Mercenary check Zesiger sets Bundesliga record ++ Schär wins first title with Newcastle ++ Xhaka with own goal

Who shone, who fell short? blue Sport follows the performances of the Swiss mercenaries very closely.

🇩🇪 Bundesliga

 

Bayer Leverkusen

Granit Xhaka

What a crazy game in Stuttgart! Leverkusen showed once again that the champions are a force to be reckoned with right up to the last second. Xhaka and Co. were trailing in the 87th minute, but struck back with ice-cold precision to secure the three points and move to within six points of leaders Bayern Munich with a 4-3 victory. Xhaka plays through.

When Bayer scored their first goal, his cross into the penalty area brought the ball into the danger zone, where it stayed and was tucked away by Frimpong to make it 2-1. Stuttgart then took the lead twice again, with Xhaka also getting his feet, or rather his upper arm, into the game. He unhappily deflects a rebound from keeper Hradecky into his own net. It is his first own goal in his 167th Bundesliga match.

Xhaka has a few days off from football for the time being. He is not traveling with the national team because he is about to become a father for the third time.

 

Dortmund

Gregor Kobel

Dortmund remain stuck in mid-table. BVB lose 0:2 against RB Leipzig and Kobel has no chance against them. Before the 0:1, he saves a shot from David Raum, the rebound ends up with the canned club again. Xavi Simons scores. Openda catches Kobel in the far corner after a corner after the change of sides. Apart from that, he makes all the saves he can. The fact that the players in front of him couldn't put the ball in the net had - of course - nothing to do with him. BVB missed a number of top chances in the second half.

 

Gladbach

Jonas Omlin

Had to come off injured in the 72nd minute. Bitter for the Swiss international. Conceded two goals against Werder Bremen. Can't do anything about Schmid's trick shot and flies into the wrong corner with the penalty shortly before the break. The only downer for Omlin: His foals win 4:2 and continue to sniff at the European Cup places (7th place, two points or five points behind a place in the Conference League / Champions League).

 

Gladbach

Nico Elvedi

Plays through in Gerardo Seoane's back four. Elvedi plays a strong game and skillfully clears some tricky situations. He has no influence on the goals conceded.

 

Mainz 05

Silvan Widmer

Just a spectator in the 2:2 draw against Freiburg. Mainz still occupy third place in the Bundesliga.

 

Stuggart

Luca Jaquez

The only one of the Swiss trio to at least sit on the bench in the crazy 3:4 against Leverkusen.

 

Stuttgart

Fabian Rieder

Not part of the VfB squad.

 

Stuttgart

Leonidas Stergiou

Missing due to red suspension.

 

Augsburg

Cédric Zesiger

A brilliant performance from the central defender. Plays to nil against his loan team Wolfsburg and sets up Augsburg's winning goal in the 53rd minute. Zesiger plays a long ball deep in his own half of the pitch towards Tietz, who gets to the ball in the opponent's penalty area and slots it into the Wolves' net. It is the ex-YB professional's eighth clean sheet in a row, equalling Jurica Vranjes' Bundesliga record (2003/04 with Stuttgart) and moving Augsburg past Stuttgart and Dortmund in the table and into 9th place.

 

Frankfurt

Aurèle Amenda

Made his second appearance since his return at the end of January after his mini performance in the Europa League last Thursday. In the 3:1 win against Bochum, he started in central defense in the 87th minute.

 

Freiburg

Bruno Ifechukwu Ogbus

The 19-year-old central defender continues to miss the Swabians through injury.

 

Freiburg

Johan Manzambi

In the 2:2 draw against Mainz, he is only used on the match sheet. He sits on the bench for 90 minutes.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League

 

Manchester City

Manuel Akanji

Without the injured Akanji, City make up a point on Chelsea and the Champions League place (4th place) that goes with it. The Citizens drew 2-2 against Brighton.

 

Newcastle

Fabian Schär

Fabian Schär wins his first title with Newcastle! The central defender lifts the English League Cup trophy after the final against Liverpool (2:1). Schär plays through and puts in a good performance.

🇮🇹 Serie A

 

Inter Milan

Yann Sommer

Inter keep their rivals at bay. The Nerazzurri beat Atlanta 2-0 to move six points clear of the Bergamasques, while their lead over Napoli also grew as the Neapolitans drew. Sommer made an appearance in the match in the 18th minute when he deflected a dangerous header from Pasalic over the crossbar. After that, his front men did their job brilliantly.

 

Napoli

Noah Okafor

On the pitch from the 76th minute in the draw against Venzia. Can no longer prevent the southern Italians from losing points in the championship race.

 

Bologna

Michel Aebischer

Bologna are on course to repeat their fabulous season from last year. The team featuring a trio of Swiss players beat Lazio 5-0 and overtook the Romans in the table. Because Juve also lost, Bologna are in 4th place. Aebischer sits on the bench as his colleagues put on a show.

 

Bologna

Dan Ndoye

Meanwhile, Dan Ndoye is making a big impression. The winger assists and scores. In the 48th minute, he played Orsolini in after a strong, vertical run in the penalty area, who lobbed the northern Italian to make it 2-0. A few moments later, Ndoye goes one better and slots the ball into the bottom right-hand corner from around thirteen meters. An opponent deflects the ball unstoppably.

 

Bologna

Remo Freuler

The fighter is sent off in the 59th minute with the score at 3-0 and a yellow card.

 

Empoli

Nicolas Haas

Still injured. Empoli lose 1-0 to Torino and remain in the relegation zone.

 

Parma

Simon Sohm

Missed the 1-1 draw against bottom side Monza due to a yellow card.

🇪🇸 LaLiga

 

Betis Sevilla

Ricardo Rodriguez

Betis achieve a spectacular turnaround. With the score at 2-0, Isco opened the scoring with a penalty in the 64th minute. In the final quarter of an hour, the Andalusians still manage to win. Rodriguez sits on the bench.

 

Sevilla

Djibril Sow

The portal "El Desmarque" describes his yellow card in the 19th minute as "absurd". Will miss the derby against Betis at the end of March because he will have to serve his yellow card. In the 0:1 against Bilbao, he played until the 83rd minute. Sevilla conceded the decisive goal one minute later.

 

Sevilla

Ruben Vargas

Only a reserve for the second time in a row. Plays from the 67th minute onwards and often tries solo runs. Ultimately, they lacked penetration on Sunday evening.

 

Real Valladolid

Eray Cömert

The signs of Real Valladolid's relegation are increasing. The bottom club lost 1-0 to Celta with central defender Cömert in the starting eleven, leaving them nine points off the relegation places. Cömert played through and gained further match practice ahead of his international call-up.

🇫🇷 Ligue 1

 

AS Monaco

Philipp Köhn

Returns to the Monaco goal (first appearance since January). Had little to do in the 2-0 win against Angers. When things get dicey in front of the Monaco goal, Angers fail due to their own inability or the edge of the goal.

 

AS Monaco

Denis Zakaria

Plays through as captain in midfield. Wins many duels in the center, but is inconspicuous up front for once.

 

AS Monaco

Breel Embolo

Comes on as a substitute in the 46th minute and doesn't score. But his pass into the penalty area was instrumental in Monaco's handball. The ball clatters via Monaco's Akliouche onto the hand of Angers' Courcoul. Akilouche then scores to make the final score 2:0.

Because Nice drew against Auxerre, Monaco jumped to third place, which qualifies them for the Champions League.

 

Marseille

Ulisses Garcia

Garcia's Marseille are also in a Champions League place - despite two consecutive defeats. After losing 1-0 to Lens, the South French side also lost out to leaders PSG. Garcia sits on the bench in the 3-1 defeat in the French capital.

 

Toulouse

Vincent Sierro

Leads his team onto the pitch as usual as captain. After taking an early lead in the 3rd minute, Toulouse let the lead slip after the break and lost 2-1 in Strasbourg. Sierro plays through in central midfield.

 

Montpellier

Becir Omeragic

The match against Saint-Étienne lasted 57 minutes before the basement clash had to be abandoned due to fan rioting. Risky fans from Montpellier throw pyrotechnics, seats and other objects onto the pitch. Omeragic is not part of the match due to his injury.

 

Stade Brest

Edimilson Fernandes

Plays football from the 77th minute, previously on the bench. Not much to see from Fernandes in the closing stages. Takes a shot from distance in the 81st minute. His shot misses the target. The game against Reims ends 0-0.

Other Swiss players abroad

 

Ferencvaros

Stefan Gartenmann

After Murat Yakin's call-up for the international phase in March, the Nati newcomer is also part of the mercenary check for the first time. With the score at 4-0 against Kecskemet, the central defender called it a day in the 80th minute. With Ferencvaros, he is in second place in the Hungarian league, two points behind leaders Akademia.

 

Benfica Lisbon

Zeki Amdouni

Amdouni was in the starting line-up for the 3-2 win against Rio Ave. He did not score in 74 minutes.

 

Burgos CF (2nd Division Spain)

Gabriel Barès

On the bench for the 1-0 win against Cartagena.

 

Feyenoord Rotterdam

Jordan Lotomba

Feyenoord sweep Twente 6-2 from the pitch, Lotomba is still a spectator due to his lower leg fracture.

 

Fortuna Sittard

Ryan Fosso

The former YB junior plays against Groningen. With Fortuna Sittard, the central midfielder suffers a 1-0 defeat against Groningen.

 

Ludogorets Razgrad

Kwadwo Duah

Duah is on his way back into the squad of the Bulgarian champions following his muscle strain.

 

Bruges

Ardon Jashari

The midfield engine shines in Belgium! Jashari played 88 minutes against Charleroi, provided an assist and scored once himself. It is his third goal and sixth assist of the season in all competitions.

 

Standard Liège

Andi Zeqiri

Plays from the start against Antwerp. As befits a clean sheet, Zeqiri also fails to score. He retires in the 71st minute.

 

KAA Gent

Franck Surdez

Not in the squad for the 2-1 draw against Kortijk.

 

Midtjylland

Kevin Mbabu

Plays at right-back. A 4-2 win against Randers. Midtjylland remain leaders of the Danish league ahead of Copenhagen.

 

Sturm Graz

Gregory Wüthrich

Wüthrich wins 4-2 against LASK with his team from Graz, playing in central defense.

 

FC Liefering (Austrian 2nd division)

Bryan Okoh

FC Liefering (second team of RB Salzburg) concede a 1-0 defeat against the second team of Sturm Graz. Okoh played just four minutes in front of 200 spectators.

Remains flawless against Bastia and keeps a clean sheet. Mvogo keeps Lorient on course for promotion, two and three points ahead of Metz and Paris respectively.

 

Greuther Fürth

Noah Loosli

A bad evening for Loosli and Co. In the derby against Nuremberg, the former GC defender and his team concede a 3-0 defeat. Loosli plays in the three-man defense.

 

HSV (Bundesliga 2)

Miro Muheim

HSV fail to clear the crossbar after a Muheim corner kick in the opening phase. Before the break, he initiates Magdeburg's first chance with a misplaced pass, but the subsequent shot on goal is easy pickings for the HSV keeper. Muheim plays through and celebrates a 3:0 win against Magdeburg with his Hamburg team and the successful defense of the top of the table.

 

HSV (Bundesliga 2)

Silvan Hefti

In the game after the change of ends. Usual running ability on his right side. Keeps the ball tight with his back four.

 

1. FC Kaiserslautern (Bundesliga 2)

Jan Elvedi

Eight goals in the match against Paderborn. Kaiserslautern conceded five of them. Slipped to 4th place after the 5:3 defeat.

 

Karlsruher SC (Bundesliga 2)

Andrin Hunziker

Still missing through injury.

 

Schalke 04 (Bundesliga 2)

Adrian Gantenbein

Replaces the sick Taylan Bulut in the Schalke starting eleven. Convinces with his tackling behavior. Only in the 87th minute can he not separate his opponent from the ball. The subsequent shot landed on the crossbar, the rebound was scored by Hannover to make it 1:1, only to make it 1-2 a little later. A bitter home defeat for the Royal Blues and Gantenbein, who played through.

 

SSV Ulm 1846 (Bundesliga 2)

Aaron Keller

Plays through in the 0-0 draw against Karslruhe.

 

1. FC Köln (Bundesliga 2)

Anthony Racioppi

Cologne win 2-1 against Darmstadt and stay close on HSV's heels (one point behind). Racioppi sits on the bench.

 

1st FC Cologne (2nd Bundesliga)

Joël Schmied

Schmied keeps Racioppi company for 90 minutes.

 

Queens Park Rangers (Championship)

Michael Frey

Played in the 2-2 draw against leaders Leeds, but failed to score. However, one number does rise in his statistics: the number of yellow cards. He is cautioned in the 82nd minute for complaining.

 

Leeds United (Championship)

Isaac Schmidt

Before his first meeting with the national team, he sits on the bench for the 2-2 draw against QPR. The loss of points has no effect on Leeds' lead at the top of the table, only the lead over Sheffield Wednesday is gone.

 

OFK Belgrade

Filip Stojilkovic

Strong performance from the 25-year-old center forward. He shone with an assist and a goal in the 3:1 win against Vojvodina. In the 47th minute, he wonderfully flicks the capital team to the final score.

 

NK Osijek

Petar Pusic

Started and played until the 88th minute. Neither he nor his colleagues manage to score. The game against Varazdin ends 0-0.

 

NK Osijek

Kemal Ademi

Not in the squad for the fourth game in a row.

 

Universitatea Cluj

Jasper van der Werff

Not in the squad for the 3-0 win over Craiova.

 

Al-Qadsiah (Saudi Pro League)

Cameron Puertas

Was left out of the squad for the 1-0 defeat to Damac.

Puertas has problems with the lawWhy this Spaniard will probably not be our national team star until 2025

 

Boca Juniors

Lucas Blondel

Blondel impresses for the traditional Argentinian club. Boca Juniors win 4-0 against Defensa, their fifth game in a row. Blondel plays through at right-back and opens the scoring for Milton Gimenez in the 50th minute to make it 3-0. After the game, Blondel is immediately on the plane. The national team is waiting for him.