Kobbie Mainoo is no defensive midfielder or playmaker. He’s the player in between. That’s something that Ruben Amorim never seemed to understand, but it’s clear that Michael Carrick sees the midfielder as a crucial cog in his Man Utd machine.

54% of the €647m spent by clubs in Europe's top five leagues on new players this month has come from the Premier League.

Dortmund just not at it tonight. A dreadful game from both teams, but Inter showed more bite in the second half. Another lacklustre performance from Niko Kovac's side. Which, by my count, means they've only really played well in two of their opening six games of 2026...

Kobbie Mainoo is no defensive midfielder or playmaker. He’s the player in between. That’s something that Ruben Amorim never seemed to understand, but it’s clear that Michael Carrick sees the midfielder as a crucial cog in his Man Utd machine.

Only one Englishman (Jude Bellingham) has accumulated more transfer fees over their career than Raheem Sterling. Liverpool > Man City > Chelsea = €120.6m

Nothing says "we definitely know what we're doing" like paying off your highest paid player with 18 months left on his contract...

Hoffenheim might be the biggest story in German football that nobody talks about. But what makes Hoffe such a good side this season? @sbienkowski.bsky.social and I break it all down! gegenpressing.substack.com/p/bundesliga...

Bayern have been one of the best teams in Europe this season, but underneath the goals and praise is a defence that is being held together with duct tape and best wishes. Augsburg exposed it at the weekend and they may not be the last team to do so…

Bayern have been one of the best teams in Europe this season, but underneath the goals and praise is a defence that is being held together with duct tape and best wishes. Augsburg exposed it at the weekend and they may not be the last team to do so…

Palantir employees realising the company they work for that is named after an evil as fuck orb from Lord of the Rings might have some sketchy contracts…

New #Bundesliga Gegenpressing Pod. @sbienkowski.bsky.social, @matt4d.bsky.social and I chat: 🐝BVB beat Union Berlin 🎭Augsburg stun Bayern Munich 🏰Hamburg Derby recap 🇩🇪...and much more! www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH_T...

The #Bundesliga Monday Bulletin. @sbienkowski.bsky.social, @matt4d.bsky.social, @danwighton.bsky.social and I on: 🐝 BVB beat Union 🏰 Hamburg Derby 💊 Maza shines for Leverkusen ⚔️ Union’s limitations 🦅 Frankfurt trouble continues 🇧🇦 Dzeko shines for Schalke

Liverpool have now lost seven of the last eight Premier League matches that Mohamed Salah has started...

Aarón Anselmino impressed at Dortmund on a number of occasions this season. Super talent. But certainly not the finished article. Certainly raises questions over BVB's bizarre over-reliance on loan players from the PL. Especially if they can't be signed permanently and can be recalled...

I think a good millennial litmus test is whether or not you spend most of your time during Man Utd games trying to figure out if goalkeeper Senne Lammens looks exactly like the lead singer from Vampire Weekend.

Five 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 players that Man Utd could sign to replace Casemiro: www.transfermarkt.co.uk/five-man-sho...

Dortmund win in Berlin. Now 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 eight point behind Bayern Munich following their 2-1 defeat to Augsburg. The Bundesliga title race right now:

Bayern - incredibly - suffer first Bundesliga defeat in 323 days to Augsburg. In no small part due to a defence that has shipped goals at an alarming rate all season. Kompany's side have kept just two cleansheet in last 10 league games. Olise & Co stutter. Bayern drop points. Simple.

A €21m fee (plus player swap) for Tammy Abraham feels like Aston Villa are letting nostalgia cloud their judgement a bit. He didn’t exactly leave Serie A with a glowing report card.

New for Gegenpressing. Three games to watch across German football this upcoming weekend: 🏰Hamburg Derby 🟣Osnabrück host 1860 Munich 🇧🇦Edin Džeko to make debut against Lautern? www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLT_...

Hi Stefan, you might like (not like) this doc I did for The Athletic about his journey and the way he rolls. podfollow.com/athletic-fc-...

• How good is Lorenzo Lucca? • Why didn't things work out for him at Napoli? • Is he Sean Dyche's dream target man? I spoke to my colleague Stefano Buonfino in Italy to fin out more about the new Nottingham Forest arrival: transfermarkt.co.uk/s/QKc5

It’s one thing for Infantino to be tone deaf to the concerns of football fans, another thing entirely to post his support for Trump after a week in which Europe universally condemned his behaviour and rejected his so-called “board of peace”. How he still has support in FIFA is beyond me.

Look, I just need someone to explain to me why - in such terrifying political times and with the world getting squeezed between China and the US - Europe doesn’t just simply re-form the HRE. That solves like 98% of our problems instantly.

Football fans don’t hang financial results on their wall. Frankfurt may be one of the best-run Bundesliga clubs off the pitch, but they’ve lost their way on it.

Celtic going for Tomas Cvancara is a real 50/50 for me. He thrived in the Czech Republic (similar level to Scottish Premiership IMO) but hasn’t impressed at all at Gladbach on and off the pitch: www.transfermarkt.co.uk/who-is-tomas...

Trump surrendered to the Nazis on his first day in office...

Celtic going for Tomas Cvancara is a real 50/50 for me. He thrived in the Czech Republic (similar level to Scottish Premiership IMO) but hasn’t impressed at all at Gladbach on and off the pitch: www.transfermarkt.co.uk/who-is-tomas...

Just totally sums up the American approach to life/work balance perfectly.

Pretty abject performance from Dortmund tonight. Following on from a last-minute winner against St Pauli and a calamitous 3-3 draw with Frankfurt - who have since sacked their head coach. Dortmund need new players. But none will come. They’ll crawl to 3rd/4th and then repeat it all next season.

Xavi Simons tonight: “Lads… it’s Dortmund.”

This, perhaps, isn’t the kind of game to judge any player too harshly. But Jobe Bellingham looks well off the pace.

This game was over after the (correct IMO) red card to Svensson. But Dortmund looked well off the pace before it. Bellingham, Brandt, Anton… all look like rabbits caught in the headlights tonight.

Dortmund are the German Spurs. I thought this was common knowledge?

Dortmund now a man down after a clumsy tackle from Svensson. This game is going from bad to worse for Niko Kovac’s side.

Dortmund haven’t even got going here. It’s been all Tottenham in the opening 13 minutes and they’ve got a goal for their troubles.

Thomas Frank is on borrowed time at Tottenham, but is he working with a squad that simply isn’t up to the demands of finishing top six? For Transfermarkt I tried to figure out how far off the rest of the “Big Six” Spurs really are. Here’s what I found:

As I understand it, Eintracht Frankfurt offered Edin Terzic the opportunity to succeed Dino Toppmöller but the former Dortmund head coach has turned them down. Terzic is prioritising a move abroad, with England his preference.

The Monday Gegenpressing #Bundesliga Bulletin. This week we covered: 🏴‍☠️St. Pauli from hero to zero 🎭Bouncy balls in Augsburg 📈Hoffenheim record 💎Diomande to Bayern? 🦅Toppmöller sacked 🐻RB Leipzig collapse gegenpressing.substack.com/p/monday-bul...

Reading these (admittedly speculative) reports about Chelsea selling Palmer and Fernandez this year and it's suddenly dawned on me what BlueCo are trying to do. They're trying to turn Chelsea into RB Leipzig

It’s absolutely appalling that FIFA would go ahead with a World Cup hosted by a nation that threatens the sovereignty of a European nation oh wait a minute Russia invaded Ukraine four years before hosting the 2018 World Cup never mind they’ve always tended to not give a fuck.

Warming up to Trump was like the 6th or 7th worst thing about this lot at the time, but since Brexit has already proved the first 5 or 6 things so demonstrably wrong, we can now focus entirely on how profoundly moronic they are for supporting that orange-faced fascist.

Forget the Saudi Pro League or MLS. The most powerful league outside of Europe is the Brazilian Série A. More and more money is flowing through its clubs and that's now having a profound impact on its relationship with Europe's top leagues:

Finally watched One Battle After Another. What an incredible film. Allegorical given today’s political climate in the US. Which makes it so important. But also just an amazing cast hitting it out of the park with a captivating plot. Best film I’ve seen in years.

This is why we need to get rid of FIFA. Granted, UEFA are far from perfect, but they’re held to account by European federations. Decentralise football. Let every federation look after itself. Then hold a competition every four years. It shouldn’t be this complicated… or corrupt.

Super impressive first half from Leipzig. They’ve taken the game to Bayern and played them off the park. It certainly helps that Kompany has no competent full-backs to play. However, Leipzig have missed a LOT of chances. And they really need another two or three goals if they want to win this game.

The Hoffenheim run rumbles on with a 1-0 win over Leverkusen. Not the most exciting of games, but Ilzer’s side could have scored more and deserved all three points. Flekken let Leverkusen down (again) and that midfield just isn’t working right now. Fernandez looks too lightweight.

I’ve already lost count of the number of times Leverkusen have shot themselves in the foot this season with a mistake or outright howler from Flekken in goals. If he’s going to be their No.1 he’ll have to start showing it… eventually

Man Utd have been fantastic today. Deserve to be ahead.

Dalot is a complete liability in this Man Utd team.