Mercenary check Ndoye shines with a super goal ++ Elvedi as savior ++ Jaquez with a blunder

Patrick Lämmle

18.8.2025

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

Germany

 

Dortmund

Gregor Kobel

Dortmund kick off the new season on Monday (20:45). In the DFB Cup, Kobel and Co. are heavy favorites against third-division side Rot-Weiss Essen.


 

Gladbach

Jonas Omlin

Omlin is on the bench for the 3:2 nail-biting win in the DFB Cup against fifth-division side Delmenhorst. The 31-year-old has lost his regular place. With a contract until 2027 but no sporting prospects, he is likely to leave Gladbach soon.

 

Gladbach

Nico Elvedi

Elvedi scores from close range in the 68th minute to make the final score 3:2 and prevent a huge embarrassment in the DFB Cup.


 

Mainz 05

Silvan Widmer

Mainz face Dynamo Dresden (Bundesliga 2) away from home in the DFB Cup on Monday. Kick-off is at 18:00.


 

Augsburg

Cédric Zesiger

Augsburg win 2-0 at regional league side Hallescher FC. Zesiger is substituted for Schlotterbeck in the 83rd minute.


 

Stuttgart

Leonidas Stergiou

Cup winners Stuttgart lose the Supercup final against champions Bayern Munich 1:2, with Stergiou missing through injury.

 

Stuttgart

Luca Jaquez

The 22-year-old plays in central defense. Before the 0:1, he unfortunately places the ball perfectly for Kane.


 

Frankfurt

Aurèle Amenda

Amenda sits on the bench for the commanding 5-0 win against lower-ranked Engers.


 

HSV

Miro Muheim

HSV avoid a debacle in the cup by the skin of their teeth. The decision against fifth-division side Pirmasens only came in extra time. Muheim set up the winning 2:1 with a perfect free-kick cross.


 

HSV

Silvan Hefti

Silvan Hefti is not in the squad. He is apparently on the cut list and will probably have to look for a new club.


 

Freiburg

Johan Manzambi

Freiburg advance to the 2nd round of the DFB Cup. Manzambi is substituted in the 85th minute of the 2-0 win against SF Lotte.


 

Freiburg

Bruno Ifechukwu Ogbus

Ogbus is not in the Freiburg squad.


 

Hoffenheim

Leon Avdullahu

Leon Avdullahu was a starter for FC Basel on their way to the league title. At Hoffenheim he had no teething problems and played in central midfield in the 4-0 win over Hansa Rostock.


 

1st FC Cologne

Joël Schmied

Cologne beat Jahn Regensburg 2:1 in extreme circumstances. The goals were scored in the 6th and 8th minute of stoppage time. Defender Schmied plays through.


England

 

Sunderland

Granit Xhaka

Sunderland got off to the best possible start to the Premier League season. The promoted side celebrated a 3-0 win over West Ham at home in the Stadium of Light. Granit Xhaka captains the Black Cats and pulls the strings in midfield.


 

Manchester City

Manuel Akanji

Akanji is on the bench for the 4-0 victory away to Wolverhampton in the season opener.


 

Newcastle

Fabian Schär

Fabian Schär puts in a strong performance: in the 0-0 draw against Aston Villa, he doesn't concede much in defense.


 

Nottingham Forest

Dan Ndoye

Dan Ndoye makes a dream debut in the Premier League. In the 42nd minute, the new signing scored with a diving header to make it 2-0. In the end, Nottingham beat Brentford FC 3-1.


 

Burnley

Zeki Amdouni

Amdouni tore his cruciate ligament in July and will be out for some time.


 

Leeds United

Isaac Schmidt

Promoted Leeds start the new season on Monday. The game against Everton kicks off at 9.00 pm.


Italy

 

AC Milan

Ardon Jashari

Milan beat SSC Bari 2-0, with Jashari coming on as a 66th-minute substitute in his first competitive match for the Milan side. The result remains the same.


 

AC Milan

Noah Okafor

Okafor, who is rumored to be on the move, makes a partial appearance. The 25-year-old was substituted ten minutes before the end.


 

AC Milan

Zachary Athekame

Athekame, who moved from YB to Milan, sits on the bench.

 

Inter Milan

Yann Sommer

Inter are seeded for the round of 16 in the Coppa Italia. The new season will therefore not begin for Sommer and Co. until next Monday.


 

Bologna

Remo Freuler

Bologna will also not play in the cup until the round of 16 in December. Bologna will face AS Roma on Saturday to kick off the new Serie A season.


 

Fiorentina

Simon Sohm

Fiorentina have also booked their place in the round of 16 and will kick off their league campaign away to Cagliari on Sunday. Sohm joined Fiorentina from Parma this summer and has already scored in his first appearance, in a test match against Manchester United.


 

Fiorentina

Eman Kospo

Eman Kospo is another new signing. The 18-year-old played in the Barça youth academy. However, the tall defender will probably have to line up at the back for the time being.


 

Como Calcio

Samuel Ballet

Ballet played on loan at FCZ and is now back at Como Calcio. However, he is not in the squad for the 3:1 win in the Coppa Italia against FC Südtirol. He is unlikely to have a future at Como.


 

Pisa

Michel Aebischer

Aebischer is on loan from Bologna to Pisa. He was substituted in the 83rd minute with the score at 0-0. In the end, Pisa prevailed in a memorable penalty shoot-out - only three out of ten players scored.

 

Pisa

Daniel Denoon

FCZ loanee Denoon is not in the Pisa squad.


 

Genoa

Benjamin Siegrist

Goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist is only a substitute in the 3-0 win in the Coppa Italia against L.R. Vicenza.


Spain

 

Betis Sevilla

Ricardo Rodriguez

Betis Sevilla kick off the new La Liga season on Monday away against Elche. You can watch live with blue Sport, kick-off is at 21:00.


 

Sevilla

Djibril Sow

Sevilla come back from 2-0 down against Athletic Bilbao to lose 3-2, with Sow being substituted shortly before the end.


 

Sevilla

Ruben Vargas

Sevilla are still missing Ruben Vargas through injury.


 

Valencia

Eray Cömert

Cömert is back at Valencia, but will not feature in the league opener. The game against Real Sociedad ends 1-1.


 

Valencia

Filip Ugrinic

Ugrnic, who joined Valencia from YB, is allowed to play the last three minutes.


France

 

AS Monaco

Philipp Köhn

Monaco win their league opener 3-1 against Le Havre. Köhn is only a substitute.


 

AS Monaco

Denis Zakaria

Zakaria led his team as captain on Saturday and provided the assist in the 74th minute to make the final score 3-1. Whether he will continue to play for Monaco is questionable. Al Ahli is said to have put out feelers and is tempting with a mega salary.


 

AS Monaco

Breel Embolo

According to information from "L'Equipe", Breel Embolo is no longer wanted in coach Adi Hütter's team. AS Roma and AC Milan are said to be interested in the 77-time international, who will not be in the squad against Le Havre.


 

Rennes

Fabian Rieder

Rieder started for Rennes and was substituted in the 64th minute. Although Rennes were outnumbered against Marseille from the 31st minute, Ludovic Blas scored the winning 1-0 in stoppage time.


 

Marseille

Ulisses Garcia

Garcia is substituted in the 78th minute, receives a yellow card and is on the pitch when the goal is conceded. He had imagined a different start to the new season.


 

Toulouse

Vincent Sierro

A few weeks ago, it was rumored that Sierro was on the verge of a move to Saudi Arabia. The 29-year-old international is still under contract with Toulouse, but was no longer in the squad for the 1-0 win over Nice.


 

Le Havre

Felix Mambimbi

Mambimbi was substituted in the 78th minute against Monaco with the score at 1-3. The result remains the same.