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Bundesliga wrap: Bayern runs riot; Gnabry leads Hoffenheim

By Nicholas MendolaMar 10, 2018, 2:34 PM EDT
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A day the champions dominated left the focus on the plight of its visitors, as the race to avoid the relegation playoff spot also stays tight in Germany’s top flight.

[ MORE: Claudio Reyna spits truth ]

Bayern Munich 6-0 Hamburg

USMNT forward Bobby Wood wasn’t in the 18 to see his likely relegation-bound side get absolutely bamboozled by the league’s gold standard attack.

Robert Lewandowski bagged a hat trick, Franck Ribery scored twice, and Arjen Robben also netted  for the hosts.

Lewandowski’s 20 league goals are seven more than the field, and the second-place contestant is now in the Premier League (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal).

Here’s Hamburg boss Bernd Hollerbach:

“The game was over after 18 minutes. You can come here and lose, but I wasn’t happy with the manner of the defeat. That’s not the football I want to see.”

With the score 4-0, Ribery took nearly 70 percent of the Hamburg XI to school.

Hoffenheim 3-0 Wolfsburg

Serge Gnabry scored twice in about three minutes — one may be changed to an own goal — to bury the visitors’ hopes of relegation relief, as Hoffenheim stayed within sight of the Top Six. The loss means Wolfsburg remains ahead of playoff-bound 16th place on goal differential alone.

Elsewhere
Mainz 0-1 Schalke — Friday
Hertha Berlin 0-0 Freiburg
Hannover 1-3 Augsburg
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Borussia Monchengladbach
Stuttgart vs. RB Leipzig — 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday
Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt — 1 p.m. ET Sunday
Werder Bremen vs. Koln — 3:30 p.m. ET Monday

STANDINGS

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Home Away PTS
 Bayern Munich 26 21 3 2 65 18 47 11-2-0 10-1-2 66
 FC Schalke 04 26 13 7 6 40 30 10 7-4-2 6-3-4 46
 Bayer Leverkusen 26 12 8 6 47 33 14 6-4-3 6-4-3 44
 Borussia Dortmund 25 11 9 5 50 31 19 5-4-3 6-5-2 42
 Eintracht Frankfurt 25 12 6 7 33 27 6 6-3-4 6-3-3 42
 RB Leipzig 25 11 6 8 38 34 4 7-4-2 4-2-6 39
 1899 Hoffenheim 26 10 8 8 43 38 5 7-4-2 3-4-6 38
 FC Augsburg 26 9 8 9 36 33 3 5-4-4 4-4-5 35
 Mönchengladbach 26 10 5 11 33 39 -6 6-3-4 4-2-7 35
 VfB Stuttgart 25 10 3 12 23 29 -6 8-1-3 2-2-9 33
 Hertha BSC Berlin 26 7 11 8 30 31 -1 4-5-4 3-6-4 32
 Hannover 96 26 8 8 10 33 38 -5 6-3-4 2-5-6 32
 SC Freiburg 26 6 12 8 25 42 -17 5-6-2 1-6-6 30
 Werder Bremen 25 6 9 10 24 30 -6 4-4-4 2-5-6 27
 VfL Wolfsburg 26 4 13 9 28 36 -8 2-7-4 2-6-5 25
 FSV Mainz 05 26 6 7 13 29 43 -14 5-2-6 1-5-7 25
 Hamburger SV 26 4 6 16 18 41 -23 3-4-6 1-2-10 18
 1. FC Köln 25 4 5 16 24 46 -22 2-3-8 2-2-8 17

Solskjaer: ‘We just need consistency’

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By Daniel KarellJul 16, 2019, 7:12 PM EDT
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In a vague, general word, Manchester United manager knows exactly what his club have been missing. Consistency.

More specifically, consistent success.

In a sit-down interview with the BBC, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer mentioned striving for consistency in performances on no less than four occasions, including when speaking about Alexis Sanchez. Man United won eight straight matches in all competitions and 10 of its first 11 under the Norwegian manager.

[READ: De Ligt lands in Turin ahead of Juventus move]

And yet, the consistency wasn’t there late in the season, when Man United faltered down the stretch and won just two of its last ten matches to close the season on a sour note. Man United finished in sixth place, and while Solskjaer said he believed it would be a challenge to break into the top four, he said with some consistent performances, Man United could achieve its goals.

“We have to aim for further up than fourth,” Solskjaer told the BBC. “I would rather be an optimist and be wrong than a pessimist and be right. I am not used to us being fifth or sixth but that is where we are at. That is the size of the challenge. I love that challenge.

“We have to work with the players, sign the right types and gradually make our way to the challenging line. Our players do have quality. They do have a chance. We just need consistency. We have to keep working every single day and not take our eyes off the target. Everyone gets off line at some point but you can’t let it drift too far because then you won’t get to the overall goal.”

Some Man United fans have been mumbling and rumbling due to the slow start in this summer’s transfer window. Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia have both departed on free transfers, while only Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have come in. While it’s not the improvements some fans were hoping for, it’s helped give some of the young players, like James Garner, Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes and Mason Greenword, some hope that they can get minutes.

Perhaps the push from the young players for first team minutes will make Man United a bit more competitive in training again, which can only help in terms of having success on the field.

The big question remains, which Man United team will we see this season. The one from Solskjaer’s first two months on the job, or the one from his last six weeks.

MLS Notes: Shea out for season with torn ACL, and more

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By Daniel KarellJul 16, 2019, 5:43 PM EDT
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It appeared Brek Shea had finally gotten his career back on track, only for a serious injury to end his season prematurely.

Atlanta United announced on Tuesday that Shea had suffered a “right knee injury” that will involve season-ending surgery. An earlier report from the Athletic stated it was a torn ACL, which could leave Shea sidelined into the start of next season.

[READ: de Ligt arrives in Turin]

Shea has made 10 starts out of 19 appearances so far this season for Atlanta, where he’s often played as a left wing back or left midfielder, offering speed down the flank and a deeper starting position to connect with Atlanta’s talented attackers. A good season from Shea could have propelled him back into the USMNT conversation, especially if he took part in next season’s January camp. Now, that option is off the table.

Here’s some more MLS news and notes:

(more…)

De Ligt lands in Turin ahead of proposed Juventus move

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By Daniel KarellJul 16, 2019, 5:06 PM EDT
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Cristiano Ronaldo’s recruiting tactics with Matthijs de Ligt during the UEFA Nations League final appears to have worked.

[READ: Transfer Rumor Roundup]

Juventus posted a video on the club’s social media accounts that shows de Ligt arriving in Turin, Italy on a private jet, likely to sign his contract and get started with the club. It’s a huge precursor to an announcement for one of the top targets of this summer’s transfer market, and it represents a huge coup for Juventus.

Just a month ago or so, Juventus were on the outside looking in, with Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, and even Manchester United and Manchester City all mentioned in the race to sign the Netherlands and Ajax star centerback. And yet, PSG, which appeared in the lead at one point, lost ground to Juventus, and de Ligt now gets to compete alongside Ronaldo after facing him twice over the past season.

It’s the latest move in the incredible rise of de Ligt over the past three years. De Ligt was promoted to Ajax’s first team as a 17-year-old, and pretty quickly established himself as a huge talent for the Netherlands. Then Netherlands National Team coach Danny Blind called up de Ligt to start in a crunch World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria, with the Netherlands desperate for some defensive answers.

It’s didn’t exactly go well.

And yet, de Ligt has overcome those experiences and raised his game to new levels each of the last two years. Alongside Davinson Sanchez, Ajax made it to the Europa League final, and last year, de Ligt scored as Ajax defeated Juventus on the way to the UEFA Champions League semifinals. Ajax was just a few minutes away from the finals before Tottenham’s late winner.

At the same time, along with Virgil Van Dijk, they form one of the strongest centerback partnerships in Europe, and look set to lead the Netherlands to UEFA Euro 2020.

As mentioned before, it’s a massive get for de Ligt, assuming that the soon-to-be 20-year-old can settle in Turin. Juventus’ defensive corps continues to grow older, with Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini both well into their 30s. De Ligt’s arrival can help give some stability at the back and allow Juventus to transition to the next generation of centerbacks.

Cameroon fire Seedorf, Kluivert

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By Daniel KarellJul 16, 2019, 3:30 PM EDT
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Upset with how the national team was bounced from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, the Cameroon Football Federation has taken a drastic and surprising measure.

[READ: Reports: Trippier set to join Atletico Madrid]

The Cameroon FF (FECAFOOT) announced on Tuesday that it had dismissed head coach Clarence Seedorf and his coaching staff, which includes Seedorf’s former Netherlands and Ajax teammate Patrick Kluivert. Seedorf and Cameroon were defeated 3-2 by Nigeria in the Round of 16, knocking The Indomitable Lions out of the tournament.

Cameroon had won the last AFCON tournament and were set to host again, but the Confederation of African Football (CAF) removed the tournament from Cameroon due to the anglophone political crisis.

Seedorf signed a four-year contract last August, bringing Kluivert along with him in his first attempt to coach international soccer. However, it appears that the bosses in FECAFOOT expected more from Cameroon at the AFCON, and the results have embarrassed the federation enough to sack a promising coach.

The news should be a boost to club teams across Europe, which could pick up two of the top young coaches with a ton of playing experience, both of whom are free agents.