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Do Bayern have the right attacking formula without Musiala?

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Do Bayern have the right attacking formula without Musiala?


MUNICH — The concept of a single standalone fixture — das Eröffnungsspiel — to usher in the new Bundesliga season after the long summer hiatus is a relatively new one, dating back only to 2002.

This showpiece Friday night event always features the defending champions and often takes place on their own pitch. However, in recent years, we have seen deviations with Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively, traveling to Borussia Mönchengladbach (2021 and 2024) and Bayern going to Eintracht Frankfurt (2022) and Werder Bremen (2023).

To kick off the 2025-26 season, Germany’s Rekordmeister enjoys the initial home advantage in a potential tester against RB Leipzig. Not since 2020 and the days of lockdown and an 8-0 drubbing of Schalke 04 has the Allianz Arena played host to the ceremonial opening, and it will be an occasion of grandeur before 75,000 mixed with Bavarian Weißwurst (traditional sausage), beer and bonhomie.

The Bayern players this week were photographed in their traditional Oktoberfest attire ahead of the big forthcoming early autumn Wiesn festival that dominates the city. They already have the Franz Beckenbauer Super Cup in their possession after a deserved 2-1 win over Pokalsieger VfB Stuttgart on Saturday night.

Yet amid the smiles and good vibes here in the Bavarian capital, there is considerable daily pressure, and not just on the playing squad. For the second-year coach Vincent Kompany and sporting CEO Max Eberl, this feels especially true.

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It’s no secret that Kompany, after relegation from the Premier League with Burnley, was far from first choice to succeed Thomas Tuchel 12 months ago, but the Belgian impressed Eberl and others with his football vision, articulate and personable manner, and, of course, fluent German language skills.

Last season can be described as a qualified success. Bayern won the Bundesliga by 13 points, having surrendered the crown to Leverkusen the season before. Ninety-nine league goals made it the third-best season in club history on that front.

The negatives were another early exit from the DFB-Pokal, a cup Bayern last lifted in 2020, and the painful UEFA Champions League quarterfinal dismissal at the hands of Inter Milan.

Both can be described as unlucky, although Kompany will be expected to win the Meisterschale (Bundesliga trophy) and more this season. The supervisory board will be less forgiving one year on. A big positive was the style of football that most would agree is passend (fitting) with what the Bayern public enjoys in a way that Tuchel’s football simply wasn’t.

Possession play allied to a high and bold early press has been the Kompany recipe, even though it didn’t always go to plan. For example: early in the season against Barcelona in the Champions League and Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.

Bayern can get into trouble when the defensive Kette (literal chain) becomes disconnected, resulting in rescue acts out of necessity, frequently by Manuel Neuer. This brings us to Eberl, who gets talked about more vigorously among football fans here in Munich much more than whether Kompany is a good coach for Bayern.

The fact is, being the Sportvorstand (sporting CEO at Bayern) carries with it an immense responsibility to constantly construct long-term plans while knowing that the wrong moves in the short term can cost you your job.

Eberl also has to work under the shadow of the Tegernsee: in other words, honorary president Uli Hoeneß, who always has an opinion when asked about pretty much any topic under the sun. A license to work away in peace hasn’t been a luxury afforded to Eberl since his move from Leipzig 18 months ago, nor will he expect to acquire it anytime soon.

Last winter, Eberl and sporting director Christoph Freund made extending the contracts of key players like Joshua Kimmich and Jamal Musiala the priority. But the handling of Thomas Müller‘s departure looked clumsy.

This summer, long-time attackers Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman have left the club. Sané’s contract had been allowed to run down, while Coman’s move to Al Nassr brought in €24 million.

Bayern’s outlay of €75 million, including extras for the signing of 28-year-old Luis Díaz from Liverpool, has not met every fan’s approval. Yes, the Colombian is a splendid footballer and marked his first official appearance in the Super Cup with a goal.

But as with Harry Kane, we’re not talking about players here contributing to a sustainable transfer strategy. They are for the attacking here and now, and there are question marks about its composition at least in the short term, with playmaker Musiala set to miss a big chunk of the Hinrunde, the first part of the season.

Who is going to fill the Musiala hole? Against Stuttgart, it was mostly Serge Gnabry, with the often irresistible Michael Olise dropping in there from time to time. I must admit I would have liked to see 25 competitive minutes from 17-year-old Lennart Karl on Saturday. He’s small, left-footed, represented by Michael Ballack, and while not a direct like-for-like Musiala replacement, surely represents the future for Bayern.

Instead, Karl was handed only the briefest of cameos in Stuttgart and this brings us nicely to the theme of the Bayern Campus, as they call it, and Kompany’s attitude to bringing in youth. At last week’s pre-match news conference, Kompany addressed the thorny subject, acknowledging the importance, but adding the caveat that we in the media might have to be patient.

Of course, every coach has to be mindful of self-preservation and his pragmatic need for results. Others can worry about long haul plans that he may never be part of. Eberl and the Bayern decision-makers are attracted by the idea of bringing in Chelsea‘s Christopher Nkunku for the Musiala position. Hoeneß favors a loan, whereas Eberl feels a permanent signing. The supervisory board meets on Monday, and Eberl’s work will certainly be critiqued.

In other positions, I feel the addition of Jonathan Tah, arguably the best Bundesliga defender over the past couple of seasons, will add solidity to Bayern. Plus, the talented Aleksandar Pavlović is back after suffering a fractured eye socket. Kane’s statement this week that the current Bayern squad is the smallest he has ever been part of as a top-level professional was not meant to attract controversy but is rather a statement of fact.

In the first few matches, with these thin options, does Kompany have the right formula without Musiala in the creative department? The 19-year-old attacking midfielder Paul Wanner is no longer an alternative since he has been transferred to PSV, while Raphaël Guerreiro looks like an ill-fitting No. 10 option at this stage of his career.

Against Leipzig, we’ll learn more.



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Men’s college basketball buzz: State of blue blood rebuilds

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Men’s college basketball buzz: State of blue blood rebuilds


Roster overhauls are not uncommon in today’s era of men’s college basketball.

This offseason is no different, with around a dozen power-conference schools returning zero or just one player from this past season. It has been a growing trend as the sport has become more reliant on the transfer portal, with salary caps dictating roster construction and teams adding seven to eight players in the spring becoming the new norm.

Last week, we looked at how the Final Four teams — and Duke — have been approaching the offseason. This week, we’re putting the same focus on the three winningest programs in college basketball history: Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina. None made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, and each face massive rebuilds heading into next season.

All information as of 9 a.m. ET on April 20


Players leaving: Bill Self faces arguably the biggest rebuild of the three programs featured here.

Potential No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson was gone regardless, but All-Big 12 big man Flory Bidunga‘s decision to enter the portal and head to Louisville was a difficult loss. Starting wings Melvin Council Jr. and Tre White were seniors, and six more players joined Bidunga in the portal. The biggest loss among that group was Bryson Tiller, who started 31 games and looks poised for a breakout season in 2026-27. Making matters worse, Tiller committed to rival Missouri.

Players staying or incoming: The retention list is short. Kohl Rosario, who started the first six games of this past season before seeing his role diminish as the year progressed, is back and still has a high ceiling.

Self has the fifth-best class of incoming freshmen, led by five-star point guard Taylen Kinney. Two more SC Next 100 recruits, Davion Adkins and Trent Perry, and four-star guard Luke Barnett round out the group.

Kansas has also landed two players out of the portal thus far: Utah transfer Keanu Dawes and Toledo transfer Leroy Blyden Jr. Dawes was one of the Big 12’s best rebounders last season, ranking in the top 50 nationally at 8.8 per game. Blyden, a 6-foot-1 point guard, was the MAC Freshman of the Year.

Players in limbo: Freshman big man Paul Mbiya has been an interesting follow. He suddenly played a key role in the NCAA tournament, reports emerged that he planned to enter the portal … and yet, he’s still on the Jayhawks and hasn’t portaled yet.

Work to do: Kansas has a massive amount of work to build a roster that can compete next season. The Jayhawks’ top target is No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes, who they appeared on track to land until a recent trip to Kentucky cast doubt on their status as the front-runners.

Kansas has hosted a long list of players from the portal, although Terrence Hill Jr. (Tennessee) and DeSean Goode (Miami) have committed elsewhere. Charlotte big man Anton Bonke was on campus last week, as was Utah transfer Terrence Brown, though UNC appears to be the favorite for Brown.

With Blyden committed, Self needs a scorer with size on the wing. Vyctorius Miller (Oklahoma State) is among the players on the Jayhawks’ list for that role. In the frontcourt, Cincinnati transfer Moustapha Thiam — one of the best bigs left in the portal — is among their targets, though he is visiting Michigan this week.


Players leaving: A roller-coaster season that started with the nation’s largest payroll and ended with a second-round loss to Iowa State in the NCAA tournament portended a roster overhaul.

The starting backcourt of Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen is out of eligibility (although Florida is attempting to secure an extra year for Aberdeen), while Jayden Quaintance was expected to declare for the NBA draft. Six more players also entered the transfer portal, including starting guard Collin Chandler and frontcourt mainstays Andrija Jelavic, Mouhamed Dioubate and Brandon Garrison.

Players staying or incoming: Two key contributors are back from last season: starting center Malachi Moreno and rotation wing Kam Williams, who missed most of the second half of the campaign with a broken foot. Moreno has a chance to be one of the best centers in the country next season.

Role player Trent Noah and redshirts Braydon Hawthorne and Reece Potter are also back. And Kentucky’s lone high school commit is four-star guard Mason Williams, son of new assistant coach Mo Williams.

After missing on a few early portal targets such as BYU’s Robert Wright III and Georgia’s Jeremiah Wilkinson, Mark Pope finally landed his 2026-27 backcourt last week with Washington transfer Zoom Diallo and Furman transfer Alex Wilkins. Diallo averaged 15.7 points and 4.5 assists last season for the Huskies, while Wilkins was one of the most electric first-year point guards in the country and boosted his stock with 21 points against UConn in the NCAA tournament.

Players in limbo: Barring a surprise return from Quaintance, Pope isn’t waiting on any stay-or-go decisions.

Work to do: Kentucky still has plenty of targets left on the board, with overall No. 1 recruit Stokes at the top of the list.

Stokes is down to the Wildcats and Jayhawks, with a decision expected to come at any point. Pope could use a statement signing to help the overall vibe in Lexington, and they don’t get much bigger than Stokes. Kansas had the lead entering Stokes’ recent visit to Kentucky; did Pope flip momentum on the trip?

Kentucky needs shooting, and NC State transfer Paul McNeil Jr. is on the short list. Utah transfer Terrence Brown was also a target but visited North Carolina and Kansas and hasn’t rescheduled a visit to Kentucky. Up front, the Wildcats are prioritizing Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman, one of the best players available. Former USC center Gabe Dynes is expected to visit this week; the 7-foot-5 Dynes would provide interior depth.


Players leaving: With Hubert Davis out and Michael Malone in, extensive roster turnover was inevitable.

Projected top-five pick Caleb Wilson was headed to the NBA regardless, while Seth Trimble is out of eligibility. Still, nine players entered the portal following the coaching change, with Derek Dixon and Luka Bogavac the most notable, although two have since opted to withdraw and return to Chapel Hill to play for Malone.

It’s also worth noting that Carolina had a commitment from top-10 incoming freshman Dylan Mingo until he reopened his recruitment last week.

Players staying or incoming: The lone starter guaranteed to return from last season is Jarin Stevenson, who helped fill Wilson’s shoes after his injury and played well, averaging 10.7 points and 6.4 rebounds over the Tar Heels’ final 10 games. Jaydon Young and Isaiah Denis are returning after initially exploring the portal. And while Mingo opted to decommit, top-25 recruit Maximo Adams kept his commitment to the Tar Heels after the coaching change.

Since the portal opened, Malone added Virginia Tech transfer Neoklis Avdalas. The 6-foot-9 guard was inconsistent for most of his freshman season but generated first-round NBA draft buzz early in the campaign and has an intriguing combination of size and playmaking ability.

Players in limbo: All-ACC big man Henri Veesaar has yet to announce his intentions.

The proven big man could return to Carolina, enter the NBA draft or head into the transfer portal. Veesaar is essentially the linchpin to Malone’s first season who would be in the preseason All-American conversation should he return to college after averaging 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds last season.

Work to do: There are two priorities for Malone right now.

One, as we just mentioned, is keeping Veesaar. He provides an anchor on the interior and would give the new head coach a player to build around. But given the timing of Veesaar’s pending decision, the lack of legitimate replacements at his position is glaring.

The second focus is a couple of perimeter scorers and playmakers, and the Tar Heels have a few players on their shortlist. Utah transfer Terrence Brown is atop the board; he has visited UNC and Kansas. Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris met with the Carolina staff a couple weekends ago, although he’s also going through the NBA draft process. NC State’s Matt Able and Paul McNeil Jr. have also been linked to the Tar Heels.



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PSL 11: Hyderabad Kingsmen opt to field after winning toss against Multan Sultans

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PSL 11: Hyderabad Kingsmen opt to field after winning toss against Multan Sultans


Hyderabad Kingsmen skipper Marnus Labuschagne flips the coin while Multan Sultans captain Ashton Turner (centre) makes the call during toss for PSL 11 match at National Bank Stadium, Karachi, on April 22. — PSL

Hyderabad Kingsmen won the toss and elected to bowl first against Multan Sultans in the 33rd match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at Karachi’s National Bank Stadium on Wednesday.

Playing XI

Hyderabad Kingsmen: Maaz Sadaqat, Marnus Labuschagne (c), Usman Khan (wk), Saim Ayub, Kusal Perera, Gleen Maxwell, Irfan Niazi, Hassan Khan, Hunain Shah, Mohammad Ali, and Akif Javed.

Multan Sultans: Sahibzada Farhan, Steve Smith, Ashton Turner (c), Shan Masood, Josh Philippe (wk), Muhammad Nawaz, Arafat Nawaz, Muhammad Imran, Peter Siddle, Muhammad Waseem Jnr, and Muhammad Ismail.

Head-to-head

The upcoming fixture marks only the second meeting between Sultans and Kingsmen, while their maiden face-off saw the 2021 champions emerge victorious by six wickets.

  • Matches: 1
  • Multan Sultans: 1
  • Hyderabad Kingsmen: 0

Form Guide

Multan Sultans and Hyderabad Kingsmen enter the fixture with similar momentum in their favour as the 2021 champions have four victories in their last five completed matches, while the debutants have three triumphs in as many games.

Overall, Sultans have six victories in the ongoing PSL 11 and thus sit second on the points table with 12 points after eight matches, and a victory over Kingsmen would seal their qualification for the playoffs with a match to spare.

Kingsmen, on the other hand, have three triumphs in seven matches, which came consecutively after four successive defeats.

Multan Sultans: W, W, L, W, W (most recent first)

Hyderabad Kingsmen: W, W, W, L, L





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Austin Reaves nearing return for Lakers as Luka Doncic remains out indefinitely with hamstring strain: report

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Austin Reaves nearing return for Lakers as Luka Doncic remains out indefinitely with hamstring strain: report


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In early April, with just five games remaining in the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that star guard Luka Doncic would be sidelined at least until the NBA playoffs.

Doncic’s setback was a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, an MRI confirmed. The reigning NBA scoring champion sustained the injury during an April 2 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers also entered the playoffs without another key member of their backcourt, Austin Reaves.

The shorthanded Lakers upset the Houston Rockets in the opening game of their first-round Western Conference series Saturday. Ahead of Game 2 on Tuesday, the Lakers reportedly received a clearer update on the health of at least one of their injured stars.

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Lakers guard Austin Reaves brings the ball up court against the Washington Wizards in Los Angeles on March 30, 2026. (Ryan Sun/AP)

Reaves, who was diagnosed with an oblique strain, appears to be progressing toward a return later in the first-round series if it extends to six or seven games. If the Lakers advance sooner, he could be on track to return for the Western Conference semifinals.

According to ESPN, Reaves recently returned to the practice court for 1-on-1 drills. The 27-year-old will still need to progress to 2-on-3 and then 5-on-5 work before he can be cleared for playoff action, but he appears significantly further along than Doncic, who remains out indefinitely.

Luka Doncic dribbling basketball during game at Kia Center

Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball against the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center on March 21, 2026. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)

Doncic is unlikely to play in the first round, regardless of the series length. ESPN footage showed him on the practice court on Tuesday, though the six-time All-Star was not doing high-intensity work.

2025-26 NBA PLAYOFF ODDS: SPREADS, LINES FOR FIRST-ROUND SERIES

The Rockets, despite being widely favored in the opening round playoffs series, also contended with key injuries. Kevin Durant missed Game 1 with a knee contusion. He was cleared to play in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

A Houston Rockets player attempts an layup

Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. shoots the ball against the Lakers during Game 1 in the NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on April 18, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

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LeBron James scored 19 points, while Luke Kennard led Los Angeles with 27 in Saturday’s win.

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