Football Talk. Mechele shows off next to Messi and Mbappé in the best team of the CL group stage – Genk draw Juventus in Youth League | Football

Brandon Mechele has been included in the best team of the group stage in the Champions League. The name of the defender of Club Brugge adorns Tuesday next to that of, among others, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. The 29-year-old Mechele kept a clean sheet with Club in five of the six group matches. It only went wrong in the home game on the penultimate match day against Porto (0-4). Together with the Portuguese, Club advanced to the eighth finals.

Mechele forms a duo in the back with Mohamed Simakan (Leipzig). Alejandro Grimaldo (Benfica) and Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli) are left and right behind goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who won the group for Club with Porto. In the midfield of the all-star team are Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Dortmund), Sadio Mané (Bayern) and Galeno (Porto). Messi and Mbappe of PSG are in the front line.

Wolfsburg decided the game against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening on the fourteenth day of the Bundesliga, partly thanks to an early goal: 2-0. It was the first time since May 2015 that Wolfsburg was able to win a league game against Dortmund.

The Wolves took the lead against the Borussen early in the match: the Dutchman Mickey van de Ven (6.) nodded a corner after the deviation of Sebastiaan Bornauw, his partner in the center back, at the far post in goal. Afterwards, there were plenty of opportunities that were ready for goal on both sides, but substitute Lukas Nmecha (91., ex-Anderlecht) was only able to provide the redeeming second goal when the injury time started.

Koen Casteels and Bornauw, who completed the match, can add a clean sheet in this way. Thorgan Hazard came from the other side about 20 minutes before time. Thomas Meunier, in turn, is still in the basket.

Due to the defeat, Dortmund has failed to keep up with leader Bayern Munich (28 pts) for the time being in the standings of the German first division and remains in fourth place with 25 points. Wolfsburg, which has not lost seven consecutive matches in a league, jumps to eighth place with 20 points.

A real topper for Genk in the Youth League: Juventus. In the previous round, Genk’s U19 eliminated Northern Ireland’s Coleraine. At home they won 0-4, at home 6-1. So now Juventus is waiting. De Oude Dame finished second in a group with PSG, Benfica and Maccabi Haifa, 11 out of 18. The game will be played in Genk on 7 or 8 February.

Manuel Neuer remains Germany’s first-choice goalkeeper ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, despite his recent injury concerns. Andreas Kronenberg, goalkeeper coach of the Mannschaft, told the German television ARD.

The 36-year-old 2014 world champion missed seven games with his club Bayern Munich due to a shoulder injury. He only returned to action this past weekend. Kronenberg stated that the national team staff want “no open competition” for the position of first goalkeeper between Neuer and FC Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, because that would be “not conducive”.

Neuer has been the title holder of Germany since the 2010 World Cup and won the global trophy in 2014. He was also the first goalkeeper in 2018, although he was sidelined for many months before the tournament due to injuries. He counts 113 caps so far.

Fenerbahçe have booked a 1-0 win against Sivasspor on the 13th match day in the Super Lig. With the leader, Red Devil Michy Batshuayi was excluded with a second yellow card in the 48th minute. Batshuayi received a first yellow card just before half-time. Three minutes after the break, the attacker was allowed to take a shower. With one man less, Fenerbahçe managed to keep the three points at home. Enner Valencia converted a penalty in the 55th minute.

Fenerbahçe leads the standings with 29 points from twelve matches. Istanbul Basaksehir, which was 3-3 at Hatayspor on Monday, and Galatasaray follow on five points.

The federal prosecutor’s office asks for a two-match suspension for Standard duo Nicolas Raskin (21) and Philip Zinckernagel (27). For the latter, the federal prosecutor’s office also asks for a conditional suspension match day. The Dane was shown red for a serious mistake on Eupen’s Rune Paeshuyse, Raskin has to fear a suspension after he shouted some expletives to the ref after the final whistle. Standard does not accept the proposals, so the files will be dealt with by the Disciplinary Committee tomorrow.

Anderlecht are interested in 22-year-old Danish attacker Casper Tengstedt. This is reported by Norwegian sources and has also been confirmed to us. Tengstedt plays for Rosenborg and has already scored thirteen goals this season. He is still under contract in Norway until 2026. (KDZ)

It seems unlikely that Philippe Coutinho (30) will travel with Brazil to the World Cup in Qatar (20 November-18 December). The Aston Villa midfielder suffered a quadriceps injury during a training session. Villa coach Unai Emery confirmed this on Sunday.

Coutinho was not on the match sheet for the game against Manchester United. Leander Dendoncker’s team recorded a handsome 3-1 win against ManU.

According to Brazilian media, Coutinho will be sidelined for at least six weeks. It is questionable whether the midfielder was included in the plans of national coach Tite. He has failed to score a goal or assist in 12 Premier League games this season. Coutinho was not called up for the friendly matches against Tunisia and Ghana in September. However, he collected five of his 69 caps this year.