Tom Bischof has arrived at Bayern Munich with ambition and confidence, describing himself as a "mentality monster" ready to challenge established stars. After a strong debut start against Werder Bremen, the 20-year-old midfielder already looks set to carve out a key role under Vincent Kompany. With Bayern dominating in Europe and Harry Kane in record-breaking form, Bischof’s integration could be crucial as the Bavarians visit Cypriot champions Pafos.

Bischof’s arrival – a star in the making

Bischof made the move from Hoffenheim to Bayern Munich this summer, eager to test himself at Germany’s most decorated club. Speaking to Bayern’s magazine, he explained: "I spent a long time considering what the right step would be for me. I didn't just decide because we in my family are fans. I also listened carefully to Vincent Kompany, Max Eberl and Christoph Freund about what they planned for me and what they expected." 

The midfielder, who was once courted by Bayern at age 15 but felt it was "too early" to make a move, said he is a "mentality monster" and added: "The play around the box, the high pressing, all of that suits me very well."

AdvertisementGetty Images Sport‘Mentality Monster’ – Bischof’s Self-Belief

Bischof immediately impressed with his self-confidence and competitive mindset. "I'm super ambitious, I want to win titles, I want to win every game, absolutely! And that's the identity of FC Bayern," he said. The young midfielder sees himself as a challenger within a star-studded squad, insisting, "You definitely can't hide, that starts in the locker room. In training, you have to have a message behind every pass. As soon as the boys realise you can kick, you'll grow into the team. Fortunately, that's how it was for me. I see myself in the role of challenger at Bayern. To show myself, I always try to give 100 percent." 

Debut impact – first start and assist

Bischof’s first start under Kompany came in Bayern’s 4-0 victory over Werder Bremen. Anchoring the midfield alongside Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich, he quickly demonstrated maturity beyond his years. His standout moment came with a precise assist for Konrad Laimer’s 87th-minute strike, providing Bayern’s fourth goal. The performance silenced any doubts about his ability to step into the team and showcased his readiness to compete for a regular starting role, potentially challenging Goretzka and Aleksandar Pavlovic in the process.

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Getty Images SportChampions League Focus now as Bayern faces Pafos

The Bavarians travel to Cyprus to face Pafos in the Champions League. Bischof could be crucial as the German giants aim to maintain their dominance in Europe. With Harry Kane in sensational form, the midfield’s control will be vital. Bischof’s work rate, vision, and ability to link play may provide the balance needed for Kompany’s side to extend their winning streak and handle a disciplined Pafos team on their home turf.

The Bundesliga champions remain focused on both domestic and European campaigns, with Bayern’s perfect start this season, combined with Bischof’s emergence, ensures depth and versatility in midfield. Upcoming fixtures against Pafos in the Champions League, and crucial league matches, will test the youngster’s integration under pressure. If Bischof continues to deliver consistent performances, he could cement a long-term role in Kompany’s starting XI and become a key figure in Bayern’s pursuit of domestic and European success.

Find out who the leading run-scorers and wicket-takers in IPL 2025 after 12 games are

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-20252:26

What has made Pooran such a T20 force since 2024?

The Orange Cap tableLucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) Nicholas Pooran continues to be the highest run-scorer with 145 runs at an average of 72.50 and chart-topping strike rate of 258.92 following returns of 75 from 30 balls against Delhi Capitals and 70 from 26 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) .B Sai Sudharsan hasn’t been among the fastest scorers in the tournament – though 167.07 is hardly shabby – but his 137 runs from two innings for Gujarat Titans (GT) has him up at No. 2 on the Orange Cap table.At No. 3 is Travis Head, whose 22 off 12 for SRH against DC took his tally to 136 in three games. After his 67 against Rajasthan Royals (RR), he scored 47 against LSG but was kept quiet by Mitchell Starc in the game against DC.2:35

Bishop explains what makes Noor special

The Purple Cap tableNoor Ahmad has been a revelation this season. Turning out for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who also have R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in their starting line-up, Noor has been by far the most successful, his left-arm wristspin bringing him 4 for 18, 3 for 36 and 2 for 28 so far. That’s nine wickets, five more wickets than Ashwin and Jadeja combined.Mitchell Starc is just one wicket behind, and has got to eight wickets in just two games for D]C. He was expensive in his first game, against LSG, conceding 42 runs for his three wickets, but against SRH, he had his career-best T20 returns – 5 for 35. In his opening spell, Starc removed Travis Head, Ishan Kishan and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the powerplay, and he came back in the 18th over to remove Harshal Patel and Wiaan Mulder.There’s a tie in third place between LSG’s Shardul Thakur and CSK’s Khaleel Ahmed, who have picked up six wickets each at this stage, though Thakur has played two and Khaleel three. Thakur’s best was the 4 for 34 he picked up in LSG’s win over SRH, while Khaleel got 3 for 29 in his first game of the season, against MI, sending back Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton and Suryakumar Yadav.Highest batting strike ratesBest bowling economy ratesMost sixesBest bowling figures in a match

Sometimes it’s good to be bad. Jos Buttler put down a simple chance off Phil Salt in the very first over of the game between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans and that spurred him on to be better with the bat. Considering he was already averaging 94.66 against these opponents since IPL 2022, the extra motivation was likely to produce something special. And it did – a match-winning, unbeaten 73 off 39 balls, not to mention the return of a smile that he seemed to have lost captaining England in white-ball cricket over the last few years.”I thought the bowlers did a fantastic job,” Buttler said after GT restricted RCB to 169. “We probably, if we fielded it a bit better, myself, looking at myself very much so, then we would have been chasing a few less.Related

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“I was pretty embarrassed, especially with [dropping] Salty. He’s a dangerous player. So the only thing I can think of, I was trying to throw it up to earlier, a bit like Herschelle Gibbs style [who dropped Steve Waugh in that fashion during the 1999 World Cup] but I didn’t even… I barely got a glove on it, it hit me in the chest. But due to that embarrassment, I was pretty determined to try and score some runs.”Buttler’s previous six innings against RCB, going backwards, had read 100*, 0, 0, 106*, 8, 70*. It was this version of him that walked out to bat on Wednesday night to crash five fours and six sixes. Not the one that relinquished the England captaincy after a dismal run at the Champions Trophy.”I was trying to play with lots of freedom, lots of intent,” he said. “I had a few months of pretty unenjoyable cricket, so trying to make sure I’m out there giving my best, and obviously a new team, new franchise, and excited to be here.”Buttler was signed by GT in the IPL auction in November for INR 15.75 crore, and although he is playing a different role here, at No. 3, to the one at Rajasthan Royals, where he had had a highly successful spell opening the batting, it seems to be working. He is the third-highest run-getter so far this season with a tally of 166 at a strike rate of 172.91.GT are fourth on the IPL 2025 points table with two wins from three games and head to Hyderabad next to play Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 6.

MatériaMais Notícias

Romero reapareceu no Corinthians durante a vitória por 1 a 0 sobre o Universitario-PER, pela partida de ida dos playoffs da Sul-Americana. O paraguaio estava há 11 jogos sem atuar e lidava com uma tendinite no joelho.

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+ Torcedor do Corinthians, ajude a escolher o nome da área dedicada ao seu time no Lance!

Desde que foi recontratado, Romero não correspondeu às expectativas e está em baixa no Timão. Ele atribuiu o mau momento em seu retorno a problemas físicos e a falta de sequência na temporada.

– Trabalho para ter minutos, precisa ter uma continuidade. Sem uma sequência fica difícil performar bem em campo. Vinha sem jogar no México, acabamos em outubro lá. Fiz uma pré-temporada em dezembro, estava com dificuldades físicas de voltar bem. Tive uma torção no tornozelo no começo do ano. Hoje estou melhor e graças a Deus estou voltando ao time – disse Romero na zona mista.

continua após a publicidade

+ Timão avança? Veja todos os confrontos dos playoffs da Sul-Americana

Com contrato até o final de 2024 e sem ter completado sete partidas no Brasileirão, Romero pode se transferir para outro clube brasileiro. Contudo, ele negou ter recebido propostas e garantiu estar focado em reconquistar seu espaço, deixando a decisão nas mãos da diretoria.

– Ainda não. Agora abriu a janela, ninguém falou nada comigo. Todo mundo me conhece, não vou desistir, vou lutar pelo meu espaço no Corinthians. É falar com a diretoria se eles preferem não me utilizar mais, só falar comigo. Hoje penso no Corinthians, estou me adaptando de novo e estou feliz em entrar no segundo tempo e sair com a vitória – afirmou.

continua após a publicidade

O paraguaio não balança as redes pelo Timão há 28 jogos. O último gol dele pelo Corinthians foi em julho de 2018 , contra a Chapecoense.

Manchester City’s 4-0 opening day success over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League now feels like an awfully long time ago.

Indeed, since Pep Guardiola’s men romped home to a resounding victory at Molineux, the Citizens have tasted defeat two times in quick succession, with Tottenham Hotspur proving to be their kryptonite once more in a 2-0 home loss, before travelling to Brighton and Hove Albion and coming unstuck late on in a 2-1 defeat.

This poor start to the season, after a topsy-turvy 2024/25 campaign, will be seriously worrying to those who fill out the Etihad week in, week out, who will now be fearing a defeat in the Manchester Derby later on today.

Suffering those two defeats on the spin does look to have jolted City into life as to what they could do when transfers are back in play, with one new defensive target already reportedly on their shopping list who could soon call Gianluigi Donnarumma a teammate at the back.

City's potential transfer business

It will be interesting to see if the former Paris St. Germain goalkeeper gets the nod to start over James Trafford against Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils, having now sealed a move to England.

Guardiola might well favour his new recruit over the young Englishman, considering City have conceded four goals across their last two defeats, with one effort conceded against Spurs all Trafford’s own making.

The Spaniard might also have a move for Marc Guehi up his sleeve to further improve his defensive personnel, with Football Insider recently revealing that City could soon beat Liverpool to the signature of the Crystal Palace centre-back.

Amazingly, the leaky former Premier League champions might even be able to snap up Guehi on a free transfer, with it going down as a big coup to snatch the England international away from the reaches of Anfield for nothing.

Just fresh off scoring his first-ever England goal during the international break, Guehi will hope he can land a bumper move in the near future to the likes of City, having seen a deadline-day move to Liverpool heartbreakingly fall through.

However, the inconsistent Citizens might well be brewing their own homegrown version of Guehi right now, who has been showered with some very high praise already, despite only being 17 years of age.

Man City's own homegrown Guehi

After all, the sparkling success story of Rico Lewis in the first team picture at the Etihad is enough to give City great confidence in the next generation of talents coming through, with Lewis recently penning a new contract at his boyhood club that takes him to 2030.

By that point, City academy starlet Stephen Mfuni will be hoping he’s making waves in the senior picture himself, having already been branded as “one of the most talented teenage CBs in world football” by scout Jacek Kulig last year.

Kulig further expands to state that Mfuni is both “dominant” and “elegant” with his general play out from the back, with the teenager now hopeful he can be a similar Lewis-style revelation in the City first-team and perhaps save Guardiola and Co. some hassle in the market by further being a Guehi-like presence.

After all, the in-demand Eagles defender is also a well-rounded player in his own right at Selhurst Park, having had to wrestle with the difficulties, too, of being a promising youngster himself at Chelsea.

He boasts an 85% pass accuracy in the Premier League this season, also matched by his ability to win four duels on average per clash as a dominant force aerially.

Games played

3

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches*

85.0

Accurate passes*

68.3 (92%)

Key passes*

1.7

Ball recoveries*

2.7

Clearances*

3.7

Total duels won*

4.3

Mfuni has also displayed this same forceful presence in the air when heading home a recent goal in U18 action versus the Red Devils last season, with his overall numbers for the England U19s in the recent U19 Euros – as seen above – further showing off a talent that’s both calm on the ball but fierce in a battle, much like the soon-to-be out-of-contract warrior.

Of course, it would be foolish to anticipate that Mfuni would be able to come into the first-team picture right away and be as confident as Guehi, with the 25-year-old having to fight hard himself to become a Premier League-established star, as seen in his top-flight debut not coming until he was 21.

Yet, the hope will be – down the line – that the teenage sensation can be City’s own homegrown version of Guehi, regardless of whether Guardiola and Co. get their hands on the 6-foot titan or not.

Guardiola now wants Man City to sign "fantastic" £69m star to replace Silva

Pep Guardiola personally wants him to sign…

BySean Markus Clifford Sep 13, 2025

Following what was eventually an impressive summer transfer window, Tottenham Hotspur are now reportedly eyeing a 2026 battle against Real Madrid to sign a Premier League star.

Tottenham's transfer window in review

It was a slow start from those in North London. There was concern that Thomas Frank wouldn’t be backed and then there was concern that Tottenham simply wouldn’t get their targets over the line. In the end, though, they did both.

Xavi Simons, Kevin Danso, Kota Takai, Luka Vuskovic, Joao Palhinha, Randal Kolo Muani, Mohammed Kudus and Mathys Tel all arrived to commence a new era under Frank and one that has got off to an impressive start.

Late moves for Kolo Muani and Simons particularly stood out. The former rediscovered his best form on loan from Paris Saint-Germain at Juventus last year, but the Italian club’s hesitance to make their deal permanent allowed Spurs to swoop in.

Simons, meanwhile, needs little introduction. The former RB Leipzig star cost Spurs as much as £52m, but is likely to be worth every penny after the North London club hijacked Chelsea’s summer move, even if there have been warnings from some circles about his attitude.

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With a trip to the London Stadium to face West Ham United up next, there’s also another chance for Kudus to prove his worth in an important game. The winger has got off to an electric start under Frank and will no doubt be keen to get one over on his former club after the international break.

Spurs aren’t done there, however. They’re reportedly already preparing to race Real Madrid to sign a defensive star this time next year.

Tottenham racing Real Madrid to sign Marc Guehi

As reported by The Boot Room’s Graeme Bailey, Tottenham are now eyeing a move to sign Marc Guehi ahead of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Barcelona when his contract expires next summer. The Crystal Palace defender came incredibly close to joining Liverpool on deadline day and even underwent a medical before the Eagles pulled the plug in heartbreaking fashion.

There’s nothing that those at Selhurst Park will be able to do next summer, however. Guehi will be a free agent with his future in his own hands. And whilst all signs still point towards Anfield, ENIC reportedly love the England international and could at least attempt to pull off a major coup.

Since that failed move, Guehi has been called up for England duty and received more praise from manager Thomas Tuchel, who said: “He is the main driver of Crystal Palace’s success.

“He is the captain and the leader. He played very impressively at the end of last season and at the start of this season. He continued exactly like this in camp, so it was very impressive. He handles it with respect and with grace, and with a brilliant attitude.”

Crystal Palace are ready to compete with Manchester United and Real Madrid in the transfer market to sign Dutch wonderkid Kees Smit from AZ Alkmaar as the Eagles plot an ambitious swoop. Smit came into the limelight in 2023 after he scored from 50 yards against Barcelona in the UEFA Youth League and then helped Netherlands win the European U19 Championship last summer.

• Palace to compete with Man Utd & Madrid to sign Smit

  Crystal Palace, along with European giants Real Madrid, Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea, have sent scouts to monitor Smit's progress in Europe and in the Dutch league. While it will be an uphill task for the Eagles to compete with the giants, they believe that they can convince the teenager that moving to Selhurst Park can provide a better career pathway, according to .

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• AFP
  

  Smit compared to De Bruyne and de Jong

  At just 19, Smit's impressive performances for the Dutch Eredivisie outfit have led to comparisons with Netherlands international and Blaugrana midfielder Frenkie de Jong and Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne. He shot to prominence after scoring from 50 yards against the Catalan giants in UEFA Youth League clash in 2023 and then helped Netherlands to win the UEFA U19 Championship last summer, where Smit was declared the most valuable player of the tournament and finished the competition as joint-highest goalscorer.

• Palace see Smit as Wharton's replacement

  Crystal Palace expect their midfield star and England international Adam Wharton to leave next summer, amid strong interest from Chelsea and Real Madrid. The Eagles want to sign a suitable replacement before Wharton exits Selhurst Park.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Palace's dream start to new season

  Oliver Glasner's side are off to a dream start in the 2025-26 campaign, as they remain the only team in the English top-flight to remain unbeaten after six matches. Palace have also made a winning start to their Europa Conference League journey and are now waiting to face Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.

أثنى بيب جوارديولا، المدير الفني لنادي مانشستر سيتي ، بقدرات لاعب النادي الإنجليزي السابق، موضحًا أنه لاعب من النخبة.

مانشستر سيتي كان قد تعاقد مع جوليان ألفاريز خلال صيف عام 2022، قادمًا من صفوف نادي ريفر بلايت، حيث لعب لاعب أتلتيكو مدريد الحالي ثلاث سنوات مع النادي الإنجليزي.

وقدم ألفاريز مستويات متميزة للغاية رفقة نادي مانشستر سيتي، وذلك قبل أن يقرر الرحيل عن السيتيزن خلال صيف العام الماضي، حيث حصل أتلتيكو مدريد على توقيعه مقابل 95 مليون يورو.

واستمر ألفاريز في اللعب بشكل مميز مع نادي أتلتيكو مدريد ، حيث بات ابن الـ 25 عامًا من بين أهم اللاعبين في مركزه في الدوريات الأوروبية حاليًا.

أقرأ أيضًا .. نجم تشيلسي السابق: محمد صلاح عدواني للغاية واحذروا من اللعب أمامه

وقال جوارديولا عن ألفاريز في تصريحات نقلتها شبكة ”Cityxtra” : “الثلاثية التي حققناها، هل تعلمون اللاعبين الذين كانوا على مقاعد البدلاء؟ إيمريك لابورت، جوليان ألفاريز، وآخرون، كنت أتمنى وجودهم في الفريق الآن، لكنهم أرادوا اللعب، لم يحدث ما أرادوا فغادروا”.

وأضاف جوارديولا في حديثه عن ألفاريز: ”جوليان لاعب من النخبة، لهذا السبب هو الآن في أحد أفضل أندية العالم، أتلتيكو مدريد ويلعب تحت قيادة مدرب من الطراز الرفيع، ولاعبون آخرون بجانبه يقدمون أداءً مذهلاً، كنت أتمنى وجوده لكنني أتفهم سبب رحيله”.

ومن المتوقع أن يشهد الميركاتو الصيفي العام المقبل صراعًا قويًا بين كبار الأندية الأوروبية للتعاقد مع ألفاريز، والذي ذكرت بعض التقارير أنه يفكر في مغادرة أتلتيكو مدريد بحثًا عن طموح أكبر.

برشلونة يعتبر من بين أبرز الفرق التي ارتبطت بالتعاقد مع ألفاريز، إلى جانب باريس سان جيرمان أيضًا.

Fabrizio Romano reports that Newcastle United have made fresh contact with a club over the signing of a new striker this summer.

Newcastle see Wissa bid rejected

The Magpies remain adamant that Alexander Isak is going nowhere before the end of the transfer window, but that hasn’t stopped them from pursuing others strikers, following the exit of Callum Wilson.

Wissa has been one of Newcastle’s leading transfer targets in recent months, but earlier this week, they saw a £35m bid for the 28-year-old rejected by Brentford, with a deal potentially rising to £40m.

The west Londoners are holding out for nearer £60m for their striker, not wanting to lose him on the cheap after selling Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United, but it remains to be seen if the Magpies will be willing to pay that much for him.

Should Wissa become unattainable for Newcastle, it is vital that alternatives are looked at, especially as Isak still isn’t certain to stay at the club. Now, a promising update has dropped regarding another potential signing.

Newcastle make contact to sign Nicolas Jackson

Writing on X, Romano claimed that Newcastle have made fresh efforts to sign Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson this summer, making a call to the Blues in the past few days.

Jackson isn’t necessarily the Premier League’s most ruthless attacking player, but he would have plenty to offer Newcastle, and more importantly, unlike Brentford, Chelsea are planning to sell the player.

In fact, former Liverpool and England striker Peter Crouch believes he is an underrated player who merits more “respect” than he is given currently.

“I think he has been unbelievable. I looked at the stats from last year, and if you take penalties out of it, he’s ahead of Mo Salah. There’s only [Erling] Haaland that’s above him. So many technical players with ability, and that have scored a lot of goals – he’s right up there [with them]. He probably needs a little bit more respect.”

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2

By
Charlie Smith

Aug 21, 2025

At 24, Jackson is a younger alternative to Wissa, giving him more time to improve further, and while only one of them is needed if Isak stays, bringing in both could be ideal if the Swede ends up moving to Liverpool late in the window.

A lot of the DC batters got starts but none of them managed to cross 40, with Axar’s 32-ball 39 the highest of the innings

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2025After a tough couple of days, the Ahmedabad pitch gave a bit of respite for batters on a hot Saturday afternoon. Karun Nair, KL Rahul, and Delhi Capitals’ (DC) middle-order batters got starts, but none of them crossed 39. Gujarat Titans (GT) used only five bowlers for 19 overs of the innings. Prasidh Krishna, who got hold of the purple cap, pulled the visitors back after a great start with a four-wicket haul.DC leaving out Jake Fraser-McGurk created the new opening combination of Abhisek Porel and Nair. Porel’s boundaries in the first over; a drive on the up over mid-off and a help-along flick behind square, showed that the pitch could be trusted.He fell to a full toss from Arshad Khan and Rahul’s shift in approach kept DC ticking. Rahul cut Siraj and was able to pump him down the ground. His start was ominous but an outswinging yorker from Prasidh trapped him lbw for 28 off 14 balls.Nair, too, got boundaries on both sides of the wicket. He was out in a relatively soft manner, ramping a shortish ball straight to deep third.A pristine cover drive from Stubbs off Prasidh brought up DC’s hundred in the ninth over. But he and Axar Patel were relatively sedate after that during the 53-run stand off 36 balls. They were happy to take Rashid Khan and Ishant Sharma for ones and twos.Rashid bowled quicker and at the stumps in his first two overs. He slowed the pace down in his third as Stubbs took him for six down the ground but then miscued a swipe across the line. Rashid ran back but couldn’t hold onto the catch close to the ring at mid-on. It led to a slog-swept six from Axar next ball.Ishant was struggling in the heat and went off the pitch after two overs. Siraj returned and removed Stubbs, who reverse swept a yorker and the ball lobbed to short third.GT’s death bowlers included a lot of yorker attempts with short balls peppered in between. It nearly worked first ball, but Rashid dropped Axar at the start of the 17th.The DC skipper could not hit a boundary in his last nine balls and was out caught behind. He charged Prasidh and tried to slap a length ball over cover and got an edge. Prasidh was on a hat-trick a ball later, thanks to a brilliant diving catch from Jos Buttler to dismiss Vipraj Nigam.Ashutosh Sharma was the primary boundary hitter in the final overs. He got a six and a four off Arshad early in his innings and hit two sixes off Prasidh later on. R Sai Kishore, whose only over was the final one of the innings, went for just nine, as GT inched past the 200 mark.