#Robert Lewandowski

#Robert Lewandowski

Leaders Barcelona require five points from their last five games to wrap up the La Liga title after substitute Jordi Alba struck an 85th-minute winner against 10-man Osasuna at the Nou Camp.The mid-table visitors had Jorge Herrando sent off less than half an hour into his debut for a professional foul on Pedri - the seventh red card for the club in La Liga this season.

Fifteen-year-old winger Lamine Yamal became Barcelona's youngest-ever player as they beat 10-man Real Betis to move 11 points clear at the top of La Liga.The academy product, who turns 16 in July, was brought on in the 84th minute to replace Gavi.At 15 years and 290 days, Yamal is the fifth-youngest player to appear in the competition.

Relegation-threatened Real Valladolid snatched a 3-1 win at home against champions Barcelona on Tuesday as the hosts secured a crucial victory in their battle to remain in LaLiga.The win moved Valladolid up one place to 17th and out of the relegation zone, before the club owned by former Real Madrid and Brazil forward Ronaldo face Almeria and Getafe, who are also battling to avoid the drop, in their remaining two games.

Mikel Merino and Alexander Sorloth scored in each half to earn Real Sociedad a 2-1 win at Barcelona on Saturday, handing the LaLiga champions their first home defeat of the season on a day when they were celebrating their title triumph.With the league title in the bag, there was an end-of-season feel at Camp Nou as the fans waited to see the post-game celebrations when Barca would lift the LaLiga trophy.

According to a report from Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Sadio Mané's time with Bayern Munich could be coming to an end.After arriving from Liverpool FC last summer, Mané could be on his way out the door after just one season:

Sadio Mané remains the top candidate to leave the club this summer.

If there is a whipping boy at Bayern Munich these days, it is Leon Goretzka.In a season full of underwhelming performances from a number of players.the Germany international has come under fire of late and has drawn the ire of many fans.However, I am here to tell you to R-E-L-A-X.Goretzka will be fine.

Bayern Munich are not the same in attack ever since Robert Lewandowski left for FC Barcelona.Sure, the team scores goals, but the recent scoring woes have brought about the need for a new number 9. Former player Lothar Matthäus weighs in."Ever since FC Bayern have been playing in the Bundesliga, the club has always had a strong #9.

Bayern Munich had another eventful week off the field and that left us with a ton to talk about.There is drama with Thomas Müller, a massive transfer rumor involving a potential future captain, and some thoughts on why the effects of decisions made last spring are still being felt.Check out what we have on tap for this episode of the Weekend Warm-up Podcast:


More thoughts on the why Bayern Munich's indecision and lack of commitment last spring in the Robert Lewandowski-Erling Haaland saga has put the team in such an awful place at the moment.

Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn is a man under the gun right now for a lot of reasons, but one potential solution that could make easier for Kahn next season (if he is still CEO) is getting a new, world class striker to take the seat that Robert Lewandowski left vacant."We're considering the topic of a striker.

It ain't easy going to Bayern Munich.Players as young and promising as Ryan Gravenberch and as seasoned and established as Sadio Mané have found difficulty adapting to the standards at the German Rekordmeister, and to the glare of the Bavarian spotlight.But for Mathys Tel, who arrived on a big fee from Rennes in last summer's transfer window at only 17 years of age, it's a challenge he's embracing.

Here we are again.Twice before, I have written articles on potential striker options that Bayern Munich could look at.The first article came almost a year to the day from today, and the second was three months ago, again almost to the day.However, as this topic has become a topic of discussion once again, I have compiled another set of names that Bayern Munich would do well to investigate.

Bayern Munich stretched their lead at the Bundesliga summit to four points as goals from Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane clinched a 2-1 win over a stubborn Werder Bremen.Having taken advantage of Borussia Dortmund's slip-up at Bochum to go top last week, Bayern knew an 11th consecutive league title is now in their hands as they travelled to the Weserstadion on Saturday.

Bayern Munich are in the market for a striker this summer and are fighting with Man United for some of Europe's best in that role ahead of next season.Erik ten Hag's primary option ahead of the summer window is Tottenham's Harry Kane but the Manchester club have several alternatives lined up.According to FourFourTwo, Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani, Roma's Tammy Abraham and Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez are all options for Man United heading into the upcoming transfer window should they miss out on Kane.

FC Barcelona are currently in a legal battle with UEFA over the "Negreira Case" where the Catalans allegedly paid Jose Mara Enriquez Negreira, the ex-Vice President of the Spanish football refereeing committee.Negreira held his position from 1994 to 2018 and allegedly put together reports on referees and was paid 7.3 million euros by Barcelona between 2001 and 2018.

Barcelona announced on Tuesday that director of football Mateu Alemany will leave the club at the end of the season to embark on a new professional project.Sources have told ESPN the offer he has received from elsewhere "is too good to turn down," with various reports suggesting it comes from Premier League side Aston Villa.

Franck Kessie scored a dramatic late winner as Barcelona took a significant step towards LaLiga glory with a 2-1 Clasico victory over Real Madrid on Sunday.Blaugrana midfielder Kessie stroked home in the 92nd minute at Camp Nou to send Xavi's side 12 points clear of Madrid, who thought they had won it earlier when Marco Asensio saw an 81st-minute strike ruled out.

There was a lot of justifiable concern with where the majority of Bayern Munich's goals would come from when the club didn't sign an outright replacement striker for Robert Lewandowski, who left for Barcelona.They wound up signing Sadio Mane from Liverpool as their marquee singing of the summer, but after making a bright start to life in Munich, he's struggled to get back to full form ever since his knee injury that kept him out of the World Cup in Qatar with Senegal.

A few players have been tossed around as the number one striker target for Bayern Munich.The prominent names that were being lobbied are Victor Osimhen from Napoli and Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt.It looks like the Bavarians are leaning towards the latter:

Randal Kolo Muani is the new favourite internally to be Bayern's new striker.

Barcelona have a verbal agreement in place to sign Inigo Martinez in the summer and are pressing on with negotiations to bring in Ilkay Gundogan, sources have told ESPN.Both moves are dependent on Barca reducing their wage bill, though, with the Catalan club expected to be in excess of their LaLiga-imposed spending limit next season.

Bayern Munich say they will part ways with coach Julian Nagelsmann and appoint Thomas Tuchel as his replacement.The sacking comes as the perennial league winners struggle to assert themselves in the Bundesliga title race.Bayern's next fixture is not until April 1, a crucial top-of-the-table battle with Borussia Dortmund in the league.

Bayern Munich might be on a break, but BFW has plenty of hot topics - and maybe some hot takes - to chatter about.Join us for this week's Weekend Warm-up podcast, where we have a ton of good discussion points on the agenda, including:


Why Bayern Munich should extend the contract of Benjamin Pavard,
Germany's squad selections and why this was a necessity for Hansi Flick.

Catalonia isn't a happy place right now, the same can be said for FC Barcelona and Robert Lewandowski.It looks like the Pole has outstayed his welcome and is apparently on the sell list of the Spanish club.A report that Forbes captured said that the Catalan brass think that the Bayern Munich summer arrival has not met the lofty expectations that were, well, expected from him.

When Bayern Munich procured former Liverpool FC star Sadio Mané during the summer transfer window, it created a frenzy within the club's fanbase.Since that point, however, things have not been consistently good for the Senegal international.Undoubtedly, an injury just prior to the World Cup break hampered Mané's progress, but according to a report from Sport1 journalist Kerry Hau, there is much more to it than a slow recovery and a penchant for going offside.