Who shone, who fell short? blue Sport follows the performances of the Swiss mercenaries very closely.
🇩🇪 Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen
Granit Xhaka
Bayer Leverkusen kick off the second half of the season on Friday. Right at the start, the reigning champions have to play away at Dortmund. Early on Sunday afternoon, the Werkself won a test match against Oberhausen 2:0, with Xhaka and seven other regular players only coming on at the break. In the evening, the national team captain celebrates another victory. He is named MVP, the most valuable player, at the Sports Awards.
Gladbach
Nico Elvedi
Leeds United are apparently keen on Nico Elvedi. According to Bild, the Championship leaders are prepared to fork out 12 million euros for an immediate transfer. However, Elvedi is currently still under contract with Gladbach and is a regular player there. Elvedi started the 2:2 draw in the test match against Nijmegen and was substituted at the break. If a transfer was imminent, the Swiss would hardly have played. Gladbach kick off the second half of the season on Saturday, hosting leaders Bayern Munich.
Augsburg
Ruben Vargas
Ruben Vargas' contract with Augsburg expires in the summer. If FCA still want to earn money with the Swiss, they will have to let him go in the winter. The winger is apparently hotly tipped for Sevilla, but the two clubs have yet to reach an agreement.
Wolfsburg
Cédric Zesiger
Zesiger lost his regular place at Wolfsburg in the course of the first half of the season. In an interview with blue Sport before Christmas, he made no secret of the fact that he is unhappy with the situation and could imagine a move in the winter. Above all, clubs from the bottom of the Bundesliga table are apparently showing interest.
🏴 Premier League
Manchester City
Manuel Akanji
Manchester City were on the ropes like a staggering boxer. But Pep Guardiola's team are not yet on the rocks and have bounced back with two wins in a row. In the 4:1 win against West Ham United, Akanji played the full distance, as in the three previous games. The title defense in the Premier League hardly seems possible given the large gap - Liverpool has a 12-point lead with one game less. However, City are only two points away from the Champions League places. And a reinvigorated Man City are always among the title contenders in the current Premier League campaign.
Newcastle
Fabian Schär
On Saturday, Newcastle celebrated their sixth win in a row in the Premier League. Schär, an undisputed regular, is not in the squad for the 2-1 away win against Tottenham due to a yellow card suspension.
🇮🇹 Serie A
Inter Milan
Yann Sommer
On 2 January, Sommer and Inter Milan won the Super Copa semi-final against Atalanta Bergamo 2:0. The final against AC Milan is scheduled for Monday (8pm). A Milan derby with a title at stake would normally turn the football-mad city upside down. As the match is being played at the Kingdom Arena in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, there probably won't be too many Milan fans in the stadium. Sommer, who has been preventing goals at Inter since August 2023, won the Super Copa last year and later also the league title. Will Sommer win his third trophy in around a year and a half?
AC Milan
Noah Okafor
Okafor is missing from the 2:1 semi-final victory in the Super Copa against Juventus Turin due to injury. Rumors have been swirling around the Swiss international in recent days. The 24-year-old is not part of Milan's regular squad, even without injuries, and has reportedly been offered a loan deal by Galatasaray Istanbul.
Bologna
Michel Aebischer
FC Bologna played their last match on December 30 and are back in action on January 12. Aebischer has been absent recently due to a thigh injury, so the short break comes at just the right time.
Bologna
Dan Ndoye
The break also comes at a good time for Ndoye. He only played a few minutes on December 30 after having to watch the game as a spectator with an injury.
Bologna
Remo Freuler
Freuler, on the other hand, played the full distance in the 3:2 defeat against Verona. However, it should do him good to clear his head and then get back into full swing.
Empoli
Nicolas Haas
After three defeats in a row, Empoli at least picked up a point on Saturday (1-1 against Venezia). Haas underwent surgery on his left knee at the end of November and will probably be out until the end of the season.
Parma
Simon Sohm
In the 0-0 draw against Torino on Sunday, Sohm played the full distance for the eleventh time in a row. Thanks to his status as an undisputed regular at Parma, Sohm has also made it back into the national team squad for the last few international matches. He was even in the starting eleven for the 3:2 defeat against Spain on November 18.
🇪🇸 LaLiga
Betis Sevilla
Ricardo Rodriguez
Betis win the Copa del Rey last-sixteen final 1-0 against Huesca, with the 32-year-old playing at left-back.
Sevilla
Djibril Sow
Sevilla lose 4-1 to Almeria in the Copa del Rey with Sow missing through injury.
Real Valladolid
Eray Cömert
LaLiga bottom side Valladolid embarrassed themselves against Ourense CF in the Copa del Rey. The club, which is in danger of being relegated from the Primera Federación (3rd division), beat Real Valladolid 3:2 with Cömert playing at center-back. He is partially at fault for the first goal conceded.
🇫🇷 Ligue 1
AS Monaco
Philipp Köhn
Monaco lose the Super Cup 0-1 to PSG on Sunday. Köhn stands between the posts and keeps Monaco in the game for a long time with several top saves. The 26-year-old was powerless to stop Ousmane Dembélé's goal in the second minute of stoppage time.
AS Monaco
Denis Zakaria
Zakaria played the full distance against PSG in central midfield, but was unable to prevent the defeat. The 28-year-old must therefore continue to wait to lift a trophy for the first time in his professional career.
AS Monaco
Breel Embolo
Embolo is substituted in the 72nd minute with the score at 0-0.
Marseille
Ulisses Garcia
Marseille set off fireworks on Sunday evening and beat Le Havre 5-1. Ulisses Garcia was substituted in the 73rd minute and scored two minutes later to make it 5-0.
Marseille
Roggerio Nyakossi
Roggerio Nyakossi moved from Servette to Marseille's 2nd team in the summer of 2022. The U20 international regularly features there, and this weekend he was in the first-team squad for the second time this season. However, he still has to wait for his debut with the big boys.
Toulouse
Vincent Sierro
Sierro is missing through injury for the 1-0 away win against Lens.
Montpellier
Becir Omeragic
Omeragic is set in the center of defense at Montpellier, but cannot prevent another defeat on Saturday. The team at the bottom of the table lost 1-0 to Lyon.
Montpellier
Gabriel Barès
Gabriel Barès, who hardly plays at the bottom of the table anyway, misses the game due to illness.
Stade Brest
Edimilson Fernandes
Stade Brest, who surprised everyone in the Champions League, lost 1-0 to Angers on Sunday and remain stuck in the lower mid-table. Fernandes is on the pitch for 90 minutes.
More Swiss players abroad
Contract signed
Lyam MacKinnon
Lyam MacKinnon played for Greenville in the USA last season and was voted best player of the season in the third-highest league. His contract expired at the end of the season. When asked by blue Sport about a possible move to the Super League, he revealed that he had already signed a new contract in the USA. However, he could not yet reveal which club his future employer is, as the official announcement of the transfer is still to come.
Benfica Lisbon
Zeki Amdouni
After the derby against Sporting Lisbon (0:1), Benfica also lose 1:2 against Braga. Amdouni is substituted in the 67th minute with the score at 0:2.
Ludogorets Razgrad
Kwadwo Duah
Kwadwo Duah is currently preparing with Ludogorets Razgrad. A test match against BSC YB is scheduled for next Friday at the training camp in Turkey.
Sturm Graz
Gregory Wüthrich
Sturm Graz are preparing for the second half of the season and will play a test match against Lugano on January 8 and GC three days later.
Leaders Lorient lose 2-0 to Laval, but Mvogo prevents an even greater defeat with a strong save shortly before the end.
Queens Park Rangers (Championship)
Michael Frey
Frey scores the 1-0 in the 3-1 win against Watford on 1 January. The second game of the year is already scheduled for Monday evening.
Leeds United (Championship)
Isaac Schmidt
Leaders Leeds United drop points against relegation-threatened Hull City. As so often, Isaac Schmidt only sits on the bench in the spectacular 3-3 draw.
Hull City (Championship)
Anthony Racioppi
The 26-year-old is not even in the squad for the 3-3 draw against Leeds United.
Al-Wasl
Haris Seferovic
Seferovic is not in the squad for the 0-0 League Cup draw against Bani Yas on December 30. The first game of the year in the league is now on the program on Monday.
Al-Qadsiah (Saudi Pro League)
Cameron Puertas
Al-Qadsiah will resume play on January 7. To kick off the new year, Puertas and Co. will be fighting for a place in the semi-finals of the King Cup.
