Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann remains unsure on the progress of Manuel Neuer's contract negotiations but heaped praise on the "outstanding" goalkeeper.
Neuer has made 300 appearances in the Bundesliga for Bayern since moving from Schalke and holds the record for the most clean sheets in the German top flight (209), having surpassed Oliver Kahn (196) in 2021.
But the Germany international's current contract in Munich expires at the end of the next season, when he will be aged 37, leading to questions over his future.
While Nagelsmann was unable to provide an update on the situation, he insisted that the 35-year-old can continue performing for many years to come.
"I don't know [about negotiations] but I know that he still has a contract and is an outstanding goalkeeper," he told reporters at Friday's pre-match news conference ahead of a trip to Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
"You could see right away that he played an outstanding game against Cologne. He will keep this quality for a few more years."
Asked about the competition, or lack of, between Neuer and Alexander Nubel, the Bayern head coach responded: "As long as he's playing at this level, it's difficult for any player to get past him.
"Manuel is still the best goalkeeper because he plays every part of the goalkeeping game very consistently.
"I can't imagine it stopping abruptly at 36. We can analyse the situation when the time comes. Both are currently playing and are satisfied."
The reigning Bundesliga champions head to Berlin six points clear of Borussia Dortmund at the top after a Robert Lewandowski hat-trick inspired them to a 4-0 win over Cologne.
Hertha have won just one of their last 21 league meetings with the Bavarian side, while Nagelsmann has not lost any of his 12 top-flight clashes with them as a coach.
Only Christoph Daum, against Bochum, has faced an opponent more often (20) without losing a single time but Nagelsmann downplayed the importance of his record against Sunday's opponents.
"It's more of a coincidence," he added on his success against Hertha. "We didn't always play exceptionally well in Berlin. If you have a positive record, you should make sure that it's like that remains.
"They play significantly more football than before, more flat balls, but still a lot of chip balls to [Ishak] Belfodil, who is one of the most under-rated strikers in the league.
"He works well with his body, it's incredibly difficult to defend.
"With [Marco] Richter and [Suat] Serdar, there are good footballers on the outside. It's more the footballing, courageous approach that [Tayfun] Korkut also demands.
"The rest of the defence will be very important for us. In the end, you saw against Wolfsburg that there are a lot of spaces you can attack from, but they also defend much more actively and aggressively."
Despite Bayern's recent dominance, Nagelsmann insisted there is still potential for much improvement, though he feels their progress in Europe could depend on coronavirus.
"I'm satisfied, but we still have a lot of potential," he added. "The processes haven't worked consistently for several weeks. Me and the players take a critical look.
"It's the case that the coronavirus issue is the season will affect how the teams get through.
"There are no longer the extreme quarantine rules. Corona is a thing that you cannot influence very well. If you want to go far in the Champions League, you also have to be a little lucky with Corona quarantines."
Lukaku's profligacy frustrates Inter coach Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi did not hide his frustration at Romelu Lukaku's struggles in front of goal after Inter lost 1-0 to Fiorentina on Saturday.
Inter's losing streak in Serie A was extended to their worst in six years as Giacomo Bonaventura's second-half header proved decisive at San Siro.
The Nerazzurri have now lost three straight top flight matches, with Bonaventura's winner coming shortly after a woeful miss from Lukaku.
Having rediscovered his goalscoring touch while on international duty with Belgium, Lukaku was unable to transfer that form across to his club side as he failed to hit the target from close range with the goal gaping.
No Inter player had more shots than his three, with Lukaku not managing to get any of them on target, despite accumulating 1.2 expected goals.
While not pinning the blame entirely on Lukaku – who is reported to have confronted Inzaghi about a lack of opportunities while he has been fit this season – Inter's coach was quick to point out the importance of those misses.
Speaking to DAZN, Inzaghi said: "If he had scored those chances, Lukaku's performance would be judged in a very different way.
"His role is to create the opportunities, make the movements that the team needs.
"He wasn't the only one who had chances today, so I wouldn't focus only on Romelu."
Inzaghi also stressed he is ultimately responsible for turning Inter's fortunes around.
"There is great disappointment, we lost two consecutive home matches," he said. "We need to work more, starting with me.
"At the moment, we need to be more determined, because we had so many chances to score and we should have done.
"I cannot ask for more in terms of effort, as the players did everything I asked of them."
Inzaghi is not wrong. While Fiorentina had more shots (19 to 16) and got the same number of attempts on target (three each), Inter finished with a 2.8 xG compared to the visitors' 1.2, suggesting the quality of opportunities that went their way was far greater.
Lukaku's glaring miss came from by far the best opportunity of the match, with Opta's model estimating the chance would be converted 92 per cent of the time (0.92 xG).
The 29-year-old's future is uncertain. He is on loan at Inter, but due to return to parent club Chelsea at the end of the season.
Before the match, Inter chief Giuseppe Marotta told DAZN: "[Lukaku's] love for the Inter jersey is 10 out of 10, we'll evaluate the prospects with Chelsea."
Kvitova triumphs in Miami Open to dash Rybakina's Sunshine Double hopes
Elena Rybakina's superb run in the United States was ended by Petra Kvitova, who won 7-6 (16-14) 6-2 to clinch the Miami Open title.
Two-time grand slam champion Kvitova, 33, became the second-oldest Miami champion, denying young gun Rybakina a Sunshine Double in the process.
Rybakina, fresh from her triumph at the Indian Wells Open, has been in stunning form but could not find her groove on Saturday.
After clinching the first set following a marathon tie-break, Kvitova took momentum into the second, cruising into a 5-2 lead before sealing the win with a break – Rybakina sending a forehand long.
Kvitova equalled Simona Halep as the players with the third-most WTA 1000 titles (nine), with only Serena Williams (13) and Victoria Azarenka (10) having won more since 2009.
"It feels unbelievable. I'm 33, and it's my 30th title, so I'm very happy," Kvitova told Amazon Prime Sport.
"I didn't think, that was the key. Elena didn't lose a tie-break [this season]. I thought, well, she has to lose at some time. I had to be a bit more aggressive, it was a bit of a struggle. I was a bit nervous, yes.
"I would have laughed [if someone told me I was going to win] but it feels great for sure. Nobody expected this, not me, not my team. I'm happy I'm injury free and, oh my God, I made it."
Kvitova is the second woman to win the singles title in Miami after turning 33, following Serena Williams in 2015.
Indeed, only Serena Williams (68), Justine Henin (42), Venus Williams (40), Kim Clijsters (40) and Maria Sharapova (36) have more WTA singles title to their name in the 21st century than the Czech.
Rybakina, meanwhile, will lament the chance of a Sunshine Double going begging.
The 23-year-old is the fourth player to fail to win the Sunshine Double in Miami's final after Serena Williams (1999), Lindsay Davenport (2000) and Sharapova (2006 and 2013).
"I want to congratulate Petra for a great two weeks here in Miami, and good luck for the rest of the year," said Rybakina. "Thank you to my team, we'll keep going."
Elche 0-4 Barcelona: Lewandowski double helps LaLiga leaders thrash rock-bottom hosts
Robert Lewandowski's latest Barcelona double helped take them another step closer to the LaLiga title with a 4-0 win over rock-bottom Elche on Saturday.
The Poland international's goals either side of an Ansu Fati finish helped the Blaugrana cruise to a comfortable victory at Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero.
Ferran Torres added a fourth as Xavi's visitors moved 15 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid in the table to further underline their domestic dominance this season.
For Sebastian Beccacece, Elche's fourth different boss of the season, it was a chastening reminder of the task at hand.
Barca pressed hard for an opener from the start and were duly rewarded 20 minutes in when Lewandowski turned in a Ronald Araujo header from Jordi Alba's free-kick.
But Lewandowski missed a golden opportunity to double the visitors' lead before the break with a flying header, as did Jules Kounde when he saw Edgar Badia save his shot.
The Blaugrana were more ruthless in the second half, though.
Fati capped off a fluent breakaway move with a cool, low finish to put Barca two up in the 56th minute
Lewandowski was then on hand 10 minutes later, latching onto a Gavi throughball and dispatching a neat finish, before Torres brought down the forward's looping pass outside the box for a fine strike of his own.
That added a last touch of gloss to a dominant performance that edges Barca closer to silverware.
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