Daily Schmankerl: Pochettino or Kovac to replace BVB’s Favre? Sané’s girlfriend and Mahrez’s wife trade insults, and more!

Sunday fun-day in the Bundesliga

The Bundesliga’s two Sunday matches were both blowouts — and both of them surprises. First, Augsburg demolished Hertha Berlin 4-0. Augsburg’s Philipp Max gave his team the lead off an incredible free kick that blew past Rune Jarstein. Check out this view:

As his team now trailed Augsburg 1-0, goalkeeper Rune Jarstein completely lost his mind and committed two penalty worthy fouls in the box on two different players, who still scored the 2-0. He was sent off, and Augsburg piled on two more goals.

But the late match took the cake: Mainz looked like it would take a 1-0 lead over Hoffenheim into halftime, but then Baku was shown the red card for a reckless foul on Sebastian Rudy (who fortunately was not injured). In the second half, down ten men, Mainz blew Hoffenheim completely away. First Pave Kaderabek somehow scored an own-goal by heading the ball directly into the open net while missing it completely with his foot. Mainz scored another a few minutes later, and then two more in stoppage time. The final score: Mainz 5, Hoffenheim 1.

Mainz set a Bundesliga record: no team had ever scored four goals while playing with a man down.

BVB weighing options to replace Favre (Sport1)

Borussia Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre will receive at least one game and potentially two, against FC Barcelona on Wednesday and against Hertha Berlin on Saturday, to turn his team around. In the meantime, Dortmund is looking for options.

There are no real internal candidates to replace Favre. There are, of course, two names that spring to mind: Mauricio Pochettino and Niko Kovac.

Pochettino, obviously, has a good reputation, and it is not hard to see that Pochettino might be just the right man to take over a club that bears some resemblance to Tottenham Hotspur. Niko Kovac has a similar track-record with Eintracht Frankfurt, and he managed Bayern to a domestic double last season.

There are catches of course: Pochettino apparently will forfeit €14.5 million if he signs with a new club until three to six months after leaving. It is also not obvious that Kovac would sign with Bayern Munich’s direct rival after parting with them amicably. Dortmund may also have doubts about his preferred system, which ultimately failed at Bayern. And then there’s Mats Hummels, who left Bayern precisely to escape Kovac...

Jadon Sancho feels “humiliated and scapegoated” at Dortmund (The Athletic)

Jadon Sancho helped rescue Borussia Dortmund from humiliation with a goal and an assist against Paderborn this past Friday, but his relationship with his club is increasingly fraught. Sancho notably was criticized and fined for returning late from international duty last month. Things went from bad to worse when coach Lucien Favre abruptly yanked him off the pitch little over half an hour into the Klassiker against Bayern Munich, after Alphonso Davies took him completely out of the game. According to The Athletic, those incidents have alienated Sancho’s allegiance. They report,

It is a sequence of events — in particular the substitution in Munich — that The Athletic understands has left Sancho feeling humiliated, scapegoated and unprotected by his employers.

Sancho is said to expect “a certain level of care and shared responsibility with senior team-mates, which he feels has been lacking.” Sancho’s camp apparently questions Favre’s “motives” for taking him off early against Bayern. The fact that Favre did not wait and then criticized Sancho before the press was considered “disgraceful.”

Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Real Madrid are all looking at him. And Manchester City has asked to be kept in the loop. This will undoubtedly be Sancho’s final season in Dortmund.

Corn ball! Leroy Sané’s girlfriend and Riyad Mahrez’s wife trade insults (The Sun)

Leroy Sané’s American girlfriend Candice Brook went after Riyad Mahrez’s wife Rita per text after the latter hit it off with boxer Deontay Wilder when the two happened to meet at a night club full of celebrities. So Brook is friends with Wilder’s fiancée and so — yeah, who really cares, right? She went bonkers and informed Rita via text that she is a “real groupie bitch” and added, “You eating with your fat ass stomach, lol.”

Rita replied in kind, telling Brook she looks “like an old boy” and should “take that wig off.”

Then Candice really got mad and fired off some more insults about Mahrez’s shape while praising her own dedication to working out. You can read that trash at The Sun if you want. The highlight of The Sun’s coverage (for American readers):

Candice also called Rita a “corn ball” — US slang for someone who tries unsuccessfully to be cool.

Riyad Mahrez reportedly spoke to Sané about the incident and the two shook hands, promising not to let it affect their professional lives.

Allianz Arena to shine orange to condemn violence against women (FCBayern.com)

The Allianz Arena will be lit orange on Monday as part of an initiative in Munich to show support for the “ZONTA Says NO” campaign against violence against women. Ten public institutions and companies from Munich are participating in the initiative simultaneously.

The president of the ZONTA Club Munich II, Dr. Petra Bernatzeder said, ”We are pleased with the broad commitment of civil society. Violence against women and girls is the most frequent human rights violation worldwide.”

Zack Steffen’s take on Bayern-Düsseldorf: “Shit happens.” (Bild)

Zack Steffen, folks: American goalkeeper in Germany. Steffen had a bad game on Saturday. He played the ball right to Thomas Müller, who promptly passed to Corentin Tolisso for Bayern’s second goal. Steffen looked bad again as Müller made another ghost assist to Philippe Coutinho, who scored the 4-0.

But no one in Düsseldorf is worried about Steffen, who has been one of their best players this season. Coach Friedhelm Funkel said, “He’s strong enough to do better the next time.” The man himself said,

I won’t change my game now — even if I didn’t sleep all night after the match. We have to look forward right away. Now the game in Hoffenheim is important!

Mitch Weiser suffers serious ankle injury (Kicker)

Bad news for Bayern youth academy graduate Mitchell Weiser. The 25-year-old right-back suffered a ligament tear in his ankle in Bayer Leverkusen’s disappointing 1-1 draw to SC Freiburg. Weiser rolled his ankle during a free kick and had to leave the match in the 26th minute.

Weiser will miss the rest of the Hinrunde. It isn’t clear when he might make a comeback in 2020.

Chivas’ goalkeeper scores from his own penalty area!

That’s a long goal!

Rafinha wins two titles in two days!

Winning the Copa Libertadores is a BIG deal. Thousands upon thousands poured into the streets of Rio to celebrate Flamengo’s victory. It got even better, though: without even playing a game, another result went Flamengo’s way, making the Brazilian champions just a day later! Safe to say that Rafinha is living his best life post-Bayern: