It’s been a rough road for Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches ever since his massive transfer from Benfica to Germany in May of 2016. After making the breakthrough at his boyhood club during the 2015-16 season and carrying that superlative form into Portugal’s historic Euro 2016 triumph, Sanches’ career abruptly hit the wall.
You gotta feel for the Bayern Munich goalkeeper. Early in the match against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, an absolutely insane Manuel Neuer double save on Kevin Volland seemingly kept the German giants from going behind on an early penalty kick.
But because the referee hadn't blown his whistle before the penalty was taken, it was all for naught. The kick had to be retaken and Wendell stepped up to bury the second opportunity, giving Leverkusen an unlikely lead inside five minutes.
Bayern Munich defeated Hoffenheim 3-1 in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday in Munich. It was a fairly typical Bundesliga match: Bayern had two goals called back for VAR and Thomas Müller did some very Thomas Müllery things. Then there was the Bayern penalty vs Hoffenheim, which was watched with great anxiety by Vancouver Whitecaps starlet Alphonso Davies.
Alphonso Davies made his MLS All-Star Game debut a couple weeks ago. It’s likely to be his last, at least for a while, but it was a memorable one.
Bayern Munich ran rampant against Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2018 German Super Cup — the curtain raiser for the German season — by posting a 5-0 victory thanks to a 33-minute hat-trick from rumored want-away Robert Lewandowski.
This was a rematch of last season’s improbable DFB-Pokal final, where Eintracht shocked Bayern 3-1 with Niko Kovac in the dugout for die Adler. With Kovac now patrolling Bayern’s touchline as the successor to Jupp Heynckes, this match belonged to FC Hollywood from start to finish.
FC Barcelona and Arturo Vidal have agreed to personal terms on a $35 million transfer from Bayern Munich. Barcelona's been in a frantic search for an excellent midfielder after Paulinho was loaned to Guangzhou Evergrande. Vidal is rumored to be visiting Camp Nou for a signature-sealing meeting by the end of today.
The rumors were confirmed Wednesday that 17-year-old Canadian phenom Alphonso Davies would be joining Bayern Munich come January on a transfer that could rise to as high as $22 million, but for now, the Vancouver Whitecaps winger is free to continue his breakout season in MLS — Saturday night was perhaps his best performance as a professional.
Alphonso Davies is no stranger to the world stage despite being just 17 years old. After an MLS transfer record deal with Bayern Munich, he’ll be a regular on it.
Alphonso Davies, the 17-year-old Canadian phenom who we’d really like to see race Kylian Mbappe, was omitted from the Vancouver Whitecaps match against Seattle on Saturday with multiple outlets citing well-developed talks between the MLS side and German power Bayern Munich.