Thomas Tuchel is determined to set the tone for his reign at Bayern Munich by knocking his old team Borussia Dortmund off their perch at the top of the Bundesliga.
The new Bayern head coach is braced for "a different dynamic" in next Saturday's Klassiker, which could be the defining game of the German league season.
Dortmund hold a one-point lead after Bayern were beaten last weekend by Bayer Leverkusen, and there are only nine rounds of games remaining, ramping up the fixture's significance.
Tuchel, whose appointment as successor to the sacked Julian Nagelsmann was made official on Friday, has already begun to receive messages from within the Dortmund camp.
He was boss at Dortmund from 2015 to 2017 and grew his reputation before being sacked amid behind-the-scenes disharmony.
After a year out, Tuchel was snapped up by Paris Saint-Germain, and he went on to win the Champions League with Chelsea before being fired last September, a decision the Stamford Bridge hierarchy might have reason to regret.
On Tuesday, Tuchel was called by Bayern and asked to be the man to save their season, with CEO Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic fearing the campaign was coming off the rails.
Tuchel said at his introductory press conference on Saturday: "I was a bit naive in the first discussion. The ball dropped that this would start with a game against Borussia Dortmund. The expectation level couldn't be higher."
He said the game was "not about me", but inevitably his presence adds spice to the Allianz Arena occasion.
"I got lots of messages and calls from staff at Borussia Dortmund saying they were looking forward to seeing me," Tuchel added. "There will be a different dynamic because of how the table now stands.
"I'm proud to have BVB on my CV, but it's not going to stop me dealing with the situation."
Dortmund have been long-time chasers of Bayern, so to be ahead of them at this stage of the season is unusual.
Bayern have won the last 10 Bundesliga titles and are fearful of that running coming to an end. They could still finish with a treble, given they have reached the quarter-final stage of the DFB-Pokal and Champions League, so if all goes swimmingly Tuchel could have plenty to celebrate in May and June.
The 49-year-old has pledged to "go in with open eyes and try to do everything we can to win all three titles".
He believes Bayern are suitably equipped to go after such silverware too.
"It's only on Tuesday I started really thinking about the squad," he said. "No one wants to play against a club like Bayern. It really got me excited for the job straightaway."
Due to the international break, Tuchel will not see some of his squad until Friday, the day before Bayern tackle Borussia Dortmund in a top-of-the-table Klassiker.
He considered it "a surprising time" for Bayern to change coach and said he would not be making radical changes over the coming weeks, promising a "deeper analysis" would take place in good time.
He expects some players may consider his arrival "a new chance" and said he would prioritise "forming some faith on the pitch".
"The fact is, I'm going to get feedback from players, but I don't want to overload anyone," Tuchel said. "The game that's coming up is a very exciting proposition, how everyone wanted it. It's my job to create a bit of anticipation as well."
He is determined not to look back and instead only focus on what Bayern have ahead of them, labelling the Dortmund game "a chance to put the first exclamation mark out there".
Asked about Nagelsmann, Tuchel spoke from experience when he said being sacked was "never nice", having lost his jobs at Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in frustrating circumstances.
"I think everyone knows that when you take over a job at a club like Bayern, things like this can happen," Tuchel said. "I know it could be difficult for Julian Nagelsmann right now."
He stressed though, that the sacking was "not my responsibility" and hopes to have convivial discussions with Nagelsmann somewhere down the line.
Tuchel has not yet picked up the phone to sound out Nagelsmann about the players he is inheriting.
"I don't want to be disrespectful," he said. "I start things on Monday, and I'm sure we'll cross paths at some point and talk about things. My relationship with Julian, from my perspective, is impacted not one per cent."
St. Louis City v LA Galaxy: Reus sets sights on silverware after dream start
Marco Reus is desperate to bring silverware to the LA Galaxy after making a flying start to his time in MLS, with St. Louis City the destination for his first road game on Sunday.
Reus registered a goal and an assist on debut last week as the Galaxy beat Atlanta United 2-0, maintaining their grip on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy are five points clear of local rivals Los Angeles FC at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday's trip to St. Louis, who are 13th and 10 points adrift of the playoff picture.
Reus' arrival in Los Angeles has caused plenty of fanfare, but he is focused solely on the team's collective aims.
"It's not about me, it's about the team," he said. "We want to be champions. So we take it game by game.
"Besides the traffic, it's really amazing. The people are so friendly. The weather, it's really nice. When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, you start the day differently.
"So I'm really, really happy every morning I come into the dressing room. I'm just happy and excited."
St. Louis played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with the Portland Timbers last week, twice throwing away a two-goal lead to leave interim coach John Hackworth bewildered.
"Really don't know what to say," Hackworth said. "It's hard to imagine coming to a place like this and scoring four goals, being up, and then just losing one-versus-one defensive battles.
"Sometimes, the number of goals you give up, or the number of goals you score, can hide a lot of the transition moments.
"An easy way to prevent some of these defensive miscues from happening is to just be better with the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Eduard Lowen
Lowen scored his fourth goal of the MLS season last time out, converting from the penalty spot as St. Louis drew 4-4 with the Timbers.
Only Joao Klauss, with five goals, has outscored him for St. Louis this term.
LA Galaxy – Marco Reus
Reus is one of 20 players in MLS history to record a goal and an assist on his regular-season debut.
He is also the fifth Galaxy player to do so, after Steven Gerrard, Andreas Herzog, Giovani dos Santos and Sasha Victorine. No other team have had more than two players achieve the feat.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Galaxy have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season matches, the first time they have done so in a single season since 2011. LA have not recorded 11 wins in a span of 14 matches within a single regular season in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
It would be no surprise to see the points shared in this one, though. All three meetings between St. Louis and the Galaxy have ended level, all with different scorelines (1-1, 2-2, 3-3).
St. Louis have only won one of the last six matches in which they have held the lead in regular-season play dating back to the beginning of June (four draws, one defeat).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 35.8%
LA Galaxy – 38.1%
Draw – 26.1%
Raphinha hails Barcelona after statement win over Valladolid
Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.
Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick's side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: "Today's game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.
"We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today's result shows what we are working for.
"We saw that the coach was on the sidelines asking for more goals and that's our mentality.
"We are hungry and want to score as many goals as we can. When we are dominant like we have been, the best way to respect our rivals is not taking the foot off the gas."
Raphinha was one of the players who faced criticism during Barca's trophyless 2023-24 campaign and was rumoured to be on his way out ahead of the new season.
The Blaugrana again battled financial restrictions throughout the window, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to leave in order to secure the registration of new arrival Dani Olmo.
With his future now certain, Raphinha is keen to nail down a starting spot and contribute on a regular basis.
"I don't know if today's was my best game, but it's certainly among my best. I will try to play even better and as much as I can," the Brazilian said.
"I'm very happy to be able to help the team. I feel good. I knew that this season would be very important for me. I'm looking for my best version to help my team-mates and be more confident."
Lazio 2-2 Milan: Leao salvages draw but Rossoneri still winless
Rafael Leao came off the bench to earn Milan a 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, but Paulo Fonseca's side are still without a Serie A win this season.
Milan were in front at the break through Strahinja Pavlovic's eighth-minute goal, the Serbian rising highest to power home a header from Christian Pulisic's corner.
However, Lazio hit back in the second half with Valentin Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scoring in quick succession.
Nuno Tavares' first-time ball into the centre was met by the unmarked Castellanos to level in the 62nd minute, then Dia tapped another Tavares cutback home to put the Biancocelesti ahead four minutes later.
Fonseca reacted by sending on four substitutes, and those changes had a swift impact as three of them combined for the leveller.
Theo Hernandez – who joined Leao in being dropped from the start – picked out Tammy Abraham, and his lay-off allowed Leao to escape Tavares to fire past Ivan Provedel.
The game was preceded by an emotional tribute to the man who led Lazio to their last league title, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died at the age of 76 on Monday.
A Lazio shirt bearing the Swede's name was displayed on the home bench, while a banner held up by the home fans read: "You brought us to the top of the world... Have a good trip Mr. Sven."
Data Debrief: Milan's slow start continues
New Milan boss Fonseca is already under pressure after overseeing a return of two points from his first three league games at the helm.
It is the first time the Rossoneri have drawn two of their opening three matches in a Serie A season since 2011-12, when they also drew two and lost one,
They went on to finish second that season, just four points adrift of champions Juventus. If a title challenge is to take place this term, rapid improvements are needed.
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