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For the most part, Poland’s 3-0 victory over Andorra was a routine day at the office for superhuman goalscoring machine Robert Lewandowski.

With less than an hour on the clock he had already helped himself to a brace. The first was a mishit volley from a free kick, while his second was taken in more clinical fashion. However, a few minutes later he would be forced off in what could prove to be one of the most significant moments in Bayern Munich’s season.

Soon after the Andorra game it was reported that the 32-year-old would not feature in Poland’s World Cup qualifier against England on Wednesday, depriving football media outlets everywhere of a Lewandowski vs Harry Kane social media graphic.

The prognosis then got worse when on Tuesday it was confirmed that Lewandowski had strained ligaments in his knee, ruling him out for four weeks. This means he will miss Bayern’s vital Bundesliga game against second placed RB Leipzig on Saturday, as well as tricky encounters against Union Berlin, Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

Crucially, Lewandowski will also be in the stands for both legs of his side’s Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain. A rematch of last year’s final, this injury to their star man means the advantage is now with Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

The importance of Lewandowski is hard to overstate. Over the past two season he has been a freak of nature in front of goal, scoring with an unsettling degree of regularity. He possesses all types of finishes in his repertoire and even the best defences in the world have not been able to halt this remorseless goal-getter.

The Pole has scored 35 times in 25 Bundesliga games this season, just shy of half of Bayern’s total goals. After 25 games Thomas Muller is the only other player in the squad who has got into double figures and Lewandowski has more goals than Muller, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Leon Goretzka, Jamal Musiala and Kingsley Coman combined.

He has also been a near ever-present since Flick took over Die Roten back in November 2019. Since that first game, a 4-0 Der Klassiker win over Borussia Dortmund in which he grabbed a brace, Lewandowski has missed just seven games in all competitions.

Throughout this time, he has been the guy for Flick as well. While the manager’s does deserve huge credit for the job he has done since taking over at the Allianz Arena, his tactical tweaks have had little impact on Lewandowski outperforming his xG by a ridiculous 10.1 this season. That is just a world-class finisher doing his thing.

What is particularly worrying about Lewandowski’s upcoming absence is that his likely replacement, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, is anything but world class. Ironically signed from PSG in the summer, he has stepped up in each of his teammate’s three absences this season, scoring just once.

Flick could opt to move one of his wide forwards centrally or shift Muller to striker, but it seems unlikely. Incredibly then, Choupo-Moting looks set to again fluke his way onto the grandest footballing stage, less than three years after tasting Premier League relegation with Stoke City.

It is hard to think of a bigger downgrade in world football and it could not come at a worse time for Bayern. PSG and their Bundesliga rivals will be licking their lips in anticipation of dealing Europe’s top dogs some damage over the next four weeks.

England Under-21 forward Noni Madueke appears to have a big decision on his hands this summer, with Bayern Munich set to rival Leeds and Crystal Palace for his signature.

Madueke has exploded onto the scene at PSV this season and earned his first call-up for Aidy Bothroyd’s squad at this months’s U21 European Championships.

He made his debut at that level against Portugal on Sunday, and while defeat left England with no chance of qualification, Madueke’s U21 bow was another step in the right direction for the 19-year-old.

News of fresh interest in his signature comes from the Evening Standard, who say that Bayern, Palace and Leeds have all ‘put feelers out’ as to his availability.

Palace may have a special appeal for the versatile forward, considering that’s where he started out before joining Tottenham at 12 years of age. But whether they could afford him is another matter; Madueke joined PSV from Spurs’ academy in 2017, and is under contract until 2024.

Madueke has raised eyebrows with his performances in the Eredivisie this season, scoring seven goals and assisting a further six. That caught the attention of Boothroyd, who had no hesitation about drafting him into the U21s for the Euros.

Speaking ahead of Madueke’s debut, Boothroyd said: “He’s fitted in really well. He’s a powerhouse of a player, technically very good, left-footed and likes to come in off the side of the pitch, off the right and go and link.

“He’s got a goal in him, he’s very creative. He’s got a massive smile, a lovely kid. The lads have taken to him, as they would because he’s a good player, he has that respect for what he’s done at PSV.”

Whether he would prefer a return to the Premier League or a move to the Bundesliga remains to be seen, but the Standard report suggests he has already rejected the chance to join Manchester United – so any offer will likely have to be a good one.

We’re now well into the international break. That’s a good thing if you’re not a fan of World Cup qualifiers, with top flight league football set to return next week, but if national team fixtures are more your bag, you’ve still got a few more days of action to lap up.

There was plenty of football to get through on Sunday, with England, France, Spain, Germany and Italy among the teams in action.

Here’s your roundup for the World Cup qualifiers.

England made light work of Albania on Sunday evening as goals from Harry Kane and Mason Mount secured their second win in Group I.

A slow start and one major chance for the hosts aside, the Three Lions were rarely troubled and the victory keeps them on top in the group before Wednesday’s clash with Poland at Wembley.

You can find Matt O’Connor-Simpson’s player ratings here.

Current world champions France secured their first win in Group D by disposing of Kazakhstan.

Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring in the 19th minute before Sergiy Maliy’s own goal doubled Les Bleus’ advantage, while Kylian Mbappe came off the bench and missed a penalty in the second half.

Max Parsons’ player ratings are here.

You would think European heavyweights Spain would have more than enough to see off lowly Georgia, wouldn’t you?

You’d be wrong. Sunday’s affair between the two nations was too close for comfort for Luis Enrique’s visitors, who only snatched the win late on courtesy of Dani Olmo’s 91st minute winner.

La Roja had gone behind earlier on when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck, with Manchester City’s Ferran Torres equalising ten minutes after the restart. Kudos to Jordi Alba, who provided both assists for Spain’s goals.

Italy registered a second consecutive 2-0 victory as they eased past Group C rivals Bulgaria.

Andrea Belotti rattled in a penalty shortly before half time, with Sassuolo’s Manuel Locatelli curling home late in the second half.

Roberto Mancini’s side face Lithuania next on Wednesday.

Germany made it two wins from two games in Group J with a slender 1-0 victory over Romania, Serge Gnabry grabbing the game’s only goal.

The Bayern Munich star tapped in from Kai Havertz’s incisive pass across goal for his 15th goal in just his 19th international appearance.

You can find Max Parsons’ ratings here.

Scotland managed a second draw in Group F when they came from behind to earn a point in Israel.

Playing in a front of a small crowd in Tel Aviv, Steve Clarke’s side fell behind when Dor Peretz smacked in a scorcher from range. The visitors pulled level when Ryan Fraser gathered Che Adams’ pass and curled low inside the left-hand post from the edge of the box.

Next up for the Scots is a home fixture with the Faroe Islands.

Group B

Georgia 1-2 Spain
Kosovo 0-3 Sweden

Group C

Bulgaria 0-2 Italy
Switzerland 1-0 Lithuania

Group D

Kazakhstan 0-2 France
Ukraine 1-1 Finland

Group F

Denmark 8-0 Moldova
Austria 3-1 Faroe Islands
Israel 1-1 Scotland

Group I

Albania 0-2 England
San Marino 0-3 Hungary
Poland 3-0 Andorra

Group J

Armenia 2-0 Iceland
Romania 0-1 Germany
North Macedonia 5-0 Liechtenstein

We all love the international break really, right? C’mon, who doesn’t love a bit of England vs San Marino?

That Wembley encounter wasn’t the only affair of Thursday night, however. Plenty of the big guns were in action, while a few more of the home nations got their World Cup qualifying campaigns underway.

Here’s your roundup for all of Thursday night’s action.

England made a decent start to their campaign as a rotated XI dismissed San Marino for an easy 5-0 win.

James Ward-Prowse and Ollie Watkins both scored their first goals for the Three Lions, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice and Raheem Sterling got his 14th international strike.

You can find Ross Jackson’s player ratings from the fixture here.

Germany made light work of Iceland in a 3-0 victory, but wrote headlines before kick off as they followed Norway’s example and protested Qatar’s human rights record.

Joachim Low’s side lined up in t-shirts spelling out ‘human rights’ in a stand against Qatar’s alleged violations of migrants.

Leon Goretzka, Kai Havertz and Ilkay Gundogan all scored in an otherwise routine win. Want more player ratings? Here you are, courtesy of Max Parsons.

Steve Clarke’s Scotland side twice came from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw with Austria at Hampden Park.

The hosts were forced to endure large spells without the ball in the opening 45 minutes, though they had arguably the better of the chances as Ryan Christie was twice denied by Alexander Schlager.

The visitors took the lead early in the second half, with David Marshall palming Florian Grillitsch’s effort back into the danger zone and Sasa Kalajdzic applying the finish.

Grant Hanley’s powerful header restored parity for Clarke’s side, but Kalajdzic produced an even better header ten minutes from time to restore Austria’s lead.

With an opening game defeat looming, Aston Villa man John McGinn rescued his side a point with an unbelievable overhead-kick in the 85th minute.

Northern Ireland suffered defeat in the first outing of their qualifying campaign as they went down 2-0 to Italy at the Ennio Tardini Stadium.

After a solid start to the game, the visitors had the wind taken out of their sails as Italy hit the front. Alessandro Florenzi picked out Domenico Berardi on the right-hand side and the Sassuolo man cut infield before smashing the ball high into the net to give the home side the lead.

Ian Baraclough’s men were given a mountain to climb on the stroke of half-time as Lazio hitman Ciro Immobile fired past Bailey Peacock-Farrell to make the score 2-0. The youngster will be disappointed to have been beaten at his front post but Immobile’s strike just proved too hot to handle.

Northern Ireland pushed to find a way back into the game but were unable to break down a resilient Italy backline as they came away empty-handed.

Alvaro Morata’s brilliant individual goal wasn’t enough to haul Spain to victory in their opener with Greece.

Morata brought down Koke’s cross marvellously before volleying in at the near post, but second-half substitute Inigo Martinez conceded a penalty minutes after his introduction, allowing Anastasios Bakasetas to equalise.

You can find the player ratings for that game here.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a hand in the only goal of the game as Sweden kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 win over Georgia.

The Milan forward led the line for his side in his first international appearance since 2016 and it didn’t take long for him to make an impact. After controlling the ball on his chest in the area, the veteran frontman showed the presence of mind to hook the ball behind him and find Viktor Claesson, with the midfielder coolly slotting home the opener.

The visitors pushed for an equaliser but it wasn’t to be as Ibrahimovic made a triumphant return to the international scene

Group B

Sweden 1-0 Georgia
Spain 1-1 Greece

Group C

Bulgaria 1-3 Switzerland
Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland

Group F

Israel 0-2 Denmark
Scotland 2-2 Austria
Moldova 1-1 Faroe Islands

Group I

Hungary 3-3 Poland
England 5-0 San Marino
Andorra 0-1 Albania

Group J

Liechtenstein 0-1 Armenia
Germany 3-0 Iceland
Romania 3-2 North Macedonia

The Under-21 European Championships got underway on Wednesday evening, with reigning champions Spain kickstarting their campaign with victory over Slovenia, while nine-man Italy were held to a draw by the Czech Republic.

Elsewhere, Germany picked up all three points against Hungary, while the Netherlands and Romania played out a 1-1 draw.

Let’s take a look at the best of the action.

Spain are currently top Group B thanks to a convincing 3-0 victory Slovenia. After the first half finished goalless, Spain’s dominance in possession was finally rewarded in the 53rd minute, Espanyol’s Javi Puado emphatically slamming home a half volley from the edge of the area.

Less than two minutes after breaking the deadlock, Spain added a second. Having provided the cross in the build up to his side’s opening goal, Getafe’s Marc Cucurella was again the architect as his pass was effortlessly turned home by Roma’s Gonzalo Villar from a near identical position to Puado following a slick Spain move.

Victory was wrapped up one minute from time, and again the goal came from the left flank. Manu Garcia and Juan Miranda exchanged passes, and the left back cooly slotted home.

Elsewhere in Group B, Italy were held to a 1-1 draw by the Czech Republic, the Italians finishing the game with nine players.

Italy had led in the first half through Gianluca Scamacca, the striker rounding Martin Jedlicka in the Czech Republic goal and slotting into an empty net, before this was cancelled out by a Giulio Maggiore own goal 15 minutes from time.

Sandro Tonali was then shown a straight red for kicking out at Ondrej Sasinka as the pair tussled on the touchline, and Riccardo Marchizza was given his marching orders in second half stoppage time for a second bookable offence.

Meanwhile in Group A, the shares were spoiled between Romania and the Netherlands.

The Netherlands, making their first appearance at the tournament since 2013, were headed in front after 16 minutes through Peter Schuurs. However, they were pegged back four minutes later via a stunning Andrei Ciobanu free kick as proceedings finished all square.

Germany got their group stage campaign off to a winning start with victory over Hungary to leave them top of Group A.

Hungary defended resolutely for the first hour, but their resistance was finally broken through a header from Manchester City’s Lukas Nmecha. Five minutes later Germany had a second, Bote Baku turning home from close range.

Baku added his second and Germany’s third 17 minutes from time with a poacher’s finish after Mergim Berisha’s effort had clattered the woodwork.

Manuel Neuer says Germany want to give manager Joachim Löw a fitting send off before he departs after this summer’s European Championship.

Löw has enjoyed success since taking over Die Mannschaft in 2006, leading them to the Euro 2008 final and winning the World Cup in 2014.

HIs 15-year stint in charge will finally come to an end in July and ahead of Germany forthcoming World Cup qualifiers, Neuer – who has been a mainstay of the side over the past decade – said that the squad are aiming to finish the era on a high.

“I think that he has earned the right to go out on a high,” the Bayern Munich keeper said, as quoted by Sportstar. “I’ve been here since 2009. Soon I’ll be 35 years old and I have gone through plenty of ups and downs with him.

“It’s noticeable how motivated and ambitious he is because the end to his time as coach is important to him and that’s a good sign for our upcoming games over the next few days and next summer.”

During the international break, Germany have World Cup qualifiers against Iceland, Romania and North Macedonia to contend with. They will be without midfield general Toni Kroos for all of these games after the Real Madrid man was forced to withdraw through injury.

After these matches, Germany currently have one further friendly against Latvia scheduled before they kick off their Euro 2020 campaign. Their group has been christened ‘The Group of Death’, as it includes World Cup holders France, Euro 2016 winners Portugal and a talented Hungary side.

Germany will be hoping for an improvement on their 2018 World Cup display where they crashed out at the group stages after losing to both Mexico and South Korea.

Spain kick off their qualifying campaign for the 2022 Qatar World Cup on Thursday, with Luis Enrique’s side looking to book their place in the finals in December next year.

La Roja have featured in 15 of the 21 World Cups to date and they start as strong favourites to emerge from a group containing Georgia, Kosovo, Sweden and Thursday’s opponents Greece.

Enrique sprung a few surprises when his squad for the upcoming clashes was announced, with only six players from Spain’s ‘big three’ clubs involved.

Here’s how his starting XI could look as they take on John van ‘t Schip’s team.

David de Gea (GK) – The Manchester United man has been absent from club duty since the birth of his daughter, though he’s been named in Enrique’s 24-man squad so is likely to be given the nod.

Pedro Porro (RB) – Received his maiden call-up to the senior side after a fine season with Sporting CP and could be handed his debut.

Sergio Ramos (CB) – Has spent a lot of time on the sidelines in recent months, though Enrique is clearly keen to have him around the squad. He’ll be expecting to feature having been called up.

Eric Garcia (CB) – Beginning to flourish at Manchester City this season and is emerging as a real top centre-back talent. Will be hoping to add to his four senior caps earned so far.

Jordi Alba (LB) – Has started to come under pressure in recent years having been Spain’s number on left-back for so long, though the shirt is still his for now.

Rodri (CM) – Having struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League he’s beginning to find his feet at Manchester City and is playing easily the best football of his fledgling career in England.

Koke (CM) – An almost ever-present for Atletico Madrid this season and will be a shoo-in for pretty much every midfield selected by Enrique.

Sergio Canales (CM) – Wasn’t handed his senior debut until the age of 28, despite representing Spain at every possible youth level. Now that his first cap – bagged in 2019 – is under his belt, he’s going from strength to strength.

Ferran Torres (RW) – Starting to show glimpses of what he can do when given the chance in a Manchester City shirt. Is highly thought of by those involved in the national team setup.

Alvaro Morata (ST) – One ‘weak’ area among Spain’s current generation of stars is at centre forward. Alvaro Morata is the best option available, although Gerard Moreno will have something to say about that.

Mikel Oyarzabal (LW) – Hasn’t been able to nail down a place in the national team since making his debut in 2016, but he’s enjoying a superb campaign with Real Sociedad.

It was not pretty. In fact, at times it was close to unwatchable, but Tottenham’s 2-0 away win over Aston Villa suggested that, for better or for worse, the José Mourinho experiment is not dead…yet.

Mourinho’s future had been seriously questioned this week after Spurs were beaten in the north London derby and dumped out of the Europa League by a team whose manager was sent to prison 48 hours before kick off.

It is hard to overstate just how rancid Thursday’s performance was. Captain Hugo Lloris certainly did not hold back after the game, describing his team’s exit as a ‘disgrace’. Some of his other comments could also be interpreted as pointed jabs in Mourinho’s direction, fuelling rumours that the former Chelsea boss had lost the dressing room.

If that is true, there was little evidence of it being the case on Sunday at Villa Park. Despite Mourinho ringing the changes – with Japhet Tanganga, Joe Rodon and Giovani Lo Celso being handed rare starts – Tottenham showed the necessary grit and determination to secure a much-needed three points.

Their start was not vintage, but after Carlos Vinicius tapped home Lucas Moura’s cross in the 29th minute they did not look in any serious danger of conceding. It took until the hour mark for the hosts to register an attempt on goal and they ended with an xG of just 0.46. Of course, this must come with the caveat of there being no Jack Grealish in claret and blue, but even still, there can be few complaints about the performances of Tanganga, Davinson Sanchez or Rodon at the back.

In the attacking third, Mourinho’s Spurs also require some credit. At this point it goes without saying that Kane is brilliant and his clever winning and subsequent conversion of a second-half penalty took him to within 100 goals of Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record.

Spurs’ supporting cast were also impressive. After that aforementioned slow start, they started clicking. Vinicius grabbed his first league strike and his compatriot, Moura, caught the eye with some positive runs into the box. Meanwhile, Ndombele was unplayable at times, toying with Villa’s midfield with a sizeable repertoire of flicks and feints.

The result moves Tottenham up to sixth in the table, just one shy of West Ham in fifth and three adrift of the Champions League places. Add to this their Carabao Cup final against Manchester City next month and suddenly things do not look so apocalyptically bad as they did on Thursday night.

After that humiliation, this Villa win was desperately needed. While the chances of Mourinho’s tenure ending in tears are still extremely high, the performance at least proved that there is still some fight left in the north Londoners as we approach the business end of the season.

While a piece of silverware and top-four finish are tantalisingly within reach, the threat of a trophyless campaign and return to the Europa League still looms large.

Chelsea demonstrated their exciting, resilient, and slight s***housery side during their impressive 2-0 Champions League last 16 second leg victory over Atletico Madrid.

The Blues held a slender 1-0 advantage following their Olivier Giroud-inspired victory in the first leg – a potentially dangerous scoreline given the away goals rule and therefore a potentially difficult game to judge tactically.

But Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea got it spot on.

The Blues were rock solid defensively, with Kurt Zouma and Antonio Rudiger absolute man mountains at the back. Maybe more on the latter later.

But Chelsea didn’t just come to sit and protect their fragile lead. Tuchel’s side were fast, energetic and exciting going forward and caused all sorts of problems on the counter attack. The typical terrier like energy of the outstanding N’Golo Kante really typified their performance, the midfielder darting here, there and everywhere as he mopped up defensively, before being quick and positive in possession.

It was on the counter attack that Chelsea took the lead on the night, and doubled their advantage on aggregate, Timo Werner charging down a cross inside his own half before combining with Kai Havertz and putting one on a plate for Hakim Ziyech, with the winger cooly stroking home.

Despite the need to defend their lead, the Blues continued to look exciting all evening. Havertz – having been deployed in a false nine role against Leeds on Saturday – thriving in the inside forward role, and combined well with Werner throughout. Werner led the line on his own, but possessed with all the energy of Kante could also be found cropping up across the pitch, running in behind, pressing Atletico when out of possession and getting at the backline when on the ball.

The 1-0 lead on the night remained a slightly nervy score, with Atletico needing just one goal themselves to be right back in the tie. Diego Simeone’s side are often renowned for their dark arts, but it was the impressive Rudiger who instead deployed some dark arts of his own when Stefan Savic gave him a crafty elbow in the box.

Having been solid as a rock all evening, the 1.9m centre half suddenly crumpled to the floor in wonderfully theatric style, Savic was given his marching orders, and Europe’s renowned s***housers had become the s***housed.

The Blues wrapped up the win with another fabulous counter attacking move, this time substitute Emerson turning home to secure Chelsea’s spot in the quarter finals. More excitement, resilience and s***housery in the last eight, please.

Several minutes into Real Madrid’s Champions League round of 16 second leg against Atalanta on Tuesday night, the visitors were presented with a great opportunity.

Making one of those inside to outside runs as he often does, Robin Gosens managed to latch onto the end of Luis Muriel’s cross. However, despite being just a few yards out, the German failed to make solid contact and his shot was easily batted away by Thibaut Courtois.

If this strike had gone in, the game might have gone a little differently. It didn’t though and in the end Gosens chance, spurned with less than 180 seconds on the clock, would be one of the only times that Atalanta seriously threatened during the 90 minutes.

This was as easy a night as Real could have hoped for. Gosens’ was not the only visiting player in a charitable mood. From front to back, Atalanta’s passing was atrocious. Their infamous high press was also feeble. To Zinedine Zidane’s credit, his decision to switch to a deep, mutating back five played a role in unsettling Atalanta out of possession, but individual misjudgment was important as well.

La Dea’s greatest gift of all to their hosts came in 34th minute. Marco Sportiello was the man at fault, aiming his pass straight down the gullet of Luka Modric. The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner then showed trademark composure to drive forward before pulling the ball back for Karim Benzema for an easy tap-in.

After the break, Atalanta continued to be their own worst enemy. Credit must go to Vinicius Junior for his direct running, but the Rafael Toloi challenge that brought him down in the box was sloth like in its laziness. After Sergio Ramos converted the resultant spot kick, Real’s place in the quarter finals was all but confirmed, although Luis Muriel and Marco Asensio would – in wonderfully Chris Eubank style – add some spice to the scoreline in the closing stages.

Do Real have much chance of progressing further than the last eight? In truth this Atalanta tie has not been very helpful in answering that question. Questions remain over Real’s defence, which more seasoned European campaigners would have surely taken advantage of on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, a frontline of Vinicius Junior and Lucas Vazquez will not strike fear into most teams who remain in the hat.

Then again, this is Zinedine Zidane’s Real we’re talking about. Avoid one of the favourites in the quarter finals and the narrative gods might just do the rest.