Germany

Bayern Munich is the best team in the world. The German giants proved that by winning the Champions League in August on the back of eight straight Bundesliga titles. But based on the way Bayern opened its 2020-21 campaign, including a stunning Robert Lewandowski rabona assist, Die Roten might be even better this season.

German amateur side SG Ripdorf II sacrificed a tight defense for social distancing as they fielded only seven players as a coronavirus precaution in a 37-0 loss to local rivals SV Holdenstedt II.

The preparations for Sunday's match in Lower Saxony's 3. Kreisklasse — the 11th tier of German football — were complicated when it emerged that Holdenstedt players had been in contact with an opponent infected with COVID-19 in a previous match.

Liverpool have reached an agreement to sign Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcântara from Bayern Munich, the German club's CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on Thursday.

British media reported the deal will cost the Premier League champions around $25.81 million with $6.5 million in add-ons. Thiago will leave the German giants a year before his contract is set to expire and is expected to sign a four-year deal with the Anfield club.

Borussia Dortmund’s 2020-21 campaign began in earnest today with a DFB-Pokal first round match against third division side MSV Duisburg. Dortmund fielded a strong starting 11, but there was also room for a pair of teenagers in Giovanni Reyna and Jude Bellingham (both 17).

Dortmund got things started in the 14th-minute with Jadon Sancho converting from the penalty spot, and then Bellingham marked his competitive Dortmund debut with a goal following an excellent backheel from Thorgan Hazard.

Germany were still waiting for their first-ever Nations League win after they gave a tired performance and were held to a 1-1 draw by Switzerland on Sunday.

Ilkay Gundogan gave Joachim Loew's side the perfect start with a clinical goal in the 14th minute but Silvan Widmer earned their smaller neighbors a deserved draw just before the hour. In the end, Germany may have been grateful for the result in the League A Group 4 game as the much livelier hosts, unbeaten in their last 17 competitive matches at home, created the better chances.

LONDON — Chelsea have signed Germany's highly-rated attacking midfielder Kai Havertz from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year contract, the Premier League club announced on Friday.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed but British media reported the fee for the 21-year-old was in the region of 71 million pounds ($94.34 million).

After miraculously finding a way to finish top European competitions and leagues amid a pandemic, the after-effects are already being seen. The 2020-21 seasons of European competition won’t be a walk in the park with major match congestion. One rule that leagues are disagreeing on is the question of "are 5 substitutes still allowed?"

Hopefully, the party was worth it. Knowing what it was celebrating, it probably was.

Leon Bailey will miss part of Bayer Leverkusen’s preseason after Jamaican authorities forced him into a 14-day quarantine. The reason? He was at the birthday party of Usain Bolt, who last week became one of the most high-profile athletes to test positive for Covid-19.