Robert Lewandowski has his work cut out to match Gerd Muller's Bundesliga goals record but Bayern Munich will do all they can to make it happen, Hansi Flick has said.
Muller hit 40 goals for Bayern in the 1971-72 season, a mark that is firmly in the sights of Lewandowski after he began the campaign with 22 goals in Bayern's first 17 games.
Speaking ahead of Bayern's trip to face Schalke on Sunday, in a clash of the top and bottom teams in the German top flight, Flick spoke of how he used to idolise the legendary Muller.
As leaders Bayern pursue a ninth consecutive Bundesliga title, the prospect of Lewandowski challenging Muller is drawing plenty of attention, and Flick indicated the team would love it to happen.
"Gerd Muller was my role model," said Flick. "Unfortunately, I've never scored as many goals as he did, I wasn't as lethal, maybe at the beginning in the youth teams.
"He was a striker who was always ready to accept balls outside the box and you could combine together with him. He was wonderful in front of goal.
"For Robert to have scored more goals than him in the first half of the season shows his quality and that the team keep supporting him to end up in situations where he can score goals.
"I think about the 1-0 against Freiburg, which was a genius attacking move via Serge Gnabry and Thomas Muller, who immediately passed the ball to him. Their alignment was perfect.
"We all know, and Robert knows this too, that a lot of things need to be in place to continue like this. We're working on it.
"We have to support Robert and he is important to the team. He has certain tasks within the team and if he does them well, it is easier for the team to assist him at goalscoring.
"I would wish he could manage 40 but Gerd Muller is really something special."
Muller is suffering with Alzheimer's disease and is said to be living in a nursing home.
"We all know how Gerd Muller is doing, that also makes you sad," Flick said.
Bayern will face a Schalke team who are showing flickers of life at the foot of the table, and who brought Klaas Jan Huntelaar back to the club this week from Ajax.
Huntelaar, at the age of 37 and ready to retire at the end of the season, has rejoined Schalke because he could not bear being unable to help them in the battle to avoid relegation.
He previously had a seven-year spell with the club and, much like Lewandowski, has a proven nose for goal.
The veteran Dutch striker could have a role to play this weekend, with Schalke coach Christian Gross saying on Friday: "I think that Klaas Jan will be part of the squad against Bayern. He's a good option for the bench."
Jenson Button has returned to Williams in a senior advisory role after agreeing a multi-year deal.
Button was given his Formula One break by Williams 21 years ago when he was handed a drive for the 2000 season.
The 41-year-old Briton went on to be crowned F1 world champion during his time with Brawn in 2009 and retired in 2016 with 15 race victories to his name.
Button now returns to Williams, who were sold to American private investment firm Dorilton Capital last year as the Williams family ended their 43-year-old involvement in F1.
He will be tasked with passing on his experience at grands prix, while also attending team events in the United Kingdom.
Englishman Button said: "I am so delighted to once again be able to say that I've signed for Williams. Back when I was 19 it was a moment that changed my life and, despite the fact it was over 20 years ago, I already feel like I never really left.
"Sir Frank Williams showed faith in me which I will be eternally grateful for and I am incredibly excited to have the chance to come back and help the team as it strives once more for success."
Incoming Williams Racing chief executive Jost Capito said: "Bringing Jenson back on board is another positive step to help us move forward as a team both on and off track. Jenson has always been a friend of the team and so it is great to welcome him back into the Williams family.
"Back in 2000, Sir Frank saw the promising talent Jenson had as a driver and gave him his first opportunity in F1. He more than fulfilled that initial promise throughout a glittering career that culminated in world championship glory.
"More recently, he has shown his acumen in both the business and broadcasting worlds and remains a widely respected figure in the paddock."
Jose Mourinho has clarified Dele Alli was only left out of the Tottenham squad against Sheffield United due to injury.
The absence of Alli from the matchday squad in Spurs' 3-1 away Premier League win last Sunday was another talking point in a turbulent season for the attacking midfielder.
Alli has only started one Premier League game this season and has been linked with a move away from Spurs, with Paris Saint-Germain a mooted destination.
Mourinho insisted a tendon injury was the reason Alli was left out and listed him among the injury doubts for Monday's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Wycombe Wanderers.
"The reason he did not play or was not selected for Sheffield is everything in relation to the injury that he has," Mourinho told reporters when asked about Alli.
"It's not an injury that will keep him out for weeks and weeks like Giovani Lo Celso.
"But is an injury that doesn't allow him to train fully with the team and like in the last couple of days, no chance for him even to train. So that's the situation for now.
"The injuries that have no doubts about playing or not playing is still Gio, who will be a couple more weeks. We have two or three players who have small injuries.
"Matt Doherty, who was not involved at Sheffield [is a doubt], Dele Alli has not been training in recent days with small problem in the tendon but not sure that he can [play], and Serge Aurier, not really well.
"We still have three days before the match though and the only one I can say is out is Gio."
Mourinho recently praised the turnaround in midfielder Tanguy Ndombele’s Tottenham career, hailing his attitude.
But he insisted that should not have been perceived as a direct comparison with Alli ahead of what he expects to be a tough test against Championship outfit Wycombe.
Mourinho said: "I don't like to go in that direction, I was speaking specifically about Tanguy.
"I didn't want to accept any responsibility in the change. That's the way I look at things. We are an external source of motivation. The real source is the player himself.
"I was speaking of course in a very happy way about the Tanguy transformation and the way he is playing.
"With all the respect to Marine [in the last round], Wycombe is a different level, is a more difficult challenge. What we did well against Marine is not enough to win against Wycombe.
"They are fully professionals, they are talented people, they have ambitions. We need more than we gave against Marine.
"With all the professionalism the boys behaved there, but we need more because the game is going to be more difficult."
After facing Wycombe, Tottenham have a huge Premier League match at home to champions Liverpool on Thursday.
Zinedine Zidane is in "good spirits" after testing positive for COVID-19 as Real Madrid get ready to take on Deportivo Alaves without their head coach.
The Spanish club confirmed on Friday that Zidane is isolating after contracting coronavirus, meaning he will not be present for Saturday's LaLiga fixture.
Having already lost to Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the Supercopa de Espana, Los Blancos suffered a humiliating defeat to third-tier club Alcoyano to exit the Copa del Rey in midweek.
With their title defence also stuttering, the pressure has increased on Zidane, whose absence this weekend means assistant coach David Bettoni will be in charge.
"I spoke to him this morning, he's feeling fine," Bettoni told the media ahead of a trip to an Alaves side that won 2-1 in Madrid last season.
"He's in good spirits. He won't be with us in person but we know he'll be supporting us. The important thing is that everyone knows he'll be there in spirit.
"We're just finalising how we're going to do things."
Zidane insisted he remained calm about his own future in the aftermath of the defeat to Alcoyano, having seen a strong Madrid side let slip a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 after extra time.
Bettoni insists the squad remain united with the focus now shifting back to LaLiga, where they quickly need to make up ground on leaders Atletico Madrid.
"At Real Madrid, every defeat brings criticism, but we have enough experience to know we've got a chance against Alaves to show everyone we're a unit," he said.
"We're all together in this and we're going to do all we can to take the three points. We work hard every day towards just that and we have another chance to show it."
Sergio Ramos did not feature in the cup tie on Wednesday and will once again be absent this weekend, while fellow defender Dani Carvajal is not yet ready to make a return.
"With Sergio Ramos, he is in his recovery process and he won't be with us tomorrow," Bettoni confirmed.
"Dani Carvajal trained a little with us, but he won't be with us either and will be able to train normally from Monday."
Madrid have lost just one of their previous 15 away games in LaLiga but have found goals hard to come by this season, managing 30 in 18 games. That is their second-worst tally at this stage in the past 14 campaigns.
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy will be out for "a few weeks" as he needs a hernia operation, manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed.
The 34-year-old has scored 11 goals in 18 Premier League appearances this season, with only Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah above him in the scoring charts.
Vardy has averaged a league goal approximately every 134 minutes, a rate that only six players can better this term, although he has not found the net in any of his past five appearances.
Rodgers is therefore confident Leicester's season will not be badly impacted by the loss of Vardy as they prepare for a run of matches that includes meetings with Everton, Leeds United, Wolves and Liverpool before the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie with Slavia Prague.
"Jamie Vardy will be out for a few weeks," Rodgers said on Friday. "As you know, we've been managing him over this last number of months, and he's been absolutely fantastic.
"We have a window now that allows him to have a minor operation on his hernia and then he'll be back within a few weeks. He'll be out for that period.
"It's one that doesn't keep him [Vardy] out for too long, but it's just a repair in and round that hernia area. It's one we feel he can't really put it off much longer.
"We were hoping to do it a few weeks back, but this is a window where we can get it done and that will obviously leave him with a good part of the season where he can be really influential for us."
Leicester, who are two points behind league leaders Manchester United, travel to Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
Lionel Messi will miss Barcelona's LaLiga match at Elche on Sunday after losing his appeal against a two-match ban.
The Argentina star was suspended for his red card in the Supercopa de Espana final defeat to Athletic Bilbao, in which he was sent off for striking Asier Villalibre following a VAR review.
It was the first time in 753 appearances for the club in all competitions that Messi was dismissed.
Barca appealed against the suspension but confirmed on Friday that their efforts had been in vain, meaning Messi will not be available for the game at Estadio Martinez Valero.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner had already served one match of his ban, having been absent from Thursday's Copa del Rey win at Cornella.
Ousmane Dembele and Martin Braithwaite scored in extra time after Barca missed two penalties against the third-tier side.
Messi will be free to return in next Wednesday's Copa del Rey last-16 clash against Rayo Vallecano, with another meeting with Athletic, this time in LaLiga, to follow on January 31.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants Manchester United to harness the spirit of the 1999 treble-winning side when they face Liverpool in the FA Cup.
Solskjaer will make changes for the tie of the fourth round at Old Trafford on Sunday after a 2-1 win at Fulham on Wednesday, which put United two points clear at the top of the Premier League.
The Red Devils are still in the hunt for three trophies this season and face an out-of-sorts Liverpool side who are smarting from a shock 1-0 home defeat to Burnley on Thursday.
United dramatically beat the Reds 2-1 at the same stage of the FA Cup 22 years ago courtesy of late goals from Dwight Yorke and Solskjaer, then went on to complete a famous treble.
Solskjaer says dumping the Premier League champions out once again could be a big moment in what he hopes will be a glorious season.
"Of course we can transform a few things from that season. We know that there's tight moments, very fine margins. We know in that season we were close to going out against Liverpool," said the United boss.
"Peter Schmeichel saved a penalty from [Arsenal's] Dennis Bergkamp in the semi-final in injury time. Those moments, I think they gave us the mental advantage, especially in the semi-final.
"But against Liverpool as well in that fourth round, when you get that boost of turning 1-0 down to a 2-1 win against a big team it's massive.
"The FA Cup is a run we've got to enjoy as long as it lasts. We got to the semis last year and we're going to make a few changes but we'll put a team out there that I hope can go through."
Victor Lindelof is available to return from a back injury and Solskjaer will rotate his squad just a week after a drab goalless draw between United and Liverpool at Anfield in the top flight.
"Of course the focus is now on the FA Cup," said Solskjaer. "We know it's a difficult tie, I'm not the best on draws, I think they should try to get someone else in if they want an easy draw."
Solskjaer also said forwards Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani could all feature in the same side at some stage.
He said: "I used to play in a decent team and the gaffer [Alex Ferguson] had four centre-forwards at least to choose from and with the four front men we've got, we have players to choose from who can get us goals in any game, against any opposition.
"I'm very pleased with the ones I've got and we’re working hard to get the relationships with all of them so we can use them in different ways and sometimes maybe all four of them will play."
Frank Lampard is paying no attention to names being linked with replacing him at Stamford Bridge as the pressure increases on the Chelsea manager.
Since going top of the Premier League in December with a win over Leeds United, Chelsea have taken just seven points from a possible 24.
A 2-0 defeat at Leicester City made it two wins in eight league games for the Blues, who are now 11 points adrift of leaders Manchester United.
RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann is among those have been touted as potential successors to Lampard.
But asked about such speculation, Lampard told a media conference ahead of a fourth-round FA Cup tie with Luton Town: "I don't listen to it.
"It's only everywhere if you want to go and scroll through social media and I don't do that.
"I'm not stupid, I know the pressure that comes with managing a top football club but I can only do my job. It doesn't matter to me.
"The pressure is fine, you're obviously not happy when you're not winning games.
"It comes with the territory, you can look around the league and see teams that are having problems that are not used to having problems. I just have to get on with the job.
"My concern is not the pressure on me because I can deal with it, I've been in football a long, long time as a player at top clubs so I understand how it goes and it's different as a player.
"But the pressure needs to be positive on the players because the players are what make you a good manager or not such a good manager and that can flip very quickly as we always see.
"It's important that the players don't feel that [pressure]. I don't mind taking that, the players have to feel a good pressure.
"We want to win games, they want to get some form back, we know how quickly results and form can turn in this league, we just have to direct that pressure in the right way on the pitch."
The scrutiny on Lampard is intensified by Chelsea's significant outlay in the transfer window prior to the 2020-21 campaign.
Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech were the headline signings for Chelsea but all have struggled for form in recent times.
Werner has not scored in the league since November 7, while Havertz and Ziyech have each found the net just once.
Neither Havertz nor Ziyech created a chance against Leicester, the latter having replaced the former Bayer Leverkusen man in Tuesday's dispiriting loss.
On whether some of his close-season recruits have been surprised by the intensity of the Premier League, Lampard said: "I think that some of the new lads have been quoted as saying that.
"We've got the most physical and fastest league in the world, it's pretty clear to see.
"When I talk about players needing adaptation, and we've seen great players need time in this league to kick in, especially when they're young because they come to this league fresh, it's very normal."
Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool will "go again" and believes it is on him to change the way he communicates with his players to get the Reds firing again.
Liverpool suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Burnley on Thursday, bringing an end to an astonishing run of 68 home games without a loss in the Premier League dating back to April 2017.
During that impressive run, Liverpool scored 168 goals, but the defending champions have now failed to score in four successive league matches and have slipped six points off leaders and fierce rivals Manchester United, who they face in the FA Cup fourth round this weekend.
Klopp accepted full responsibility for the Burnley setback and said the onus is on him to give his players the platform to get back to the lofty standards that saw them win the Champions League and Premier League over the previous two seasons.
"Of course we go again, no doubt about that. I said what I thought, like most of the time actually," Klopp told a pre-match news conference.
"I said it when things don't work out on the pitch as we want them to work out, then there's an issue.
"How I understand it, the issues, I then tell the boys, I didn't tell them clear enough. I have to change the way I tell the boys [these things].
"Confidence is nothing naturally given, to normal people at least, you have to do something to build confidence, it didn't work out in the final third in the last few games.
"But it's not like we can't find it again - we have to work, that's what we do. I don't have five million different words for the same issue, maybe other words describe it better but the thing is we didn't get the results now for a few weeks we wanted.
"Parts of the game were absolutely good enough, parts were not, we have to keep going with things that were good enough, that's the way."
Klopp's side were utterly dominant en route to ending a 30-year wait for a top-flight title last term and he was asked if a change in mindset, whereby they have become the chasers, may ease the pressure a little.
The former Borussia Dortmund boss replied: "That will be a good way to do it to be honest, yes.
"When you don't like a situation, you have to change the right things.
"I like to say and see that in each match there is a chance. I spoke to my players last night and will do again today, it's not for a press conference what I will say to them.
"In the end what we do for the outside world is not so important, it's only important we change it. In the end we have to defend, have to create, have to score, we know that 100 per cent that's what we'll try to do on Sunday."
Asked how the team felt about the end of their unbeaten league at Anfield, Klopp said: "Honestly we didn't feel that pressure.
"We never spoke about a number or anything like this. We can start again 100 per cent."
Klopp's team drew with United in a turgid and goalless Premier League game last weekend.
The Liverpool boss again plans to put out a strong line-up against an in-form United, and said of the clash with the Red Devils: "It's a different competition.
"We want to go through and for this we have to play really well because United is in a really good moment, they get the results they wanted so far. We have to be ready 100 per cent."
Manchester City will be without influential midfielder Kevin De Bruyne for between four to six weeks, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
Manchester City will be without influential midfielder Kevin De Bruyne for between four to six weeks, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
De Bruyne, the reigning PFA players' player of the year, has been in magnificent form again for City this season, scoring three goals and supplying 10 assists in the Premier League.
Guardiola's side are on a six-match winning run in the league, a streak that leaves them well placed in the title race - two points behind leaders Manchester United with a game in hand.
But De Bruyne was forced off after an hour of Wednesday's hard-fought 2-0 win over Aston Villa and, speaking ahead of Saturday's FA Cup trip to League Two Cheltenham Town, Guardiola outlined the extent of the Belgium international's hamstring injury.
"Kevin, like the doctor said today after a scan yesterday, will be between four and six weeks out," he said.
There was better news for right-back Kyle Walker, who is expected to return after the weekend having sustained a blow to the hip in the Villa game, but attention understandably fell upon De Bruyne, who will now miss a potentially crunch trip to take on faltering champions Liverpool at Anfield on February 7.
The playmaker faces a race to be fit for the first leg of City's Champions League last-16 match against Borussia Monchengladbach on February 24, and Guardiola rued his injury as a consequence of a congested fixture schedule.
Not for the first time this season, Guardiola took aim at the Premier League vote that elected not to increase the number of substitutions allowed during games from three to five - a move at odds with other major competitions in Europe.
"It is [a huge blow] but we have to move forward," Guardiola said.
"He has an important part of the season out and we have to find a solution. Everyone is struggling in the situation we are living and we have to adapt.
"When you compete in all the competitions it is important to have all the players healthy, but this is impossible.
"There are injuries at all the clubs. We knew it was going to happen, we tried to avoid it, we had more medical treatment than ever, more nutritionists than ever, we try to masseur as much as possible but they are human beings.
"This amount of competitions, at the end the bodies of the players says 'enough'.
"When we demand five subs, it's for this reason. Why can we do it [have five substitutes] in the FA Cup but the Premier League we cannot?
"The Premier League voted, but if they want to protect the players… I'm not saying because it's Kevin, it's many. More than ever.
"It’s too many games, too many competitions and, in the end, the players suffer. You want to play without Kevin De Bruyne for five, six weeks? Okay, the spectators will miss an incredibly top player, like in other teams. But it is what it is."
Conor McGregor has promised to put on an emphatic show against Dustin Poirier on Fight Island this weekend.
You don't get the nickname "Mystic Mac" for nothing and his latest bout, albeit it occurred 12 months ago, was a rapid dismantling of Donald Cerrone so it would not be a surprise to see the Irishman be true to his word.
Poirier is one of the most respected fighters in UFC, though, and if McGregor takes his eye off the prize then an upset could be on the cards.
The beauty of MMA is no one really knows how a fight will pan out but, that being said, we've tried to answer some of the big questions ahead of a blockbuster UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi.
Wait, didn't Conor McGregor retire?
Well…he said he had. Here's the thing, McGregor has twice before said he's retired and both times come back to fight. The pandemic seemed to derail McGregor's rejuvenated focus but no one truly believed he was done for good.
Okay, so tell me who is Dustin Poirier?
Seasoned UFC fans need no introduction to Poirier, an experienced campaigner with an excellent MMA CV. Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway are just some of the elite names Poirier has beaten. The latter fight earned him the interim lightweight belt but he came up short when fighting the fearsome Khabib Nurmagomedov for the full title. Poirier rebounded to defeat Dan Hooker in June and now he gets another crack at McGregor.
Oh, they've fought before…what happened the first time around?
McGregor scored a huge first-round knockout victory that really catapulted him to new levels of stardom and it goes without saying the 32-year-old has since transcended the world of UFC and is one of the most globally recognised sports stars.
What's different this time?
Well firstly, both men are older. Their first bout occurred in April 2014 and there was no love lost in a typically robust build-up to a McGregor fight. But the histrionics have largely been replaced by the more respectful tones of experienced fighters – both of whom are now fathers. Poirier has lost just twice since his defeat to McGregor, while this bout takes place at lightweight, whereas their first encounter was at featherweight.
Where will the fight be won?
Poirier is a completely different animal this time around – the emotive blow-for-blow scrapper has been replaced by a colder, more calculated tactician in the Octagon. McGregor remains a lethal striker and both men will want to dominate standing up. If McGregor is on song it's hard to look past a win for the Irishman.
Will the winner get to fight Khabib?
Well it's certainly the one McGregor is hankering for. Their first bout of course ended in an ugly brawl between the two camps, but McGregor remains desperate to prove he can avenge that submission defeat from October 2018. Poirier is also on a five-man shortlist of fighters to face Khabib, who for now remains retired following his win over Gaethje late last year. The unbeaten Russian met with UFC president Dana White to discuss the possibility of a comeback but it is by no means certain he returns.
Angelo Mathews lifted Sri Lanka out of trouble with a superb century on day one of the second Test against England.
A collapse to 135 all out in their first innings was the main cause of Sri Lanka's defeat in last week's first game of the two-match rubber and they found themselves in early strife once more in Galle.
James Anderson (3-24) returned to lead the England attack and removed Kusal Perera and Oshada Fernando, the latter for nought, to leave the hosts 7-2.
But Mathews (107 not out) made the most of favourable batting conditions to lay the foundations for an imposing total, finding willing allies in Lahiru Thirimanne (43) and captain Dinesh Chandimal (52) and lead a recovery to 229-4 at stumps.
England's attack toiled hard after Joe Root lost the toss but they caused problems early on, with Sam Curran having a huge lbw shout against Kusal in the second over before Anderson added to his 600 Test wickets.
Recalled in place of long-time new ball partner Stuart Broad as England juggled their seam options with an eye on their forthcoming tour of India, Anderson persuaded Kusal into a ludicrously expansive hack that he edged to Root at slip.
Oshada was recalled to the Sri Lanka side after four ducks in five innings for Kusal Mendis, only to suffer the same fate as he edged a lifting delivery onto his stumps.
Thirimanne scored a century in the first Test, although his fine form was ultimately insufficient to repel his nemesis Anderson, who moved a ball beautifully away to encourage an edge behind and dismiss the opener for an eighth time in Tests.
Sri Lanka were 76-3 shortly after lunch at that stage. Mathews' alliance with Chandimal was certainly timely and they were able to milk England spin due Jack Leach and Dom Bess with minimal risk.
Paceman Mark Wood was the only bowler to offer sustained discomfort to each, both mentally and physically as he frequently touched 90 mph.
The over after Anderson fumbled a run-out chance at mid-on, Wood had his reward - pinning Chandimal with an in-swinger the batsman's review showed was thundering into leg stump.
Unperturbed by the end of that 117-run stand, Mathews brought up an 11th Test ton with a single off Leach and will resume alongside Niroshan Dickwella (19 not out) in the hope of kicking on to something even more substantial.
Zinedine Zidane has tested positive for COVID-19, Real Madrid have confirmed.
Los Blancos made the announcement via a short statement on their official website on Friday.
It is not known how long Zidane will be absent from the Madrid dugout but he will definitely not be on the sidelines for what has become a potentially crucial LaLiga clash at Deportivo Alaves this weekend.
Zidane's position as head coach at the Santiago Bernabeu has come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the shock 2-1 extra-time defeat to third-tier Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Madrid were crowned LaLiga champions in the heavily disrupted 2019-20 campaign but are seven points adrift of leaders and rivals Atletico Madrid, who also own a game in hand.
The Copa capitulation in midweek led to Spanish paper Marca leading with the headline "No one escapes this embarrassment".
After Alaves, Madrid face Levante on January 30 and travel to Huesca a week later in what looks a critical period for Zidane's long-term future at the club.
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