Thomas Muller has admitted that Bayern will face a stern test following the departure of Robert Lewandowski, but says there were good reasons for the striker s departure.

The Poland international brought an end to a trophy-laden stint in Bavaria by completing a move to Barcelona, leaving a significant void in Bayern s attack ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Bayern have moved for a replacement, landing Sadio Mane from Liverpool and being vocal with interest in Tottenham striker Harry Kane, and Muller has defended the club s decision to allow Lewandowski to leave.

All parties decided that Lewy should leave the club, there were good reasons for that, he told BILD.

But, without a doubt, we don t know what to expect when a player who has always scored between 30…

Tottenham bounced back from a dreadful week to keep their hopes of a top-four Premier League finish alive. 

A north London derby defeat to Arsenal was followed by a shocking Europa League exit at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb, but Jose Mourinho s men comfortably swatted aside Aston Villa 2-0 to move to within three points of fourth-placed Chelsea.

The Gunners, meanwhile, produced a stirring comeback to seal a 3-3 draw against West Ham, David Moyes  side giving them more than a little assistance. 

There were also wins for Brighton and Hove Albion and Leeds United over Newcastle United and Fulham respectively. 

Using Opta data, we look at some of the more quirky facts from the weekend s top-flight action.

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Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Milan Skriniar from Inter Milan in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that defending Ligue 1 champions PSG wanted to sign the central defender in the summer transfer window and remain keen on securing the services of the 27-year-old.

Skriniar has been on the books of Inter since 2017 when he moved from fellow Italian club Sampdoria. The Slovakia international centre-back has established himself as one of the better players in his position, not only in Serie A, but in the entire world as well.

The defender is out of contract at Inter at the end of the season and does not want to sign a new contract with the former Serie A and UEFA Champions League winners. PSG offered €60 million for Skriniar…

Manchester United win and Bruno Fernandes scores a penalty? Sounds familiar enough. But Monday s Europa League quarter-final against Copenhagen, a peculiar one-off meeting in the strangest of seasons, was fittingly weird.

United mostly dominated, had 26 shots, hit the target 14 times, hit the post three times, but needed an extra-time spot-kick to progress 1-0. Copenhagen defended, failed to test Sergio Romero once in 120 minutes, but never looked out of the game one that finished at close to midnight in Cologne with the temperature still at 28 degrees Celcius.

In United red, there were performances that were brilliant and infuriating in equal measure. Anthony Martial led the Copenhagen defence on a merry dance but finished as though he had two left feet; Brandon Willia…

Keira Walsh says she is “feeling fresh” as she targets a fourth consecutive summer of international football.

Barcelona midfielder Walsh played for Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and then for England when they won Euro 2022 before finishing as runners-up at the summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The latter tournament saw the 26-year-old miss a game due to a knee injury, and a subsequent calf problem saw her sit out the Lionesses’ two September matches in the Women’s Nations League – a competition through which England can secure qualification for GB for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Walsh said: “After so many tournaments, and somebody actually sent me a thing the other day that I’d played the second-most games in E…

Antonio Conte will meet Inter chairman Steven Zhang as soon as possible as the Scudetto winners look to keep the coach at San Siro, it was revealed on Saturday.

Worries over Inter s financial stability have been raised in recent weeks, with the Serie A champions not immune from the money worries that have blighted clubs globally during the COVID-19 crisis.

The club have asked players to accept a pay cut as part of a cost-cutting exercise, while the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez have been linked with moves away.

Giuseppe Marotta, CEO for the sporting side of the club, recently insisted all existing contracts will be respected by Inter should the players reject the club s request.

But amid such talk there is also concern about whether Conte s…

Real Madrid are interested in signing Alex Baena from La Liga rivals Villarreal, according to . The report has claimed that Baena has a release clause of €60 million in his contract, and that Madrid could decide to trigger it in the summer of 2025 in order to fend off potential interest from clubs in the Premier League.

Baena is 23 years of age and can operate as an attacking midfielder or as a winger. The Spain international has scored one goal and given five assists in six starts and one substitute appearance in La Liga matches this season. Baena scored two goals and gave 14 assists in 33 La Liga starts and scored two goals and provided three assists in five UEFA Europa League starts for the Yellow Submarine last season.

Madrid are second in the La Liga table at the…

Tottenham Hotspur winger Bryan Gil is in no rush to leave the North London club, according to Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas. The reporter has claimed that Fiorentina and Feyenoord are interested in signing the winger in the January transfer window, but a potential exit is unlikely to happen until towards the end of the season.

This got missed from yday: Bryan Gil is in no rush to leave . Happy and enjoying things under Postecoglou. Obviously a loan not ruled out yet w/ , keen but has been used as sub and Son away at Asia Cup. Probably one for the end of the window

Lyall Thomas (@SkySportsLyall)

Gil has been on the books of Tottenham since 2021 when he joined from Sevilla. The winger has failed to establish himself in the first team at the Nort…

Juventus returned to winning ways in Serie A with a routine 2-0 victory over bottom side Salernitana.

Massimiliano Allegri ruled Juve out of the title race after their defeat to Atalanta on Saturday, which followed a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea in the Champions League.

But Juve hit back on Tuesday, Paulo Dybala breaking the deadlock in the 21st minute, though he did send a stoppage-time penalty way over the crossbar.

Dybala s penalty miss was never going to prove costly, however, with Alvaro Morata having already sealed the points in the 70th minute.

Aiming to avoid a third successive defeat against newly promoted sides in Serie A for the first time, Juve started well with Dejan Kulusevski shooting just wide.

Kulusevski turned provide…

Mauricio Pochettino was made to rue Paris Saint-Germain s lack of creativity during their Coupe de France exit to Nice.

The holders crashed out of the competition as they lost 6-5 on penalties following a goalless draw at Parc des Princes.

PSG loanee Marcin Bulka was the hero during the shoot-out, saving penalties from Leandro Paredes and Xavi Simons to end his parent club s 14-match unbeaten streak in the competition.

Despite registering 10 attempts and 68.2 per cent of possession, Pochettino s side failed to score in the competition for the first time since defeat by Lille in the 2011 showpiece.

Pochettino urged his players to switch focus to their domestic and continental endeavours after a disappointing result.

6 Mauro Icardi made only 6 touch…