The goal was gaping for Kerem Demirbay. Kai Havertz had just struck the crossbar, but the ball bounced kindly to Demirbay wide open in the six-yard box. It was impossible to miss.
Well, almost impossible.
Center back Nico Elvedi never gave up on the play and against all odds recovered in time to get a foot to Demirbay’s shot, clearing the ball off the line in spectacular fashion.
Everything Erling Haaland does is magic, even when he fucks up.
Haaland was unable to add to his tally of 41 goals in his 35th match but still helped create Borussia Dortmund’s first goal in a 2-0 victory over Wolfsburg on Saturday.
After scoring upon Bundesliga’s return last week, Haaland was fairly quiet on the road this time around. In fact, BVB in general failed to create the number of chances you come to expect from one of Europe’s most exciting teams.
FC Seoul, the club that brought you sex dolls in the stands, is now fielding dummies on the pitch.
The South Korean club made global headlines when it used sex dolls instead of mannequins to fill up the stands in a recent K League match. The club was fined about $80,000 for the incident, which honestly was probably worth the free publicity and most likely a calculated risk.
Bayer Leverkusen thrashed Werder Bremen 4-1 on Monday in a match that showcased exactly why Leverkusen could be playing in the Champions League next season while Werder’s 40-year stay in the top division is almost certainly at an end.
With the Bundesliga taking center stage around the planet this past weekend, millions tuned in on Sunday to watch league-leader Bayern Munich go through the paces in a 2-0 win over Union Berlin. While the two-month break obviously took its toll on the standard of play, Bayern relied on the unshakeable midfield brilliance of Thiago Alcântara to establish the rhythm of play and control 62 percent of possession.
Champions Bayern Munich scored a goal late in each half to beat promoted Union Berlin 2-0 on their return to the Bundesliga on Sunday after more than two months out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and protect their four-point lead at the top.
Given it’s the only major league in action, there’s no ignoring the season Robert Lewandowski’s having anymore. On Sunday, the Bayern Munich striker scored his landmark 40th goal across all competitions this season, a staggering total that begs comparison: Cristiano Ronaldo has 25 and Lionel Messi has 24.
The 31-year-old has never finished higher than fourth in Ballon d’Or voting (2015), but he’s going toe-to-toe with Lazio’s Ciro Immobile for this season’s prestigious Golden Shoe award.
I’m no Bundesliga expert. When it comes to FC Cologne, I’ve always known two things: (1) Lukas Podolski and (2) goats.
The club boasts one of the greatest crests in world football, which features the silhouette of the famed twin spires of the Cologne Cathedral and that dang ol' goat Hennes.
The Bundesliga has taken center stage this weekend, but although we’re asleep for it, we shouldn’t sleep on the K League. In the early hours of Sunday morning, Ulsan’s three-goal comeback allowed the visiting side to escape Suwon’s Big Bird Stadium with all three points.
Suwon took the lead right before halftime thanks to this sensational strike from midfielder Ko Seung-beom. Ko took possession inside his own half, nutmegged his marker, took off on a 40-yard run and — with the defenders backing off — dialed up an unstoppable drive from 25 yards out.
We knew it would be weird. We knew it would be a new normal. We knew we didn’t care.
Major European football returned from a two-month hiatus as the Bundesliga kicked off with six matches on Saturday, none bigger than the Revierderby between Ruhr rivals Borussia Dortmund and Schalke.
Dortmund, without its menacing Yellow Wall behind it, throttled Schalke 4-0, instituting its own form of social distancing on the scoreboard.