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Tag: Bayern Munich

  • David Alaba agrees Madrid pre-contract, passes medical

    David Alaba agrees Madrid pre-contract, passes medical

    Real Madrid have clinched the signing of Bayern Munich defender David Alaba to a pre-contract.

    Alaba will join the Spanish giants when his contract with the Bavarian club comes to an end on June 30.

    He has agreed a four-year deal with a salary close to 11 million euros per year in an offer made at the club’s offices in Valdebebas, as MARCA reported on January 2.

    The Austrian has been free to negotiate since January 1 and Real Madrid haven’t wasted a second in bringing in the European champion to seal a deal as quickly as possible. The player has even already undergone a medical for his future club, reports Marca.

    With 408 games, 32 goals and 49 assists helping Bayern to win 25 titles, including two Champions League wins and nine Bundesligas, Alaba is rated as one of the best defenders in Europe.

  • Bayern Munich end mini-slump with tight win over Freiburg

    Bayern Munich end mini-slump with tight win over Freiburg

    Bayern Munich returned to winning ways with a battling 2-1 victory at home to Freiburg on Sunday, which extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to four points.

    Bayern Munich, who lost on penalty kicks to Holstein Kiel in the German Cup in midweek having been beaten in the league by Borussia Moenchengladbach last weekend, prevailed in sleeting conditions.

    Robert Lewandowski’s early strike and Thomas Mueller’s 74th minute winner helped them take advantage of RB Leipzig’s 2-2 draw at Wolfsburg on Saturday.

    Freiburg had won their last five league games and were always in the contest, with Nils Petersen levelling moments after coming on in the second half.

    He also rattled the bar late on as Bayern Munich clung on.

    Bottom side Schalke 04, who snapped a 30-game league winless run last weekend, bid to lift themselves off the bottom when they visit Eintracht Frankfurt in Sunday’s late game.

  • Bayern Munich rally back to retain Bundesliga top spot with 5-2 win

    Bayern Munich rally back to retain Bundesliga top spot with 5-2 win

    Bayern Munich returned from the two-week Christmas break looking rusty before fighting back from two goals down to beat second-from-bottom Mainz 5-2 in a rip-roaring Bundesliga contest on Sunday.

    The result left Bayern Munich on 33 points from 14 games at the top of the league, two more than second-placed RB Leipzig who won 1-0 at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.

    Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich sparked the home side’s comeback with their first goal.

    He conceded that last season’s UEFA Champions League winners had been below par in the first half when they missed a string of chances.

    “We came out in the second half with a completely different attitude. But we were still fortunate that Mainz didn’t score a third goal,” Kimmich said.

    Mainz striker Jonathan Burkardt, who scored the opening goal, said: “We played with newly-found aggression and that’s something to build on in spite of the fact that we ended up conceding five goals.”

    The German title-holders were trailing 2-0 at half-time before they woke up with their run of goals.

    They included a brace by Robert Lewandowski, which took his tally to 22 goals in all competitions.

    Burkardt had fired Mainz ahead against the run of play in the 32nd minute with a superb finish from 15 metres after shaking off Jerome Boateng.

    Alexander Hack made it 2-0 12 minutes later with a thumping header from Daniel Brosinski’s cross.

    Danny Latza missed a gilt-edged chance to add a third for Mainz shortly after the break when his shot was pushed on to the post by Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

    Soon after, the visitors were swiftly punished as the home side hit top gear.

    Kimmich pulled one back in the 50th minute with a close-range header after Lewandowski nodded a Serge Gnabry cross into his path.

    Leroy Sane equalised five minutes later with a scorcher from 20 metres into the bottom right corner.

    The visitors again came agonisingly close to stunning Bayern Munich when Robin Quaison rattled the underside of the bar with a long-range thunderbolt.

    But, once again, ruthless Bayern Munich took advantage instantly.

    Half-time substitute Niklas Suele turned the tide when he volleyed home from inside the area through a forest of bodies, before Lewandowski forced Mainz into submission.

    The winner of the 2020 FIFA Best Player award converted a penalty kick after Leandro Barreiro had brought down Gnabry with a late tackle.

    He then bundled in a Thomas Mueller cross as Mainz collapsed in the final 20 minutes.

    Earlier on Sunday, Borussia Dortmund broke back into the top four after goals from Manuel Akanji and England forward Jadon Sancho gave them a 2-0 home win over sixth-placed Wolfsburg.

  • I spoke to Ferguson about Man Utd move – Lewandowski

    I spoke to Ferguson about Man Utd move – Lewandowski

    Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski admits moving to England was close previously in his career.

    Lewandowski was voted last week FIFA’s The Best for this year’s Player of the Season.

    He recalled to France Football: “After my second year in Dortmund, I had a conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson.

    “He wanted me to come to Manchester.

    “I was very interested. I can even say I was ready. But Dortmund wouldn’t let me go. It didn’t bother me any more than that because it went well in Borussia.”

  • Chelsea make contract offer to David Alaba

    Chelsea make contract offer to David Alaba

    Chelsea have made a contract offer to Bayern Munich defender David Alaba.

    Alaba is set to become a free agent next summer, which means he will be able to open talks with foreign clubs at the turn of the year as things stand.

    Italian transfer expert Nicolo Schira reports Chelsea are locked in talks with Alaba’s agent, Pini Zahavi, and have already submitted a three-year contract offer.

    However, Alaba is reportedly demanding a four-year deal worth a staggering £14million per year to join Frank Lampard’s side in the next summer window.

    The Blues also face competition from Juventus, who are said to be “really interested” in acquiring his services, while Paris St-Germain are another team in the running to sign him.

  • David Alaba pumps brakes on Chelsea links

    David Alaba pumps brakes on Chelsea links

    Bayern Munich defender David Alaba is cooling on the possibility of moving to Chelsea in the summer.

    Links in recent weeks had suggested Alaba wanted to sign for the London club, and they wanted him as well.

    However, Sky Germany claims there are no plans within Alaba’s camp to talk to Chelsea about a move to the club.

    The same report indicates Chelsea do not want the Austrian either, as they are happy with Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma as their first choice pairing.

    If the Blues do sign a defender, they want someone younger who is aerially dominant, and can eventually replace Silva in one or two years.

    But Alaba is still unlikely to renew with Bayern, per the same report.

  • Chelsea schedule talks for David Alaba

    Chelsea schedule talks for David Alaba

    Premier League side Chelsea are planning a move for Bayern Munich defender David Alaba.

    BILD says Alaba’s agent Pini Zahavi plans to start talks with Chelsea in January with the Bayern Munich stalwart looking more and more likely to leave the club in 2021.

    The Austrian, who came through the youth system at Bayern and has made 398 appearances for the club, is yet to agree an extension to his contract at the Allianz Arena which expires next summer.

    With the 28-year-old reportedly wanting £280,000-a-week and Bayern unwilling to meet those demands, Alaba looks set to leave on a free transfer next year and his agent plans to open negotiations with Chelsea.

    The report adds that while talks with the Blues are in the pipeline, Ligue 1 champions PSG are also interested in the defender.

  • Bundesliga: Rampant Bayern attack faces stingy Dortmund defence in “Klassiker”

    Bundesliga: Rampant Bayern attack faces stingy Dortmund defence in “Klassiker”

    If there is one team that can stop Bayern Munich’s rampant attack, it would appear to be arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund.

    The two sides, who are level at the top of the Bundesliga with five wins and one defeat each from six games, meet in a German “Klassiker” on Saturday.

    It is a match which pits the league’s best attack against its tightest defence.

    While titleholders Bayern Munich have blasted 24 goals in six games, last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund have conceded only two, both in a 2-0 defeat at Augsburg.

    But they have kept clean sheets in their other five matches.

    Borussia Dortmund, hosts on Saturday, have played 374 minutes in all competitions since conceding their last goal in the 3-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to Lazio.

    Coach Lucien Favre has reverted to his preferred four-man defence this season, having switched to a three-man back line halfway through the last campaign due to what he described as a “few problems.”

    “We feel very comfortable with the new system,” said defender Manuel Akanji after their 3-0 win at Club Brugge on Wednesday.

    “Sometimes you need a small change and I think the return to the four-man defence has helped.”

    Borussia Dortmund are hoping that Akanji’s regular partner at the centre of defence, Mats Hummels, will be fit after missing the Brugge match.

    Bayern, 6-2 winners at Salzburg on Tuesday, are on a remarkable run.

    They have won 27 out of their 28 matches in all competitions since football restarted in May following the coronavirus stoppage.

    Former Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski has led the way and has scored 10 league goals already this season, at an average of one every 37 minutes.

    Bayern Munich did the double over Borussia Dortmund last season as they won the title by 13 points and also beat their rivals 3-2 in the Super Cup in December.

    Even so, the club lived up to their reputation for off-field drama this week.

    This was after president Herbert Hainer said in a radio interview that they had withdrawn their offer to long-serving David Alaba over a contract extension.

    The Austrian said he was disappointed that details had come out into the open while his team mates and coach Hansi Flick both backed him.

    “It’s important to me that we have calm in the team and our surroundings,” said Flick. “We have a very, very important game against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and I’m not interested in anything else. I won’t say anything more about it.”

  • David Alaba blasts Bayern chief for contract announcement

    David Alaba blasts Bayern chief for contract announcement

    David Alaba has blasted Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer for announcing their new contract offer has been withdrawn.

    Alaba, who has been at Bayern since 2008, sees his current deal expire at the end of June next year. Hainer said that the club withdrew their offer a new five-year deal for Alaba after the player’s agent turned down their latest proposal.

    “I heard it like everyone else on the news,” Alaba, linked with Liverpool and Real Madrid, told a press conference ahead of their game at Salzburg in the Champions League on Tuesday.

    “I cannot say how it will continue from this point. I am glad to be playing for Bayern, and to be a part of the team. But what the future will look like after yesterday evening I just cannot say, as no one has talked to me officially.

    “I can completely understand the fans. I wish internal stuff would stay internal. The numbers out there do not correspond to reality and I am a bit disappointed and sad that the club never officially came out to say they are wrong.’

    Asked about a possible move to the English Premier League, Alaba said: “I have not made any thoughts about my future because Bayern was always the first point of contact. I had no contact with other clubs for that reason.”

  • Leipzig eye club record against Augsburg, Bayern to rotate

    Leipzig eye club record against Augsburg, Bayern to rotate

    RB Leipzig FC will look to stretch their unbeaten run on the road to a club record nine matches when they take on Augsburg on Saturday, with Julian Nagelsmann’s team an early dark horse in the Bundesliga title race of what will be a very busy season.

    With quintuple winners Bayer Munich and Borussia Dortmund having already slipped up early, the pandemic-adjusted calendar will favour consistency more than in previous years.

    Surprise Champions League semi-finalists in August, Leipzig have so far hardly missed a beat since the departure of top striker Timo Werner to Chelsea and top the standings on seven points.

    With eight goals coming from seven different players in their first three Bundesliga games, Leipzig seem to have a plethora of options up front led by Denmark’s Yussuf Poulsen.

    Nagelsmann will not have a lot of time to prepare with close to 10 players returning gradually this week from national team duties. Marcel Sabitzer is also still doubtful after training alone following muscle problems.

    But the coach could also have Ibrahima Konate back in the squad against Augsburg after the tall French central defender recovered from a hip injury and returned to team training.

    Bayern, one point behind on six, will travel to Arminia Bielefeld after Thursday’s delayed German Cup first round against Dueren.

    Promoted Arminia have not lost at home in the first and second division in more than a year and with many Bayern players playing their third or even fourth game in 10 days there could be room for a surprise.

    “It is difficult to say,” Bayern coach Hansi Flick said when asked if the frequency of games could have an effect on the team’s performance. “No one is complaining about the many matches. We have to accept the situation as it is.”

    The champions’ busy schedule continues with the first Champions’ League group match against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday and Flick is expected to rotate heavily until then.

    Dortmund, also on six points, travels to Hoffenheim, with top striker Erling Haaland in superb form after his hat-trick for Norway in their 4-0 Nations League over Romania on Sunday.