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In a letter to the board, he says “past greats of SL have shown 2nd half of the career is where greater performances are made”

Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Jul-2021Sri Lanka batter Dinesh Chandimal has asked SLC and its technical committee for clarity about his future in the national team.In a letter addressed to the head of the technical committee Aravinda de Silva, which also has several SLC officials copied, Chandimal asked for “an opportunity to meet with you and the respected committees to discuss my future, in playing cricket for Sri Lanka”. This letter comes in the wake of news that Angelo Mathews is considering retirement, and only months after Thisara Perera announced his own retirement.Essentially, this is more of a fallout from the recent contracts saga. SLC’s technical committee – which comprises de Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan and Roshan Mahanama – had been instrumental in devising a new contracts scheme, which proved to be unpopular with the senior players in particular. After a long contracts stand-off, though, SLC withdrew the annual contracts they had offered basically as a punishment for rejecting the contracts in the first place, which means that cricketers who mostly play Tests – such as Chandimal or Dimuth Karunaratne – would be left without income from the board for the majority of this year.Related

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They are also not contractually bound to the board at present, and several of those uncontracted players are understood to be considering opportunities overseas.In his letter, Chandimal outlined his playing statistics across all three formats, and compared his numbers with those of former greats before the age of 30, though he is himself 31. He then made the point that “the past greats of Sri Lanka cricket have shown that 2nd half of the career is where greater performances are made”, before asking “why are those very people not seeing the value at this juncture, in me?””My performance statistics and my health statistics indicate I am more than capable of performing at the highest level at the moment,” the letter said.At present, Chandimal’s place in any of Sri Lanka’s XIs is not assured. Under Mickey Arthur, Sri Lanka have tended not to pick him for limited-overs cricket due to his modest strike rate. His overall Test numbers are better than most of his team-mates’, but even in that format he had been dropped from the XI for Sri Lanka’s most recent series against Bangladesh. Chandimal last made a Test century in mid-2018, and has averaged 22.43 across 25 innings since.Excerpts from Chandimal’s letter:

Mikel Arteta, what have you done to this Arsenal team? 20 odd years ago fans of the club the world over were in agony over the style of football Jose Mourinho brought to Chelsea.

How dare he park the bus? How dare he not attack? How dare his Chelsea side bring the dark arts into English football.

You may well argue that Arsenal have more pizzazz to them than Mourinho’s Blues but their performance against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon was full of plenty of dark arts.

Not long ago this Gunners team had a soft underbelly. They were too easy to rough up and push aside. They are anything but that now.

Arsenal came to the Etihad wanting to put their stamp on the game and they duly did that through Riccardo Calafiori’s screamer and Gabriel’s aggressive header.

However, their plans unravelled in an instant when Leandro Trossard received a second yellow card and was sent off for ‘delaying the restart’ having belted the ball away after showing Bernardo Silva to the ground. Not again Arsenal fans were thinking.

Just weeks on from Declan Rice’s controversial red for something similar, they were on the end of more dubious officiating.

Yes, this was more of a red than Rice’s incident against Brighton but Jeremy Doku just moments earlier had gone unpunished for kicking the ball away. Anyway, let’s not get bogged down by the officiating.

As City and Arsenal battled it out to a 2-2 draw, it was a Herculean effort from a team containing just ten players in the second half.

Arteta’s side stood firm, they stood resolute but unfortunately could not hold on in the dying embers as John Stones bundled the ball home. And breathe. What a contest that was.

Still, those in red and white must be praised for their efforts, notably Gabriel.

Gabriel's performance in numbers

Only a few years ago the Brazilian was noted as a defender who had a mistake in him. True enough. He was rash and capable of a moment of chaos but he has eradicated that from his game and now looks like one of the foremost defenders on the continent. In short, he is among the very elite this game has to offer.

Alongside William Saliba, they are on their way to going down in the history books as one of the best defensive partnerships we’ve seen in Premier League history. They must, of course, win the title first to go down as such.

Gabriel, however, deserves praise right at this very moment. So often the bridesmaid to that man Saliba, he has entered his season with almost something to prove. He has a bruising header of the ball and has shown as such in back-to-back away games.

Minutes played

90

Touches

34

Accurate passes

17/21 (81%)

Clearances

5

Blocked shots

3

Tackles

2

Last man tackles

1

Ground duels won

2/4

Aerial duels won

2/4

He scored the winner against Spurs and very nearly scored the winner against City, brushing Kyle Walker aside and powering a header into the net from Bukayo Saka’s corner.

Yes, he may have conceded twice and his positioning could have been better for Erling Haaland’s inevitable goal but he was a titan in the second half, making five clearances and winning four duels.

Calafiori, the scorer of the equaliser wasn’t bad either. Making his first start for the Londoners, he scored a brilliant first-half goal and left the game having completed 94% of his passes, the best figure of any Arsenal starter.

That said, another of the backline deserves equal praise, Jurrien Timber.

Timber's performance in numbers

The Dutchman cruelly missed most of last season having sustained a horrific ACL injury on the opening match of the 2023/24 campaign.

So, to coin an old cliche, he was like a new signing when returning to full fitness in pre-season. How good has he been too? Fielded at left-back in the opening few weeks of 2024/25, he deputised at right-back on Sunday in place of Ben White who did eventually come on in the second half.

It would appear as though White now has a battle on his hands to win back that place as Timber was sublime.

Remarkably, he failed to complete a single pass during the whole match but he stood firm in defence and proved to be a useful asset down the right-hand side too.

As Football.London’s Kaya Kaynak put it, handing the defender an 8/10 rating, he ‘kept Doku quiet for the vast majority of the first half and when Savinho switched to his side in the second period, the Brazilian got no joy’.

Jeremy Doku and Savinho are particularly tricky wingers to deal with but Timber made it look easy, only being dribbled past once, making three tackles and winning four of his seven ground duels according to Sofascore.

He has been brilliant in an inverted left-back role in recent weeks but he may well have just found a home for himself on the right side of defence. He simply has to keep his place for the next league game.

100% dribbles: Arsenal's 7/10 star is now becoming as undroppable as Raya

The sensational talent has been on fire this season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 20, 2024

Mohamed Salah has more piled pressure on Liverpool by again fueling speculation that he is expecting to leave the club at the end of his contract.

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Salah again hints at Liverpool exitContract talks so far unsuccessfulForward in blistering form this seasonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Salah has admitted that he still isn't any closer to signing a new contract with Liverpool, with any progress on that front described as "far away" in his latest public comments on the ongoing saga. It will come as another troubling update for fans given the form the Egyptian superstar is in.

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There is a very real possibility that Salah will leave Liverpool as a free agent at the end of this season. Already, the 32-year-old has entered the last six months of his contract and is eligible to formally negotiate a deal with an overseas club for the summer. He hasn't been shy about speaking when it comes to the situation, willingly answering questions fairly regularly in recent weeks that are serving to put pressure on Liverpool in the negotiations.

The fact that he's having one of the all-time great Premier League seasons is certainly helping keep fans on his side, with Salah insisting the uncertainty of his future isn't affecting his form because he wants to leave on a high if it does actually prove to be his farewell to the club.

WHAT MOHAMED SALAH SAID

"So far, yes [I believe this is my last season]. It's the last six months. There is no progress there. We are far away from any progress. So, we just need to wait and see," Salah told .

"The thing in my head is that if this is the last six months, what do you want to see in the future? Do you want to look back and say I was concerned or stressed about the contract? Or do you just want to say I had an unbelievable season? That's what is in my head. If I ever feel distraction, I just remind myself I want to look back and say I had an unbelievable season. That's what I want to do."

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

Salah hasn't suggested that he wants to go and Liverpool certainly won't want to lose a player putting up his kind of numbers. The lack of an agreement so far likley centres around the terms that either wants to see in a new deal. All they can do is keep negotiating to try to hammer something out. Salah's form is unaffected, but the longer it drags on, the more likely it feels it really will be the end.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has confirmed that Marcus Rashford will sit out the Red Devils' trip to Liverpool on Sunday through illness.

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Rashford dropped from Man Utd squad againAmorim reveals absence due to illnessForward previously left out for other reasonsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Rashford could leave Manchester United in January as the England international has been left out of three of Amorim's last four matchday squads off the back of an interview revealing his desire for a 'new challenge'.

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Amorim has now announced that Rashford is likely to miss United's Premier League clash at leaders Liverpool as the Red Devils look to get their first win in four matches. The previous three times Rashford was dropped from the squad, the Portuguese coach had insisted that had been done due to 'selection' reasons, but has now provided a different reason for leaving the 27-year-old out.

WHAT AMORIM SAID

Speaking to the media, Amorim said: "It’s the same situation, at the moment he is ill. He is not training. We will see in the future but this is like a normal player, then I make a selection. So, it’s the same. I think he is going to be out, this week he is out."

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR RASHFORD?

The 27-year-old will likely return to the United squad for their FA Cup round three clash against Arsenal on Sunday January 12.

England captain recognises allrounder is irreplaceable as first Test looms

George Dobell02-Aug-2021Joe Root has admitted that the absence of Ben Stokes leaves a huge hole at the heart of England’s team, but insists his first consideration is for the well-being of his friend.Stokes has taken a break from the sport to focus on his mental well-being. While there has been no time-frame placed on his return, he is not currently expected to appear at any point in the LV= Insurance Test series against India. Quite apart from the non-physical issues, there is also a concern that the finger Stokes broke earlier this year could require a further operation.But although Root, the England captain, is candid about the enormity of the loss that Stokes’ absence represents, he is clear that there are more important things in life. And he is adamant that Stokes, who at times over the last few years has carried this England team, has earned the fulsome support of everyone involved in the England set-up.”From my point of view, I just want my friend to be okay,” Root said from Trent Bridge on Monday. “Anyone who knows Ben knows he always puts other people first. Now is an opportunity for him to put himself first, to take time to look after himself and get to a good place again.Related

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“Cricket has to be a secondary thought. It’s a long way down the line and he should take as much time as he needs. He’s got my full support on that and he’s been assured he’s got the full support of the ECB on that. And certainly, he’s got the whole team’s support. More than anything, we just want Ben to be okay. He’s got everyone behind him.”I had a conversation with Ben and that’s when I found out. The call will stay between the two of us but for me it was hard to see a friend like that. More than anything, I just want him to be okay. I think throughout this it’s important for people to respect his privacy to give him the best chance to deal with this in his own way.”In the absence of Stokes, balancing the England team is problematic. Had Chris Woakes, who has a bruised heel sustained falling down stairs, been fit he might have mitigated the loss. Moeen Ali was considered as a replacement, too. But, as Root knows, there is “no one that compares” to Stokes.”In my opinion, there’s no one that compares to Ben Stokes in world cricket,” Root continued. “Obviously for a long time now, he’s been incredible. He’s the heartbeat of this team. Balancing the side with Ben not there is one of the things that will take a lot of the thinking.”It seems probable that England will pick two all-rounders – Sam Curran to bat at No. 7 and Ollie Robinson at No. 8 – in an attempt to replicate the depth with bat and ball that Stokes provides. But with the surface also expected to turn, England are also keen to pick their left-arm spinner, Jack Leach. James Anderson and Stuart Broad are expected to complete the attack – though there is understood to have been some talk about rotating them – meaning there is unlikely to be room for Mark Wood.That will leave England’s batting a little light. With Ollie Pope enjoying a long bat in training on Monday, it appears he will be fit to return at No. 5 with Jos Buttler, the keeper, batting at No. 6. The top three is set to be Rory Burns, Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley, meaning there is unlikely to be room for Jonny Bairstow or Dan Lawrence.Ben Stokes and Joe Root share a laugh during a training session•Getty ImagesIn the longer term, Stokes’ unavailability is sure to refocus attention on the schedule of England’s top players. While their international fixture list has been bursting at the seams for years, the increasing pull of the IPL and the difficulty of travel in the time of Covid has exacerbated the issues. The idea of players pulling out – or being rested from – an Ashes series might have seemed unthinkable not so long ago, but now appears probable. Indeed, if the Australian government does not provide a dispensation allowing players’ families to join them on the tour, it seems there could be several high-profile withdrawals.”As long as I’ve played we’ve always spent long periods away from home and that is a challenge in itself,” Root said. “But certainly it has been heightened by the environment we find ourselves in and it’s just important we keep talking about it.”We’ve said from the outset that we don’t think this is a sustainable way of living and playing and we’ve tried to manage it as best we can. If you find it getting too much you have to talk to people and give yourself the best chance of staying in a good place. It is a challenge at the moment.”What I will say is that having the opportunity to lift that urn is one of the things you dream about from being four or five years old. That does not change. Of course there are challenges, but everyone is desperate to be part of an Ashes series in Australia.”From a players’ point of view, until we know what the lay of the land is, it’s very hard to make any sort of decision. Until then we have to continue conversations with the ECB so they can work with Australia to try to come up with what it’s going to look like when we get there.”

Celtic’s impressive start to the 2024/25 Scottish Premiership continued on Saturday with a relatively comfortable 2-0 win over Hearts at Parkhead.

The Hoops have now won all five of their matches in the top-flight without conceding a single goal, with new signing Kasper Schmeichel enjoying a dream start to his career in Glasgow.

Arne Engels opened the scoring from the penalty spot after a handball offence from Nicolas Kuhn’s cross, before Luke McCowan came off the bench to open his account for the club with a left-footed strike from distance.

Club-record signing Engels, who joined from Augsburg for £11m in the summer, enjoyed a terrific afternoon at Paradise, producing a fine performance.

Arne Engels' performance against Hearts in numbers

The Belgian whiz was selected to make his full debut for Celtic alongside Reo Hatate and Callum McGregor in the middle of the park, as Paulo Bernardo and McCowan were left on the bench.

It turned out to be a masterstroke of a decision from Brendan Rodgers because Engels put in a sublime showing, with his work in and out of possession.

The 20-year-old star scored from the spot, hit the post, completed 87% of his attempted passes, and created one chance in his 80 minutes on the pitch, which shows that he was reliable on the ball, whilst offering a goalscoring and creative threat.

He also won six of his nine physical duels, including 100% (2/2) of his aerial contests, and made one block and one tackle to help to preserve the clean sheet for the Hoops.

Engels was not the only star of the show for the Scottish giants on Saturday, though, as central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers was also colossal for Rodgers.

Cameron Carter-Vickers' performance against Hearts in numbers

The USA international has played every single minute of the club’s league campaign so far, which means that he has been integral to their incredible defensive record with his work at the heart of the defence.

Carter-Vickers, who was handed a match rating of 8/10 by GlasgowWorld’s Ben Banks, protected Schmeichel’s goal with a number of key interventions.

The central defender also provided a composed presence on the ball at the back, completing 89 of his 100 attempted passes and four of his six long pass attempts.

Minutes played

90

Clearances

4

Interceptions

6

Ground duels won

2/3

Aerial duels won

5/6

As you can see in the table above, Carter-Vickers won 78% of his duels, on the deck and in the air combined, throughout the match and made an impressive six interceptions – more than any other player on the pitch.

These statistics show that the former Tottenham Hotspur man was a colossus at the back as he helped to dominate the Hearts attackers, including reigning PFA Scotland Player of the Year Lawrence Shankland, to keep another clean sheet for Celtic.

The 26-year-old titan has won 69% of his duels in the Premiership so far this term and averaged 2.4 interceptions per game, which shows that this was an above-average performance by his usual standards.

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The exceptional defender was let go by the Hoops at academy level.

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The batter was confident that CA and the government would be able to find a solution

AAP01-Sep-2021Marnus Labuschagne admits England’s concerns about this summer’s Ashes have merit but he fully expects a resolution will ensure he confronts a full-strength opposition.England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has made it clear he would likely opt out of touring Australia if his family wasn’t able to be part of the trip, while captain Joe Root noted he is waiting for more information.The issue has been bubbling away in recent months, during which Cricket Australia has been in talks with state and federal governments.Ben Stokes has already taken an indefinite break from the sport, with CA and its English counterpart both worried about the impact of biosecurity bubbles on players’ mental health.Related

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Australia’s strict border policy is unlikely to be drastically eased by the end of this year, while interstate travel also remains clouded by Covid-19.Labuschagne couldn’t recall discussing the issue with Root and veteran paceman Jimmy Anderson, whom he crossed paths with while playing county cricket this year, bhe understood the tourists’ unease.”The welfare of players and making sure families can come out here is important,” Labuschagne told reporters in Brisbane. “You don’t need to be a cricketer to recognise the importance of making sure the mental health of all players is in a good space.”Especially with a T20 World Cup followed by an Ashes, it’s a really long four or five months.”But I have no doubt, between the government and Cricket Australia, we’ll be able to sort it out and get ourselves in a position where we can have a full-strength England against a full-strength Australia.”Injured spearhead Jofra Archer is already a confirmed omission but Labuschagne, steeled for his first home Ashes series, is keen to lock horns with 39-year-old Anderson.”Everyone out here wants to see Jimmy come to Australia,” he said.The future of coach Justin Langer was a topic of intense speculation in recent weeks but disgruntled players have seemingly agreed to move on for now.Labuschagne, who has gone from strength to strength under Langer since being thrust into the 2019 Lord’s Ashes Test as a concussion substitute, said “it’s never nice when it comes out like it has”.”It’s been spoken about, that it comes to a head now. Conversations have been had, we can all move forward,” he said.Labuschagne, speaking at the launch of a community cricket initiative in Brisbane, remained upbeat that Australia’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in Hobart will proceed as planned. It shapes as Australia’s first Test since losing to India in January.”We all want more Test cricket,” he said. “That’s not always possible.”

An “exciting” Rangers talent is now expected to return from his injury doubt for his side’s Europa League clash with Lyon at Ibrox, according to manager Philippe Clement.

Rangers face another key week

The Gers picked up three important points in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon, winning 1-0 at home to Hibernian to close the gap on Celtic back to five points again. It was far from convincing, however, with Jack Butland saving a first-half penalty and the performance far from the most dominant.

For that reason, there is still an element of pressure on Clement, whose job has been under scrutiny in recent weeks, following some hit-and-miss performances in all competitions, not least when Rangers got knocked out of the Champions League at the expense of Dynamo Kiev.

Up next for the Gers is a Europa League meeting with Ligue 1 side Lyon on Thursday night, having picked up an impressive 2-0 victory away to Malmo last week.

It represents a good chance for Rangers to pick up some momentum and improve upon Sunday’s display against Hibs, prior to Sunday evening’s visit of St Johnstone in the league. There are fitness issues for the Scottish giants to deal with, however, and now a new update has emerged regarding one player’s potential involvement.

"Exciting" Rangers ace expected to feature vs Lyon

Speaking RangersTV [via Rangers News], Clement admitted that Mohamed Diomande is an injury doubt for Rangers’ clash with Lyon this week, but he expects to call on him: “Diomande got a knock on Thursday. So he was not available for today. I hope to have him back on Thursday but we will see. Probably yes, with no guarantees.”

Not having Diomande would be a big blow, with the 22-year-old impressing this season after making a permanent switch to Ibrox during the summer transfer window. He has averaged 1.6 tackles per game across five SPL appearances, as well as bagging one assist, while Barry Ferguson has spoken of his happiness at the £4.5m deal to sign the youngster permanently.

“The signing of Diomande looks particularly shrewd and not just because of the way the numbers were structured. They’ve landed an exciting talent on loan without having to stump up a significant fee until the summer.”

The fact that Rangers failed to hit top gear against Hibs without Diomande in the team arguably highlights his importance to Clement, so having him back available for Lyon would feel like a massive shot in the arm. On the flip side, the Gers’ midfield would be lacking his quality both on and off the ball against challenging opponents if he is ruled out, so supporters will be keeping their fingers crossed.

Worse than Souttar: Clement must drop Rangers man who lost the ball 12x

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Either way, he is going to be a vital player for Rangers as this season goes on, and the fact that he is still so young means that there is also still so much more to come for him as the years pass.

Tyrell Malacia set to end his nightmare spell at Old Trafford as he has reached agreement to leave in January.

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Malacia set to leave Man UtdWill move out on a loan dealLeft-back will finally end nightmare journeyFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Malacia has had a disappointing outing with Manchester United ever since he moved to the club from Feyenoord in 2022. He has been plagued with severe injuries and appeared for the club in November last year for the first time since March 2023. The left-back was expected to finally stake claim with new manager Ruben Amorim in charge, however, according to , the player has reached an agreement with the club over a January move.

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The report adds that Malacia will leave the club temporarily on a loan deal in the January transfer. While the name of the club remains undisclosed, the 25-year-old will certainly move out of United for better opportunities. In the current season, the defender has appeared in only six matches across all competitions and has clocked just 272 minutes on the pitch.

WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

On Malacia's move, journalist Joost Blaauwhof said: "Tyrell Malacia is leaving Manchester United. Sources close to the player have confirmed this. The left-back is close to an agreement with a new club and will be loaned to a top European competition. Ruben Amorim has given approval for the loan."

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The Red Devils are back in action in the Premier League on Sunday as they take on Brighton at home in a crucial fixture.

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane scored his first Bundesliga goal from open play since November in a 2-1 win over Freiburg.

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Kane opens scoring for BayernBavarians secure 2-1 Bundesliga winKim Min-jae also on targetFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱AFPTELL ME MORE

Bayern bounced back from a Champions League humbling at the hands of Feyenoord on Saturday with a comfortable win over Freiburg.

The visitors almost scored after 12 minutes when Jamal Musiala hit the post with a low shot but didn't have to wait too much longer to break the deadlock. Just three minutes later, Eric Dier picked out Kane, and the striker turned his defender before unleashing a powerful effort that flew past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Yet Bayern had to wait until the second half to double their lead. Joshua Kimmich sent in a corner from the left and Kim Min-jae nodded past the goalkeeper to double their advantage.

Freiburg refused to lie down and hit back on the 68 minute mark, again from a corner. This time it was substitute Matthias Ginter flicking a header past Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal. The hosts did go in search of an equaliser but Bayern held on without any major scares to take home all three points.

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Kane and Dier have become the first two Englishman to combine for a goal in the Bundesliga.

AFPTHE MVP

Much had been made of Kane's recent lack of goals ahead of the match but the striker quietened his critics after just a quarter of an hour with an excellent finish. His turn for the opener was superb but the strike, clocked at 121 km/h, gave the goalkeeper absolutely no chance.

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Leon Goretkza has endured a difficult season at Bayern and appeared on his way out of the club last year. The midfielder has stayed but needs to prove himself all over again and went some way to doing that last time out with a double against Wolfsburg. Goretzka was in the starting XI again on Saturday but his afternoon ended prematurely when he went off in the first half with a hamstring problem. The injury is another problem for Bayern and a fresh setback for the 29-year-old midfielder.