Daily Schmankerl: Champions League drama, Tuchel not interested, Real after Lewandowski again

Don Balon dusts off its “Real Madrid to bring Lewandowski to Madrid” (Don Balol)

No sooner has Niko Kovac left Munich but Don Balon declares superstar striker Robert Lewandowski ready to jump ship. I normally translate Spanish myself for the blog, but I’ll let you enjoy Chrome’s auto-translation of this stunning news:

It is an old desire of Real Madrid to see Robert Lewandowski dressed in white . That desire, over time, has been blurring like a sugar bowl since Bayern Munich has been airtight with the Polish soccer player. And that Lewandowski has shown signs of disgust in the Bavarian club, especially for the lack of commitment of the board to sign high level players to compete in the Champions League.

Emphasis theirs, I might add. So what is Real Madrid’s clever plan? They will offer Bayern Luka Jovic (who just scored his first and only goal for Real last week) on a two-year loan with no option to buy and €50m as a transfer fee. Where do I sign!?

Ajax robbed in extraordinary Champions League match (Evan Vanderpool)

Chelsea and Ajax Amsterdam squared off in a wild Champions League match that started fast out of the gates and descended into madness late. Both teams scored inside the first 5 minutes with a Ziyech wonderstrike helping Ajax take a 4-1 lead into halftime. The referee handed out yellow cards like Halloween candy throughout the match culminating in a wild scene in the 68’ when TWO Ajax players were sent off via red cards and Chelsea received a handball penalty. The 9-man squad faced intense pressure the rest of the match, as goalkeeper Onana earned his paycheck and fought hard to hold a draw after VAR ruled out a winning goal for the boys in blue.

The quality Ajax produced prior to the red cards felt completely stolen and the squad was furious. Dusan Tadic outright said so in an interview after the match:

The result leaves Chelsea, Ajax, and Valencia all tied with 7 points, but ranked first through third in that order on goal difference. Ajax plays Lille next, while Chelsea and Valencia will go head to head.

Dortmund rally behind Hakimi and Alcacer to trounce Inter (Schnitzel01)

One of the more exciting games of the matchday, this was an intensely fought, yet deservedly won game by Dortmund. Inter dominated the game in the early stages, with Marcelo Brozovic running the midfield rampant, and Lautaro Martinez being the spark plug in attack. Both goals were a result of counter-attacks due to bad Dortmund turnovers, and showed Inter’s sharpness in front of goal. Dortmund grabbed one back shortly after half time courtesy of Achraf Hakimi, who is in the form of his life. With the introduction of Alcacer shortly after, Dortmund looked a new side, and this man’s influence is unquestionable. His first touch of the game was an assist to the second goal, scored by Brandt. The comeback win was completed by some brilliant interplay between Sancho and Hakimi, who scored his second of the day.

Leipzig dominate Zenit 2-0 (Schnitzel01)

This game, unlike the last, was wholly dominated by Leipzig, who showed in all their otherworldly gegenpressing form, not giving the Russian outfit any space to complete a pass. The first goal was a screamer scored by Diego Demme in the dying minutes of the first half, off a rebound off a freekick. Goals seemed imminent all game, and then the second one fell shortly in the second half after some absolutely insane football from Julian Nagelsmann’s henchmen. After a string of outstanding one-to-one passes that involved half the team, Marcel Sabitzer squeezed in the final goal of the game that more or less sealed the victory. This attack showed up in all it’s glory today, and a special mention to Peter Gulacsi, who was incredible for Leipzig in goal, making numerous saves to deny Zenit any chance.

More Champions League surprises

Slavia Praha held mighty FC Barcelona to a 0-0 draw in Camp Nou, could even have won the game had luck gone their way! Bayern Munich is not the only big club to struggle against inferior opposition like Bochum: Barcelona has been in a funk for weeks.

Liverpool dispatched Genk 2-1 behind goals by Georgino Wijnaldum and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. RB Leipzig handily beat Zenit 2-0 with goals by Diego Demme and Marcel Sabitzer, putting them at the top of their group with 9 points. Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli and RB Salzburg parted with a 1-1 draw. Salzburg may be eliminated, but 19-year-old Erling Håland continued his incredible scoring streak:

Valencia squashed Lille 4-1 (Renato Sanches came on as a sub for the final 20 minutes), and Lyon beat Benfica 3-1.

Siri interrupts Hansi Flick’s debut press conference (Bleacher Report)

Hansi Flick was in the middle of explaining that he and former coach Niko Kovac were on good terms after the transition of power when suddenly Siri chimed in saying she didn’t understand him:

Thomas Tuchel is not interested in talking about Bayern (Sport Bild)

Thomas Tuchel was asked about the rumors that he was a potential candidate to succeed Niko Kovac. He referred to his contract with PSG through 2021 and said the following:

I’m not interested, because I’m the coach of Paris Saint-Germain. I have a contract and am not thinking about another club.

Per an earlier report from Sky, PSG will not consider releasing Tuchel from his contract until they see how his second season at the club concludes. He won the Ligue 1 championship last season.

English weeks just got shorter: Liverpool to play on consecutive days in different continents! (SI)

Liverpool is competing in the Club World Cup, where represents UEFA by virtue of winning the Champions League last season. Ah, but that’s a problem in light of their already jam-packed Premier League and Champions League schedule. To make matters worse, the club literally has to play in different continents in a two-day span:

Liverpool has confirmed its Carabao Cup quarterfinal tie will be played a day before the Reds also feature in the semifinals of the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar.

It means that Liverpool will simultaneously be using two wholly different squads for the two games, as the club’s already congested fixture list made it impossible for the domestic cup tie to be played at any other time.

Yeah, that’s not ideal.

FC Dallas sends a new crop of players to train with Bayern (FC Dallas)

FC Dallas Homegrowns Edwin Cerrillo, Ricardo Pepi, Bryan Reynolds and Thomas Roberts will join FC Bayern Munich U19s and U23s for a two-week training period running from November 11-25 in Munich, Germany through the clubs’ Elite Player Development Partnership. North Texas Soccer Club midfielder David Rodriguez will also train with FC Bayern Munich.