Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made an extraordinary howler in the biggest game in German football amid links of a move to Manchester United.
Kobel's Dortmund were taking on Bayern Munich in a fixture billed to decide the Bundesliga title race this season, with the Swiss 'keeper an important part of why BVB travelled to Allianz Arena boasting a one-point lead. But after just 13 minutes, Kobel misjudged a deep pass from opposition centre-back Dayot Upamecano and completely missed the ball with a big swing of his right leg.
As more than 70,000 fans watched on in astonishment, the ball trickled into the back of the net to give Bayern a shock lead in their first match under new manager Thomas Tuchel, who replaced Julian Nalgesmann after his ruthless sacking last week. Tuchel's side took advantage of Dortmund's shaky start and it was 3-0 a mere nine minutes later thanks to two goals from captain Thomas Muller.
The scoreline stayed that way until half-time, when the former Chelsea boss didn't need to give his players much of a rousing team talk. Kobel, meanwhile, had to compose himself, especially after Muller's second goal came from his failure to parry away Leroy Sane 's venomous shot.
The Switzerland international, 25, was making his first appearance for over the month, as backup 'keeper Alexander Meyer had filled in for the four previous games leading up to the international break after Kobel suffered a minor injury. The 25-year-old was recently linked with a summer transfer to Manchester United, who're exploring their options after David de Gea rejected a new contract.
While United manager Erik ten Hag wants to see De Gea stay, the Spaniard is being told to accept a significant pay cut in order to remain at Old Trafford. According to Swiss outlet Blick, the Red Devils have already expressed an interest in Kobel, who's also on Chelsea and Tottenham 's radars.
The shot-stopper joined Dortmund in June 2021 following an impressive two-year spell with Stuttgart, initially on loan. Unfortunately for Kobel, his comical error against Bayern won't help convince Ten Hag that he's the answer to United's long-term goalkeeping problem.
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Dean Henderson still has two years on his contract with the Red Devils but is spending the season loan at Nottingham Forest. Tottenham are also interested in signing him, with Henderson opting not to train under Ten Hag in pre-season as he was desperate to go out and play this term rather than spending another year as second fiddle to 32-year-old De Gea, who's been at Old Trafford since 2011.
As for the match in Munich and Tuchel, he'll have been delighted to see Dortmund crumble so early. Five minutes into the second half, Kingsley Coman continued his red-hot form to make it 4-0 and quash any hope the visitors had after the break.
