Daily Schmankerl: David Alaba flirts with the Premier League, comments on racism, Bundesliga recap, Lewandowski in historic form, and more!

David Alaba can imagine playing elsewhere (Daily Mail)

David Alaba gave a full-length interview to the Daily Mail focused on a wide range of subjects, leading with Bayern’s history with Chelsea FC. Alaba was suspended for the infamous Finale Dahoam.

The Mail, naturally enough, asked Alaba whether they might see him in the Premier League sometime soon. His answer:

We’ll see. At the moment, I don’t think too much about it, but I can imagine playing somewhere else in my future.

As good a “we’ll see” answer as you might expect. Alaba also revealed that he watched the Premier League fan in his youth and was especially a fan of Arsenal:

When I was small I was following the Premier League a lot, and when I was a younger player I supported Arsenal. Patrick Vieira was one of my favourite players.

Bayern Munich reclaims first place after Bundesliga matchday 22

Bayern put three past FC Köln in the opening quarter hour and never looked back. The game ended 4-1, after Köln managed to avoid having to shoot past Manuel Neuer by beating Bayern’s work-in-progress defense. The game was never in doubt, though. Kingsley Coman enjoyed his first start since December, Lucas Hernandez likewise celebrated his comeback from injury, and Corentin Tolisso was rewarded with half an hour of play.

The win over Köln put an end to RB Leipzig’s brief return to the top of the table. The Saxons dispatched Werder Bremen 3-0 in the rare match in which Timo Werner did not score.

Photo by Jörg Schüler/Bongarts/Getty Images

The other aspirants to Bundesliga glory, the two Borussias — Dortmund and Mönchengladbach — that is, likewise gave strong performances. Dortmund crushed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 in the opening match on Friday. Eintracht is a good team, but they looked thoroughly outclassed by the BVB that showed up that day. Jadon Sancho was incredible and Erling Haaland scored yet again.

As for ‘Gladbach, they walloped Fortuna Düsseldorf 4-1 thanks to a brace of assists by Marcus Thuram and a brace of goals by Lars Stindl. BVB and Gladbach thus are in third and fourth place, each with 42 points.

Elsewhere around the league, Bayer Leverkusen disappointed Union Berlin, rallying to beat them 3-2. A now post-Klinsmann Hertha Berlin eked out a 2-1 win over bottom-dwelling SC Paderborn. Wolfsburg beat Hoffenheim 3-2, and Mainz somehow held Schalke 04 at bay, parting ways with 1 point from a scoreless draw.

Düsseldorf, Bremen, and Paderborn are all in the relegation zone, at least 5 points behind 15th-place Mainz.

No doubt in Boateng’s mind

Robert Lewandowski the first to 40

Robert Lewandowski is the second player in history, after Gerd Müller, to score 23 in 22 games. He is the first player in Europe to reach 40 goals for both club and country.

Porto striker leaves game in protest of racist abuse;
David Alaba comments on racism in soccer

Moussa Marega scored the winning goal for Porto near the hour mark against Vitória Guimarães. The home fans responded by throwing debris onto the pitch and hurling racist insults at Marega himself. Although his own teammates initially tried to dissuade him, he decided to leave the pitch in protest.

It seems as if hardly a (match)day goes by anymore without a player of color being victimized for his race. When will UEFA/FIFA do something?

In the interview with the Daily Mail cited above, David Alaba said,

It’s sad that players have to say something, because everybody sees it and everybody hears it, so why should the players [have to] do something? It’s not easy, they have to do their job. It’s sad players have to take their courage and go to the coach or referee. We have to find a solution.

Of course you want to finish the game but if it [the abuse] is that hard...? I think football is a game where people come together and football should bring everybody together, whether it is religion or skin colour or where you come from.

We should be happy to enjoy that moment together, those 90 minutes where we can show love. Because I think football is love — and when love is not there, for what should we play?

Bayern Munich highlights Coman’s impressive comeback performance (FCBayern.com)

In case you didn’t notice, Kingsley Coman was in the starting lineup for Bayern today for the first time since his frightening knee injury in December. He was great. Coman dazzled with his speed and agility and was rewarded for his efforts with a nice goal, giving Bayern a 2-0 lead at the time.

I was personally annoyed that Thomas Müller could not put the assist in the net after this delightful scene:

Gnabry gnabs gnarly brace in his 50th Bundesliga match for Bayern (FCBayern.com)

Coman’s partner in crime, Serge Gnabry, also had a good match, scoring two goals of his own. The match was a round number for Gnabry: his 50th match for Bayern!

Serge put Bayern up 3-0 early and added the fourth goal off a great run along the edge of the penalty area before firing the ball low into the far corner.