Borussia Monchengladbach
Thibaut Courtois: Real Madrid are always favourites for the Champions League
Thibaut Courtois has insisted Real Madrid are “always the favourites” for the Champions League while expressing his confidence that the Blancos can conquer Europe again in 2020-21. Madrid have won the competition a record 13 times, six more than any other club, but an underwhelming start to the La Liga season has hardly served to inspire confidence they can claim a 14th title come May. Madrid are third in the early La Liga standings, one point behind early leaders Real Sociedad having slumped to a 1-0 home loss to newly-promoted Cadiz last time out. Zinedine Zidane’s side failed to reach the quarter-finals last season, losing in a two-legged last-16 tie to Manchester City with a five-month interval between the games due to the suspension of football amid the Covid-19 crisis. Drawn in Group...
Bundesliga Matchday 29 Preview: Last Lap for Bayern?
The third matchday in the span of a week is set to begin tonight, as Matchday 29 of the Bundesliga kicks off. Let’s take a quick look at all of the matches. FRIDAY: SC Freiburg vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen: 8th-placed Freiburg host 5th-placed Leverkusen, with both sides looking for three points to fuel their European ambitions. Freiburg would move up to 7th and only be a point behind Wolfsburg. A win for Leverkusen, though, would see them jump up to third. Freiburg head into this match on the back of a thrilling 3-3 draw against Frankfurt, whereas Leverkusen were hit for 4 by Wolfsburg in midweek. It promises to be an exciting contest. Player to Watch: Edmond Tapsoba – A player who’s gone under the radar for Leverkusen. Even in the battering they received at the hands of Wolfsburg, he ...
Lightning Leverkusen Win the Rhine Derby
Gladbach welcomed Leverkusen for the Rhine derby, as cardboard fans filled the stands in Borussia-Park for the second matchday since the restart of the Bundesliga. Leverkusen got off to a lightning-quick start, and they were rewarded for it when Bellarabi played Havertz through, who calmly slotted home with a brilliant finish. Leverkusen dominated possession in the first half as Aránguiz and Demirbay controlled the midfield. The foals had a rare chance in the 42nd minute as Neuhaus had a hit from range after a half-cleared corner, which Hrádecký spilled, but he managed to keep it away from the Gladbach players before Aránguiz cleared. 3 minutes later Leverkusen almost doubled their lead as Havertz hit the crossbar, and the ball rebounded for Bellarabi, who had his effort her...
The Battle of Berlin and a Champions League Squabble: Bundesliga Matchday 27 Preview
Matchday 27 of the Bundesliga beckons, so let us take a quick look at all the fixtures for this weekend: FRIDAY: Hertha Berlin vs Union Berlin: The second matchday after the restart kicks off with a bang – The Berlin Derby. This will be more than just a derby – as the two teams are separated by a solitary point. Hertha go into this match on the back of their 3-0 victory over Hoffenheim, whereas Union lost 2-0 to Bayern, but they won’t be too displeased as they managed to frustrate the record champions for large parts of the match. Expect a cracker. Not these crackers, though: Player to Watch: Matheus Cunha – After his stellar display against Hoffenheim, the young Brazilian has the stage set for him shine against local rivals Union. Don’t be surprised if he picks the lock of Union’s de...
UEFA releases possible dates for Champions League games
UEFA’s plan to complete the Champions League and Europa League continues. The plan says that they will be played throughout the month of August once the leagues are done in July. UEFA have an idea which is to end the season by the end of August. Therefore, the domestic leagues need to be completed by the end of July. The proposal is for the remaining last 16 games to be played in the first week of the month. On 26th and 29th August, Gdansk and Istanbul will host the Europa League and Champions League finals respectively. ‘Marca’ says that they will try and stick to that instead of playing both the finals at the same venue. There are 17 Champions League and 27 Europa League matches left to play. Confirmation of the new calendar depends first on leagues getting back underway and then on the ...
La Liga congratulates Bundesliga ahead football league return
The Spanish La Liga has congratulated Germany’s Bundesliga for announcing its imminent return as Spain’s top-flight stepped up its own comeback preparations. The Bundesliga was given the green light to resume later this month when chancellor Angela Merkel made the announcement during a news conference on Wednesday. Strict testing and matchday procedures will be put in place by the German government, with football seemingly set to resume on May 15 having been paused in mid-March. LaLiga outlined its own plan for a staggered return to training on Monday, with teams set to begin individual work this week before gradually moving to group sessions, the ultimate aim being to re-commence the 2019-20 season in June. Spanish clubs began testing players for COVID-19 on Tuesday and LaLiga sees the Bu...
