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Bundesliga: Haaland scores two more as BVB routs Koln (video)

By Andy EdwardsJan 24, 2020, 5:09 PM EST
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Erling Haaland has taken to the Bundesliga like a fish to water, which is to say better than slightly well.

[ MORE: Report: Man United’s list of possible new strikers revealed ]

The 19-year-old Norwegian forward came on as one of Borussia Dortmund’s second-half substitutes on Friday for the second game in a row, and for the second game in a row he proceeded to score multiple goals in his rather short cameo.

Following a brace in his side’s 5-1 victory over Koln, Haaland’s official numbers are bonkers: 59 minutes played, 5 goals scored.

While Haaland’s numbers are over-the-top outrageous following his first two appearances, the jolt of energy he has provided to Dortmund couldn’t have come at a better time. They now sit third in the Bundesliga table (having played one more game than second-place Bayern Munich and leaders RB Leipzig) and are just four points off the top spot.

[ MORE: Solskjaer’s transfer update; positive on rebuild ]

For all of their struggles thus far in 2019-20, Dortmund still have an outside shot at winning the title. They won’t get their without more outrageous production from Haaland, who appears to be completely unbothered by the considerable step up in competition from Red Bull Salzburg to the upper echelons of the Bundesliga.

Bayern signs Odriozola on loan from Real Madrid

Photo by A. Hassenstein/Getty Images for FC Bayern
By Andy EdwardsJan 22, 2020, 11:04 AM EST
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MUNICH (AP) Bayern Munich signed Spain right back Alvaro Odriozola on loan from Real Madrid on Wednesday to help ease its defensive worries after a spate of injuries.

[ MORE: Eriksen holds talks with Levy; Inter “still confident” ]

The Bavarian powerhouse said the 24-year-old Odriozola signed a deal to the end of the season after successfully passing a medical examination.

“We decided to fulfill our head coach Hansi Flick’s wish to strengthen the defense and decided for Alvaro Odriozola,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. “We’re very happy with the transfer and thank the management at Real Madrid for the very friendly and cooperative talks.”

Bayern defenders Niklas Sule, Lucas Hernandez and Javi Martinez are out with injuries and 23-year-old Benjamin Pavard — a center back — had been filling in at right back. Odriozola’s arrival will free the French player to return to his usual position.

[ MORE: Cavani “will go to Atletico Madrid” if PSG let him leave ]

Madrid paid a reported $33 million to sign Odriozola from Real Sociedad in 2018, but the winger has barely played since. He made only four league appearances this season, with Dani Carvajal preferred at right back.

Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane gave the go-ahead for Odriozola’s transfer on Tuesday. Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao were also reportedly interested.

Odriozola has one goal in four appearances for Spain.

Bayern is hoping to claw back a four-point deficit on Bundesliga leader Leipzig to claim a record-extending eighth straight title.

Transfer rumor roundup: Werner prefers Liverpool, Bentaleb to Newcastle

Jan Woitas/dpa via AP
By Nicholas MendolaJan 20, 2020, 5:51 PM EST
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Names both familiar and unfamiliar continue to be linked with moves to the Premier League as the January transfer window heats up.

[ MORE: Premier League schedule ] 

Earlier we posted about Edinson Cavani and Mbwana Samatta, but a younger prolific scorer is having a run through the rumor mill on Monday.

Bild reports that RB Leipzig free scorer Timo Werner’s preferred destination is a club in the Premier League managed by a famous German.

No, it’s not Daniel Farke‘s Norwich City, rather Jurgen Klopp‘s Liverpool (you gleaned that already, didn’t you?).

Klopp is a reportedly a long-time Werner admirer, and the 23-year-old’s $67 million release clause is not prohibitive for the Reds.

The move would seemingly have to wait until summer given Leipzig’s status as a Bundesliga table leader and Liverpool’s comfort with Roberto Firmino as its number one.

The 28-year-old Firmino has been  greatfor Liverpool, firing in 75 goals and 56 assists since 2015, but Werner is a beast. He’s bagged 86 goals and 37 assists since arriving from Stuttgart in 2016, including 20 goals and six assists this Bundesliga season through 18 matches.

There’s obviously no guarantee he’d reach Firmino’s levels, but watching him play makes it difficult to believe he wouldn’t.

Inter Milan has lodged a formal bid for Christian Eriksen, offering approximately $14 million for the wantaway Dane.

Spurs want $8 million more than that, but Inter is hoping that some performance-based incentives would be enough to get the job done.

The 27-year-old can negotiate with anyone since his contract runs out this summer, and he’ll be bringing a resume with 95 international caps and a combined 101 goals and 154 assists between Tottenham and Ajax.

Newcastle United is still chasing Valentino Lazaro of Inter Milan, but reports claim they’ve quickly moved on a target for the center of the park.

Nabil Bentaleb is reportedly on Tyneside for a medical, the ex-Spurs man finding a more attacking role at Schalke before being frozen out by new boss David Wagner.

Bentaleb, still just 25, has 19 goals and nine assists in 97 matches for Schalke after getting just one and six in 66 appearances for Spurs.

The 35-times capped Algerian, like Lazaro, would be a loan deal with an option to buy.

Finally, the BBC says Wolves are looking to strengthen its wings with $26 million Olympiacos man Daniel Podence.

The 24-year-old has five goals and five assists in 27 appearances for the Greeks, scoring against Spurs and Krasnodar in Champions League play.

The same report has Wolves looking to the future with 19-year-old Ecuadorian striker Leonardo Campana.

Gio Reyna: ‘A dream came true’

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By Joe Prince-WrightJan 20, 2020, 8:44 AM EST
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Gio Reyna, 17, became the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga as the central midfielder, son of USMNT legend Claudio, made his debut for Borussia Dortmund in their 5-3 win at Augsburg on Saturday.

Reyna came on as a sub after a fellow sub making his Dortmund debut, Erling Haaland, had scored a 20-minute hat trick to turn the game on its head as the German giants ended up winning after trailing 3-1.

Speaking about his debut in the professional game, the U.S. U20 captain was utterly delighted and summed it up quite simply.

“A dream came true,” Reyna said. “It was a great game for us. When the coach called my name I was so excited. I was nervous but the guys made me feel comfortable.”

The talented central midfielder was promoted to Dortmund’s first team earlier this month after impressing in training during the winter break and he’s only been at the club since last summer.

“What a night! Extremely happy to make my debut but even happier for the win,” Reyna added on social media.

Safe to say USMNT fans are delighted with the rise of Reyna, while other youngsters Tyler Adams, Lynden Gooch and Josh Sargent all continue to shine in Europe with positive showings over the weekend.

Folks within the Bundesliga aren’t lowering the expectations on Reyna’s shoulders either, as an article on the website focuses on Reyna’s ‘eerily similar path’ to Dortmund as Christian Pulisic, while Dortmund’s assistant coach Jorg Heinrich believes that Reyna has more potential than Pulisic. Think about that. Stop drooling, USMNT fans.

“Gio is a fantastic talent. He has loads of potential along with plenty of confidence. I think his talent is similar to Christian Pulisic, or maybe a little bit better. But we want to keep him grounded because we’ve seen what happens to a lot of the young players,” Heinrich told Goal recently.

Bundesliga wrap: Adams, Werner star as Leipzig pads lead

Americans star in Bundesliga play
Photo by Boris Streubel/Bongarts/Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaJan 18, 2020, 3:49 PM EST
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The Bundesliga returned Saturday after its winter break, bringing a cavalcade of impactful American stories to the field.

[ MORE: Premier League schedule ] 

RB Leipzig 3-1 Union Berlin

The table leaders got two goals from Timo Werner and a goal and an assist from Marcel Sabitzer to open the second phase of the season with a bang.

Leipzig has a five-point lead on second-place Gladbach, though Bayern Munich can pull within four points with a win at Jurgen Klinsmann’s Hertha Berlin on Sunday morning.

American midfielder Tyler Adams had another strong day in the win, going 86 minutes and gathering over 100 touches while completing 84 percent of his passes. He registered two key passes and a shot on target to go with a clearance, blocked shot, interception, and tackle. Adams was fouled four times.

Augsburg 3-5 Borussia Dortmund

Erling Braut Haaland became the first Borussia Dortmund player to score a hat trick on debut since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as BVB came back from 2-0 and 3-1 holes to move onto 33 points.

Watch Haaland’s incredible day here. Jadon Sancho had a goal and an assist, while Julian Brandt also scored for BVB. Florian Niederlechner scored twice for Augsburg, with Marco Richter also finding the back of the net.

American teenager Giovanni Reyna also made his debut in the win, earning praise from manager Lucien Favre.

Hoffenheim 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

That’s right wing Timmy Chandler to you.

After missing all but one match last season due to injuries and fitness, the 29-year-old former USMNT mainstay has his first Bundesliga goal since Feb. 19, 2018.

Chandler rose above the fray to power home a match-winning header to move Eintracht four points clear of the relegation places, surprising a Hoffenheim side with designs on a return to Europe.

Bas Dost scored Eintracht’s other goal, with Konstantinos Stafylidis equalizing just after halftime.

Fortuna Dusseldorf 0-1 Werder Bremen

American forward Josh Sargent made his return from injury, playing 86 minutes in a huge win for Bremen. The visitors climbed over the now 17th place hosts via a Florian Kastenmeier goal.

USMNT midfielder Alfredo Morales played well over 71 minutes in the loss, while Zack Steffen missed out with a reported knee injury.

Elsewhere

Schalke 2-0 Borussia Monchengladbach — Friday| RECAP
Koln 3-1 Wolfsburg
Mainz 1-2 Freiburg
Hertha Berlin v. Bayern Munich — 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday
Paderborn v. Bayer Leverkusen — Noon ET Sunday

STANDINGS

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Home Away PTS
 RB Leipzig 18 12 4 2 51 21 30 6-2-1 6-2-1 40
 Mönchengladbach 18 11 2 5 33 20 13 7-1-1 4-1-4 35
 Bayern Munich 17 10 3 4 46 22 24 6-1-2 4-2-2 33
 Borussia Dortmund 18 9 6 3 46 27 19 5-3-0 4-3-3 33
 FC Schalke 04 18 9 6 3 31 21 10 5-4-1 4-2-2 33
 SC Freiburg 18 8 5 5 29 24 5 4-2-2 4-3-3 29
 Bayer Leverkusen 17 8 4 5 23 21 2 3-4-2 5-0-3 28
 1899 Hoffenheim 18 8 3 7 26 30 -4 4-1-5 4-2-2 27
 VfL Wolfsburg 18 6 6 6 19 21 -2 3-4-2 3-2-4 24
 FC Augsburg 18 6 5 7 31 36 -5 4-2-3 2-3-4 23
 Eintracht Frankfurt 18 6 3 9 29 30 -1 4-3-2 2-0-7 21
 1. FC Union Berlin 18 6 2 10 21 27 -6 5-0-4 1-2-6 20
 1. FC Köln 18 6 2 10 22 33 -11 4-1-4 2-1-6 20
 Hertha BSC Berlin 17 5 4 8 22 29 -7 3-1-4 2-3-4 19
 FSV Mainz 05 18 6 0 12 26 41 -15 3-0-6 3-0-6 18
 Werder Bremen 18 4 5 9 24 41 -17 1-2-5 3-3-4 17
 Fortuna Düsseldorf 18 4 3 11 18 37 -19 3-1-5 1-2-6 15
 SC Paderborn 17 3 3 11 20 36 -16 2-1-6 1-2-5 12