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Bundesliga wrap: Dortmund, Gladbach scoop big away wins

By Nicholas MendolaJan 19, 2019, 3:22 PM EST
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The Top Three all won their first matches after the Bundesliga’s Winterpause, as leaders Borussia Dortmund and third place side Borussia Monchengladbach joined Friday winners Bayern Munich in the win column.

[ MORE: Arsenal-Chelsea recap | JPW’s 3 things ]

Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 Borussia Monchengladbach

Alassane Plea’s 10th goal of the season kept ‘Gladbach three points back of Bayern and nine behind BVB. The visitors had almost a month to stew on a 2-1 loss to the leaders, but were fairly fortunate to get three points considering Bayer out-attempted the Foals by a 21-7 margin and put nine shots on Yann Sommer.

Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 Freiburg

Eintracht’s pair of Top Ten scorers struck again, with Luka Jovic adding his league-best 13th goal and Sebastien Haller notching hsi 10th goal of the season. Borussia Dortmund is the only other club with two double-digit league scorers (Paco Alcacer and Marco Reus). The other goal came from Ante Rebic, who has six in 874 minutes.

RB Leipzig 0-1 Borussia Dortmund

Axel Witsel’s well-hit 19th minute goal off a corner kick was all BVB needed to restore its six-point table advantage on Bayern Munich. Christian Pulisic played the final quarter-hour for BVB, while fellow American youngster Tyler Adams of RBL was an unused sub during his first Bundesliga matchday.

Elsewhere
Hoffenheim 1-3 Bayern Munich — Friday
Stuttgart 2-3 Mainz
Augsburg 1-2 Fortuna Dusseldorf
Hannover 0-1 Werder Bremen — USMNT’s Sargent plays 10 mins
Nurnberg v. Hertha Berlin — 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday
Schalke v. Wolfsburg — Noon ET Sunday

STANDINGS

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Home Away PTS
 Borussia Dortmund 18 14 3 1 45 18 27 8-1-0 6-2-1 45
 Bayern Munich 18 12 3 3 39 19 20 4-3-1 8-0-2 39
 Mönchengladbach 18 11 3 4 37 18 19 8-0-0 3-3-4 36
 RB Leipzig 18 9 4 5 31 18 13 7-2-1 2-2-4 31
 Eintracht Frankfurt 18 9 3 6 37 24 13 5-1-3 4-2-3 30
 VfL Wolfsburg 17 8 4 5 27 22 5 3-3-3 5-1-2 28
 1899 Hoffenheim 18 6 7 5 33 26 7 3-4-3 3-3-2 25
 Werder Bremen 18 7 4 7 29 29 0 3-3-3 4-1-4 25
 Hertha BSC Berlin 17 6 6 5 26 27 -1 4-3-1 2-3-4 24
 Bayer Leverkusen 18 7 3 8 26 30 -4 4-1-4 3-2-4 24
 FSV Mainz 05 18 6 6 6 20 24 -4 3-4-2 3-2-4 24
 SC Freiburg 18 5 6 7 22 28 -6 3-4-2 2-2-5 21
 Fortuna Düsseldorf 18 6 3 9 21 34 -13 4-0-5 2-3-4 21
 FC Schalke 04 17 5 3 9 20 24 -4 3-0-5 2-3-4 18
 FC Augsburg 18 3 6 9 26 31 -5 1-4-4 2-2-5 15
 VfB Stuttgart 18 4 2 12 14 38 -24 3-1-5 1-1-7 14
 Hannover 96 18 2 5 11 17 36 -19 2-1-6 0-4-5 11
 1. FC Nürnberg 17 2 5 10 14 38 -24 2-3-4 0-2-6 11

Transfer Rumor Roundup: Pogba to Juventus, Rebic to Manchester United

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By Kyle BonnJul 17, 2018, 7:02 PM EST
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With the World Cup over, the transfer season is now in full swing. Players have returned from Russia, some having improved their stock mightily. While the World Cup participants will likely receive an extended vacation from clubs to spend time with families and rest their bodies a bit, transfer season never rests.

According to Italian publication Tuttosport, World Cup champion Paul Pogba may have some leverage this summer and could use that to his advantage. The world could see how effective he was in a box-to-box midfield role under French manager Didier Deschamps with slightly more freedom than he saw under Jose Mourinho at Manchester United this past season where many felt he has room to grow.

The report says that Pogba might use the World Cup performances to leverage his way out of Manchester United and back to Juventus where Cristiano Ronaldo has just signed for a mega-transfer. The report states that Pogba is intrigued to join his old club and be a part of Ronaldo’s tenure in Turin. With Ronaldo at 33 years old, he might not have long at Juventus, and Pogba wishes to take advantage.

Tuttosport, which is based in Turin, says that Pogba retains at the least a professional relationship with all his former teammates, and would welcome a move back to Italy. His current Manchester United contract runs out in 2021, meaning he has three full seasons left on his current deal.

Whether Pogba stays or goes, Manchester United will be looking to improve its squad, with a World Cup runner-up in its sights. There have been rumors of a move for both Croatian wingers Ivan Perisic and Ante Rebic, but the latter seems to make more sense. Rebic is just 24 years old, and would likely be the cheaper of the two coming from Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt. At the World Cup, the Croatian displayed strength, technical ability, and an innate sense for finding space.

Rebic can play on either wing, playing on the left with his club while deployed on the right with the national team during this summer’s tournament. He would fit in nicely to Manchester United’s squad, which is light on wide attacking players outside of Alexis Sanchez. Rebic would be a perfect foil for Sanchez, preferring to stick to the touchline while Sanchez cuts inside, and enjoying allowing the full-back to overlap.

Reports around England tag Rebic with a $57 million fee, which is just slightly under what Perisic might command from Inter.

In London, there are heavy rumors swirling that Real Madrid will move to make Eden Hazard their replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. Hazard’s national team manager spoke out on the potential move, following Belgium’s third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup.

“I believe now is maybe the right time for him to move,” Martinez told Cadena Ser radio in Spain. “With Belgium he displayed maturity and leadership to add to his outstanding talent, I believe he can play for any side. There is not one team in the world he would not fit in and that means he will be the subject of offers from elsewhere.”

“I am sure Chelsea have received a lot of interest in Eden because he is one of the select group of players whose talent is based on individual play.”

Following the completion of Belgium’s win over England in the third-place match, Hazard was quoted as saying it “might be time for something new.” He has been with Chelsea since moving from Lille in the summer of 2012. At Stamford Bridge, Hazard has blossomed into one of the world’s best one-on-one attackers.

According to Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol, Everton is in “advanced talks” with Bordeaux over Brazilian winger Malcom. The report states that Everton is closing in on a $39 million deal for the 21-year-old and Everton’s team will meat with the French club’s representatives on Thursday to hammer out the final version of the transfer.

The potential signing would be a fabulous move, given that Malcom had been linked with not just Inter Milan but other Premier League club Fulham. Reports say Inter had been looking for a loan with an option to buy, whereas Everton was ready to splash the cash now, which intrigued Bordeaux the most.

Perisic, Rebic linked with moves to Man United

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By Joe Prince-WrightJul 17, 2018, 12:12 PM EST
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Following their superb displays for Croatia at the 2018 World Cup, Ivan Perisic and Ante Rebic are being linked with moves to Manchester United via a report from the Sun.

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It’s no secret that Jose Mourinho is a big admirer of Perisic as he tried to buy the left winger from Inter Milan last summer but saw plenty of bids turned down as United missed out.

Perisic, 29, then went on to become one of Croatia’s star performers this summer as he scored three goals and grabbed two assists combined with tireless displays on the left flank. Perisic grabbed 11 goals and added nine assists last season as Inter qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

[ MORE: Alisson to Liverpool back on? ] 

Rebic, 24, also had a fine tournament with his powerful surges forward from the right flank as the Eintracht Frankfurt star scored in the win against Argentina and went close to scoring in the World Cup final but his drive was saved by Hugo Lloris. He also committed more fouls than any other player at the tournament as he tracked back and dug deep in Croatia’s best-ever finish at a World Cup.

Do United really need these two attacking wide men?

Mourinho loves to add pace and power to his teams and they certainly fit the bill in that regard, with the likes of Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and even Alexis Sanchez not out-and-out wingers. The transfer values of Perisic and Rebic will have soared due to Croatia finishing the tournament as runners up with Perisic valued at around $63 million and Rebic at $57 million.

Perisic only signed a new contract at Inter last season but given United’s long-time pursuit of him, he may feel like this could be his last chance to move to the Premier League, if that’s what his heart desires. While Rebic only just arrived at Frankfurt on a permanent deal after scoring twice in their German Cup final win last season, helping them win their first trophy since 1988.

If one or both of these players arrive at Old Trafford, serious doubt will be put on the future of Martial and Rashford as neither will seriously challenge Romelu Lukaku for the central strikers role.

Croatia smashes disheveled Argentina

AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan
By Nicholas MendolaJun 21, 2018, 3:53 PM EST
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Ante Rebic, Luka Modric, and Ivan Rakitic have Croatia in the knockout rounds and Argentina on the verge of World Cup disaster.

Croatia scored a trio of second half goals, one aided by a Willy Caballero howler, in a 3-0 win in Nizhny Novgorod on Thursday.

Argentina will enter its final match against Nigeria on the outskirts of the knockout rounds regardless of how Nigeria-Iceland ends on Friday.

[ MORE: Latest 2018 World Cup news ] 

Ivan Perisic forced a big save out of Wily Caballero for an early Croatia corner kick that came to nothing.

Messi had a chance stopped inside of 10 minutes, then started a play that Dejan Lovren blocked for a corner in the 13th.

Enzo Perez missed an open goal off a poor Croatia giveaway in the 30th minute.

There were a pair of fouls not out of place on a red card lowlight reel, one for each team, but neither resulting in a sending off.

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Croatia took the lead through Caballero’s gaffe and Rebic’s smash in the 54th.

Argentina nearly answered moments later. After a mazy Messi dribble, Argentina regained possession in the 64th minute, spearheaded by a Gonzalo Higuain run that led to a corner.

Croatia came close to making it 2-0, as Mario Mandzukic couldn’t turn a flick on frame and instead saw it glide into the outside of the goal.

Then Modric put the match to bed as the clock hit 80, an absolute beauty. Another huge defensive mistake allowed Mateo Kovacic to cue up Rakitic for the third.

[ LIVE: World Cup scores ]

WATCH: Caballero blunder punished as Rebic rip puts Argentina on ropes

AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin
By Nicholas MendolaJun 21, 2018, 3:23 PM EST
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Willy Caballero has made one of the bigger blunders in recent World Cup history.

His Argentina side needs at least a point from Thursday’s match-up with Croatia, and the match remained scoreless into halftime.

[ MORE: Latest 2018 World Cup news ] 

But 10 minutes after the break, Caballero flubbed a clearance in a big way.

The Argentina goalkeeper then could only watch as Ante Rebic kept his composure to blast a side volley into the goal.

It was a fine finish, to be sure, but not possible without such a terrible gaffe.