Football, Club World Cup: The English Champions League winners FC Chelsea are in the final and can secure the title on Saturday, which is still missing on the letterhead. In the semifinals on Wednesday, Chelsea defeated the winners of the Asian Champions League, Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia, 1-0 (1-0). The Blues meet Copa Libertadores winners Palmeiras Sao Paulo in the final on Saturday. Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku scored the winning goal for the Londoners in the 32nd minute, where coach Thomas Tuchel was still missing due to a positive corona test. He was replaced by assistant coach Zsolt Löw and hopes to catch up with a negative test result before the final.
Chelsea struggled in front of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and around 37,000 spectators at the Mohammed bin Zayed stadium. As on Saturday in the narrow FA Cup win against FC Middlesbrough (2-1), the Blues, who exceptionally played in yellow jerseys, controlled the game, but they hardly became really dangerous. Even Lukaku’s goal to make it 1-0 came about through a blunder by Al Hilal pro Yasser al-Shahrani, who accidentally played the ball in front of the Belgian striker’s feet. In the second half, Chelsea had goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to thank. The Spaniard, who became a cup hero with a saved penalty, was preferred to Africa Cup of Nations winner Edouard Mendy and repaid the confidence with strong saves. Final opponents Palmeiras Sao Paulo outnumbered African Champions League winners Al Ahly from Egypt 2-0 (1-0) on Tuesday.
FC Bayern, Musiala: FC Bayern Munich has had to do without national soccer player Jamal Musiala until further notice because of a positive corona test. The 18-year-old is doing well, he is in domestic isolation, FC Bayern announced on Wednesday. Coach Julian Nagelsmann has to plan for the tasks in the Bundesliga at VfL Bochum on Saturday and at RB Salzburg in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League on Wednesday without the midfielder.
The people of Munich were hard hit by corona cases at the start of the year. At the 1: 2 start of the second half of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Nagelsmann had to do without a total of 13 professionals, including nine due to positive corona tests. Musiala had to be in quarantine as a contact person in the fall.
BVB, Rose: Coach Marco Rose describes the current season for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund as “suboptimal”. “That would be it, because of course we are not satisfied,” said Rose in an interview with the sports picture. You can feel “a huge longing for titles. Being second in the table is no longer enough. Retiring from the cup competitions – bad! And sometimes even a narrow win is not enough.” “We have to face up to these expectations and we do that too,” said the coach, who wants to implement a paradigm shift at BVB: “We want to gradually enrich our game with combative elements, but not neglect football.”
National player Niklas Süle, who comes free of charge from record champions Bayern Munich, should be a key player for this. Süle is “a good guy”, a “very experienced man” who “has calmness in the game structure, physique and greed”, enthused Rose. Rose takes the constant exchange discussions about star striker Erling Haaland calmly. “I’m in contact with Erling every day and also have a feeling for this player and this person,” said the 45-year-old: “I know how long his contract is. I know what has to be decided and when. It’s all internal on the table, everyone is honest with each other.”
BVB, Haaland: BVB striker Erling Haaland is apparently the preferred candidate for Paris Saint-Germain should Kylian Mbappé leave the top French football club in the summer. Like the French sports newspaper L’Equipe (Wednesday) reported that there had already been talks between PSG boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Haaland’s advisor Mino Raiola. Due to an exit clause, Haaland can reportedly leave Borussia Dortmund for 75 million euros this summer, despite a contract that runs until 2024. In mid-January, after BVB’s 5-1 win against Freiburg, the Norwegian, who was being courted by top international clubs, expressed his displeasure at the alleged demand from club leaders to clarify his future by March. In Paris, Haaland could replace French world champion Mbappé. The striker is on a free transfer in the summer and has been linked with Spanish record champions Real Madrid.
Corona, fans: More fans are allowed in Bavaria’s stadiums again. The sports clubs in the Free State are allowed to fill their arenas with spectators up to a capacity of 50 percent. A maximum of 15,000 spectators may be admitted, said Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) on Tuesday. Standing places are also allowed again. “I am pleased that the Council of Ministers has also decided in favor of a gentle, controlled and gradual opening in sport,” said Herrmann. In sport, the 2G-plus rule and an FFP2 mask requirement still apply. In addition, the previous distinction between regional and national events no longer applies. A minimum distance of 1.50 meters is recommended everywhere, but is not mandatory. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the new regulation will apply from Wednesday. For major sporting events, the limit was recently 25 percent and a maximum of 10,000 spectators.