Vincent Kompany was impressed with Bayern Munich s energy while Thomas Muller revelled in a fun victory over Ulm in the DFB-Pokal.
Kompany s first competitive match in charge of Bayern ended in a resounding 4-0 win on Friday.
Muller s first-half brace got the ball rolling for Bayern, with Kingsley Coman and Harry Kane coming off the bench to add some gloss to the scoreline as Ulm rarely showed a threat going the other way.
Bayern had 16 shots and accumulated 3.28 expected goals (xG) in a dominant performance that impressed their new coach.
I m happy. We started well and were 2-0 up early on, said Kompany, as reported by Bayern s website.
I m also very happy that we kept a clean sheet. Games like this aren t always easy.
It wasn t always…
Xavi insists Barcelona must prove their trophy hunger ahead of the Supercopa de Espana final showdown with Real Madrid.
The Blaugrana are aiming to end a 21-month wait for silverware, having lacked such success since their Copa del Rey victory over Athletic Bilbao under Ronald Koeman in April 2021.
Barca required a penalty shoot-out to defeat Real Betis in the Supercopa semi-finals on Thursday, but they are now on the brink of lifting a first trophy under Xavi.
All the same, head coach Xavi believes his side enter the latest Clasico as underdogs, with Madrid having won four trophies in 2022, including the Champions League and LaLiga.
Traditional picture with the coaches
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Madrid are very strong and, psychol…
Carlo Ancelotti has ruled out signing a replacement should Marco Asensio leave, as Real Madrid do not need another forward.
Spain international Asensio has been repeatedly linked with a move away, but remains a Madrid player with less than a week of the transfer window to go.
The 26-year-old, who has just started his seventh season at the Santiago Bernabeu, is reportedly a target for Premier League pair Arsenal and Manchester United.
Asensio has featured for just eight minutes across Madrid s three matches this campaign, and Ancelotti is not ruling out an exit in the coming days.
There is nothing new with regards to his situation, Ancelotti said at a press conference on Saturday ahead of his side s trip to Espanyol.
He is evaluating his situatio…
Best Odds: 7/10
Bookmaker:
Looking to make it back-to-back Premier League victories this weekend, Manchester City will welcome Ipswich to the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester City
Starting with the hosts, while Manchester City might have relinquished their maiden Champions League crown last season, Pep Guardiola’s side made even more domestic history. Becoming the first club in Premier League history to secure four consecutive top-flight titles, the former Barcelona boss once again finds his squad pencilled in as a standout contender this time around. Getting proceedings underway with a dominant display away at Stamford Bridge last weekend as they secured a 2-0 victory against Chelsea, the Sky Blues will certainly be smelling a golden opportunity here…
Best odds: 19/20
Bookmaker:
On Saturday afternoon, Lecce will be hosting AS Roma at the Stadio Ettore Giardiniero Via del Mare within the 22nd round of the 2022/23 Serie A roller coaster.
Lecce
Season after season, Lecce appear to be among those teams of insufficient quality to play in one of Europe s top five leagues, but at the same time, too good for the second tier. After spending two years in the Serie B, they earned promotion ahead of this season, and they seem not to be doing too badly at this point.
Sitting in 14th place with 23 points, there s a nine-point gap between Lecce and Hellas Verona who top the relegation zone, with Sassuolo (also 23), Salernitana (21) and Spezia (18) currently in between.
Interestingly enough, Lecce lost only …
Former Liverpool forward Bobby Duncan has hit out at his former agent for working to jeopardise his career, three years on from a controversial move to Fiorentina.
Duncan, then considered a rising star at Liverpool, made headlines in 2019 when then-agent Saif Rubie accused the club of causing the youngster deep mental health issues before negotiating a move to the Serie A team. The Reds always denied such claims.
However, the attacker – who is also a cousin of Reds legend Steven Gerrard – has struggled since the transfer and now plays for Spanish third-tier team Real Balompedica Linense after a failed spell at Derby County.
On Monday, Rubie made an explosive radio appearance, telling talkSPORT: I actually advised him [Duncan] to stay at Liverpool and you hav…
On Thursday night in Paris, Cristiano Ronaldo won his fifth Ballon d’Or award to move level with Barcelona rival Lionel Messi. Ronaldo played a massive part in Los Blancos winning La Liga and the Champions League last season.
His 42 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions were his second lowest goal tally since joining the club. However, a number of those goals were vital ones, especially hat-tricks against Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter and semi-finals, not to mention his brace in the final against Juventus.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a fine footballer. Love him or loathe him he knows where the old onion bag is and finds it on a regular basis. He works hard and shows tremendous determination to be the best in the world.
The 32…
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was overcome with emotion about leaving Roma and cried for a long time when he realised his time in Italy was over.
Alisson only played a single season as first-choice at Roma, but he impressed so much that Liverpool struck a deal that could be worth almost £67million a world record for a goalkeeper at the time.
The Brazil international has swiftly established himself as a regular between the posts at Anfield and, although he made an error that led to a goal against Leicester City, he has generally been solid.
But Alisson concedes he had some reluctance about the move, with the 26-year-old so fond of Roma and the Italian capital that he broke down ahead of leaving.
Leaving Rome was difficult, he told Gazzetta dello Sport. I …
Luton captain Tom Lockyer has been discharged from hospital following a successful procedure to fit an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD).
Lockyer collapsed in the 59th minute of Saturday’s Premier League match against Bournemouth after he suffered a cardiac arrest, which resulted in the game being abandoned.
Luton said the 29-year-old Lockyer has now begun a period of rehabilitation at his own home in the wake of the incident, which they said was unrelated to his previous collapse in the play-off final in May.
We are thankful to report that our captain Tom Lockyer has now begun a period of rehabilitation from the comfort of his own home after he was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.
Read the full statement
— Luton Town FC (@Lu…
Ajax star Donny van de Beek confirmed Real Madrid are in talks with the Eredivisie champions over his transfer.
Van de Beek has emerged as a €60million target for LaLiga giants Madrid, who have been unable to prise Paul Pogba from Manchester United.
The 22-year-old Van de Beek confirmed Madrid s interest on Friday, and he provided an update following Saturday s 2-2 draw away to Vitesse.
It is true that Madrid are in talks with Ajax, but I can t say any more, Van de Beek told Fox Sports after scoring and providing an assist in the club s Eredivisie opener.
My agent will have spoken with them. Real Madrid are a great club to play for, but Ajax are still a great club. We ll see what happens.
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax)
Van d…