Thomas Muller showed he remains indispensable to Bayern Munich as the veteran was thankful to play a full part in the 3-0 demolition of Union Berlin.
With two assists, setting up goals for Kingsley Coman and Jamal Musiala, the old man of Bayern's midfield showed he can still deliver at the cutting edge.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting got the first goal, with Bayern three to the good by the interval and the game essentially won. Musiala's goal came on his 20th birthday, and the win came in the wake of a midweek team get-together amid a results crisis.
With Muller captaining the side in the absence of injured goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, he found himself sacrificed just 16 minutes into Bayern's previous Bundesliga game at Borussia Monchengladbach after defender Dayot Upamecano was sent off.
Julian Nagelsmann sent on Joao Cancelo to strengthen the backline, and Bayern went on to lose 3-2 on that occasion as the 33-year-old Muller watched powerlessly, frustrated to have been hauled off so early.
"It's clear that I didn't enjoy it," he said of that experience on Sunday, looking back.
But Muller stressed it also "wasn't a huge issue", telling DAZN: "The coach made the decision and of course every player – including me – always has the feeling that he can give the team something, even if he's outnumbered, to win a game.
"We want to win a lot and it's also about everyone accepting tough decisions in the interests of the team and showing the reaction the next day in training – and not showing off in any way."
Bayern's players gathered together this week for an evening team meeting, head coach Julian Nagelsmann revealed.
It came amid their dip in results, with Union and Borussia Dortmund joining leaders Bayern on the same points mark heading into the latest round of games, putting hopes of an 11th consecutive title in some peril.
However, Bayern swept Union aside dismissively, and while Muller came off for a rest in the 87th minute, it was with the job done and to acclaim. The meeting seems to have had a positive effect already.
Dortmund continue to keep pace with Bayern, and there is a Klassiker coming up that could tilt the title race either way, but Bayern showed enough against Union to suggest they are moving in the right direction again.
The expected goals comparison between the teams underlined Bayern's dominance, with Nagelsmann's team posting xG of 3.56 to Union's meagre 0.35, reflecting the quality and volume of the chances that came their way.
Quoted further on Bayern's official website, Muller said Bayern's display against Union was "really lively".
"For example, the way we managed to break free in attack. We need to be active like that," he said. "We were always on the move and aggressive in the tackle. For me, it was a lot of fun to be so involved in such moments. It was a good game.
"We weren't top at kick-off, so had to do something about that. It was a good step but counts for nothing next week. We have to deliver again. I'm happy we made that step. You have to play that way against Union. It was the first small step towards the kind of football we want to play."
Nagelsmann described Bayern's win as a "benchmark" result.
He added: "We were dominant in all areas. We had 10-12 big chances and gave little away.
"Union are not a team that give you many chances – that in itself makes it a good performance from us. We trained well and talked a lot. We wanted to show what we expect of ourselves. We played very well today."
Confirming the players' meeting, Nagelsmann said: "There was a team evening, which is nothing earth-shattering, but where the team talked about what they wanted. I think it bore fruit today.
"The medicine at Bayern is easy to administer: you just have to win, then it's always calm. If you don't win, there's never calm."
Martino 'won't take risks' but expects Messi to play this weekend
Gerardo Martino is expecting Lionel Messi to play for Inter Miami at home to D.C. United this weekend, though he emphasised he would not take "any risks".
Messi was absent as Miami were held to a 0-0 draw away at Orlando City last time out with what Martino described as a "bit of a niggle".
The goalless draw, combined with FC Cincinnati's win over Atlanta United, means Miami's lead at the top of the Eastern Conference has been closed to just a point ahead of this weekend's fixtures.
As Miami look to get back to winning ways this weekend, Martino believes Messi will be able to return, though he will not rush the former Barcelona man back onto the field.
"The fact is that he felt some pain in his movements and, given that we're on a run of three games in the space of a week, we felt the most sensible thing to do was leave him out of today's game," Martino told reporters.
"The plan is that he'll play on Saturday, but it’s going to depend on how he progresses. We’re not going to take any risks, and on Thursday and Friday we'll assess his fitness."
D.C. were handed a first loss in four as they were thumped 4-1 by the New York Red Bulls in midweek, but head coach Troy Lesesne believes the defeat does not cancel out the previous solid form displayed by his side.
"For the last three weeks, we can feel good about our performance, and tonight doesn’t just erase all that," Lesesne said.
“We're building still. We can recognise tonight was a setback.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Inter Miami – Luis Suarez
With Messi absent against Orlando, Suarez couldn't make it four straight games with a goal as he drew a blank. With Messi potentially missing again on Saturday, Suarez will be keen to get back among the goals to help his team to victory.
D.C. United – Christian Benteke
Benteke was held scoreless against the Red Bulls despite taking six shots in the match. It was Benteke’s third MLS match this season with at least six shots with all other D.C. players having combined to do that once in league play in 2024 (Gabriel Pirani). The former Liverpool man certainly isn't afraid of pulling the trigger, though he will be hoping this time to find the back of the net with one or more of his efforts at goal.
MATCH PREDICTION – MIAMI WIN
D.C. are unbeaten in three all-time matches at Miami. D.C. are the only opponent that have visited Miami more than once in regular season play and never lost.
Miami’s five-game winning streak ended Wednesday with a 0-0 draw with Orlando. Miami had exactly seven shots for the second straight match, the club’s first time having consecutive MLS matches with single-digit shots since May-June 2023.
In Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Red Bulls, D.C. attempted 22 shots while allowing 11. The plus-11 shot differential was United’s highest in a loss by three or more goals since a 3-0 loss to the Columbus Crew in April 2013 (+14).
In 2024, Miami have one win in their five MLS matches (two draws, two defeats) without Messi and seven victories in their nine games with him. The team’s goals per game average in MLS matches this season is 3.2 with Messi, and 1.2 without him.
Messi is clearly Miami's star man, then, and with him looking likely to feature this weekend, the hosts will be the favourites to return to winning ways at the top of the Eastern Conference.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Inter Miami - 50.8%
D.C United - 22.9%
Draw - 26.3%
Almeria 0-2 Barcelona: Fermin at the double in easy Blaugrana win
Barcelona remained on track to finish second in LaLiga after Fermin Lopez's brace sealed a 2-0 win over bottom side Almeria on Thursday.
Fermin gave Barca an early lead in the 14th minute when he headed past goalkeeper Luis Maximiano from Hector Fort's accurate cross.
Despite efforts from Cesar Montes and Lucas Robertone, Almeria were unable to find an equaliser.
Fermin netted his second from Sergi Roberto's cross to wrap up the win for Barca in the 67th minute.
Xavi's side are on 79 points, four clear of Catalan rivals Girona, whose hopes of finishing second are fading fast after Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Villarreal.
Real Madrid, who have already clinched the title, continue to pull away from Barca after a 5-0 win over Alaves on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Holding the Fort
Fort provided the assist for Barca's opener, his second assist of the campaign in LaLiga.
Three players aged under 20 have provided an assist in LaLiga for the Blaugrana this term – Lamine Yamal (four), Fort (two) and Gavi (one). That is not a statistic matched by any other team in Europe's top five leagues.
Charlotte FC v LA Galaxy: Smith looking to build on 'untidy' win over Fire
Dean Smith is looking for his Charlotte FC side to build upon their 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire when they host the LA Galaxy this weekend.
Charlotte made it three wins in a row as they narrowly beat the Fire during midweek thanks to Ashley Westwood's 60th-minute winner.
The three-match win streak has taken Charlotte all the way up to fifth in the Eastern Conference, and though Smith was not enthralled by the manner of the victory over Chicago, he appreciated his side's mindset.
"I saw the mentality, but I didn’t see a game of football that I liked. It certainly won’t make the highlight reel," Smith told reporters.
"It wasn't a thriller of any sort. It was an untidy game from both teams but we showed real good mentality to limit them to few chances, and we took the one we had from a set piece."
The Galaxy, meanwhile, drew 2-2 at Minnesota United on Wednesday, leaving them fifth in the Western Conference and four points off leaders Real Salt Lake.
Minnesota equalised with just 10 minutes to play, but Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney still thought it was a solid point for his side.
"We've got to try to take this point and start to heal and start to recover and move on to the next one," Vanney said.
"[It is a] good, hard-earned point at the end of the day even though there was a chance for us to get three there at the tail end."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Charlotte FC – Ashley Westwood
Westwood scored the lone goal in Charlotte’s win over Chicago on Wednesday at the hour mark. Nine of Charlotte's 11 goals since March 23 have been scored after half-time, and Westwood will be hoping to spur his side on once more this Saturday by finding the net again.
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig assisted both of the Galaxy's goals against Minnesota on Wednesday after also recording assists on both Galaxy goals on Saturday against Salt Lake. Puig is the first Galaxy player to record multiple assists in consecutive matches since Romain Alessandrini in 2018, and he will hope to make it three such games in a row this weekend.
MATCH PREDICTION – CHARLOTTE WIN
Charlotte and the Galaxy have each recorded a 1-0 away win against the other. Both goals were scored after the 70th minute.
The Galaxy have drawn each of their last three matches with the last two ending 2-2. In their last 22 matches, the Galaxy have scored two or more goals 15 times and allowed two or more goals 17 times.
Charlotte have won three straight matches, keeping clean sheets in all three. This is the first time Charlotte have kept clean sheets in three straight matches in club history, and with home advantage this weekend, they look the favourites to pick up the three points on Saturday.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Charlotte: 47.3%
Galaxy: 25.8%
Draw: 26.9%
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