Daily Schmankerl: Manuel Neuer for 300 clean sheets?; The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Eintracht Frankfurt; Dortmund hammers Schalke (who doesn’t?); and MORE!

Neuer for 300 shutouts? Sepp says yep (Sport1)

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer picked up his 200th career shutout against Atletico Madrid, but at least one expert does not think Neuer is done chasing big numbers in that department.

Bayer Munich legend Sepp Maier, who had 199 shutouts in 651 appearances with the Bavarians, has Neuer sticking around A LOT longer.

“I am sure that he can even go past 300 clean sheets. He can do it,” Maier said. “He will still perform outstandingly at the age of 39. I trust him to do that.”

Maier also explained that part of Neuer’s success is due to the fantastic defenders that he has been surrounded with over the years.

“Neuer is not the only one to thank for keeping so many clean sheets. The defense has a 50 per cent share in it,” Maier remarked. “If they know that they have a good goalkeeper behind them, they automatically play better. If there’s a liability in goal, that’s bad for the defenders. But with Neuer they know he’s world class, so the ball can go through to him.”

300, huh? I guess it’s possible — especially if Neuer does his best Leonidas:

Die Folgen: Bayern’s dominant 5-0 win over Eintracht (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich continued its rampage through the Bundesliga by crushing Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0. It was a thoroughly dominant effort, led by some of the usual suspects. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• Robert Lewandowski...what can we say? A hat-trick and further evidence that Lewandowski is not only the most complete striker on the planet, but the best player overall as well. The Polish Hitman put his whole arsenal on display against Die Adler and looks like he’s just warming up for the rest of this Bayern Munich schedule.
• The injury to Alphonso Davies was scary, unfortunate, and a good example of why Bayern Munich has such a deep defensive corps. Davies went down and immediately knew it was serious. The early reports are that he sustained ligament damage and the young Canadian could be out of action for up to eight weeks. Hopefully, Davies has a quick recovery and get him back in playing form as the calendar flips to 2021.
• Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka owned the midfield.
• David Alaba turned in his best effort of the 2020/2021 campaign as well. Clearly, the uncertainty of his future and the irregular playing time and/or defensive partners has affected Alaba a bit. Getting him back into top form would be a hige boost, especially now that Davies is out of action.
• Bouna Sarr had some up-and-down moments, but was decent on the day overall. He’s not going to unseat Benjamin Pavard as the starter, but he offers a different look and a veteran presence when he is in the lineup.
• It was good to see Leroy Sane back in action as well.
• Is it me or does it seem like Bayern Munich is just getting started? This squad looks really, really good.

Anyway, if you missed our Match Awards or Observations, give them a look:

Former Bayern defender Valérien Ismaël named new Barnsley coach (Barnsley FC)

Barnsley are off to a terrible start to their 2020/21 campaign, so they’ve turned for former Bayern Munich defender Valérien Ismaël to help right the ship.

Ismaël joins the English side after being fired over the summer following a COVID-19 debacle. With LASK in first place just ahead of Red Bull Salzburg, Ismaël held training while the Austrian Bundesliga had suspended all training due to COVID. Once the news broke that he had actually held a team training, LASK was deducted 12 points, eventually finishing in 4th place.

During his playing career, Ismaël won the German double twice — one with Werder Bremen and once with Bayern.

Leipzig scoping Milenkovic (Transfer Market Web)

RB Leipzig has a pretty deep defensive unit, but that has reportedly not stopped the club from taking a look at Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic:

While in deal extension talks with Fiorentina, Serbian international defensive all-rounder Nikola Milenkovic (23) has allegedly been targeted by RB Leipzig, planning to fetch him once having handed Dayot Upamecano out. Worth around 35 million euros, the 1997-born is still tracked by Inter Milan, AC Milan, AS Roma, and Napoli.

Milenkovic would certainly be an interesting fit within Julian Nageslmann’s system should Dayot Upamencano bolt.

Our guy John Dillon stopped by for some quality Schmankerl-ing, too. Check it out below!

Well played, Hertha. Well played (@HerthaBSC_EN)

Hertha Berlin’s Twitter admin had a great idea when Eintracht Frankfurt noted Lewandowski’s complete hat-trick at the hour mark:

“3-0 against Schalke, we’ll take that yeah?” (@Bundesliga_EN)

Schalke 04 (more like 0-20 — they haven’t won any of their last 20 games!) managed to hold of the Black and Yellow for 45 minutes but crumbled in the second half, conceding three times. Manuel Akanji, back from his COVID-19 quarantine, broke the deadlock by putting away a loose ball after a corner. Then Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland did their thing for the 2-0, and Mats Hummels finished off the relegation candidates with a header.

Haaland and Akanji were in good spirits after the match:

Foul play in the Premier League (@ESPNFC)

VAR, huh! Good God, man. What is it good for?