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Giovanni Reyna debuts for Borussia Dortmund
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Favre reacts to Dortmund debuts for Haaland, U.S. prospect Reyna

By Nicholas MendolaJan 18, 2020, 1:21 PM EST
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Borussia Dortmund supporters couldn’t help but gush about the hat trick debut for teenage striker Erling Braut Haaland.

Their manager was sure to talk about both of his teen debutants.

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The second was American 17-year-old Giovanni Reyna, who was promoted to the first team this week and came off the bench to make his Bundesliga debut in Saturday’s 5-3 win over Augsburg.

Here’s one of Favre’s answers when asked about Haaland, via Fussball.news:

“We also played with Gio Reyna. It was very good. The first time he plays here at 17, that’s good. A 17-year-old, a 19-year-old, I think that’s good.”

“(Haaland) immediately showed his strength, the runs down. He moves well between the lines. It gives us another way to play forward.”

Haaland’s 20-minute hat trick has been well detailed by Joe Prince-Wright here.

Reyna entered for Thorgan Hazard in the 72nd minute, getting 13 touches and completing 7-of-9 passes. He completed his lone dribble attempt and won his only duel while failing to put his only shot attempt on target.

VIDEO: Haaland scores 20-minute debut hat trick

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By Joe Prince-WrightJan 18, 2020, 11:36 AM EST
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Teenager Erling Haaland came on for his Borussia Dortmund debut with his side 3-1 down against Augsburg.

He then score a hat trick in 20 minutes as they won 5-3.

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Haaland, 19, has been on fire all season long with RB Salzburg and ahead of his $23 million January move to Dortmund he was linked with a move to Manchester United.

The Norwegian striker has now scored 27 goals in 23 appearances for club and country this season.

Whatever happens in the rest of his Bundesliga career with Dortmund, this start will live long in his memory.

Take a look at his incredible hat trick below.

Transfer rumor roundup: Moses reunited with Conte, Lazaro to Newcastle

Premier League transfer rumor roundup
Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaJan 18, 2020, 11:10 AM EST
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Inter Milan is still working the wings and it’s now affecting two Premier League sides.

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One day after Ashley Young left Manchester United to join Antonio Conte‘s project, Chelsea and Newcastle are set to be impacted by a Milanese departure and arrival. Jacob Bruun Larsen

First, Sky Sports Italia reporter Gianluca Di Marzio says Newcastle has agreed to a $3 million loan fee with a $27 million option to buy Austrian international Valentino Lazaro. The player’s agent is reportedly on Tyneside.

The 23-year-old made his name with Red Bull Salzburg, going on to earn 28 caps for Austria. He moved to Hertha Berlin and earned five goals and 13 assists in two seasons before a transfer to Inter.

He’s only collected 513 minutes under Conte, registering two assists. Lazaro has played a lot of right midfield but is capable up and down the flank on either side. He’s played pretty much everything but center back and center forward in his career.

Fun fact: Lazaro’s middle name is Lando.

As for the arrival, ex-Chelsea boss Conte is looking set for a reunion with Victor Moses. The 29-year-old Nigerian is currently on loan at Fenerbahce, where he’s got a goal and an assist in seven matches.

A thigh injury has cost Moses spells of six and four matches on the sidelines this season, but he should have plenty of treads left on the tires considering Maurizio Sarri only used him for 176 minutes last season.

Finally, Bournemouth looks ready to tempt Borussia Dortmund’s resolve over Jacob Bruun Larsen.

The 21-year-old Dane certainly has the goods to improve Eddie Howe‘s stagnant attack, but he may be rusty. Larsen has only played 158 minutes this season, grabbing an assist.

Prolific for BVB at youth levels, perhaps a change of scenery would trigger senior success for a man who made his Denmark senior debut in March.

Sky says BVB wants the deal to be a loan with an option to buy in the summer.

Bundesliga: Schalke spoils Gladbach’s chance to go top

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Associated PressJan 17, 2020, 8:15 PM EST
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GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) Michael Gregoritsch scored one goal and set up another as Schalke dealt a blow to Borussia Monchengladbach’s Bundesliga title hopes in a 2-0 win on Friday.

In the Bundesliga’s first game of 2020 after the winter break, Gladbach’s defense was frequently overwhelmed by host Schalke’s rapid team moves, especially on the counterattack.

After a string of first-half saves by Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer kept the score 0-0 at the break, Schalke scored twice early in the second half to secure the win.

Gregoritsch took the ball out to the left flank in the 48th minute, stretching the Gladbach defense and opening up space in the middle. He then passed for Suat Serdar to charge through the gap in Gladbach’s back line and score from the edge of the penalty area.

Ten minutes later it was Gregoritsch’s turn to score, finishing off a counterattack which ran almost the length of the field, with a lay-off pass from Benito Raman.

“We had trouble the whole game with Schalke’s movement. They put a lot of pressure on us and it was hard to play the ball out too. We gave them too much room,” Sommer said in televised comments. “We had chances in the first half when we could have scored a goal, but in general we were not good enough today.”

As well as his key role in attack, Gregoritsch also made a key intervention in defense, clearing Marcus Thuram’s header off the line in the 38th in what proved to be one of Gladbach’s best chances.

“When it works like this, it’s really great,” Gregoritsch said, crediting Schalke’s home crowd for the win. “We’re at home and we can hit the gas pedal a bit more with the 12th man here.”

Starting in goal for Schalke due to a suspension for first-choice Alexander Nubel, Markus Schubert made a good reaction stop to deny Gladbach’s Patrick Herrmann just before the break.

Gladbach stays two points behind leader Leipzig and can be overtaken by third-place Bayern Munich on Sunday if Bayern beats Hertha Berlin.

Gladbach was the surprise leader earlier in the season as its fans started to dream of a first German title since 1977, but it’s started to stall, having won just one of its last five games in all competitions.

Schalke moves up one place to fourth, overtaking its fierce rival Borussia Dortmund, which visits Augsburg on Saturday.

Borussia Dortmund promotes USMNT prospect Reyna to first team

Borussia Dortmund promotes Giovanni Reyna
Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaJan 15, 2020, 6:26 PM EST
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Giovanni Reyna may play a role in Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga title push.

Reyna has shown a lot to Dortmund in just over a half-year, as the Bundesliga outfit promoted the 17-year-old American playmaker to its senior team on Wednesday.

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Reports that Reyna would join BVB circulated for almost a year before he signed on July 1, and he’s done exceptionally well in the academy.

BVB tracked Reyna for a long, long time, but we wonder whether they saw this move happening so quickly. Manager Lucien Favre praised Reyna for fitting into BVB’s system,.

From Bundesliga.com:

“He presented himself well in Marbella, that’s why we want to put him on a much higher level at training,” Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said. “We want to develop him to a full-fledged player of Borussia Dortmund.”

Reyna has eight goals and eight assists in 16 matches between the UEFA Youth League and the U-19 Bundesliga.

Dortmund is seven points back of leaders RB Leipzig, and is alive in the Champions League and German Cup. There will be plenty of chances to get some first team run, even at his age.

Reyna is the sixt#h teen in Dortmund’s senior squad, joining high-profile stars Jadon Sancho (19) and Erling Braut Haland (19) as well as Mateu Morey (19), Tobias Raschl (19), and Luca Unbehaun (18).

Giovanni is a New York City FC academy product and the son of USMNT legend and Man City player Claudio Reyna. His rise has arguably been more monitored than Christian Pulisic before him.