Bayer 04 Leverkusen

The summer transfer window is still a ways from reopening in Europe, but there are plenty...

Meanwhile, days after informing Paris Saint-Germain that he will leave this summer, Kylian Mbappé was benched for their match against Nantes, and came on in the 62nd minute to score.

From the moment Klopp announced last month that he would step down as Liverpool boss at the end of this season, Alonso — a former midfielder at Anfield between 2004 and 2009 — has been viewed as the leading candidate to take his place.

The winter transfer window is now closed in Europe’s top leagues, but there are plenty of...

The winter transfer window is now closed in Europe’s top leagues, but there are plenty of...

When asked about being the favorite of the neutral, Alonso simply said, “We have enough motivation from ourselves and our own home fans. That’s enough for us.” Thanks for the support, but we don’t need it. We’ve already got each other.

In Spain, we saw Real Madrid bring surprise packages Girona back to earth with a 4-0 thumping at the Santiago Bernabeu. Meanwhile in Germany, we saw Bayer Leverkusen continued their unbeaten run at the top of the Bundesliga following an impressive 3-0 win over Bayern Munich, and in France, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Lille 3-1 to continue top of Ligue 1.

Bayern are two points behind Leverkusen on the table and Tuchel said his players will feel like the opponents of men’s tennis great Roger Federer at the BayArena.

It’s one thing to have first in the table playing second, but when both teams are as talented as Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, it takes the intrigue surrounding Saturday’s showdown (12:30 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+) to an even more advanced level — here in Germany and beyond.

Elsewhere, there were talking points galore for Barcelona, Manchester United, Tottenham, Inter Milan, Juventus and Girona among others.