Champions League campaign, with Bayern responsible for four of those (also 1998-99, 2012-13 and 2021-22) — Dynamo Kyiv being the only other side to manage it (1997-98).
No happy reunion for Lewandowski
It was the obvious story when these two were drawn together in Group C following Lewandowski’s high-profile transfer from Munich to Barcelona at the end of last season.
Having failed to score in the first game at the Allianz Arena despite a series of chances, the Polish striker was anonymous here, having just 34 touches in his 82 minutes on the pitch, as well as two shots and a passing accuracy of only 61.9 per cent (13 of 21).
What’s next?
Barcelona travel to Valencia in LaLiga action on Saturday, while it is back to the Bundesliga for Bayern as they host Mainz on the same day.
Lautaro Martinez dismissed speculation over a move to Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain, stating he hopes to “become a legend” at Inter.
Chelsea, Bayern and PSG are among a host of Europe’s elite clubs that have repeatedly been linked to the forward, who will aim for World Cup glory with Argentina in November.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side remain on the hunt for a like-for-like replacement for Robert Lewandowski, while Martinez’s Argentina team-mate Lionel Messi could draw the Inter star to the French capital.
However, Martinez refuted reports of a move away from San Siro as he outlined his long-term ambitions with Inter.
“I’m fine, I’m happy here,” Martinez told Rai Sport. “I hope I can become a legend, I have a contract here and I only think about Inter.
“There are many goals from now on and we hope to continue like this.”
Martinez scored 21 goals in 35 Serie Aappearances as Inter finished second to rivals Milan last season, though he endured a lean spell in front of goal at the start of this campaign.
The 25-year-old failed to find the net in five straight league games but ended that poor form with a strike against Sassuolo on Wednesday, before a brace and an assist against Fiorentina on Saturday.
A dramatic 4-3 victory over Fiorentina – courtesy of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s fortuitous winner – lifted Inter to seventh in Serie A, but the Nerazzurri still sit five points behind leaders Napoli, who have a game in hand.
On Friday, the former France and Bayern Munich winger announced his retirement at the age of 39, having agreed to terminate his deal with Serie A club Salernitana.
He signed for Salernitana ahead of last season, though for the first time since the 2004-05 season, failed to score in the league.
His sole Serie A appearance this season came in a 1-0 defeat to Roma back in August, as a second-half substitute, and in truth it was no surprise when rumours recently emerged of his imminent retirement.
There can be no doubt, however, that Ribery will go down as one of European football’s greats of the modern era.
In 2013, Ribery was nominated for the Ballon d’Or, finishing third in the voting behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Falling short against two of the best to play the game is no shame, and using Opta data, here are some of the key facts from Ribery’s glittering career.
The ball stops. The feelings inside me do not.
Der Ball ruht. Die Gefühle in mir nicht.
Le ballon s’arrette mais pas mes sentiments pour lui.
Il pallone si ferma. Le emozioni dentro di me, no.
Having made a name for himself with Brest in Ligue 2, Ribery was recruited by Metz in 2004. He spent only half a season there and scored just one goal before joining Turkish giants Galatasaray, yet he made a big impact, with comparisons drawn to one of the club’s greatest exports, Robert Pires.
His only goal in Turkey came in the Turkish Cup final against Gala’s great rivals Fenerbahce, in a 5-1 victory. Having claimed his first trophy, Ribery headed home to France, signing for Marseille.
It was a messy move, with FIFA ultimately ruling in Ribery’s favour after the player claimed he had not been paid his wages by Gala, as well as alleging to have been threatened by his former agent and a club director.
Ribery spent two seasons with Marseille and became a star, being named the National Union of Professional Footballers’ (UNFP) Young Player of the Year in 2006.
His performances at the 2006 World Cup (more on that later) only increased his profile, with Marseille seeing off interest from Real Madrid, Arsenal and, controversially, rivals Lyon to keep hold of Ribery.
That decision paid off for OM. In his final campaign in France, in 2006-07, Ribery provided eight assists, behind only Nancy’s Benjamin Gavanon (nine), and had the highest tally of chances created per 90 minutes (2.95) among players who had featured for over 100 minutes across the season.
Marseille finished second, after losing in the final of the Coupe de France, and Ribery was named the French Player of the Year by France Football.
Flourishing for France
Ribery made his debut for Les Bleus in May 2006, ahead of the World Cup in Germany, where he truly made his name as a superstar.
Between making his debut and playing his final international match in March 2014, Ribery featured in more France games than any other player (81) in the same period, 11 ahead of second-ranked Florent Malouda.
Indeed, his 37 goal involvements (16 goals, 21 assists) was more than any other French player, and puts him sixth on the nation’s goal involvements list in the 21st century.
He helped France reach the final of the 2006 World Cup, though they failed to make it out of the group stage in South Africa four years later, while success also eluded them in the Euros during Ribery’s stint on the international stage.
Greatness in Germany
In 2007, Bayern paid Marseille €25million for the 24-year-old. It was an investment worth every cent.
Ribery went on to play 425 times for Bayern in all competitions, making him the non-German player with the second-most appearances for the club, behind David Alaba (431), since 1965.
When it comes to French players, only Jonathan Schmid has made more Bundesliga appearances (296) than Ribery (273), who scored 124 goals in all competitions for Bayern.
Since detailed data collection of the Bundesliga began in 2004, Thomas Muller is the only player to provide more assists than Ribery, who set up 92 goals.
Ribery was at the peak of his powers in the 2012-13 season, as he helped Bayern win the treble and was named UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, before going on to come third in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
That season, he provided 14 assists in the Bundesliga, a total trailing only Andres Iniesta (16) when it came to players in Europe’s big five leagues.
Ribery left Bayern as a club great, having formed one of the all-time most fearsome wing partnerships with Arjen Robben. He won nine Bundesliga titles, a tally that trails only former club-mates Alaba and Robert Lewandowski (10 each) when it comes to foreign players in Germany’s top tier.
Italian swansong
After leaving Bayern, Ribery tried his hand in Italy, joining Fiorentina.
Over his two seasons in Florence, Ribery created 70 goalscoring opportunities in Serie A, behind only Erick Pulgar (104) in Fiorentina’s squad. His dribbling ability was still top class, too, with Gaetano Castrovilli his only team-mate to complete more dribbles (123 to Ribery’s 117).
Ribery played 51 times for Fiorentina in all competitions, starting on 47 occasions. He scored five goals, contributed nine assists and had 182 touches in the opposition’s box. Surprisingly, he played only five successful crosses, though he was often deployed in a more central role for La Viola.
In his 25 matches for Salernitana, Ribery failed to score, though his three assists in Serie A mean he is the club’s joint-top creator of goals, alongside Milan Djuric and Pasquale Mazzocchi, in the same timeframe.
Bayern Munichare hell-bent on clawing their way back to the Bundesliga’s summit — and fourth-placed Hoffenheim are the next obstacle in their path.
Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, have dropped down the table after a poor run of form and will hope to correct that with a victory over struggling Stuttgart.
And it is top versus bottom as surprise league leaders Union Berlin travel to face Bochum as they bid to remain ahead of the pack.
Meanwhile, third-placed Freiburg will be looking to bounce back from their heavy defeat against Bayern when they host Werder Bremen.
Game of the week: Hoffenheim vs Bayern Munich (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Bayern made a statement last Saturday as they leapfrogged Freiburg with a resounding 5-0 victory before following up that impressive performance with a 5-2 win at Augsburg in Wednesday’s DFB-Pokal tie.
But since 2016-17, no side has picked up more Bundesliga points at home against the Bavarians than Hoffenheim’s 10.
Meanwhile, Bayern are winless in their last three away games in the competition.
However, Hoffenheim head coach Andre Breitenreiter has lost all seven of his Bundesliga meetings with FCB by an aggregate scoreline of 26-2 — no manager has a worse 100% losing record against a single club in the division’s history.
Borussia Dortmund vs Stuttgart (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham roams across the pitch to get involved in various phases of play
Dortmund have gone three Bundesliga games without a win and are in desperate need of three points to arrest their decline.
On paper, a home fixture against Stuttgart — who only picked up their first league victory of the campaign last Saturday — looks to be a kind one.
However, Dortmund have suffered 13 defeats and conceded 73 Bundesliga goals at home against Stuttgart — they only have a worse record against Bayern.
Stuttgart, though, have failed to win any of their last 14 Bundesliga away fixtures (eight draws, six defeats) and have only triumphed in one of their last 21 such games (11 draws, nine defeats).
Bochum vs Union Berlin (Sunday, 2.30pm)
Janik Haberer has scored three goals for Union Berlin so far this season
Bochum are enduring their worst-ever start to a Bundesliga campaign, with just four points after 10 games — and they face the league leaders next.
The Bundesliga’s bottom club also have its worst defence (27 goals conceded) and its bluntest attack (nine goals scored). Meanwhile, Union boast the best defensive record in the division, shipping just six goals.
Furthermore, the hosts have given away seven penalties already — an all-time Bundesliga record at this stage of the season.
Meanwhile, Union are enjoying their best-ever start in the top flight, with 23 points from 10 games — far exceeding their previous best of 16 at this stage.
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt (Saturday, 5.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt are enjoying a fruitful season — they are the Bundesliga’s second-highest scorers
This match pits sixth against fifth in what promises to be a close encounter.
After enjoying a six-match unbeaten run against Frankfurt, Borussia Monchengladbach failed to win either of last season’s encounters, losing 3-2 at home last December before sharing the spoils in their final outing on the road last term.
Frankfurt have picked up more away points in the Bundesliga against BMG (53) than against any other side.
However, Die Fohlen have won six of the last seven on their own patch in the competition (one defeat).
Intriguingly, these two sides have the joint-best record in the Bundesliga for goals from set-pieces, with eight each.
Freiburg vs Werder Bremen (Saturday, 2.30pm)
Third-placed Freiburg will be wounded after suffering a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Bayern and will be hoping for a positive response against mid-table Werder Bremen.
However, of teams in this season’s Bundesliga, Werder only have a better win percentage against Bochum (63%) than they do against Freiburg (55%).
Additionally, the visitors have lost just one of their last 10 games against Freiburg in all competitions (four wins, five draws) and are unbeaten away from home in the Bundesliga this season (three wins, two draws).
Freiburg have, though, won each of their last five Bundesliga home games against promoted sides — the longest such run of any team in Germany’s top flight.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting earned plaudits from Bayern Munichboss Julian Nagelsmann after playing a starring role in Sunday’s 5-0 demolition of Freiburg.
Facing a team who were unbeaten in their past 11 games, Bayern picked apart Freiburg as Choupo-Moting led the attack, finishing with one goal and one assist for his endeavour.
The former Mainz, Schalke and Paris Saint-Germain player featured for 66 minutes until Jamal Musiala was given a run-out.
It had been the 33-year-old Choupo-Moting’s first game in the starting XI for Bayern this season. By the time he left the field, the Cameroon international had convinced coach Nagelsmann there could be plenty more starts for him this season.
“Choupo did very well, he brought his success in practice into the pitch and certainly he deserved to play a little bit earlier maybe at some stage,” Nagelsmann said.
“I’m very happy to have him. We know we can rely on Choupo. He got a great goal. He’s a great player all around. We’re happy that we have him.”
Choupo-Moting is hoping the standout display leads to more involvement, too. This was the first time he had played more than 21 minutes in a 2022-23 Bundesliga game.
The striker told DAZN: “I try to step on the gas every day in training and the boys see that. I know what I can do and that I can help the team.
“Julian knows that I see it that way and I told him so. It’s nice that it worked out and of course I want to keep playing a lot and be successful with the team.”
Bayern came into the game with just one win in their last six Bundesliga outings, four of which ended in draws.
Oliver Kahn, the club CEO, had demanded better results, and Bayern delivered on that request to move to second place in the Bundesliga, four points behind early shock leaders Union Berlin. They vaulted above Freiburg with the win.
Nagelsmann said: “I’m very happy with the result and the three points. There was definitely pressure before the game because Freiburg are successful and play good football and deserve to be near top of the table. The boys did a very good job and were very focused.
“In defence, we had one very dangerous situation in the first half where Freiburg didn’t finish perfectly. I think we played nice football with great finishing. Big compliment to the team.”
Bayern sit between Union and Freiburg now, with 10 rounds of games gone, in a top three that few would have predicted at the start of the season.
“Freiburg deserve to be there because they’re playing very well,” Nagelsmann said in his post-game press conference. “Union is one of the top teams in the league and they’ll probably continue that over the next couple of weeks.”
Thomas Muller will not feature when Bayern Munich meet Borussia Dortmund on Saturday after continuing to suffer from COVID-19 symptoms, Julian Nagelsmann has revealed.
Joshua Kimmich, however, is in contention to return after recovering from the virus, as Bayern bid for a ninth consecutive win over their rivals.
Muller and Kimmich missed Tuesday’s 5-0 Champions League win over Viktoria Plzen after testing positive for the virus last week, but both players have now returned negative tests.
However, Nagelsmann revealed on Friday that Muller was still experiencing symptoms and would miss the trip to BVB, although he was more positive regarding Kimmich’s chances.
“Though they have both tested negative, Thomas Muller still has some cold symptoms, so he won’t be in the squad,” Nagelsmann said.
“Joshua Kimmich, everything looks good. He has no symptoms, he was asymptomatic the whole time.
“He’ll travel with the squad and then we’ll see how far off he is after five days on the sidelines, whether he can feature in the starting lineup.
“It’s a special game and that might mean there are special circumstances, but we’ll see how training goes and how he feels.
“At the end of the day, both are now free from the constraints, which is good news.”
With surprise packages Union Berlin and Freiburg setting the pace at the Bundesliga summit, Saturday’s game will represent the first time in 13 years that neither Bayern or Dortmund has topped the league table ahead of a head-to-head meeting.
Though Dortmund’s eight-match losing streak against Bayern is their joint- longest against any opponent in their history, Nagelsmann is wary of the threat posed by Edin Terzic’s men.
“They have made some good signings and have put together a strong team,” he added. “Overall, I think they are having a solid season.
“They are a tough opponent and it will definitely be a really good game. We want to win more than anything.
“Dortmund like to defend deep and remain compact while waiting for opportunities to counter. They always have a clear shape when they counter.
“There’s not really any sense of extra anticipation or tension, the preparations are the same. We don’t want to let the tension come in too early, because if it comes too early, it can be hard to carry through.”
The match will also see two of Europe’s most highly rated prospects go head-to-head, as Bayern and Germany creator Jamal Musiala faces in-form England midfielder Jude Bellingham.
Nagelsmann praised both players’ development over recent months.
The Bayern boss added: “Bellingham is having a very good season, he’s very active, a different player to Jamal.
“He’s more of a box-to-box player. With Jamal, it’s all about the danger he can pose in front of goal, the passes he can play, and we’re very happy that we have him.
“He has developed really well. He also developed well last season but didn’t really hit that top level. Now, we’re starting to see him do that.
“They both also have good standings in their national teams as well, so I think we can all enjoy the fact they are in the Bundesliga.”
Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn labelled Jude Bellingham “an excellent player” as he addressed speculation over a potential move for the Borussia Dortmund midfielder.
The England international has been tipped as the next of the Black and Yellow’s young superstar breed to depart, following Erling Haaland’s exit to Manchester City ahead of the current campaign.
A return to his native country and the Premier League has been heavily mooted, though Dortmund – who handed Bellingham the captaincy for their 3-2 loss to Koln over the weekend –hope he will yet remain.
But despite their admiration for the player, the 19-year-old will not be moving to the Bundesliga champions, with Kahn insisting they are already well-stocked for his position.
“Of course, I think Bellingham is an excellent player,” Kahn told Sport Bild when asked if there would be any interest in a swoop for the teenager.
“But we’ve got Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Ryan Gravenberch, Marcel Sabitzer. I can say we’re well-equipped in that position. We’re not worried about that at all.”
Obviously very annoyed by the outcome of today’s game but what a special honour to captain this great club for the first time. No time to let our heads drop, many more chances to correct the mistakes of today in the next games. Heja BVB.🖤💛 pic.twitter.com/XQ5YSFx4pg
Bellingham is anticipated to be a starting member of Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, having been a member of their Euro 2020 party which finished as runners-up.
News that City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, a mainstay of the England midfielder, will undergo shoulder surgery has cast doubt on his place, with Bellingham having deputised during the September international break.
Liverpool face Rangers in a battle of Britain and Barcelona will attempt to apply more pressure on Inter boss Simone Inzaghi with a Champions League victory on Tuesday.
An army of Gers fans will travel south of the border to descend on Merseyside for a Group A clash that will give them another opportunity to secure a first point, with the Reds in second spot behind Napoli.
Bayern will be expected to maintain their 100 per cent record at the expense of Viktoria Plzen, and Serie A table-toppers Napoli travel to Ajax looking to continue their brilliant start to the season.
Ahead of another mouthwatering set of matches, Stats Perform trawls through the Opta data to highlight the most noteworthy facts for each contest.
This will be the first European meeting between Liverpool and the Glasgow giants in a European competition.
The Gers have only won one of their seven away games in England, that being a 2-1 Champions League victory at Leeds United in November 1992 courtesy of goals from Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist. They have suffered six defeats and drawn twice.
Liverpool’s last meeting with Scottish opponents in the European Cup was back in the 1980-81 campaign, winning 5-0 on aggregate against Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen (1-0 away, 4-0 home). The Reds went on to win the competition that year.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have won 13 of their past 15 home Champions League group stage matches (D1 L1), scoring 36 goals in process. Their solitary defeat was against Atalanta in November 2020
Rangers have failed to score in their two group games so far. Indeed, only Plzen (2) and Sevilla (3) have had fewer shots on target than the Scottish club (4) in this season’s first two matchdays.
Inter v Barcelona
Interhave won just two of their 14 European matches against Barcelona (D4 L8), a 2-1 victory in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in January 1970 and 3-1 Champions League triumph in April 2010.
Barca’s two away wins against the Nerazzurri came 60 years apart, winning 4-2 in the Fairs Cup in September 1959 and 2-1 in the Champions League in December 2019.
Inter have lost six UEFA Champions League matches against the Catalan giants, their most against a single opponent. Barca have only beaten Celtic (8) more times in the competition.
Barca have lost three of their past four away Champions League group stage matches (W1), as many as in their previous 25 matches on their travels in the competition (W15 D7). Xavi is only the second manager to lose his first two away Champions League matches in charge of Barcelona, along with Louis van Gaal in 1997.
Inter have lost their past two Champions League games at San Siro (0-2 v Liverpool and Bayern). Only once previously have they suffered three consecutive home defeats in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (a run of three between February-September 2011).
Bayern have won all four of their European matches against Plzen, beating them twice in the 1971-72 Cup Winners’ Cup and the Champions League in 2013-14.
Plzen’s two away European matches against Bayern have seen them concede at least five goals on each occasion, losing 6-1 in September 1971 in the Cup Winners’ Cup and 5-0 in the Champions League nine years ago.
Bayern are out to record three wins at the start of a Champions League campaign for a fourth consecutive season. In their opening three games in the previous three seasons and their two games this year, they have won all 11 matches by an aggregate score of 41-7.
Plzen have conceded seven goals in their two Champions League games this season and only kept one clean sheet in their 20 matches in the competition.
Leroy Sane has been directly involved in 14 goals in his past 11 Champions League starts for Bayern (8 goals, 6 assists). The winger could become only the second player to score in Bayern’s first three Champions League games in a season, with Robert Lewandowski (in 2019-20 and 2021-22) being the other.
Napoli have never won away from home in the Netherlands (D2 L3) in any European competition.
Ajax have failed to win any of their past 11 home European matches against Italian opposition (D6 L5) since winning 2-1 against Roma in this competition in December 2002.
Napoli will be looking to win their first three Champions League group stage games for the first time. They are unbeaten in eight matches in the group stage of the competition (W5 D3).
Ajax have won their past four home games in the group stage of the Champions League, scoring four goals in each of the previous three (4-0 v Borussia Dortmund, 4-2 v Sporting CP and 4-0 v Rangers).
Napoli are the top scoring side in the Champions League this season with seven goals. Luciano Spalletti’s side have had more shots (43) and shots on target (19) than any other team.
Other fixtures:
Marseille v Sporting CP
6 – Marseille have lost six of their eight European Cup/Champions League matches against Portuguese opponents (W1 D1).
16 – Marseille have lost 16 of their past 17 Champions League matches (W1), failing to score in 11 matches in this run, including both games this season.
Porto v Bayer Leverkusen
7 – Porto have won seven of their eight home Champions League games against German opposition (D1), winning five in a row.
2 – Leverkusen have only won two of their past 13 away matches in the Champions League (D5 L6), with three of the previous four ending in defeats without scoring.
Club Brugge v Atletico Madrid
3 – Brugge are unbeaten in all three home meetings with Atleti in European competition (W2 D1).
7 – Atleti have never won a European match against a Belgium club in seven attempts (five away, two neutral). They have played more major European games on Belgian soil without winning than in any other country.
Eintracht Frankfurt v Tottenham
4 – Tottenham have lost their past four Champions League matches against German opposition by an aggregate score of 14-3, losing twice to Bayern Munich (2-7 and 1-3) and twice to RB Leipzig (0-1 and 0-3).
3 – Eintracht have won three consecutive European games against English teams (one versus Arsenal, two v West Ham), as many as in their first 14.
Sadio Manesays he “will never forget” his time with Liverpool having made a move to Bayern Munich in the recent transfer window.
Mane joined the Reds from Southampton in 2016 and spent six successful years at the club, winning both the Premier League and the Champions League.
And while the 30-year-old now plies his trade in the Bundesliga, he says he will always have fond memories of playing for Liverpool.
“Honestly, I will never forget my time there,” Mane told UEFA.com.
“I learned a lot – as a man and as a football player. The supporters were amazing, the people from the city were amazing. It is a club that will stay in my heart forever.
“It is also a legendary club – they have won everything. And also, it is the club that had all the best Champions League nights.”
Mane cited the 2019 Champions League finalwin against Tottenham in Madrid as a particular highlight, adding: “I remember the second goal that Divock Origi scored very well. I was over the moon at that moment. I couldn’t believe it.
“I just thought back to my childhood, when I was watching the Champions League. I found myself playing a final and, more importantly, winning it.
“It was amazing – 2019 was an outstanding year. The celebrations, the club, you just had to be there to understand. I think over half a million people were out in the streets waiting for us to parade our trophy. It was just beautiful.”
The Senegal international has endured a mixed start to his Bayern career, scoring three in three league games to start the season but then going on a run of five appearances without a goal in all competitions before finally finding the net again in Friday’s 4-0 thumping of Bayer Leverkusen.
And he admitted his move to Germany had not all been plain sailing so far, saying: “Switching from one club to another is not easy.
“I spent eight very nice years in England, six years at Liverpool [after] two at Southampton, and now I am in a new country. It is not easy because everything changes so suddenly, people, training, everything.
“Everything is changing so it is not easy at all. I need to adapt. I knew that and it came as no surprise. It is happening just the way I imagined it.
“People here are welcoming, and they’re real players. People around the club are amazing so I am very happy.
“We have a very, very young squad. It’s the first time in my career that I have been part of such a young group. What really stands out to me is that they’re all hungry. They all want to develop and they’re attentive too.
“Training sessions are as intense as the games. It’s important as I think it makes a real difference and it shows. It’s so easy to play alongside these youngsters, who are massively talented and promising.”
Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann says he cannot help but “take every criticism to heart”, after a poor recent run of form led to questions over his position.
A 1-0 defeat to Augsburg last time out made it four Bundesliga games without a victory, dropping them to fifth in the table.
Some feel Bayern’s streak of winning 10 league titles in a row is under threat, with them sitting five points behind early leaders Union Berlin, and there is also talk of sacked Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel being a potential replacement for Nagelsmann if he was axed.
And Nagelsmann admitted he takes the negative assessments of him personally, telling reporters: “I take every criticism to heart. It’s normal that the last two weeks have been tough.
“I am aware that I am not responsible for everything. I know that I invest a lot in the job. I claim to be an orderly person. Football is a very important part and an important passion for me. But it doesn’t define me as a person.”
Sadio Mane, brought in from Liverpool in the transfer window, is another Bayern man under fire, having scored three in three league games to start the season but failing to find the net in his last five for his new side in all competitions.
But his head coach is not worried about the Senegal international returning to form with his coaching staff’s help, with Nagelsmann adding: “I have individual talks with all the players.
“In the end he has to help implement the plan, then he is a great support. In the end, it’s the player’s job to implement what the coach tells him to do.
“Then he will quickly find his way back to top form, I’m in good spirits. The performance is the responsibility of the coaching staff to get him where we want him to be.”
Bayern are in action on Friday as they look to end their winless run, but will face a Bayer Leverkusen side who themselves are desperate for points, sat one place above the relegation zone having won just one league match this season.
Nagelsmann is expecting an improved performance from the defeat to Augsburg, commenting: “From my side, I expect that the players show what they’re made of.
“I know that we haven’t shown some things yet. It is still important to be brave. We still have to be aware that we are Bayern Munich.
“Leverkusen doesn’t have an outstanding situation either, but it’s a top game.”
Former Manchester City winger Sane showed great control before rounding keeper Andre Onana and slotting home to open the scoring midway through the first half.
Bayern made sure of the points with an own goal by Danilo D’Ambrosio, following a clever one-two involving Sane and Kingsley Coman.
It was just the start Bayern were looking for in a group which also contains Barcelona – who they entertain next Tuesday – and who thrashed Viktoria Plzen 5-1.
Bayern were impressive throughout and had 21 attempts on goal, including 11 on target.
They might have won by a more handsome margin, but Onana did well to keep out Bayern’s former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane.
Inter will look to bounce back when they travel to the Czech Republic to face Viktoria Plzen next Tuesday.
Sadio Mane honors his Muslim principles by refusing to hold a beer in the team photo for Bayern Munich, which is sponsored.
Bayern Munich has made images from their usual photo shoot available in honor of their collaboration with the Munich-based brewery Paulaner.
The photoshoot featured all members of the Bayern Munich first team in traditional German outfits called Lederhosen, posing in orderly sitting and standing positions.
All but two of the 31 players in the team photoshoot was holding a tall glass of Paulaner beer each, most notably Sadio Mane.
Sadio Mane empty-handed
Mane was one of seven players sitting in front but while the other six could be seen visibly holding up their glasses of beer, the Senegalese forward was with his hands down held together.
The ever-smiling Mane is an openly practicing Muslim and his religion forbids the consumption or association with alcohol of any form which is presumably why he was without a beer in the photo.
The Bayern Munich new signing is one of two openly Muslim players in the current Bayern Munich squad, the other being Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui who was also empty-handed.
Paulaner is a German brewery, established in 1634 in Munich and is one of the six breweries that provide beer for Oktoberfest, an annual German celebration in which Bayern are heavily involved.
Bayern stars uphold traditional Twitter
Both Munich-based institutions have established a relationship over the years and the annual photoshoot is one of the ways they celebrate their alliance.
The famous 3-liter beer glasses 3-liter beer glasses have become a part of Bayern Munich’s history over the years.
Bayern Munich routinely bring the entertainment in the German Bundesliga, and they have some huge games in September and October that you won’t want to miss. Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
The American football season is easy by comparison. Your team has either 12 or 17 games — depending on if you most closely follow college football or the NFL — and at a glance you can piece together the season’s hardest stretches, most important games, et cetera. Whether you’re a writer or a fan, you can make sense of the calendar. You can craft a battle plan of sorts.
The European football season, on the other hand, is endless. It starts before the American football season and ends months after it. When Tottenham Hotspur’s Antonio Conte and Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel nearly came to blows after a wild and contentious derby match, there was no need to get excited and check the calendar for when the rematch occurs: It’s six months from now! Many things (including an entire World Cup) will happen between now and then!
Neither the matches nor the narrative machinations ever stop. Somehow, the transfer rumors never stop either. In other words, it’s a lot more difficult to craft a plan for the season, but you can at least create a set of guidelines to follow from week to week to get the most enjoyment out of the season. So, here are mine.
Each week I try to keep up with not only the biggest match-ups but also the most bitter match-ups, the most interesting players and the games involving teams that are either particularly fun, particularly weird or both. Here are the guiding principles I’m following this season.
Make sure your internal calendar doesn’t stop with the major rivalries
Each week indeed starts with some fence posts, so consider this a loose guide for the biggest and/or most intense matches of each week between now and the World Cup. It’s hard to pin particularly huge stakes to single games this early in a long season, but these matches will deliver plenty of bang regardless of the stakes.
Weekend of August 19-21: Liverpool at Manchester United (Aug. 22), AC Milan at Atalanta, PSG at Lille. The big match comes on Monday night, as Manchester United attempts to arrest its ridiculous and existentially awful start, but any Milan trip to Bergamo produces a wild atmosphere while PSG vs. Lille is a battle of the last two Ligue 1 champs.
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Weekend of August 26-28: Roma at Juventus, Marseille at Nice, Borussia Monchengladbach at Bayern Munich. Gladbach is Bayern’s perpetual bogey team — one Bayern win in their last five meetings — and we’ll get a great look at what Roma has to offer this weekend. But honestly, Nice vs. Marseille might be the headliner. Few matchups in Europe are more intense, for better or worse.
Weekend of September 2-4: Arsenal at Manchester United, Inter Milan at AC Milan, Barcelona at Sevilla. LaLiga’s slate is back-loaded a bit, with a lot of the biggest derbies of the first half of the season coming in January but Barca vs. Sevilla should deliver, and the Milan Derby always delivers.
– ESPN+ Viewer’s Guide: Bundesliga, LaLiga and more all season
Weekend of September 9-11: Tottenham Hotspur at Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund at RB Leipzig, Nottingham Forest at Leeds United (Sept. 12). Spurs vs. City and BVB vs. RBL are easy enough to explain, but if you want atmosphere, tune into the first Forest vs. Leeds Premier League match since 1999 and turn the volume up loud.
Weekend of September 16-18: Real Madrid at Atletico Madrid, Schalke 04 at Borussia Dortmund, Leeds United at Manchester United. Two of the most famous derbies in Europe plus, in Leeds vs. United, one of the most underrated (and, for most of the 2000s, dormant)? Yes, please.
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Weekend of October 7-9: Bayern Munich at Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool at Arsenal, Koln at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Juventus at AC Milan, Lens at Lille, Nantes at Rennes. Bayern vs. Dortmund has become the Bundesliga’s marquee match given that both teams end up at the top of the table, but Koln vs. Gladbach could be even more intense. We’ve got a couple of huge, regional French rivalries this weekend, too.
Weekend of October 14-16: Barcelona at Real Madrid, Manchester City at Liverpool, Juventus at Torino, Marseille at PSG. El Clasico and City vs. Liverpool in the same weekend? That automatically qualifies this as the biggest weekend of the early season.
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Weekend of October 21-23: Manchester United at Chelsea, Napoli at Roma, Sevilla at Real Madrid. By now, we should understand the stakes of the Serie A title race and whether Napoli or Roma, though intense, might or might not be a part of that. (We’ll also know what the stakes of United’s season are by now, too.)
Weekend of October 28-30: This is the one weekend of the early season that really doesn’t boast an obvious bellcow match.
Weekend of November 4-6: Arsenal at Chelsea, Sevilla at Real Betis, Bayer Leverkusen at Köln (Nov. 8), Lazio at Roma, Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan at Juventus, Lyon at Marseille. We finish up the pre-World Cup portion of the season with an absolutely massive set of matches. Goodness.
Understand the tightest races
It is folly to assign title significance to early matches: The season’s just too long, and we’ll wear ourselves out if we pay too much attention to the table too early. But we also head into each season with an understanding of which races might be tighter than others. It doesn’t hurt to acknowledge that.
AC Milan won Serie A last season in dramatic fashion last year over their cross-town rivals, Inter, and this year’s battle should prove to be just as entertaining from start to finish. Nicola Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images
The Italian Serie A title (the Scudetto). Juventus’ nearly decade-long title streak ended a couple of years ago and Serie A’s balance of power has been pretty blurry since. That’s bad for fans of the Old Lady, but it’s great for us. Inter and AC Milan have split the last two titles, Juve have added some fun, creative pieces this offseason, and both Napoli and Roma bring quite a bit of optimism into the 2022-23 campaign. Inter is the betting favorite at the moment, but no major title race could feature more teams or more plot twists.
Third and fourth place in the Premier League. For now, we’ll ignore Liverpool’s slow start (two draws from two matches) and assume that the title race again comes down to the Reds and Manchester City. But three other members of England’s Big Six — Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and, of course, Chelsea — seem to very much have their acts together this season, and only two of them can snare Champions League berths.
Fourth place in the Bundesliga. It’s fair to assume that Bayern and Borussia Dortmund will snare two of Germany’s four Champions League spots, and despite a slow start, RB Leipzig remain a pretty solid favorite as well. But who finishes fourth? Will Bayer Leverkusen get going after a dreadfully slow start? Will defense-heavy (and intensely lovable) upstarts Freiburg and Union Berlin continue to thrive? Are Borussia Monchengladbach ready for a rebound? What about Koln or Eintracht Frankfurt? Right now, FiveThirtyEight gives 13 teams at least an 8% chance of securing a Champions League slot!
Premier League relegation. Two weeks into the season, nearly every team in the Premier League has shown at least a hint of promise. But three teams will go down, of course, and FiveThirtyEight gives 11 teams — more than half the league! — at least a 10% chance of doing so. Heck, Manchester United are at 8%! Someone with either a massive bank account or a very good plan will be playing second-division ball next year.
Second place in Ligue 1. PSG have been rampant out of the gate this year and might run away with the title once again. Fine. But the second-best team in the country could be almost literally anyone in the league. Monaco? Marseille? Lyon? Lille? Rennes? A promoted team like Toulouse (we’ll get to them in a bit)? You could convince me of any of these.
Sevilla will have to work hard to retain their top-four status in LaLiga this season. Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
Fourth place in LaLiga. The top four leagues in Europe — Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A — command 16 of the current 32 bids in the Champions League. Of last year’s 16 qualifiers, no one feels more vulnerable to me than Sevilla.* They were awfully poor down the stretch last spring, and clubs like Real Betis, Villarreal and Real Sociedad are all hinting that they might have their respective acts together this season. Granted, they hinted at the same thing last year and couldn’t maintain form, but Sevilla should be preparing for a huge challenge here.
*Leverkusen is certainly making a case, too.
The “Fun, young-ish and making a spirited run at a Champions League spot (or better)” contenders
Each season features a set of clubs that might always have high expectations but manage to bring a lot of up-and-comer energy to the table. They are usually (but not always) pretty young and typically quite fun to watch. Here’s my best guess at this year’s batch:
Napoli. They scored the third-most goals in Serie A last season, allowed the second-fewest and finished with a better goal differential than champion AC Milan. Forward Victor Osimhen is one of the most fun players in Italy while newcomer Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a 21-year old Georgia international winger acquired from Dinamo Batumi, made the best possible first impression this past week, recording both a goal and an assist in his club debut.
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WEDNESDAY, AUG. 17
• Sheffield United vs. Sunderland, 3 p.m. ET
• Chelsea vs. Olympique Lyon, 9 p.m. ET
FRIDAY, AUG. 19
• Espanyol vs. Rayo Vallecano, 1:50 p.m. ET
• Gladbach vs. Hertha BSC, 2:20 p.m. ET
• Norwich City vs. Millwall, 3 p.m. ET
• Sevilla vs. Valladolid, 3:50 p.m. ET
Whether or not they win their first Scudetto since 1990, you will never regret tuning into a Napoli match. They are intense and wonderfully optimistic. (To say the least, their 5-2 win over Hellas Verona on Monday was proof of concept in this regard. Man oh man, were they enjoying themselves.)
Arsenal. Yes, Arsenal. I’m honestly not sure how to respond to liking the moves the Gunners make in a given offseason, but adding Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko — a pair of seasoned Manchester City title winners who are each somehow still just 25 years old — to one of the Premier League’s youngest and most high-upside rosters was fantastic business. Jesus has exploded for two goals and two assists in Arsenal’s first two matches (both wins), and the team is playing at a high level despite getting little from Bukayo Saka thus far.
This was the third-best team in England last season after a dreadful first three matches, and there’s legitimate reason to be optimistic that their five-season streak of Champions League absences might end soon, even if they’re going to have to beat out one similarly rich and organized team to get there.
Arsenal brought in Jesus, left, and Zinchenko, right, this summer and the Gunners are one to watch this season as a result. Xinhua via Getty Images
Real Betis. There’s nothing particularly young about this Betis squad — only one player under 25 started in Los Verdiblancos’ debut romp over 10-man Elche — but Manuel Pellegrini’s squad, led in attack by Juanmi, Nabil Fekir and Borja Iglesias, was maybe LaLiga’s most optimistic and exciting last year, and the Betis crowd is one of Spain’s best. Only a slow start kept them out of the top four last season.
Lyon. Like Arsenal, Lyon bring history and expectations to the table, but they’ve been stuck outside the top three for three straight years. Adding veterans Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Tagliafico and Corentin Tolisso to a lineup that features younger talents like winger Tete (22), midfielder Lucas Paqueta (24) and another newcomer, Johann Lepenant (19), could reap dividends. Tete looked particularly inspired in a season-opening win.
Basically everyone in Belgium. Do you enjoy the Bundesliga, but think its matches somehow aren’t chaotic enough? Say hello to the Jupiler Pro League! It featured easily the best title race of any of Europe’s top leagues, with Union Saint-Gilloise making a shocking post-promotion run to the regular season crown, but narrowly losing the playoff to heavyweight Club Brugge. It also features goals, goals, goals and more goals.
Through four matchdays, seven teams are averaging at least 1.8 goals per match, while Genk average 3.3. Royal Antwerp have raced out to 12 points, but Brugge, Genk, Gent and Anderlecht are all well-positioned for title runs. This is going to be absolute, wonderful nonsense from start to finish… and ESPN+ airs a selection of matches each weekend!).
Teams doing weird stuff
There is, at any moment, a dominant style of play in any sport. We’re heavy on three-pointers and layups in basketball at the moment, while the strikeouts-and-homers era in baseball is full-go. Soccer has been trending toward a modern combination of slow buildup, possession play and counter-pressing for a while now, but in an environment in which only the richest club teams can acquire the most possession-friendly pieces. That leaves everyone else to either try to win without the ball or piece together a more unique approach.
Among these five teams, only one has decent odds of a top-tier finish, but they are “Trying Things” and are worth watching because of it.
Brighton flummoxed Manchester United in their season opener, but you’ll enjoy watching how Potter’s side frustrate bigger-budgeted teams this season. Michael Regan/Getty Images
Brighton: possession without firepower. For two straight seasons, Graham Potter’s Seagulls have done as well as any mid-level team when it comes to crafting a possession-friendly approach without a heavyweight budget. They’ve lacked the high-quality finishing required to snare one of England’s European berths, but they notched top 10 finishes in both years, and their level of organization is maddening for most opponents.
Athletic Club: just impossibly annoying, year after year. Both Freiburg and Union Berlin nearly snared Champions League bids last year by deploying a defense-heavy style antithetical to our assumptions of “Bundesliga ball,” But let’s pay homage to a team that has been doing that forever. Athletic recorded yet another top-10 finish last season by allowing less than a goal per match. They almost never offer opponents good looks at goal, and while they aren’t as physical as they were in the “Butcher of Bilbao” days of the 1980s, they still don’t mind some bruises. They continue to execute this cup-friendly style as well as anyone, even if they never score nearly enough for a top-four finish.
Bayer Leverkusen: possession and counterattacks, simultaneously. Granted, the balance has been off so far this season — their defensive spacing has been woeful — but Gerardo Seoane’s squad crafted a particularly attractive style of play last year by combining elements of possession with a propensity for luring opponents into their half of the field in order to open up huge counterattacking opportunities. I assume they get back to a high level at some point soon. (For Seoane’s sake, they better.)
Udinese: haymakers, all the time. Twelfth place is just about the most forgettable spot in the table, but Udinese achieved 12th in memorable fashion last season, both scoring and allowing over a goal and a half per match. They were excellent at creating scoring chances in transition, and terrible at preventing opponents from doing the same. From a “styles make fights” perspective, they could suck anyone into a track meet. And despite a new manager (Andrea Sottil), their opening match — a wide-open 4-2 loss at defending champs Milan — suggests they’re still pretty open to such a style this season. That’s good news for us, at least.
Toulouse: NERRRRRDS. Looking for a Moneyball soccer team to adopt? Well, how about one associated with Moneyball godfather Billy Beane himself? In 2020, American investment firm RedBird Capital, with which Beane is associated, acquired this recently-relegated club and set about restoring it to glory through the power of analytics.
So far, so good. Toulouse handily earned promotion last season, hitting all the notes of a strong possession-and-pressing team, and while there’s only so much you can learn from one match, they controlled the field and held their own against likely top-10 French side Nice in a 1-1 draw to start the season. We’ll see if they have the depth to do any sustained damage, but if you’re looking to see where nerds want to take this sport, watch this club.
Teams with tantalizing new signings
The Transfer Industrial Complex never stops humming and cranking out rumors, even when transfer windows are closed and big matches are on the horizon. It occasionally produces thrilling results, too!
These five teams are particularly worth following this season, in part because of what the transfer market brought to town.
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Barcelona. Watching this storied club attempt to work its way out of debt by spending more, by mortgaging away future earnings in service of the present tense, has not been particularly appealing, especially considering the base of young talent Barca boasts and how good they could have pretty quickly become by building around that talent. That said, while adding attackers Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, midfielder Franck Kessie and defenders Jules Kounde (who still isn’t registered) and Andreas Christensen doesn’t give them a starting XI that can compete with that of Manchester City, Liverpool, Bayern or probably Real Madrid, it probably makes them better. It definitely makes them worth watching.
Borussia Dortmund. This was the offseason in which BVB fully reinvested the funds from the transfers of both Jadon Sancho last summer and Erling Haaland this summer. New arrival Sebastien Haller is out for the foreseeable future as he deals with what turned out to be a malignant tumor — the club acquired 34-year old Anthony Modeste from Koln to fill that gap — but two young German internationals, forward Karim Adeyemi and defender Nico Schlotterbeck, have both already made a difference, with the former scoring in the DFB-Pokal and the latter already putting out many fires in the back.
Combined with the presence of teenagers Jude Bellingham, Youssoufa Moukoko and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, BVB remain one of the most exciting and youth-dependent teams on the continent.
Dortmund said goodbye to Haaland this summer, but have an abundance of exciting young talent to enjoy all season long. Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images
AS Roma. I’m including Roma more because of “vibes” than a volume of new talent. After winning the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League last season, the club and its fans celebrated like they’d won the Champions League. Jose Mourinho even got another tattoo! Then they signed Paulo Dybala from Juventus and celebrated like they had signed prime Leo Messi. (They added Mourinho-friendly veteran midfielders Georginio Wijnaldum and Nemanja Matic, too.)
The attacking foursome of Dybala, Tammy Abraham, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolo Zaniolo certainly looked the part in a season-opening 1-0 win over Salernitana that was much closer to 2-0 or 3-0 than 1-1. There’s still a hill to climb if Roma wants to join the crowded Scudetto race, but again, the vibes are strong.
Nottingham Forest. It was incredible watching the former European champions qualify for their first Premier League season since 1999. It’s been even more incredible watching them attempt to spend their way into staying there. After earning promotion with a lineup heavy on loan acquisitions, Forest have signed 15 players and counting this summer, though they’re on this list not because of the volume of signings; it’s about who they’ve signed.
Taiwo Awoniyi is one of the most positive and exciting young(ish) attackers in Europe. Emmanuel Dennis was too good for Watford and could pair beautifully with Awoniyi and holdover Brennan Johnson. Jesse Lingard is finally free of Manchester United, while Neco Williams, Omar Richards and Giulian Biancone are all exciting young fullbacks, too.
Forest have spent over $130 million and counting on roster upgrades, and you could see how this high-wire act could pay off. If they can survive this season and avoid relegation, they will have a roster loaded with upside players in a similar age range (21-25) who can grow in future seasons. But Steve Cooper’s got an incredible chemistry experiment to deal with in the meantime.
Fiorentina. Luka Jovic was one of the best goalscorers in Germany before what turned out to be an ill-fated move to Real Madrid. Fullback Dodo was one of Shakhtar Donetsk’s most exciting young players. They both join a team that finished ahead of Atalanta last season and was only two points out of fifth place in Serie A. The team wasn’t particularly impressive in a season-opening win over freshly promoted Cremonese — they needed a shaky stoppage-time goal to win, 3-2, despite a man advantage — but both Jovic and another newcomer, Rolando Mandragora, scored to save the day.
Make no mistake: This is an exciting team.
The players you’re going to be obsessed with after the World Cup
Just call them the “James Rodriguez All Stars.” The Colombian forward was coming off a decent, nine-goal season with AS Monaco in 2013-14 when he won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup, scoring six goals and tossing in two assists. Within days, Real Madrid was spending big to acquire him.
Every major tournament produces breakout stars, and this one will be no different (even though pretty much everything else about this tournament is different). Here are 10 players I could see becoming highly sought if their respective national teams enjoy stronger-than-expected runs in Qatar.
Jonathan David, FW, Canada (Lille). He’s scored 28 league goals in the last two years, and Canada’s style suits him perfectly. It’s honestly somewhat surprising he’s still at Lille.
Jonathan David is in brilliant form for Lille and Canada will be expecting it to carry over to this winter’s World Cup, too. FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI/AFP via Getty Images
Mikkel Damsgaard, MF, Denmark (Brentford). I’m doubling down! Damsgaard was one of my favorites in last summer’s Euros and while he did not follow that success up with a standout club season, he’s got another chance after signing with the Bees.
Luka Sucic, MF, Croatia (Salzburg). The 19-year-old midfielder is already on the radar of clubs like Liverpool and played well in last year’s Champions League; he could do some serious damage next to Luka Modric & Co. in Qatar.
Ismaila Sarr, FW, Senegal (Watford). He couldn’t save Watford from relegation last year, but Senegal have a manageable World Cup group (with the Netherlands, Ecuador and hosts Qatar) and Sarr could be a major reason they advance to the knockout rounds.
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Piero Hincapie, DF, Ecuador (Bayer Leverkusen). The 20-year-old is asked to do a lot in defense for Leverkusen — arguably too much of late — but he could be Premier League-bound by next season… or in January if he does well in the World Cup.
Takefusa Kubo, MF, Japan (Real Sociedad). A product of Barcelona’s La Masia, Kubo signed with Real Madrid at 18 years old, but couldn’t break through. Now the winger is in a potentially excellent spot in San Sebastian: In his debut for La Real, he scored and created two chances from the right wing.
Takuma Asano, FW, Japan (Bochum). One reason to think Kubo might have a lovely World Cup: He’s got some veteran creators, like the 27-year-old Asano, around him. Asano is relentless up front, pressing well and constantly trying to stretch opponents’ back line. He’s perfect for Bochum… and could be perfect for your club next!
Luka Jovic, FW, Serbia (Fiorentina). Another promising youngster who couldn’t find his way at Real Madrid, Jovic scored in his Fiorentina debut last weekend. He’s scored more than 60 career goals, he’s already played for Crvena Zvezda, Benfica, Eintracht Frankfurt and Madrid, and he’s somehow still only 24.
Brennan Johnson is a gem for Forest on the wing and should complement Gareth Bale nicely out wide for Wales in Qatar this winter. Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images
Brennan Johnson, MF, Wales (Nottingham Forest). A rare holdover in a sea of Forest newcomers, the 21-year old led a promoted team in scoring in the not-particularly-youth-friendly Championship. He could be a difference-maker for both Forest and an otherwise veteran-heavy Wales squad.
Mohammed Kudus, MF, Ghana (Ajax). Injuries and club depth have hampered the 22-year old since he joined Ajax two years ago, but he has been a difference-maker for Ghana in that same time period, and his club career could take off soon enough, be it with Ajax or another team.
The last step to maximum enjoyment: Adopt a Champions League underdog
It’s pretty easy to find people complaining about how, as Europe’s richest teams have gotten richer, the early stages of the Champions League have grown more predictable, too. And to be sure, the complaints are pretty well-based in fact. But if we know that the sport’s heavyweights are going to advance mostly incident-free to the next rounds, then we can spend most of our early focus on the fun underdog stories.
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Germany’s top division is on ESPN+. Can Bayern Munich stay on top, or will the likes of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig take over?
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Be it up-and-comers from power leagues (RB Leipzig, Atalanta and Lyon in 2019-20, for instance) or champs from lesser leagues (Ajax making the semis in 2018-19, FC Sheriff upsetting Real Madrid and nearly making the knockouts in 2021-22), they’re always out there. And they offer an element of discovery — fun, young players and coaches, interesting back stories, weird stadiums — to the event.
We’re midway through the final round of qualification, so we don’t yet know for sure who will be in the Champions League field of 32. The impeccably organized Bodo/Glimt — the team best known for beating Mourinho’s Roma twice last season and nearly wrecking their Conference League plans — might get there if they can finish off Dinamo Zagreb next week. And the winner of the PSV Eindhoven-Rangers tie will be very much worth your time and investment. We know that an increasingly impressive Celtic will be in the group stage for the first time since 2018. So will the recklessly optimistic Napoli. Oh, and Eintracht Frankfurt is worth the time investment for its obsessed and loyal fan base alone. Pick someone and follow their journey.
Adopt a Europa League and Conference League team, too
The stories are even richer here. The Europa League is where the next chapter of the Union Saint-Gilloise story might be written. Union Berlin, too. It’s where Bodo/Glimt might end up. The loser of PSV Eindhoven-Rangers will be playing its intensely watchable football there, as will AS Monaco.
While the Conference League group stage is a lot to take in, by the time of the knockout rounds we’ll have filtered out both the teams that don’t really want to be there as well as the teams that aren’t good enough to be there. Last year’s knockout rounds gave us outstanding ties like Leicester City vs. PSV, Roma vs. Leicester, Roma vs. Bodo/Glimt II and Feyenoord vs. Slavia Prague. It was quite rewarding, and you won’t regret following along.
Sadio Manescored as Bayern Munich recorded a 6-2 win in a pre-season game against DC United at Audi Field in Washington, District of Columbia on Thursday morning.
The Senegal international joined the Bavarians from Liverpool in the ongoing transfer window, and the fans had an opportunity to see what he is bringing to the table.
Mane and youngster Lucas Copado led the attack in a 4-4-2 formation as the Bundesliga champions continued their preparations for the new campaign.
The Lion of Teranga needed just five minutes to get on the scoresheet. Copado was fouled in the danger zone and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Mane rose for the occasion and managed to beat Jon Kempin.
Seven minutes later, it was 2-0 in favour of the German side, this time around Marcel Sabitzer’s deflected effort hitting the back of the net.
In the 34th minute, the hosts had a chance to pull a goal back but Moses Nyeman shot just wide.
Moments later, Mane had a massive chance to score his second when he was put through but failed to beat the custodian.
However, it mattered less as the 30-year-old assisted Serge Gnabry for a third on the stroke of half-time.
In the 47th minute, new signing Matthijs de Ligt hit a volley to make it 4-0 in favour of the Bavarians. He expertly connected a Joshua Kimmich corner past the stranded goalkeeper.
Joshua Zirkzee then managed to score in the 50th minute after good work by Thomas Muller and Kinsley Coman set him up.
DC United were not giving up despite trailing by a huge margin. Their effort paid dividends in the 55th minute. De Ligt attempted to head the ball out for a corner but it hit the woodwork and the rebound kindly fell to Skage Lehland who fully capitalised on the advantage.
Theodore Ku-DiPietro scored the second for the hosts with seven minutes to go, but Muller had the last laugh when he coolly finished off a Ryan Gravenberg pass.
“I’m finally here. I’m delighted to be at Barca,” Lewandowski said.
“The last few days have been very long, but the deal is done and now I can focus on a new chapter and challenge in my life.
“I’ve always wanted to play in La Liga and for the big clubs.
“I’m here to help Barca get back to the top and win as many titles as possible.”
Lewandowski, who has a buyout clause of 500m euros (£425.9m), joined Bayern on a free transfer in 2014 after his departure from Borussia Dortmund.
He scored 50 goals in 46 games last season as he helped Bayern win a 10th straight Bundesliga title.
Lewandowski has scored 344 times in 374 games for the club and is their second-highest scorer of all time behind Gerd Muller.
He has won the league in all eight of his seasons at Bayern and also won the Champions League in 2019-20.
Lewandowski is Barcelona’s fourth signing of the summer following Brazil winger Raphinha joining from Leeds United in a deal worth up to £55m, while Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie and Denmark defender Andreas Christensen have arrived on free transfers after their respective contracts with AC Milan and Chelsea came to an end.
France winger Ousmane Dembele has also signed a contract extension with Barcelona this summer.
In August 2021, Barcelona president Joan Laporta revealed the club’s “very worrying” 1.35bn euro (£1.15bn) debt.
Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann said Barcelona is “the only club in the world that has no money but can buy every player”.
He added: “It’s kind of weird and kind of crazy for me but at the end they find solutions. I don’t know how.”
Meanwhile, Bayern have signed the Netherlands defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus on a five-year contract in a deal worth 77m euros (£65.6m).
Barcelona have reached a “verbal agreement” with Bayern Munich to sign Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, says the Bayern president.
The 33-year-old, who has one year left on his Bayern contract, told the club last month that he wishes to leave.
Lewandowski scored 50 goals in 46 games last season as he helped Bayern win a 10th straight Bundesliga title.
“It’s good to have clarity for all parties,” said Bayern president Herbert Hainer.
“We have come to a verbal agreement with Barcelona.
“Robert is an incredible player and he won everything with us. We are incredibly grateful to him.”
Lewandowski joined Bayern on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund in 2014 and has scored 344 times in 374 games for the club, making him their second-highest scorer of all time behind Gerd Muller.
The Pole has won the league in all eight of his seasons at Bayern and also helped the Bavarians win the Champions League in 2019-20.
Bayern have also announced that Germany winger Serge Gnabry, 27, has signed a contract extension until 2026.
Barcelona completed the signing of Raphinha from Leeds on Friday in a deal worth up to £55m having already signed Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen on free transfers earlier this month.
The Poland striker, who has scored 344 goals in 374 competitive games for the German side, has made it very clear he wants to leave this summer.
“My story with Bayern is over. I don’t see any possibility to play for this club any more,” Lewandowski said during a press conference with the Poland team.
These are harsh words coming from one of Bayern‘s mainstays during the past 10 years. Lewandowski, advised by agent Pini Zahavi, has chosen confrontation over dialogue with his club to force a move.
In recent weeks, Bayern’s management repeatedly stated Lewandowski is not for sale, pointing at his contract that runs until 2023.
However, the striker, who will turn 34 in August, intends to sign one last lucrative deal this year and has chosen Barcelona as the destination for what will likely be the final stage of his career.
He has a verbal agreement with the Catalan club over a three-year deal. The potential move could become a drawn-out affair though, as Barcelona are under strict financial supervision by the Spanish league and cannot easily pay a likely transfer fee of about 40m euros (£34m).
Lewandowski’s exit is only one issue, though, for a club considered a European superpower for more than a decade but one now in danger of falling even further behind the continent’s top clubs.
Rich in German terms, but getting poorer
The quarter-final loss to Villarreal in this year’s Champions League has raised questions about Bayern’s competitiveness outside the Bundesliga.
Winning the league for a 10th time in a row means little, as the domestic competition, including Borussia Dortmund, is miles behind Bayern.
In contrast, Bayern are fighting an uphill battle internationally because of financial constraints. Having made the Champions League semi-finals in eight of the past 13 seasons, Bayern have now been knocked out at the quarter-final stage in the last two years – and there are fears things could soon get even worse.
Bayern can count on reliable sponsors but do not have billionaire owners.
Consequently, their liquid assets decreased from 221m (£188m) to 113m euros (£96m) during the past two years, mainly because of the impact of Covid-19 on revenue streams. A further decrease down to 60m euros (£51m) is expected.
Bayern are simply not able to keep up with Paris St-Germain, Manchester City or Real Madrid economically. Hence, they have to act extremely cleverly in the transfer market and maintain a winning culture.
Can Mane prove Bayern’s saviour?
Bayern have already made peace with the fact they will lose their top striker this summer and are planning for a future without Lewandowski. According to sources within the club, their plan includes playing with a fluid three-man attack and not a ‘target man’.
While Bayern are interested in traditional number nines such as Austria’s Sasa Kalajdzic and the 19-year-old Slovenian Benjamin Sesko, the club’s executives and manager Julian Nagelsmann know they will not be able to replace Lewandowski adequately.
There are only a handful of strikers on Lewandowski’s level and none of them are available to Bayern.
So, Nagelsmann is planning for a three-man attack like Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, because Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller, Kingsley Coman and Jamal Musiala are suitable for such a set-up.
Bayern have also approached Sadio Mane’s management and are working hard on a deal with the Senegal forward, although there are still some financial issues to resolve in those negotiations.
He would not be a Lewandowski replacement, but he could be seen as a statement signing for the German side and possibly prevent Bayern from falling behind even further on a European level.
Rifts and an ageing squad
In a moment when calmness and cohesion are needed, Bayern are more unsettled than they have been in several years. Nagelsmann and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic have differing opinions on many things, including an ageing squad.
An increasing number of players also seem unhappy about their situation.
“I cannot imagine good co-operation after all that has happened in the past few months,” Lewandowski said recently.
We do not know whether his statement was only a means to force a move or mirrors his honest opinion, but it is good fodder for those that have criticised the communication within the club.
Serge Gnabry is another key player who could jump ship soon. As with Lewandowski, financial incentives are not the main motivation for the Germany winger as he considers his departure, because Bayern recently made a lucrative extension offer. Instead, he feels he is not respected enough.
Nagelsmann himself is also not liked by everyone in the dressing room, which could cause a rift if Bayern are going through a dry spell in the first few months of next season as they get used to playing without Lewandowski.
How the German champions, one of the best-oiled machines in European football in the past decade, negotiate the early weeks of next season will be a significant guide as to how successfully they will tackle their uncertain future.
According to Sky Sports, Bayern Munich has agreed to sign of Omar Richards on a free transfer after his contract with Championship side Reading expires this summer.
The 23-year-old has passed his medical and will sign a four-year contract with Bayern Munich.
Since his promotion to the first team in 2017, the 23-year-old left-back has so far made 92 appearances for Reading in all competitions, scoring three goals.
Richards is expected to shadow Alphonso Davies at left-back. An attacking full-back, Richards is also capable of playing further up the pitch, giving head coach Hansi Flick multiple options to deploy the player.
Bayern scouted Omar Richards for some time before making a decision to sign him. Omar Richards will join the Bavarians in July.
Bayern Munich are attempting to convince Chelsea to part ways with Callum Hudson-Odoi through an initial loan, although the German champions are willing to include an obligation to buy him in 2021.
Goal can confirm that talks are a long way from being agreed in principle and Chelsea could block the approach at any time for their 19-year-old winger, who has four years left on his contract.
Still, the German giants have spotted an opportunity to try and get their long-term target after missing out on him both last summer and in the previous transfer window, 18 months ago.
Frank Lampard has only used the England international in a bit-part role, leading him to grow frustrated after seeing the club add high-profile signings like Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech.
Hudson-Odoi hasn’t made a Premier League start since football returned after the coronavirus-enforced lockdown but has had three starts in cup competitions.
When asked about Hudson-Odoi’s future, along with both Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Lampard didn’t move to deny the possibility of him leaving the club.
“With every player in the squad, with the situation of a loan you have to consider what’s best for the player, what’s best for the club first and foremost,” Lampard said in his pre-match press conference.
“And then see how it stacks up. So with all those three players, I would consider those things. But I haven’t got an answer for you on any of those three.
“I have a good relationship with them all, speak honestly with them, again that’s one that we’ll broach player by player in the next few days. Once the window shuts every player that will be here will be used within our squad, because it’s a long season and a lot of competitions coming up. And we’ll know more on Monday.”
Hudson-Odoi remains in contention to start against Crystal Palace, having trained as normal with the squad all week.
Meanwhile, Antonio Rudiger has lost interest from Roma, who are expected to complete a move for Manchester United’s Chris Smalling.
However, AC Milan and West Ham are now contenders for the German international, who is talking to various clubs alongside Chelsea as the club attempts to get the best possible deal for the defender.
Inter have also made contact for Rudiger, just in case Tottenham produce a bid worth accepting for their defender Milan Skriniar.
Rudiger is also seen as a backup option for Spurs in case they fail in their attempts to land Skriniar, having already had an approach rejected by Juventus for Merih Demiral.
The 27-year-old defender would welcome a stay in the Premier League and particularly London, but he also has an eye on his Euro 2020 place and sees European football as a key requirement.
The Hammers are working to convince him to come to east London, while Chelsea may block attempts from Jose Mourinho’s side to sign their defender. Barcelona are also monitoring the situation but have him lower on their list.
The complicated situation is likely to come to a head late on Sunday night with the transfer deadline on Monday at 5pm.
Furthermore, Chelsea remain locked in a complex situation deciding which left-back to sell, with Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri both being considered by Inter.
Both would likely move on loan with an option to buy but Inter first need to sell Dalbert, who is in talks with Rennes.
Barcelona have sacked manager Quique Setien, three days after his side’s humiliating 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Setien, who was appointed in January, has been in charge for just 25 matches.
Barca finished second in La Liga this season, five points behind Real Madrid.
Barca’s thrashing by German champions Bayern on Friday was the fourth time in the past five years they have been knocked out at the quarter-final stage of Europe’s elite competition.
Setien, who replaced Ernesto Valverde at the Nou Camp, had said after the defeat that it was “time for us to review and take the decisions which are needed for the future”.
On Monday, the Catalan club announced that 61-year-old Setien had left his role.
A new coach will be announced “in the coming days”, said the club.
“This is the first decision within the framework of a broad restructuring of the first team,” it added.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said he would be the “first to leave” if the club wished to make changes.
Speculation that Lionel Messi is poised to leave Barcelona continues to grow, with Brazilian broadcaster Esporte Interativo Sunday citing an internal source saying that the 33-year-old player had told the club he wished to transfer.
The broadcaster’s Barca reporter said he found out after a humiliating Champions League 2-8 loss against FC Bayern. A person close to Messi was quoted as saying that he had never seen the Argentinian so determined to transfer.
There had recently been repeated rumours of the captain leaving. According to Britain’s Daily Mirror, Manchester City – also eliminated in the quarter-finals in Lisbon – are believed to be in the strongest position to sign Messi.
Messi has been playing for FC Barcelona for 20 years and had his most successful period under current City coach Pep Guardiola.
The top earner of the financially troubled FC Barcelona still has a contract until the end of June 2021, so this would probably be the last chance for the club to earn big when the superstar is transferred.
There has also been speculation about a move from Messi to Inter Milan in recent weeks.
We were all warned about this Bayern Munich attack – now we have witnessed it at its most ferocious.
Yes, Barcelona were poor – in fact, they were awful. But credit to coach Hansi Flick for making them look poor as his Bayern side recorded a humiliating 8-2 Champions League quarter-final victory.
Midfielder Thomas Muller, who scored twice, said the side had “made a statement” in Lisbon. It was some statement:
Bayern became the first team in Champions League history to score eight goals in a knockout match, and the first in the European Cup since Real Madrid in the 1990-91 last 16 against FC Wacker Innsbruck (9-1). Barcelona had not conceded eight goals since losing 8-0 to Sevilla in the last 16 of the Spanish Cup in 1946. Bayern have won their past 19 matches in all competitions, a record run for a German top-flight team. Muller, 30, was also involved for Germany in the 7-1 thrashing of Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. He scored the opener in what was one of the most memorable international fixtures of all time.
When asked about the comparison between the success over Barcelona and that feat, the man of the match said: “In the win in Brazil we didn’t have the same amount of control. Yes, we were good, but tonight the way we dominated the game was brutal.”
Germany struggled to hit those heights in the final, managing a 1-0 extra-time win over Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
Muller, perhaps with that in mind, added: “Today we have to be very happy. After we wake up and answer the messages on the phone then we have to focus.
“I know about these tournament situations. Most of the time after the big wins it’s difficult.”
Flick was an assistant to head coach Joachim Low in 2014, and he was also asked to compare the wins.
The 55-year-old, who has been in permanent charge only since December, said: “You know that I do not look back because only the here and now matters.
“Yes, we played an outstanding game and we can be happy but we all know we still have hard work to do if we are to stand in the end where we want to stand.”
They face either Manchester City or Lyon in the semi-final, which will take place next Wednesday.
Have you seen a more incredible game? Your responses The match at Estadio La Luz will long live in the memory, but we asked you whether it was the most incredible game you had witnessed. Here are some of your responses.
Wi Fi Tom: Forest 5-2 Derby, Christmas 2010. Ex Rams man Robert Earnshaw bagging a few. Very happy night!
Ash Williams: The Liverpool comeback was special (from 3-0 down against Barcelona in the semi-final in 2019) because they were written off because of the first leg.
Mike: England 5-1 Germany (2001) is another one that’s up there for how bad a drubbing it was of a big side.
Matt: Liverpool vs Arsenal. 26 May 1989. Never to be beaten. Arsenal won the First Division title with a late Michael Thomas goal.
Bayern Munich will meet Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals after Robert Lewandowski inspired them to a crushing 7-1 aggregate win over Chelsea.
Having established a commanding 3-0 first leg lead at Stamford Bridge back in February, Bayern quickly made it 5-0 on aggregate when Lewandowski – from the penalty spot – and Ivan Perisic scored inside 25 minutes at the Allianz Arena.
Chelsea pulled a goal back through Tammy Abraham after a rare mistake by keeper Manuel Neuer, but Bayern’s class shone through.
Substitute Corentin Tolisso made it 6-1 on aggregate when he volleyed home unmarked inside the six-yard area before Poland forward Lewandowski, who now has 53 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions this season, headed the fourth to finish the match with two goals and two assists.
Bayern will now face Barca in a mouth-watering one-game knockout format in Lisbon on Friday.
Dutch side Willem II have rejected the request of German side Bayern Munich to extend the contracts of two Ghanaian players Kwasi Okyere Wriedt and Derrick Köhn to enable them play in Saturday’s final league match.
The German were holding talks with Willem II over the possibility of extending the stay of Ghanaian duo Kwasi Okyere Wreidt and Derrick Köhn till the end of the season.
Ghanasoccernet.com exclusively revealed last month that the two players signed pre-contract agreements with Willem II to end their stay with the second team of Bayern Munich.
With the third tier league in Germany ending on Saturday, Bayern Munich II were keen on using the two players for the final match of the season to help them win the league title.
The two Ghanaian players, who were expected to join their new club Willem II on a permanent contract by July 1, were keen to see out the remainder of the season in Germany.
Both players have been instrumental in the impressive run of Bayern Munich II side where they lie top of the Bundesliga 3.
The Ghanaians want to clinch the title and promotion with the side before joining the Dutch Eredivisie side.
With Bayern Munich II standing a big chance of clinching the crown in the lower division, the Germans approached Willem II to extend the contracts of the Ghanaians.
But the two sides failed to an agreement and with the permanent contracts of the duo starting on Wednesday, they have officially started their stay with the Eredivisie side.
“Kwasi Wriedt and Derrick Köhn will not finish the season at FC Bayern Munich. The German top club and Willem II have not been able to reach an agreement on the release of both players,” Willem II said in a statement on Wednesday night.
“Today, July 1, 2020, the contracts of the brand new Willem II duo will start. Because there is no agreement on the release, Wriedt and Köhn have to miss the last two games of the season.”
Wriedt and Kohn signed three-year contracts each with the Dutch club last month as they seek to play regular football with a top league in Europe.
Wriedt, 25, and compatriot Köhn, 21, signed their permanent contracts that will run until the summer 2023.
The two players, born in Germany to Ghanaian parents are expected to feature prominently for the Dutch Eredivisie side.
With Bayern Munich II standing a big chance of clinching the crown in the lower division, the two players wanted to play a part in their title push.
Bayern, who are the league leaders, are one point ahead of second-placed Wurzburger Kickers and three points ahead of third-placed Eintracht Braunschweig with two games to spare.
Ghanaian duo Kwasi Okyere Wriedt and Derrick Köhn have started their careers with Dutch top-flight side Willem II, Ghanasoccernet.com can exclusively reveal.
The two players started their deal with the Dutch side on Wednesday after ending their stay with German giants Bayern Munich.
Ghanasoccernet.com exclusively revealed last month that the two players signed pre-contract agreements with Willem II to end their stay with the second team of Bayern Munich.
With their permanent contracts starting on 1 July, they have officially started their stay with the Eredivisie side.
Wriedt and Kohn signed three-year contracts each with the Dutch club last month as they seek to play regular football with a top league in Europe.
With the third tier league in Germany ending on Saturday, Bayern Munich II were keen on using the two players for the final match of the season to help them win the league title.
But the two clubs failed to reach an agreement to extend the stay of the duo until Saturday so they have officially started their contracts with the Eredivisie side.
“Today, July 1, 2020, the contracts of the brand new Willem II duo will start,” the Dutch side said in a statement released on Wednesday night.
Wriedt, 25, and compatriot Köhn, 21, signed their permanent contracts that will run until the summer 2023.
The two players, born in Germany to Ghanaian parents are expected to feature prominently for the Dutch Eredivisie side.
Wriedt clinched the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich after making two appearances for the senior side en route to their championship success.
The striker, 25, has been capped twice by Ghana at the international level.
His relatively unknown compatriot is a Derrick Köhn, who is a defender, featured regularly for the Bayern Munich II side.
Köhn joined Bayern Munich in 2017 from Hamburg but failed to make a single senior appearance.
Ghana international striker Kwasi Okyere Wriedt of Bayern Munich has been voted the 2019/2020 Player of the Season in the Germany third tier league.
The Bayern Munich II striker prevailed in the vote of captains and coaches. His coach Sebastian Hoeness of the “Little Bavarians” also won the coach of the year award.
The player who was promoted to train with the senior side of Bayern Munich this season led the side to the title, two matchdays before the end of the season.
It would be the first time that a second team has won the 3rd league championship in Germany.
It is almost certain that Wriedt will also snatch the top scorers award which the German Football Association (with Kicker magazine and Volkswagen) will award for the first time:
The 25-year-old, who will leave Bayern in summer, has scored 24 goals his season Рfive goals than second-placed Albert Bunjaku of Viktoria K̦ln.
In the player votes, Wriedt prevailed with 42 percent of the 22,676 votes cast ahead of Florian Pick of Kaiserslautern (36 percent).
Third place went to Deniz Undav from SV Meppen with 22 percent.
Bayern Munich defender, Alphonso Davies has heaped praises on his teammate Robert Lewandowski after his goal helped them to seal their eighth consecutive league title on Tuesday.
The Bavarians recorded a 1-0 victory over Werder Bremen who are fighting for survival at the other end of the table in a near-empty stadium.
Lewandowski chested down Jerome Boateng’s chipped pass to net the only goal of the game and seal the league title with two games to spare.
“We call him ‘Lewangoalski’ for that reason,” the left-back said. “He’s a top striker, the top in the world. Coming in and scoring 31 goals, it’s unbelievable.”
Davies was sent off with 11 minutes remaining, while Werder Bremen’s late appeal for a penalty was turned down.
“Unfortunately, anger comes into play,” he explained. “I got a yellow card, apologies for that. The second yellow card, I don’t know what happened, I tried to run backward, he came into me.
“It’s the referee’s decision, so I apologise to everyone. That’s not the FC Bayern way, but I’m happy we can win the championship.”
Ghanaian striker Kwasi Okyere Wriedt was an unused substitute as Bayern Munich sealed their eighth consecutive league title on Tuesday night.
Wriedt watched the entire game from the bench as The Bavarians recorded a 1-0 victory over Werder Bremen in a near-empty stadium courtesy Robert Lewandowski’s strike.
The visitors were far from their best against a Werder Bremen side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.
With the game goalless, Bremen’s Maximilian Eggestein went close from distance before Lewandowski’s winner after Kingsley Coman had earlier headed narrowly wide.
The Poland international chested down Jerome Boateng’s chipped pass to net the only goal of the game and seal the league title with two games to spare.
Coman again went close before Davies was sent off with 11 minutes remaining, while Werder Bremen had a late appeal for a penalty for handball turned down.
Werder Bremen remain 17th on the league table, level on points with Fortuna Düsseldorf who currently occupy the relegation play-off spot but now with a game in hand over their rivals.
Kevin Prince Boateng has remembered the second anniversary of Eintracht Frankfurt’s success over Bayern Munich in the final of the DFB Cup.
The former Frankfurt forward led the club to end a 30-year wait for a major trophy after shocking overwhelming favourites Bayern Munich on May 19, 2018.
Boateng, who is now with Turkish giants Besiktas, set up the opening goal in their 3-1 victory over the Bavarians. Ante Rebic lashed onto a pass from the 33-year old.
“Today 2 years ago we made history at Eintracht Frankfurt. I will never forget that moment. Thank You. Miss You,” he posted on Twitter.
Rebic added his second of the day after Robert Lewandowski had pulled level for the German giants.
Second-half substitute Gacinovic sealed victory for the Eagles with the final touch of the game as Frankfurt ended a 30-year wait for a trophy.
The success remains high on the list of achievements by the German-born Ghana international.
The 33-year old left after that game to join Italy side Sassuolo and has since moved to Fiorentina.
Bayern Munich recommenced their Bundesliga title defence with a 2-0 win at Union Berlin, with Robert Lewandowski reaching the 40-goal mark for a fifth successive season on his return from a knee injury.
Hansi Flick’s men had been put under a little pressure by Borussia Dortmund’s 4-0 thrashing of Schalke on Saturday to go within a point of the pacesetters, but Bayern picked up where they left off before the coronavirus pause Lewandowski and Benjamin Pavard securing the points.
Although Bayern were guilty of a somewhat slow start, once they found their groove the champions played some fine football and were deserving of the lead when Lewandowski who likely would have missed most of the rest of the season were it not for the lengthy hiatus rolled home his penalty with 40 minutes played.
Although the visitors failed to pile on the misery against a Union side who offered little in attack after the first 10 minutes, they did eventually wrap up the victory late on with Pavard’s header, Flick’s side restoring their four-point cushion.
Union looked the sharper of the two sides in the early exchanges, with Marius Bulter testing Manuel Neuer and Anthony Ujah sending a rasping drive just over.
But Bayern grew into the encounter Thomas Muller having a goal disallowed for offside in the 19th minute, before Union goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz got just enough on Alphonso Davies’ low cross to prevent Lewandowski a tap-in.
Their dominance eventually paid off late in the first half, as Neven Subotic clumsily caught Leon Goretzka in the box while attempting to clear and Lewandowski confidently slotted in the spot-kick.
The contest followed a similar pattern after the restart and Bayern nearly got a second Goretzka lashing a fierce strike just wide of the bottom-left corner after a one-two with the excellent Thomas Muller.
Union’s hopes of rescuing a late draw were ended when Pavard headed in Joshua Kimmich’s right-wing with 10 minutes to go.
What does it mean? Bayern have little problem producing a response
Dortmund win on Saturday was impressive and will have given Bayern a reminder that they are up for a fight, but Die Roten’s performance on Sunday was laudable for different reasons.
Despite having over two months off and coming back against a physical side, some of Bayern’s football was gorgeous. While they only managed two goals, you never got the impression they were playing at full tilt.
Muller a delight
While he will not necessarily get the plaudits, Muller was in fine form on Sunday. The experienced forward regularly popped up in dangerous spaces and his use of the ball was excellent, summed up by his two key passes one being a clever improvised effort to tee up Goretzka in the second half.
Subotic pays the price
Players could be forgiven for a little rustiness given the circumstances, but it cost Subotic and Union dear. The former Dortmund centre-back gave away the penalty that allowed Bayern the lead as he failed to react quickly enough to clear.
What’s next?
Bayern return to the Allianz Arena next weekend when they host Eintracht Frankfurt. Union travel to local rivals Hertha for only the second Berlin derby between the clubs in Bundesliga history.
Bayern Munich were among a number of Bundesliga clubs to return to training for the first time since the campaign was halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The champions trained in groups of five but without any contact, as did Borussia Monchengladbach and Wolfsburg.
Bottom side Paderborn worked in small groups and coach Steffen Baumgart said it was important for players to “get the ball on their feet again”.
Germany’s top flight has been suspended since 13 March until at least 30 April.
“It was certainly a very unusual feeling holding a training session in small groups today, but it was also nice to see the boys in person again,” said Bayern captain Manuel Neuer.
Training began with a warm-up routine, followed by running and shooting drills and technical training which were “elements in which the necessary social distancing can be adhered to.”
The German champions said all hygiene measures were “strictly observed” and no members of the public were present.
For the past two weeks Bayern players and staff had taken part in “cyber training”.
Bayern were top of the league at the time of the season being stopped, four points clear of Borussia Dortmund.
German International Jerome Boateng is pissed off after his club Bayern Munich imposed a fine on him following a motor accident he was involved in last week.
According to the club, the player did not inform them of his trip and also skipped a digital training session planned by the whole team that is observed every day since the players are training on their own during these times of lock-downs and quarantines.
He was driving home in his luxury car home to Munich near Selbitz in Northern Bavaria when the incident occurred.
The defender escaped unhurt, but he caused some €25,000 in damage to his car.
Boateng had driven to see his son Jermar, who lives with his mother near Leipzig. He made the trip because his son was sick, missing cyber-training with the team that day.
“” I know it was a mistake not to inform the club about my trip, but at that point I only had my son in mind. His health was not going well, â€Boateng told BILD.
The defender therefore disagrees with the sentence he was imposed. “When a son calls his father, he just goes, no matter what time it is. I accept every punishment for him, after all it is my son. I would like to see a father who does not leave head over heels when it comes to his” he said.
Jerome Boateng has been involved in a car accident in Germany.
Fortunately, the Bayern Munich defender emerged unscathed after losing control of his vehicle and crashing into a protective barrier alongside the A9 motorway.
Boateng was travelling to visit his son, with Germany not having introduced restrictions on movement due to the coronavirus.
TVO estimate that 25,000 euros worth of damage was done.
Wilfried Zaha’s representatives have held preliminary talks with Bayern Munich following his decision to hire super-agent Pini Zahavi, but at this stage it seems unlikely Bayern will sign him.
The agreement to team up with the renowned Israeli negotiator and part with his long-time agent Will Salthouse is seen as a clear indication that the Ivory Coast international still wants away from Selhurst Park at the earliest opportunity.
Last summer Palace turned down a bid, believed to be around £70m from Everton, with chairman Steve Parish holding out for around £80m, prompting Zaha to put in a transfer request to the club.
Arsenal also saw a £40m bid rejected from Palace for the 27-year-old during the previous transfer window, while there was also interest from Napoli.
More recently, long-time admirers Chelsea have reportedly rekindled their interest in the winger with the lifting of their transfer ban, and Zahavi known to be a good friend of the Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
Bayern Munich ended the Champions League group stages with a perfect record after a convincing 3-1 victory over Tottenham at the Allianz Arena.
With Bayern and Spurs already assured of a spot in the last 16, the final assignment in Group B was reduced to a dead rubber, but Bayern were in no mood to take their foot off the gas against the side they scored seven past in October.
Kingsley Coman slotted Bayern in front on 12 minutes, and although they were pegged back within four minutes by Ryan Sessegnon’s first Spurs goal, efforts from Thomas Muller and Philippe Coutinho saw the five-time European champions outmuscle a timid Tottenham side.
The victory sees Bayern become the seventh side to win all of their group games in the competition, with attention now turning to Monday’s Champions League draw, where group winners Bayern and runners-up Spurs await their fate in the knockout stage.
With their passage to the knockout stage already secure, both sides made a combined 11 changes ahead of their final group-stage outing.
Bayern were the dominant force in front of their own fans, patiently examining the Spurs defence before coming alive in attack on 12 minutes.
Benjamin Pavard’s back-post volley was saved on the line by Paulo Gazzaniga, who showed quick reflexes to get back to his feet to prevent Thiago Alcantara from converting the rebound.
But there was nothing the Spurs goalkeeper could do two minutes later when Serge Gnabry’s cross deflected into Coman’s path, and the Frenchman slotted Bayern into the lead.
But Spurs were behind for just four minutes, an intricate move ended with the ball rolling into the path of 19-year-old Sessegnon, who capped his first start for Spurs and in the Champions League by rifling home at the near post.
Bayern lost goalscorer Coman to a nasty-looking knee injury on 25 minutes, and shortly afterwards, Thiago missed a glorious chance to restore their lead when he somehow fired wide after Gnabry’s shot rebounded off the post and into his lap.
But Coman’s replacement, Muller, lifted the mood with a poacher’s goal, poking his 198th goal for the club home after Alphonso Davies’s shot bounced off the frame of the Spurs goal.
Gazzaniga denied Coutinho a stunning quick-fire second, tipping the Brazilian’s long-range effort onto the crossbar on the stroke of half-time.
Coutinho would go on to register five shots on goal, three of which were on target, before he finally got his reward, curling a low effort beyond the outstretched arm of Gazzaniga to put the seal on a brilliant campaign for Bayern.
Bayern Munich on Sunday sacked coach Niko Kovac, a day after the German champions suffered a historic 5-1 loss against Eintracht Frankfurt — their worst Bundesliga defeat in a decade.
“FC Bayern Munich have relieved head coach Niko Kovac of his duties,” the club said in a statement.
The “mutual decision” was taken following talks with club president Uli Hoeness, chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and Kovac himself.
“The performances of our team in recent weeks and the results have shown us that there was a need for action,” said Rummenigge.
“We all regret this development. I would like to thank Niko Kovac on behalf of FC Bayern for his work, particularly for last season’s double win.”
Assistant coach Hansi Flick will take charge of the team “until further notice”, the statement added.
The 48-year-old former Croatia international said it was the right move for the side who sit in fourth place in the table after a series of disappointing matches.
“I think this is the correct decision for the club at this time,” Kovac said.
“I would like to thank FC Bayern for these past 18 months. During that time our team won the Bundesliga, the DFB Cup and the Supercup. It was a good time. I wish the club and the team all the very best.”
Bayern will play a Champions League match against Olympiakos on Wednesday before facing their biggest rivals Borussia Dortmund in the German top-flight on Saturday.
Saturday’s hammering by Eintracht was the club’s worst league defeat since a humiliating drubbing at Wolfsburg by the same scoreline in April 2009.
A 10-man Bayern was shredded by Eintracht after defender Jerome Boateng was sent off in the ninth minute, and leaving Kovac’s future at the club hanging in the balance.
“I know how this business works — I am not naive,” Kovac told reporters after the match.
Bayern have won only five of their last 10 Bundesliga matches, leaving them with 18 points — four points behind leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Even their few victories have been lacklustre, with few goals to brag about and a shaky defence that has struggled to gain momentum.
“I don’t think the performance we produced will bring us serious success if we don’t get a handle on things,” Rummenigge bluntly told the squad after a hard-won 3-2 victory at Olympiakos in late October.
Germany’s top-selling Bild newspaper on Sunday reported Kovac’s men had started to lose faith in him.
“The players are criticising him more often and more openly, allowing them to shift attention away from their own shortcomings,” the daily wrote.
With Kovac’s departure, Bayern will be hoping to turn a page on the stuttering start to the season.
“I’m now expecting a positive development from our players and an absolute desire to perform so we can achieve our goals for the season,” said Salihamidzic.
After defeating the Bavarians in the German Cup final in his last match in charge of Eintracht in 2018, Kovac went on to win the Bundesliga and the German Cup in his first year in charge at Bayern.
Only one month ago, Kovac’s short-term future at Bayern looked secure after he masterminded a 7-2 win over Champions League finalists Tottenham in London.
Former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger are among the coaches named by bookmakers as possible replacements for Kovac, with the latter speaking fluent German and having previously expressed a desire to coach Bayern.
Tottenham Hotspur slumped to their biggest ever Champions League defeat as Bayern Munich ran riot in the second half to run out 7-2 winners at the Tottenham Stadium.
Spurs started the game strongly and took a deserved lead when Heung-Min Son tucked home the opener. But excellent goals from Joshua Kimmich and Robert Lewandowski gave Bayern a narrow advantage at half-time.
However, a Harry Kane penalty aside, the second-half was one-way traffic as Bayern tore the hosts apart time and again, with former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry scoring four after the break.
The devastating defeat leaves Spurs with big questions to answer with four matches of Group B remaining.
Elsewhere Juventus recorded a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 at home, Atletico Madrid posted a 3-0 at Lokomotiv Moscow while PSG won 1-0 at Galatasary.
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