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Tag: Bayern Munich

  • Chelsea rejected Alcantara before Liverpool move

    Chelsea rejected Alcantara before Liverpool move

    Chelsea turned down the chance to sign Thiago Alcantara before his move to Liverpool, it has been revealed.

    The Athletic reports Chelsea were contacted by Bayern Munich over the availability of midfielder Thiago before he joined Liverpool.

    The Spaniard completed his £20m move to the champions on Friday having been linked with the Reds throughout the summer.

    But Thiago might have ended up at Chelsea had they been interested in signing a new midfielder.

    The Blues – along with Arsenal – were reportedly offered the chance to sign the 29-year-old as Bayern searched for a suitable fee, with his contract into its final year.

  • Whirlwind Bayern Munich dismantle Schalke 8-0 in season opener

    Whirlwind Bayern Munich dismantle Schalke 8-0 in season opener

    Treble winners Bayern Munich crushed Schalke 04 8-0 with a hat-trick from Serge Gnabry and a superb debut from Leroy Sane on Friday.

    It was a sensational start to the new Bundesliga season and the win sent an ominous warning to potential challengers.

    Also, it was the biggest opening win in Bundesliga history.

    Bayern Munich showed they had lost none of the sharpness which helped them to lift the UEFA Champions League trophy less than a month ago in dominant fashion.

    Gnabry grabbed his first goal for the hosts with a fine turn and shot in the fourth minute in what turned out to be a one-sided affair.

    It stretched Bayern Munich’s unbeaten run to 31 games this year, having now won the last 22 matches in a row.

    Schalke 04, without a league win in 17 consecutive matches since January, were helpless against Bayern Munich’s lightning-quick game.

    Leon Goretzka found plenty of space to drive a low shot past goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann in the 19th minute.

    “You can see that the team was already strong last season,” said Sane, who joined from Manchester City. “The team is still hungry in spite of winning the treble last season and to have such a start is outstanding.”

    Bayern Munich finished their season in August when they added the Champions League to their Bundesliga and German Cup titles and then had only a short preparation for the new season.

    Last season’s top goalscorer Robert Lewandowski found the net with a 31st minute penalty kick to become the first player to score in 10 successive appearances against the same Bundesliga opponents.

    Gnabry then scored twice from Sane’s assists in the 47th and 59th before Thomas Mueller made it half a dozen after Lewandowski set him up with an impressive rabona kick.

    Sane then capped his superb Bayern Munich debut with a fine finish from a counter attack in an empty Allianz Arena.

    This was after the city had banned spectators due to rising coronavirus infection numbers in the region.

    A little later substitute Jamal Musiala drilled in goal number eight to become the youngest ever Bayern Munich goalscorer in the league at 17 years old.

    The result piled more pressure on already-embattled Schalke 04 coach David Wagner, who has been under intense scrutiny during their winless run this year.

  • Liverpool complete Thiago Alcantara signing

    Liverpool complete Thiago Alcantara signing

    Liverpool have completed the signing of Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich in a deal which could cost the Reds up to £27 million ($35m).

    Jurgen Klopp’s side will pay an initial £20m ($26m), with the Spain international midfielder having signed a four-year deal.

    He becomes the Reds’ second signing of the summer, following the arrival of Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiacos, and brings to an end months of speculation about his future.

    Thiago, who will wear the No.6 shirt at Anfield, had long been linked with a move to Merseyside, but Liverpool had remained tight-lipped on reports in Germany that the 29-year-old had chosen the Premier League champions as his next club.

  • UEFA approves fans for Bayern, Sevilla Super Cup clash

    UEFA approves fans for Bayern, Sevilla Super Cup clash

    Europe’s football governing body UEFA has confirmed fans will be allowed for next month’s Super Cup clash between Bayern Munich and Sevilla.

    It however said only 30 percent of fans will watch the match live at Puskas Stadium in Budapest.

    The stadium in the capital of Hungary holds 67,215 spectators at full capacity, which means that 20,164 people will be allowed to attend the clash.

    The annual fixture pits the winners of the Champions League against the victors of the Europa League – which Sevilla won for a record sixth time earlier this month by defeating Inter in the showpiece.

    This match will be the Andalusian club’s sixth Super Cup of which they have won just once – in 2006, when they defeated Barcelona 3-0 in the showpiece – but have lost on four occasions: 2007, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

    Bayern Munich were crowned winners of the Champions League by defeating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in Sunday’s final.

  • Bayern Munich deny PSG first Champions League title

    Bayern Munich deny PSG first Champions League title

    Bayern Munich sealed a sixth European Cup crown with a narrow 1-0 win over first-time finalists Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon, thanks to a goal from former PSG youth academy graduate Kingsley Coman.

    Coman, France international appeared at the back post to glance home a cross from Joshua Kimmich in the 59th minute, completing a sweeping move by Bayern, who until then had been the second best side on the pitch.

    Coman’s strike punished PSG’s wastefulness in the first half as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe both failed to beat Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer from close range while Angel di Maria and Ander Herrera also narrowly missed the target.

    PSG substitute Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting missed two late opportunities to level for the French side, who are still waiting to win their first Champions League title after billions of euros of investment from the Qatar royal family.

  • Lyon shares fall after defeat by Bayern

    Lyon shares fall after defeat by Bayern

    Olympique Lyonnais’ shares fell on Thursday after the French soccer club’s defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final.

    Lyon’s shares, which had risen at the start of the week after Lyon beat Manchester City in the quarter final, were down by 4.7 per cent by 0728 GMT.

    Bayern Munich powered into the Champions League final, where they will face Paris Saint Germain (PSG), as two goals from Serge Gnabry led them to an emphatic 3-0 win over Lyon on Wednesday.

    Bayern Munich will take on Paris Saint Germain on Sunday in the champions league final in Portugal.

  • Bayern book Champions League final showdown with PSG

    Bayern book Champions League final showdown with PSG

    Bayern Munich are through to the Champions League final after a 3-0 win over Lyon.

    Gnabry scored a brace in the first half; his first was a powerful strike into the top corner before he tapped in from close range Lewandowski’s shot was parried to him by Lopes.

    Lewandowski then rounded it off last on with his 55th goal of the season when he headed in Kimmich’s free-kick.

    Bayern will face Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final, where they’ll try to win this competition for the sixth time.

  • Barcelona sack coach Setien after horrible loss to Bayern Munich

    Barcelona sack coach Setien after horrible loss to Bayern Munich

    FC Barcelona have sacked coach Quique Setien and brought presidential elections forward to March 2021, the club said on Monday.

    This has come three days after the Spanish side were hammered 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

    Setien, 61, was appointed in January after the club sacked two-time league winner Ernesto Valverde despite his side sitting top of the La Liga on goal difference.

    But after Barca were condemned to their heaviest defeat in European competition on Friday, Setien was also sacked after only seven months in charge.

    He oversaw the club’s first trophy-less season in 12 years.

    Barca finished second in La Liga behind champions Real Madrid and were knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage by Athletic Bilbao.

    “This is the first decision within a wider restructuring of the first team which will be agreed between the current technical secretary and the new coach, who will be announced in the coming days,” added Barca’s statement on Setien.

    According to widespread Spanish media reports, Netherlands coach and former Barca defender Ronald Koeman is set to be named as Setien’s successor.

    The statement was released more than nine hours after president Josep Maria Bartomeu and directors had begun a board meeting.

    It also said the club’s hierarchy had decided against calling an election imminently in the wake of the defeat against Bayern Munich, as many fans and influential voices had demanded.

    “The board understand that an immediate call for elections is not feasible, given that the league season will begin on the weekend of Sept. 12, 2020, and the situation arising from the COVID-19 crisis – both economically and socially,” added the statement.

    “Consequently, the club will continue to implement the plan to reverse the sporting and economic situation, based on profound changes to the first team, plus a redefined budget to deal with the new situation caused by COVID-19, before the end of the current mandate.”

    As at Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna, FC Barcelona presidents are voted for by club members.

    Bartomeu won the last election, held in 2015, but is barred from running in the next round of elections as he has already served two consecutive mandates.

    He was named president in 2014 after the resignation of Sandro Rosell.

    Victor Font is the front-runner for the election, while former president Joan Laporta has also declared his intention to run.

  • Davies misses Bayern Munich training ahead of duel with Messi

    Davies misses Bayern Munich training ahead of duel with Messi

    Left-back Alphonso Davies missed Bayern Munich training on Wednesday, but coach Hansi Flick expects him to be fit for Friday’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final match against FC Barcelona.

    Flick said that the 19-year-old was rested as a precaution because he was suffering from “light adductor problems.”

    Asked whether Davies could miss the game, Flick said: “We don’t think so.”

    Canada’s Davies played an outstanding season for Bayern Munich and is needed in his best shape for the big game to help contain Lionel Messi, who likes to attack on that side.

    Flick hopes he does not have to reshuffle his defence again, with right-back Benjamin Pavard still sidelined and Joshua Kimmich taking his place again in a move back from midfield.

    Should Davies not be able to play, Lucas Hernandez would be a candidate for the position.

    Bayern Munich are set to leave their training base in Lagos on the Algarve coast for Lisbon on Thursday.

    The UEFA Champions League finals were to open later Wednesday and run until Aug. 23, with the Bavarians aiming for a sixth title.

    Slovenia’s Damir Skomina will referee the one-legged tie, European football governing body UEFA has announced.

    He was in charge when Bayern Munich beat Barca in the 2013 semi-final second leg en route to a treble, which they hope to repeat this year.

  • Bayern can’t match Chelsea spending power for Havertz – Hoeness

    Bayern can’t match Chelsea spending power for Havertz – Hoeness

    Bayern Munich powerbroker Uli Hoeness says they couldn’t compete with Chelsea for Bayer Leverkusen ace Kai Havertz this summer.

    Hoeness admitted earlier this year Bayern were keen on signing the midfielder, who is now expected to join Chelsea.

    He explained to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “I am sure that there will be no major transfers after (Leroy) Sané this year. This has nothing to do with Havertz’s quality. We all think he’s a very, very good player.

    “But in the corona period after making a transfer of just under 50 million, making one of 70, 80 million or more without secured counter-financing through player sales, I can’t imagine it…”