BERLIN - Borussia Dortmund could not have hoped for better timing ahead of Saturday's trip to Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga's Der Klassiker as they look to rescue their rollercoaster campaign with a late winning run.
Dortmund were considered title contenders at the start of the season but their early spark quickly faded leading to the departure of coach Lucien Favre in December.
Ousmane Dembélé is perennially late.
You can easily imagine him throwing open the door of his Mercedes S63 AMG coupé, crushed Mountain Dew Game Fuel cans spilling out with him, and sprinting into Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper at a breakneck speed muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" because this really happens all the time — to the point where the club fined him hundreds of thousands of dollars and wondered aloud if he had a video game disorder that forced him to stay up all night playing with his friends (others call this disorder “having fun.”)
Memories of the Premier League 10-15 years ago conjure up very specific visions, with the nostalgia usually centering around someone hitting the piss out of a classic Nike ball.
No 2000s soccer mixtape was complete without some random gangly defender hitting a 40-yard rocket to the top corner, Wayne Rooney burying a dipping half-volley or a center midfielder charging forward and doing unspeakable things to a one-touch shot from long range.
With Sunday’s Madrid Derby now on the horizon, Real Madrid missed a massive opportunity to ratchet up the pressure on Atlético by slipping to a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad at Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano on Monday night.
Real clearly felt the absence of Karim Benzema up top — along with the continued unavailability of Sergio Ramos, Eden Hazard, Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão — and today’s starting front three of Marco Asensio, Mariano and Isco was hooked en masse in the 61st minute after Portu had put Sociedad up 1-0 in the 55th.
BARCELONA - Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was arrested on Monday after Catalan police officers searched the LaLiga club's offices.
A regional police spokeswoman confirmed several arrests had been made following an investigation by the force's financial crimes unit, without confirming the number of arrests made or their identities.
Christian Gross arrived at the Veltins-Arena nine weeks ago with one seemingly impossible task: keep Schalke in the Bundesliga.
He became the fourth manager of the season in the midst of a stretch that saw the team go without a league win for over a year. Huub Stevens had taken over before Christmas on an interim basis for a fourth turn at the helm of Schalke after Manuel Baum's three-month tenure brought six defeats and four draws. Before Baum was former USMNT player David Wagner, who spent 15 months in charge and on whose watch the winless streak began.
Reinier, 18 at the time, arrived in Germany with high hopes.
The Brazilian attacker signed for Borussia Dortmund on a two-year loan deal from Real Madrid, having joined the Spanish giants from Flamengo in January 2020 on a $36 million deal. He was the latest Brazilian starlet to make the move to the Bernabeu, as Madrid had previously bought Vinícius, also from Flamengo, and Rodrygo Goes from Santos, each for over $50 million.
Barnsley FC has spent one season in its long history in the Premier League, in 1997-98. It was relegated immediately after finishing in 19th place on 35 points that season.
RCD Mallorca suffered a heartbreaking blow at the end of the 2016-17 season. With one game left to play, the club's return to Spain's third tier, La Segunda B, was confirmed thanks to relegation as a result of a 20th-placed finish. It had been over 30 years since the islanders last faced the ignominy of the third division.
Ronald Koeman's Barcelona, third place in LaLiga on 50 points, travels south on Saturday to take on Sevilla, just two points behind them in fourth.