Borussia Dortmund

Lucien Favre's side secured a second-place finish behind champions Bayern Munich thanks to a brace from Erling Haaland on Saturday, the Norwegian taking his tally to 13 goals in 14 Bundesliga appearances.

Dortmund were dominant during the first half and unfortunate to only lead by one at the break, Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi called into action on several occasions.

They had to wait until stoppage time to score again, yet Hummels – who was involved in the flowing move that led to Haaland's opener – was pleased with the reaction from the team after a shock midweek loss to Mainz.

"We played badly against Mainz and wanted to show a reaction," said the experienced centre-back.

"We did that and played an absolute top game. It was one of the best performances of the season and it could have gone even higher. 

"Overall, we can be very happy – and happy that we secured second place. We had a good mood in the dressing room before the game and were active on the pitch from the first minute. There was a lot of good stuff there."

Dortmund's title hopes were effectively sunk with a home defeat to Bayern following the resumption of the season in Germany, meaning they will finish as runners up for a second successive season.

"We missed too many points in the first half of the season, but our second half is pretty impressive – Bayern just played an even better one," Hummels said, according to quotes reported by Kicker.

"The title must always be the goal if you have such a team."

Knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain and no longer involved in the DFB-Pokal, Dortmund will conclude their 2019-20 campaign with a home fixture against Hoffenheim next Saturday.

"We wanted to secure second place today and we succeeded," said Julian Brandt, who provided the assist for Haaland's second of the game with a low cross. 

"I think we have a team that can take criticism. We are very self-critical and question ourselves. On the other hand, we won so many games that you can sometimes lose a game. In the end, that's human." 

Borussia Dortmund winger Sancho has thrived since swapping Manchester City for regular first-team football in the Bundesliga.

After moving to Germany in 2017 and becoming an England international a year later, the 20-year-old has been heavily linked with a big-money move to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.

Former Chelsea youngster Mancienne, now playing with New England Revolution having spent three seasons of his club career with Hamburg, feels it is a path that should be taken by talented prospects.

Despite the strength of the Premier League, Mancienne says players like Sancho can improve in other top European leagues if regular game time is proving tough to come by at home.

"Obviously Jadon Sancho is a great player and it is good to see English talent playing abroad," he said to Stats Perform News.

"Foreigners come to England all the time and it obviously seems like a normal thing. 

"I know the Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world but to go and get that experience of playing abroad is massive and it can make you a better player. 

"It can definitely help your career, especially for a young player struggling to break into their first team. 

"If you get the chance to go abroad I think that's massive and it can further your career."

Asked if more English players should go to the Bundesliga, he added: "Yeah most definitely, I think it is massive."

Mancienne won 30 England caps at Under-21 level earlier in his career.

He has praised manager Gareth Southgate for his work with the senior side, which he believes has been boosted by blooding youngsters like Sancho, who has 11 caps.

"I think [Gareth Southgate] has done a brilliant job," said Mancienne. "He came in and he changed a lot.

"People weren't sure if it was the right thing to do but giving younger players a chance to have that experience is only going to make them a better team and a better squad. 

"You saw Germany years ago, their U21 team that I played against in the U21 Euros, that team went on and won the World Cup. They trusted that team and they kept them together.

"It doesn't matter how old you are, young players need that experience if they want to improve.

"Southgate has been brilliant in pushing, not changing the team and making it younger, more vibrant and full of energy."

The England star, heavily linked with a big-money move to the Premier League, has continued to excel in the Bundesliga and gets better with every season.

In terms of his production, particularly when it comes to goals and assists, he is rivalling Europe's elite players and compares favourably to Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe in 2019-20.

With the help of Opta statistics, we have reviewed some of the most interesting numbers from Sancho's career to date after he moved into his twenties.

IMPROVING EVERY YEAR

Sancho has averaged a goal or assist every 82 minutes in his Bundesliga career to date.

His first season in 2017-18 saw him either score or create a goal every 137 minutes, but that rate improved spectacularly to 95 minutesin 2018-19.

This season, Sancho has racked up a sublime tally of 14 goals and 15 assists, and has scored or set up one of his team-mates every 62 minutes he spends on the pitch.

Sancho's tally of 15 assists in 23 league matches this season is already higher than the 14 he managed in playing all 34 top-flight games in the previous campaign.

The same can be said for his goal tally of 14, given he managed 12 in the entirety of 2018-19.

That improvement can also be seen his shot conversion rate, which was 10 per cent in his first season before improving to 30% and 31%respectively.

In an ideal combination, his accuracy is improving at a time where he is taking more attempts, with Sancho having attempted 45 shots this season in 1,806 minutes, compared to 40in 2,459 a season ago.


PRODUCTION RIVALS EUROPE'S ELITE

Only two players in Europe's top-five leagues have a better record than Sancho when it comes to goals and assists this season.

Ciro Immobile has produced 34 (27 goals and seven assists), with Lionel Mession 31 (19 goals and 12 assists), just ahead of Sancho's 29.

Timo Werner, Robert Lewandowski, Kevin De Bruyne, Ronaldo and Mbappe have all enjoyed fine campaigns but they rank behind Sancho.

Stretching the timeframe back to the start of last season, when Sancho became a first-team regular, he again sits near the top of the charts.

The England international has 55 goal involvements over that span, 26 goals and 29 assists.

Barcelona's Messi is out on his own at the top with 80 (55 goals and 25 assists), with Mbappe(63) and Lewandowski(57) the only other players above Sancho.

That means the 20-year-old is above the likes of Ronaldo(53) and Mohamed Salah (52) over an extended period.

The unassuming 19-year-old sits in St George’s Park explaining how his life in the German city has helped him grow.

The last of Dortmund’s English trio, the former Chelsea youngster has developed while Bellingham and Jadon Sancho shone to earn their mega-money moves.

Bynoe-Gittens made his debut less than 18 months ago but has settled well. His lessons, having joined from Manchester City in 2020, have left him “near fluent” as he matures away from the Premier League spotlight.

“Not everybody spoke English when I arrived. That was very hard for me because, at the time, I only spoke English. I had to learn German quickly,” he says.

“I remember looking for something like shampoo in the supermarket and you’ve got to find where it is and you might need to ask someone. It’s hard, you know.

“The word is the same, so maybe that’s an easy one to find! But maybe if you were going to the shops or getting the bus to town and having to find the right way to go…

“At school I tried to speak French and that didn’t really work. German is difficult – it’s really hard to learn and it takes time. But when you live here, you pick it up.

“I was a very shy person back then, so I had to learn to speak more and to ask for things that I might not ordinarily have asked for.

“The first year was tough, because Covid meant that there were no games. Then when we came back in 2021 I was injured for four months.

“After Christmas, I started playing more games and then that’s when I broke into the senior team.

“Seeing other players before me doing it persuaded me I could try it as well and try to progress like Jude has done right now or Jadon did.”

Now he is the only Englishman left at Dortmund after Bellingham’s initial £88.5million move to Real Madrid this summer.

Thankfully the new England Under-21 international can ask for a little more than shampoo – along with a cheeky offer of giving lessons to Bayern Munich new boy Harry Kane while at St George’s Park – although he misses his friends.

“Jude would take me out into Dortmund sometimes. Or when Jadon was there, we would go to get a haircut together or something or go to his house for three or four hours, maybe play FIFA,” said the Under-19 European champion, who remains close with team-mate Gio Reyna.

“They took me in as their little brother…I’d beat Jude at FIFA all the time.

“It’s great to see him do it. I knew he was going to be like this. It wasn’t a surprise to me. How he prepares for games, how he prepares for training. He’s just so professional. He’s a great person too.”

In May, on his final appearance, Bellingham sat devasted on the Signal Iduna Park pitch after a 2-2 draw with Mainz on the final day of last season handed Bayern the title.

Going into the game top, Dortmund were expected to end their 11-year Bundesliga drought, capping Bellingham’s three starring years in Germany.

Yet, it was to end in heartbreak as injured Bynoe-Gittens watched from the sidelines as the title slipped away.

“It was very hard,” he said, having made 20 appearances, scoring three times. “I couldn’t play in the last two games because of injury and watching it was just really sad, we had worked so hard to get there.

“There are are almost no words to describe it. We had no emotion, just numb.

“We’re always focused on winning or pushing for the title, like last season. We have to start quick, now, and hopefully be clear.

“We want to win the Bundesliga. Dortmund is a big club. You can’t just go for second, third or fourth. We want to push for first, the DFB Cup too and then go far in the Champions League.”

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Dortmund, the 1997 winners, have not got past the quarter-finals since losing the final to Bayern in 2013 but European success is always an objective.

Edin Terzic’s side open their Champions League campaign at PSG on Tuesday and also face AC Milan and Newcastle, travelling to St James’ Park in December.

The luck of the draw allows Bynoe-Gittens, who came through at Reading before moving to Chelsea and then Manchester, to return to England outside international duty. Quiet but confident, he is ready to show what he has learnt.

“It was always my dream to play in the Champions League as a kid, watching it on TV. Playing in it was a big achievement for me,” he said.

“It gives me added fuel to play in England and to show everybody what I can do.”

Bellingham left boyhood club Birmingham City for Dortmund at the end of the 2019-20 Championship season in a reported initial €23million (£21m) transfer.

The midfielder is yet to play a competitive match for BVB but has now been promoted from the U17 national team set-up.

Bellingham is the youngest player in an England U21 squad - named for matches against Kosovo and Austria - that also features Bukayo Saka and Josh Dasilva, both similarly stepping up to this level for the first time.

Arsenal's Saka is eligible to play for Nigeria but has been included by Aidy Boothroyd despite missing out on a senior Three Lions group which did not feature a single left-back.

Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is the only player in Boothroyd's squad with senior international experience.

From a relegation battle with Mainz in the German second division to the heights of Champions League glory with Liverpool, Klopp has achieved more than anyone expected of a man whose playing career was distinctly modest.

It would be stretching it to say the signs were there from day one, but they were certainly there from day two.

Klopp was named as an interim replacement for Eckhard Krautzun when Mainz decided on a change of leader on February 27, 2001.

One day later, Klopp made his debut as a coach in the second tier of the Bundesliga. He had been a player in the team until that point, but this marked the beginning of a new chapter.

Club president Harald Strutz, quoted in the Rheinische Post at the time, voiced the suggestion the interim boss could stake a claim for the full-time job.

"Maybe that will be a permanent solution," Strutz said, presciently.

Midfielder Christof Babatz, who would be a significant figure in Mainz's rise to the Bundesliga under Klopp, then said after the first game resulted in a 1-0 win over Duisburg: "The coach teased that certain something out of us."

And so began the story of Klopp's touchline career, one centred on teasing out the very best from the talent at his disposal, nurturing prospects into polished performers, and tallying trophies along the way. From Mainz, to Borussia Dortmund, and eventually to Liverpool, Klopp has delivered on that initial leap of faith.

There have been league titles, cup triumphs and big European final nights with Liverpool and Dortmund, plus promotion and even a relegation during his formative Mainz days.

Here, Stats Perform looks at those first 999 games, as Opta data shows some essential numbers behind one of the 21st century's great coaching careers.

Pep, Howe, Hecking and Magath – Klopp's rivalries

Klopp has faced Pep Guardiola more than any other rival manager, going head-to-head with the Catalan 27 times across their careers.

There have been notable defeats along the way, including the 2014 DFB-Pokal final, when Klopp's Dortmund went down 2-0 to Guardiola's Bayern, and the 5-0 and 4-0 thrashings meted out by Manchester City to Liverpool in September 2017 and July 2020, both of which rank among the top nine heaviest defeats Klopp has had to stomach.

However, Klopp has the overall upper hand across their meetings, winning 11, drawing seven and losing nine of those games.

He has faced only one other boss more than 20 times: German Dieter Hecking, against whom Klopp pitted his wits 21 times, winning 11, drawing five and losing five. Hecking bossed Lubeck, Alemannia Aachen, Hannover, Nurnberg and Wolfsburg during Klopp's time in the German leagues.

Klopp certainly has a happy record against Newcastle United's former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, achieving 11 wins from their 13 meetings.

This shows the most wins Klopp has had against any boss is 11, against Guardiola, Hecking and Howe, while it can be revealed the team he has beaten the most are Freiburg (13 times), followed by Crystal Palace, Nurnberg and Arsenal (all 12).

His real nemesis appears to have been Felix Magath, the former Stuttgart, Bayern, Wolfsburg and Schalke coach. In 14 games against Magath teams, Klopp won only three times, losing eight.

Bayern have had the most wins against Klopp, with 16. No other team have reached double figures, with Hamburg, Schalke and Wolfsburg (all nine) next on the list.

The milestones, the biggest and the best... and the games he'd rather forget

Klopp won that first match of his career against Duisburg, and to date he has never lost on each 100th game on his way towards 1,000 as a boss.

There have been wins against the way against Bochum (200th game), Werder Bremen (300th), his old club Mainz (400th), Freiburg (500th) and Southampton (600th), and draws on his 700th, 800th and 900th games, against Newcastle, Chelsea and Real Madrid, respectively. Klopp's 100th game was also a draw, against Unterhaching with Mainz.

His biggest win was the 9-0 trouncing that Liverpool dished out to Bournemouth in August of this season, and his Liverpool team have also hit seven in a game five times (Maribor, Spartak Moscow, Crystal Palace, Lincoln City and Rangers), while his biggest win as a boss in Germany was Dortmund's 6-0 crushing of Arminia Bielefeld in May 2009.

Klopp has suffered four defeats by five-goal margins, the worst he has had to endure, with Aston Villa inflicting two of those: 7-2 in October 2020 and 5-0 in December 2019 – albeit the latter with Klopp and his frontline Liverpool stars out of the country on Club World Cup duty. There was also a 6-1 torching for Mainz at the hands of Werder Bremen in October 2006, and Liverpool's 5-0 whipping by Guardiola's City.

When it comes to promoting young talent, Klopp has rarely hesitated. His youngest player was Harvey Elliott, now a first-team squad regular at Liverpool, who faced MK Dons in the EFL Cup at the age of 16 years and 174 days in September 2019.

Klopp has fielded five 16-year-olds for Liverpool, plus seven 17-year-olds, while he also gave chances to the 17-year-old Mario Gotze at Dortmund, and Mario Vrancic, also 17, during his time at Mainz. Gotze went on to become a World Cup final match-winner.

His oldest player was Peter Neustadter, a Kazakh defender who was older than Klopp himself, aged 37 years and 176 days, when he turned out for Mainz against Alemannia Aachen in the Bundesliga's second tier in August 2003.

Warhorse midfielder James Milner could yet break that record as the oldest Liverpool player to have appeared for Klopp, aged 37 years and 13 days when he played in the recent FA Cup replay win against Wolves this week.

James Woodburn remains the youngest scorer for Klopp after hitting the net against Leeds in an EFL Cup clash in November 2016 at the age of 17 years and 45 days, while Sebastian Kehl ranks as his oldest scorer – 35 years and 53 days old when he bagged for Dortmund against Hoffenheim in a DFB-Pokal quarter-final in April 2015.

Klopp's kingpins

Roberto Firmino has played more games for Klopp than anyone, racking up 341 outings for Liverpool under the manager, with Milner (301) next on the list.

When it comes to starters, though, we get a different picture, with former Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller top of the list with 280 games, followed by another BVB stalwart, Neven Subotic (278), and then Firmino (277 starts). Milner is a long way down that list, with 112 of the veteran's appearances for Klopp having come as a substitute.

Mohamed Salah has made 282 appearances and 261 starts for Klopp, and when it comes to scorers for the Reds manager, the brilliant Egyptian is the untouchable number one.

His 173 goals put him streets ahead of Klopp's next highest scorer, Sadio Mane (120), with Firmino (107) and former Dortmund supreme finisher Robert Lewandowski (103) being the only other players to reach three figures.

Among players with 10 or more goals for Klopp teams, Salah has also scored at the fastest rate, netting once every 133 minutes, with Lewandowski in a tie for second place with Darwin Nunez, both scoring at one per 139 minutes. Nunez scrapes onto the list, having scored 10 times so far.

Lewandowski hit four hat-tricks for Klopp's Dortmund, while Salah has managed five for Liverpool under the German.

Both men once hit four in a game for Klopp, with Lewandowski doing so in a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, and Salah in a Premier League match against Watford.

The manager teased plenty out of those two down the years, and Klopp will doubtless look to Salah, a former Chelsea player, to ensure his 1,000th game brings cause for celebration.

Borussia Dortmund face Bochum in the Revierderby this weekend, with Niko Kovac hoping to get his first Bundesliga win on the board.

That was the verdict of Julian Nagelsmann, the head coach who saw his Bayern side prevail 3-2 in a thrilling Klassiker to move four points clear of their closest rivals at the Bundesliga summit.

Lewandowski scored twice for the leaders, the second of those goals a late penalty, in the same week he missed out to Lionel Messi for the Ballon d'Or.

Dortmund fans, who worshipped Lewandowski during his four seasons at Signal Iduna Park, taunted the striker by singing Messi's name while both sides were warming up.

The Poland international took revenge with his double, however, taking his tally against BVB to 26 goals in all competitions – his most against a single side.

Speaking after the game, Nagelsmann said: "All of this rather spurred him on. He scored the significant goals and paid the fans back after all the Messi calls in the stadium."

Bayern were 2-1 up at half-time in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash after Lewandowski and Kingsley Coman struck to cancel out Julian Brandt's early opener.

Erling Haaland hit back for Dortmund, who saw a couple of big decisions go against them in what could well be a defining moment in the Bundesliga title race.

Lucas Hernandez avoided conceding a penalty despite appearing to commit a foul on Marco Reus, shortly before Mats Hummels was deemed to have handled at a corner.

Lewandowski converted the resulting penalty, leading to strong comments being made by the Dortmund camp in regard to the performance of referee Felix Zwayer.

Despite the controversial conclusion to the game, Nagelsmann felt his side were good value for their seventh successive win against Dortmund in all competitions.

"I think we deserved to win, but I also understand the discussions over the two penalty situations," said Nagelsmann.

"It was a very tight game that was worthy of its reputation. We could have scored more in the first half.

"Dortmund did it well early in the second half, but we found our rhythm again and had good control."

Bayern ended the game with an expected goals (xG) return of 2.27 compared to Dortmund's 1.44, backing up Nagelsmann's assertion that his side deserved all three points.

Dortmund had more possession (53 per cent) and outshot Bayern seven to six in the second half, however, and Thomas Muller conceded the visiting side rode their luck in the end.

"Dortmund's first goal has probably helped us," Bayern stalwart Muller told Sky Sport. "We got into the gaps relatively easily afterwards, with the goals scored after mistakes.

"We should have taken the lead in the first half. In the second half, I don't know whether we deserved to win from the way we played.

"The first-half display was definitely better – we moved the ball well and won our challenges. Based on the second-half performance, we didn't deserve it. It was more of a fight."

Bayern Munich star Lewandowski won The Best FIFA Men's Player award for 2020 after starring as Die Roten claimed a Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal treble.

Between July 20, 2019 and October 7, 2020 – the period considered for the award – Lewandowski scored 60 club goals in 52 appearances across all competitions at a rate of one every 76 minutes.

He beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the prize, with the Pole effectively recognised the best footballer in the world in the absence of a Ballon d'Or winner in 2020.

Lewandowski has enjoyed immense success since joining Bayern in 2014, though he already looked destined for greatness during his time at Borussia Dortmund, where Klopp had begun to mould him into the lethal forward he is now.

Writing in a reflective piece for the Players' Tribune in the wake of his FIFA award win, Lewandowski said of the current Liverpool boss: "Jurgen was not only a father figure to me. As a coach, he was like the 'bad teacher'. And I mean that in the best sense of the word.

"Not the one who made life easy for you and never expected anything from you, but the one who was strict with you. The one who put pressure on you and did everything to get the best out of you. That's the teacher who made you better. Jurgen was like that.

"He was not content to let you be a B-grade student. Jurgen wanted A+ students. He didn't want it for him. He wanted it for you.

"I could talk to Jurgen about anything. I could trust him. He is a family man, and he has so much empathy for what goes on in your private life."

Lewandowski took a season to truly adapt to German football after joining from Lech Poznan in his native Poland, as he only netted eight Bundesliga goals in 33 games during the 2010-11 campaign.

That remains the only season he has failed to reach double figures for league goals during his time in Germany, and Lewandowski considers Klopp's influence to be a major part of his improvement.

"He taught me so much," the striker continued. "When I arrived at Dortmund, I wanted to do everything quickly: strong pass, one touch only. Jurgen showed me to calm down — to take two touches if necessary.

"It was totally against my nature, but soon I was scoring more goals. When I had that down, he challenged me to speed it up again.

"One touch. BANG. Goal. He slowed me down to speed me up. It sounds simple, but it was genius, really."

Lewandowski's shot conversion rate rose from 13.1 per cent to 22.5 after his first season with Klopp and has never dipped below 20 per cent since.

In fact, the 32-year-old appears to be getting better with age, given his best ever return in terms of shot conversion was posted last term (29.8), and he is well on track to obliterate that personal best in 2020-21.

With 20 goals in 14 Bundesliga games, the Polish marksman is converting 44.4 per cent of his opportunities.

Haaland, 19, only joined Dortmund in January, hitting the ground running with 12 goals in 11 competitive matches having netted 28 times in the first half of the season with Salzburg.

The Norway international has swiftly become one of the most sought-after players in world football, and although Dortmund were successful in securing his services earlier this year, another move in the near future does not seem implausible.

Despite Haaand's insistence that he is remaining focused despite the speculation surrounding Madrid's apparent interest, the reports have been persistent, with Los Blancos rumoured to be setting their transfer efforts on bringing in another forward following Luka Jovic's underwhelming adaptation.

But Lewandowski, a Bundesliga title rival of Haaland and Dortmund with Bayern Munich, has urged the teenager to consider a longer stay in Germany before thinking about such a move.

"He has huge potential, but still has time," Lewandowski, whose first club in Germany was Dortmund, told reporters. "I don't want to put any pressure on him with my statements.

"If he works hard, he can become a better player and eventually reach the top level. Therefore, it might be good for him if he was to stay in the Bundesliga longer before taking the next step."

Both players are set to return to the pitch this weekend following the Bundesliga's two-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Haaland's Dortmund host Schalke in the Revierderby on Saturday, as they hope to close the four-point gap at the top, while Lewandowski should spearhead the attack of pacesetters Bayern as they go to Union Berlin the following day.

Eljif Elmas scored late on in Duisburg - Ilkay Gundogan having earlier cancelled out Goran Pandev's opener from the penalty spot - to inflict a first World Cup qualifying defeat on Germany since September 2001 - a run spanning 35 matches.

The defeat leaves Die Mannschaft third in Group J, level on points with North Macedonia and three points behind pacesetters Armenia, who have won all three matches so far.

Speaking to RTL after the game, Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness suggested Low - who has announced he will end his tenure as head coach after Euro 2020 - should bring Muller and Hummels back into the national team.

The duo, as well as Bayern defender Jerome Boateng, have not played for their country since November 2018, but Low recently hinted each player remains in his plans for this year's tournament.

"Hummels is a player with strong aerial ability and someone who has a lot of experience," Hoeness said. "He can definitely give this team something.

"Muller also definitely belongs in the squad. He's always good for goals and can help any team in the world in certain situations."

But when asked again about those absent players after the North Macedonia game, Low told RTL: "This question cannot be answered now. The decision will be made in May. It is something to think about in the next few days and weeks."

The defeat for Germany was just their third ever in World Cup qualifying and leaves them with work to do when they resume their campaign in September.

There may well have been a different outcome on Wednesday had Timo Werner made more of a glorious chance that fell his way five minutes before Elmas' winner, the substitute forward dragging wide in a one-on-on opportunity.

"He has to score that, no question about it," Low said of Werner's late miss, coming from the Chelsea attacker's only touch of the ball in the opposition penalty area.

"He doesn't hit the ball properly, otherwise it's a goal. Timo blames himself the most. That was a bad moment in a period in which we were on top in the game."

Low had previously criticised his players for their profligacy in the 1-0 win over Romania on Sunday, which followed on from a 3-0 victory at home to Iceland.

Germany had 11 shots against North Macedonia but tested visiting goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski with just two of those, with Serge Gnabry - the match-winner against Romania last time out - wasting two chances of his own in the first half.

"There is no magic formula," Low said. "You can train all you want, but it is difference in a competitive match. We were too hesitant to finish.

"We weren't consistent. With the score at 1-1, Timo had that huge chance. We have to look back at the chances and talk about it."

Gundogan had drawn Germany on level terms but his side were caught out at the back for a second time for the winning goal.

"The fact is, that should not be happening," Gundogan said. "It felt like they were in front of our goal twice and scored twice - it was too easy for them.

"We had many chances and only scored one goal. We didn't defend well with either goal - twice they had a man in the middle completely free.

"I leave with a bad feeling. It hurts all the more that we won't play again for three months. We have to get in top form by the end of May and prepare for the Euros."

Tuchel this week said Chelsea had discussed a move for Haaland and did not rule out partnering the in-demand Norwegian forward with Lukaku at Stamford Bridge.

However, Tuchel backtracked on those comments as Chelsea prepare to host Norwich City in the Premier League on Saturday.

"I fell into a trap," Tuchel told reporters, referencing his Bild interview. "I got an award in Germany. I got an award from a newspaper and they asked me about a player.

"Normally I never, never speak about other players because simply I never, ever do.

"Then we were making more or less fun about it. I should have known better because [I was] making fun about it and being a nice guy and answering a question instead of 'no, I don't want to answer a question'.

"Getting this award and I joke about a double striker with Romelu in October and then it gets like we put in an offer. That was the context but OK, I should have known better."

Haaland has 70 goals in 69 games for Dortmund since his arrival in January last year, only Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (89 goals in 74 games) has a better return among players from Europe's top-five leagues.

In this season's Bundesliga, Haaland surpassed his expected goal (xG)-value by 2.9 (nine goals, 6.1 xG) – only Bayer Leverkusen sensation Florian Wirtz eclipsed his value (3.0), per Opta.

Since Haaland joined Dortmund, he exceeded his xG-value (38.7) in the Bundesliga by 10.3. It is the highest value of a player in Europe's top-five leagues in this time.

Since Haaland's arrival in Dortmund, he has scored 13 Bundesliga goals after carries – in Europe's top-five leagues, it is only bettered by six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi (15).

In the 2021-22 league campaign, Haaland is one of four players who has been involved on 10 open-play sequences which ended in a goal – together with Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramaric, Bayern veteran Thomas Muller and Wirtz.

"It is interesting that we as German staff, we become very humble when we see the difference in performance in the Bundesliga and obviously how much harder it is to produce the same numbers in the Premier League," Tuchel added.

"It is, by the way, the big question in every transfer you do. This player performs in Germany, Spain, Italy or the other way around in England, can he also perform in the other country, the other culture, in the other team, in the other style of football? That is for me one of the big questions because you can scout them on any physical, mental level, do tests with them and observe them, how they behave.

"On social media, they let you observe their lives so you know pretty much everything except for the fact what does it mean if you perform in club A in country B, what does it mean for your club C in country D? This will be the question.

"Every player is different so to make it a general rule, it is maybe not possible but it seems it is the toughest league here and to produce outstanding stats. This cannot be a surprise. You are proud to have this league in England and you should be. It is big fun to watch and maybe bigger fun to work in it. That's the way it is."

Pep Guardiola's men may not have won as many trophies as they would have liked this season, but they have been exceptional in defence of their league title in the face of stiff competition.

If City were not already intimidating enough, they will be adding one of the best strikers in world football to their ranks next season in the shape of Erling Haaland.

The lethal Norwegian will surely come in and plunder plenty of goals, just as he has in the Bundesliga at Borussia Dortmund before his £51million (€60m) move to the Etihad Stadium.

However, will his arrival realistically improve them all that much, or more to the point, can it?

That may sound like a ridiculous question, but looking at City's output this season, they have left themselves with very little room for improvement such are the levels they have consistently reached.

Stats Perform has broken down the numbers to try to predict just what kind of impact the impressive 21-year-old is likely to make in Manchester next season.

What Man City need

It has been a popular opinion that City have achieved what they have in the league in spite of not having a traditional striker.

Since Sergio Aguero left at the end of last season, Guardiola has mostly gone with any three of Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus in attack.

They did spend a lot of time ahead of this season trying to lure Harry Kane from Tottenham, but failing to do so has arguably allowed them to find another way to break down opposition teams. 

Playing without a striker, City have still clinched the league title while collecting 93 points, the third-biggest total they have ever achieved, and scored 99 goals.

By not having an obvious focal point, it has been tricky for the opposition to know who is supposed to be on the end of attacks, and given none of those mentioned has scored more than 11 non-penalty goals in the league, that seems to have been the plan all along.

The perception might be that Guardiola's team have become less direct without a striker, and while that was true last season when Aguero played just 12 league games (seven starts) and they averaged a shot every 42.82 passes, and a goal every 309.05 passes, that came down to a shot every 36.63 passes this season, and a goal every 263.85.

Given Aguero's injury issues in his final campaign at City, you could argue the last time they regularly played with a striker was the 2019-20 season, which was the last time they did not win the league and collected only 81 points.

Since Guardiola arrived at the Etihad until the end of that season, his team averaged a shot every 38.10 passes, and a goal every 271.16, so they have possibly become more direct this term than they were with Aguero in the team.

By comparison, you may assume Haaland has been playing for a more direct team in Marco Rose's Dortmund, and this season in the Bundesliga, BVB scored once every 230.95 passes.

However, they actually only took a shot at goal once every 43.34 passes, so if anything it seems City are more direct than Dortmund, or maybe German teams are simply better organised defensively to stop shots.

What Haaland can bring

When you think of Haaland, you think of those direct and explosive runs into the penalty area, usually followed by emphatic finishes. When you think of City, you, erm, don't.

His addition could mean a change in style for the English champions, and the thought of Haaland getting on the end of the ridiculous range of passing from Kevin De Bruyne does indeed make the mouth water.

Do City as a team generally produce more with an orthodox striker, though?

Their record with and without Aguero makes for interesting reading. In the Premier League, the Argentine made 125 appearances under Guardiola, while City played 65 games without him.

In that time, they actually had a win percentage of 72.0 with him and 76.9 without, and even had a slightly better goal average (2.4 goals per game with, 2.5 without).

It is almost just as interesting to see Dortmund's record with and without Haaland. Since signing for the German club in January 2020, he has played 67 games, with Dortmund winning 65.7 per cent and averaging 2.4 goals for. Without him, they won just 61.1 per cent, though averaging only a slightly fewer 2.2 goals for.

It is questionable therefore whether the addition of Haaland will actually generate many if any more wins than they currently enjoy, but will he suit the way City play and can he add to their already impressive haul of goals?

Despite scoring more than any other team in the Premier League this season, no side missed more big chances (a chance from which a goal would normally be expected) than City's 65, though only Liverpool (97) created more than their 87.

City finished fifth in the league for big chance conversion (46.72), and so they will be hoping that part of what Haaland will bring them is putting more of those opportunities away.

In terms of finishing off big chances in the Bundesliga, nobody who scored at least five goals could match Haaland's incredible rate of 78.26 per cent, with even Bayern Munich great Robert Lewandowski only managing 46.67 per cent.

It must be noted though that Haaland's big chance conversion went down to 42.86 per cent in the Champions League, which is probably where City will hope he can make the biggest difference.

The league has not been their issue this season, though, rather the big games in cup competitions.

Their defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley was relatively convincing, despite the 3-2 scoreline. With an xG (expected goals) of 1.75, it was more their leakiness at the other end that was their undoing, going in 3-0 down at half-time.

However, it is the Champions League where their biggest letdown occurred, despite what City fans will tell you about their apparent disdain for the competition.

Heading into injury time at the Santiago Bernabeu, City were 5-3 up on aggregate, only to somehow concede twice in two minutes, before a Karim Benzema penalty put them out at the semi-final stage.

Perhaps Haaland could have made a difference, particularly in that second leg where City slightly underperformed their xG of 1.37, though they did score four in the first leg off an xG of 2.70.

Again, you could argue it was more the defence that let them down, somehow conceding six goals despite largely dominating both legs, but in those key moments where City missed golden opportunities, you would think Haaland would have had more ice in his veins.

Match made in heaven?

How could one of the deadliest strikers in Europe not be a good signing? Haaland will almost certainly be a fan favourite and score plenty of goals in the sky blue of his father's former team.

In the league, it seems likelier he will more or less replace the goals of others rather than add to what they are already producing. It would be surprising to see the likes of Sterling, Mahrez, Foden and even De Bruyne score as many as they have this season if Haaland is already banging them in.

However, those fine margins in the cups could well be where he comes into his own, with Haaland either scoring important goals himself, or distracting defenders so that others can do the honours.

It will be interesting to see how City play with a striker, as it of course will mean they line up with one fewer attacking midfielder and will they therefore be able to dominate quite as much as they currently do?

Either way, it is difficult to see how they can do anything other than continue to be dominant with the big Norwegian around as Premier League defenders await what promises to be a busy season from August onwards.

Reigning English champions City last year became just the fourth club ever to top the list, which examines the top-performing football clubs in terms of revenue every year.

City remained the world's highest revenue-generating club in the 2021-22 campaign – the first season in which fans returned to stadiums as coronavirus restrictions were eased.

They made £619.1million (€731m) over that period to finish ahead of LaLiga giants Real Madrid (€713.8m), while Liverpool climbed from seventh to their highest position of third after making £594.3m (€701.7m).

Fellow English clubs Manchester United (fourth), Chelsea (eighth), Tottenham (ninth) and Arsenal (10th) also make the top 10, with West Ham (15th), Leicester City (17th), Leeds United (18th), Everton (19th) and Newcastle United (20th) in the top 20.

It marks the first time in the report's 26 years that a single country has provided more than half of the rich list.

"The Premier League was the only one of the big five European leagues to experience an increase in its media rights value during its most recent rights sale process," said Tim Bridge, the lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group.

"It continues to appeal to millions of global followers and its member clubs have a greater revenue advantage over international rivals."

Paris Saint-Germain (fifth), Bayern Munich (sixth), Barcelona (seventh), Juventus (11th), Atletico Madrid (12th), Borussia Dortmund (13th), Inter (14th) and Milan (16th) make up the rest of the top 20.

In the women's game, Barcelona generated the highest revenue (€7.7m) after winning the Champions League in 2021 and reaching the final last year.

Sancho was the subject of intense transfer rumours in the close-season as Manchester United reportedly attempted to prise the England international away. 

Dortmund maintained early on that Sancho was not for sale once an August deadline passed, and they successfully resisted United's apparent attempts to make a deal happen. 

But, while no move transpired, Favre suggests it was not a case of no harm being done. 

Sancho has only had a hand in two goals (two assists) in four Bundesliga matches at the start of 2020-21, a somewhat disappointing figure by his usual standards.

Favre believes the pre-season saga could have affected him. 

"Every player has slow periods," he said ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Zenit. 

"There was a lot of talk about Jadon in the summer, something like that can also have an impact. 

"But no player is consistently in top form for an entire year, that's impossible. You have to accept that." 

Last season, Sancho created a total of 69 goal-scoring chances in the Bundesliga, ultimately leading to 16 assists. He also scored 17 times, meaning he was involved in 33 goals in 32 games. 

While his key pass frequency was 2.71 per 90 minutes in 2019-20, that has only decreased slightly to 2.04 this term, therefore he is still creating opportunities. 

Nevertheless, Sancho is already behind in regards to his overall productivity in comparison to the previous season.

Both players have been linked with moves to Real Madrid, and Mbappe recently scored a superb solo goal to give Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 lead over Los Blancos in their Champions League round-of-16 tie.

Madrid had multiple bids for Mbappe turned down in August. The 23-year-old will become a free agent at the end of the season.

Reports had suggested that Mbappe could miss Wednesday's return leg in Spain after suffering a knock in training, but with PSG hoping that he will be fit for the trip, former Madrid forward Higuain claims the forward is one of the two heirs apparent to Messi and Ronaldo.

The Inter Miami forward, who scored 107 goals in 190 LaLiga appearances for Madrid between 2007 and 2013, also believes Mbappe's arrival could take his old club back "to the top" of European football.

"[Mbappe] has all the characteristics," Higuain told Stats Perform.

"I believe that Leo and Cristiano at some point will stop playing, because life is like that, and Mbappe and Haaland will be their successors. 

"Of course, Mbappe has all the characteristics to take Real Madrid to the top."

Mbappe recently moved level with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the joint-second highest goalscorer in PSG's history, with his tally of 156 goals for the French giants bettered only by Edinson Cavani, who scored 200 goals for the club.

Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti called Mbappe "unstoppable" after he downed the Spanish giants at the Parc des Princes last month.

PSG sporting director Leonardo, meanwhile, recently referred to Mbappe as the "best player in the world today", hinting the in-demand striker could yet elect to remain in the French capital.

Mbappe was suspended for PSG's 1-0 Ligue 1 loss to Nice last time out, and is the only player in the French top flight to have reached double figures for both goals and assists this season, with his 24 goal contributions (14 goals, 10 assists) helping the Parisians to a 13-point lead at the summit. 

Haaland, meanwhile, is one of the most prolific forwards in European football, and it has been reported that Madrid and Manchester City are leading the chase for the 21-year-old.

Since making his debut for Borussia Dortmund in January 2020, the Norway international has netted 80 times in all competitions, a tally which ranks behind that of only Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (112) in the same timeframe of players in Europe's big five leagues.

Mbappe comes in as the most valuable having had a stellar season with Paris Saint-Germain, with 60 goal involvements (39 goals, 21 assists) in 46 games in all competitions.

Vinicius won the LaLiga and Champions League double with Real Madrid, while Haaland is soon to make a lucrative move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City after scoring 86 goals in 89 games during his time in Germany.

Mbappe turned down a move to Madrid to sign a new three-year deal with PSG last month, and the France international and World Cup winner is valued at an estimated €205.6million (£175.7m) by the CIES.

Vinicius is second at €185.5m (£158.3m), while Haaland supposedly has a value of €152.9m (£130.4m) despite costing City just €60m (£51m) thanks to a release clause.

The rest of the top 10 includes Barcelona trio Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Ferran Torres, City's Phil Foden and Ruben Dias, Dortmund's Jude Bellingham and Liverpool's Luis Diaz.

CIES' research is based on a range of measures such as age, value of club, level of player performance and inflation.

The CIES report states: "The statistical model to estimate the transfer values for players from teams of the five major European leagues was built from a sample of 1,790 paid transfers carried out between July 2012 and January 2020.

"The correlation between the sums paid and estimated is greater than 80 per cent. This shows that the variables taken into account explain more than four-fifths of the gaps in the level of fees paid for transfers included in the model."

Top 10 valued players in world football (according to CIES Football Observatory)
1. Kylian Mbappe (PSG) - €205.6m (£175.7m)
2. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) - €185.5m (£158.3m)
3. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) - €152.9m (£130.4m)
4. Pedri (Barcelona) - €135.1m (£115.4m)
5. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) - €133.7m (£114.2m)
6. Phil Foden (Man City) - €124.0m (£105.9m)
7. Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) - €112.5m (£96.1m)
8. Luis Diaz (Liverpool) - €110.1m (£94.0m)
9. Ruben Dias (Man City) - €109.6m (£93.6m)
10. Ferran Torres (Barcelona) - €109.5m (£93.5m)

Ligue 1 was curtailed and a streamlined version of the Champions League knockout rounds took place in Lisbon in August, before a new season got under way.

There have still been plenty of performances to savour, though, and Stats Perform News has used Opta data to calculate a Team of the Year from the top five European leagues.

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi made the grade in 2020 but the same could not be said of Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, while Kylian Mbappe earned a spot that his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Neymar could not.

Supporters of Premier League clubs may not be rejoicing about the selections, which were made based solely on data.

Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)

Atletico lead the way in LaLiga on goal difference and have two games in hand on nearest rivals Real Madrid. Diego Simeone's side owe much of their success to Oblak, who has kept 17 clean sheets in 33 LaLiga appearances this year – the most of any keeper in the division during the same period.

Right-back: Juan Cuadrado (Juventus)

Juve won a ninth straight Scudetto this year and Cuadrado has played an important role throughout 2020, creating 45 chances (including seven assists) for the Bianconeri in Serie A – only Paulo Dybala (56) supplied more key passes for the club.

Centre-back: Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)

Bayern Munich may be the dominant force in the Bundesliga, but Hummels has continued to show his worth since returning to Dortmund. He made the most interceptions (57) and completed the most passes (2,056) of any Bundesliga defender in 2020.

Centre-back: Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig)

France international Upamecano is one of the hottest properties in European football and has been linked with a host of elite clubs. He shows great coolness in possession – as evidenced by him completing 24 of the 33 dribbles he attempted for a success rate of 73 per cent, the best of any Bundesliga defender to try at least 30.

Left-back: Theo Hernandez (Milan)

While Upamecano has established himself with Les Bleus, Hernandez's continued absence from the France set-up despite stellar showings for a resurgent Milan remains a source of much debate. The Rossoneri will end the year top of Serie A and Hernandez has been directly involved in 102 shots (46 chances created, 56 attempts on goal) in the league in 2020. That is more than any other defender in the same period.

Centre midfield: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

Kimmich's looping goal against Dortmund at the back end of last season was pivotal to Bayern retaining their German league title, which came as part of a treble. It has been the Germany international's distribution that has stood out this year, though. He completed an average of 75 passes per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga in 2020, the most of any midfielder in the competition to feature for at least 1,000 minutes.

Centre midfield: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)

Madrid regained the title in LaLiga in 2020, with Kroos a central figure in Zinedine Zidane's midfield. Of all players who attempted at least 1,000 passes in the opposition half in the Spanish top flight this year, Kroos was the only one who had a completion rate higher than 90 per cent.

Right wing: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

This year may have proved to be terminal to Messi's tight relationship with Barcelona, and while he was not quite up to his previous goalscoring exploits he still proved massively influential in the final third. He was the only player in LaLiga in 2020 to both score at least 15 goals and register as many assists.

Attacking midfield: Alejandro 'Papu' Gomez (Atalanta)

His time with Atalanta may seemingly be coming to an end after a falling-out with Gian Piero Gasperini, but Gomez has been one of the club's most important players. He had more assists (12) and created more chances (81) in Serie A this year than any of his team-mates.

Left wing: Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

PSG were crowned Ligue 1 champions despite the season being cut short in April, meaning they have played just 26 games this year. Mbappe only featured in 21 of those, but he was still directly involved in 24 goals (19 scored, five assisted) which was more than any other player in the competition in 2020.

Striker: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

It was no surprise to see Lewandowski named The Best FIFA Men's Player after an incredible campaign with Bayern. He scored 32 Bundesliga goals in 26 appearances this year and only five of them were spot-kicks. His tally of 27 non-penalty goals was the most of any player in the top five European leagues.

Borussia Dortmund teenager Moukoko has set a number of new benchmarks since making his senior debut last November.

That bow, the day after his 16th birthday, made the forward the youngest ever player in the Bundesliga, while he became the competition's most junior scorer in December.

Moukoko's Champions League debut 10 days before his strike against Union Berlin had seen him make history as the youngest player to appear in Europe's elite club competition.

And there was another record to add on Thursday when he belatedly made his Germany Under-21 breakthrough, a first appearance delayed by injury last season.

At 16 years and 268 days, Moukoko became Germany U21s' youngest debutant and scorer, netting twice in a 6-0 win at San Marino in qualification for the 2023 U21 European Championship.

Moukoko scored twice in the space of less than two minutes late in the first half, two of nine shots before he was substituted with 17 minutes remaining.

On Friday, the striker told the DFB's website there were "several moments in the game where I should have done better" and he would now "work on my weaknesses".

"It felt really good [to score]," Moukoko added. "I've already gotten plenty of texts and saw that I'm the youngest player to ever score for the U21s.

"Of course, I'm very proud of that, but a record like that is worthless at the end of the day. Instead, it's more of a motivation for me to continue to work hard."

Reflecting on the past year, he said: "There were many highs and lows, such as my injury in March. But that didn't set me back. Instead, it motivated me to come back even stronger.

"In the beginning, it was hard to accept that I'd be forced to take a break for a while, but I was able to refocus on my rehabilitation after a few days.

"I was very proud to debut in the Bundesliga and to score, just like I was yesterday. I worked hard to get here.

"But I still haven't achieved anything concrete. My journey is just beginning and it's far from being over."

The award – given to the best under-21 player in the world – went to a Barcelona midfielder for the second year in a row, as Gavi replicated Pedri's 2021 success. 

Bundesliga duo Musiala and Bellingham were both in contention for the prize, finishing third and fourth in the voting respectively, with Real Madrid's Eduardo Camavinga coming second.

Asked about Musiala's failure to land the award ahead of Bayern's trip to Augsburg in the DFB-Pokal, Nagelsmann said: "You wear club glasses. 

"In my eyes, both Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham have had better seasons than the winner. Gavi is an outstanding player, and I'm happy for him too."

No Bayern player has bettered Musiala's return of five league goals this season (level with Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane).

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham last week followed Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland as just the third teenager to score in four consecutive Champions League appearances.

Attention for Bayern now turns to the DFB-Pokal, which they last won in 2020.

Their bid to go beyond the second round this season could be hamstrung by the absence of Manuel Neuer, but Nagelsmann is not prepared to take any risks with his shoulder injury.

"It's not a conscious pause. Anything in the shoulder area is unfavourable for a goalkeeper," the coach explained. "If you have a sharp pain, you can't react. 

"He has pain when moving and is therefore restricted. As a goalkeeper, it's impossible to get 100 per cent performance then, so it doesn't make sense [to play Neuer]. It would be easier with an outfield player.

"We do everything in the necessary care for the players. We try everything to prevent this and consult all possible values. The rhythm is what it is. It's annoying when players are out and injured."

Nagelsmann also offered an update on the condition of Lucas Hernandez, who he hopes will recover from a muscle tear before the World Cup begins next month.

"It's looking better. We're making a bit more of him," Nagelsmann said of the defender. "We have to be patient. I can't say how long it will take. 

"It hasn't been looking too good lately. He's making progress, but it's a tough injury. I hope he can play at the World Cup."