The big mercenary check: maximum punishment for Sow, honor for Okafor

Noah Loosli (Bochum): Plays a Bundesliga match for the first time – and becomes a good luck charm in the surprising 1-0 win against Stuttgart.

Cédric Zesiger (Wolfsburg): Also sitting out against Heidenheim (1:1), less than a minute played this year.

Gregor Kobel (Dortmund): Prevented Cologne from equalizing with strong saves before his teammates secured a 4-0 win over the relegation candidates.

Nico Elvedi (Gladbach): 1:2 home defeat against Augsburg, after which Elvedi, who played more than 90 minutes, still has reason to be happy: teammate Lainer is making a comeback after his cancer.

Jonas Omlin (Gladbach): His shoulder injury means he won’t be able to make a comeback until at least March.

Kevin Mbabu (Augsburg): Strong performance in Gladbach: prepares the 1-1 and initiates the 2-1 winning goal with a quick throw-in.

Ruben Vargas (Augsburg): The winter break did him good: still a joker in 2023, a permanent fixture since the restart and he fell in the 2-1 win in Gladbach.

Silvan Widmer (Mainz): The match against Union Berlin had to be canceled due to snow and ice.

Edimilson Fernandes (Mainz): The match against Union Berlin had to be canceled due to snow and ice.

Granit Xhaka (Leverkusen): Another last-minute victory 3-2 in Leipzig. This is how you become a master. Especially if their pursuer Bayern makes a mistake at the same time.

Leonidas Stergiou (Stuttgart): Substitute in the 0-1 defeat in Bochum, waiting for the first minutes of the match in 2024.

Manuel Akanji (Man City): He had to take a break due to a knee injury.

Zeki Amdouni (Burnley): Game-free weekend for Nati’s shooting star.

Fabian Schär (Newcastle): A competition-free weekend for him too.

Ricardo Rodriguez (Turin): Didn’t play this weekend. The match against Lazio will be moved to February 22 because the Biancocelesti were in Saudi Arabia for the Super Cup in recent days.

Noah Okafor (Milan): Came on as a substitute in the 68th inning when the score was 2-2 against Udinese. In injury time he scored an important away win for Milan. It is his fourth goal of the season. The “Gazzetta dello Sport” named him man of the match.

Michel Aebischer (Bologna): Didn’t play this weekend. The match against Fiorentina will be moved to February 14 because the Tuscans have been in Saudi Arabia for the Super Cup in recent days.

Remo Freuler (Bologna): Didn’t play this weekend. The match against Fiorentina will be moved to February 14.

Dan Ndoye (Bologna): Also had a game off this weekend. It is possible that the wing will be back by mid-February after his thigh injury.

Yann Sommer (Inter): The Nati goalkeeper and the Nerazzurri face Napoli in the final of the Supercoppa Italiana in Saudi Arabia on Monday evening.

Eray Comert (Nantes): The Bretons suffered an embarrassing home defeat against second division Laval (0:1) in the cup.

Yvon Mvogo (Lorient): Game-free weekend for Nati’s substitute, because Lorient is already out of the cup.

Becir Omeragic (Montpellier): The cup match in Feignies will not take place until Wednesday.

Silvan Hefti (Montpellier): He also only took action on Wednesday.

Vincent Sierro (Toulouse): He shoots from the spot, but that cannot prevent the embarrassment in the cup against third division Rouen.

Breel Embolo (Monaco): Continues to work on the comeback after the ACL tear.

Philipp Köhn (Monaco): Gets a break in the 3-1 cup win against underdog Rodez.

Denis Zakaria (Monaco): Continues to play against Rodez.

Fabian Rieder (Rennes): Will probably be out until the end of February after breaking his foot.

Jordan Lotomba (Nice): Regular strength in the 3-2 lead in the cup against Bordeaux.

Djibril Sov (Seville): Despite their lead, the Andalusians come under the wheels against surprise team Girona (1:5). The midfielder receives a yellow card in the 61st and is substituted in the 77th. Sevilla is only one point clear of the relegation places.

Maxime Dominguez (Gil Vicente): Scores the next title victory in a 2-0 victory in Portimão.

Francesco Ruberto (Vizela): Watch from the bench as his rival concedes five goals against Sporting Lisbon.

Miro Muheim (Hamburg): Serves the last of two red cards in the 2-0 win at Schalke.

Jasper van der Werff (Rostock): 0:3 in Nuremberg – with Van der Werff in the center of defense, who was overwhelmed like his teammates.

Jan Elvedi (Kaiserslautern): After the sixth defeat (0-2 against Pauli), Lautern has finally entered the relegation battle with regular Elvedi.

Filip Stojilkovic (Kaiserslautern): Went to the 2nd league to finally play. But there is no demand for his services at Betzenberg either, so Stojilkovic is at the crossroads of his career in Germany.

Saulo Decarli (Braunschweig): The 2-1 coup at top team Kiel followed from the bench.

Carlo Brunner (Schalke): Schalke loses 2-0 to Hamburg and has been warned.

Martin Angha (Wehen-Wiesbaden): Currently out with a calf injury.

Christian Fassnacht (Norwich): Enters the field after more than an hour in the 2-0 home win against West Bromwich.

Simon Sohm (Parma): Has extended his contract until 2027 in recent days. The Zurich resident is back in the starting line-up against Sampdoria (3-0), after not playing the week before. Plays a decent game. He stopped in the 75th minute.

Pajtim Kasami (Sampdoria): Serves his third of three suspensions against Parma (0:3). He caught this the day before Christmas Eve against Feralpisalò when he deliberately hit an opponent in the chest with his elbow. Samp has not been able to win a match since.

Natan Girma (Reggiana): The Series B discovery continues to attract attention. In the draw against second-placed Como (2:2), he celebrated his fifth goal of the season. He was shown a yellow card in the 59th and was suspended for next week. In the 86th, Girma was replaced by coach Alessandro Nesta.

Michael Frey (Antwerp): Has no future in Antwerp. According to information from Blick, a return to Ligue 1 or a transfer to the English championship is conceivable.

Stefan Knezevic (Charleroi): Currently out with a thigh injury.

Cameron Puertas (Saint-Gilles): Also demonstrated his strong form against Sint-Truiden and provided an assist in the 2-1 win.

Andi Zeqiri (Genk): Saves his team a point with his goal in the 1-1 draw against Cercle Brugge.

Noam Baumann (OFI Crete): The goalkeeper remains in the dressing room after the break during the 1-0 home win against Panetolikos.

Steven Zuber (AEK Athens): Provides the assist to make it 3-0 in the 5-0 away win against Atromitos.

Benjamin Siegrist (Celtic): Secure a 5-0 cup win against Buckie Thistle – as usual this season.

Gregory Wüthrich (Sturm Graz): In Austria, the cup quarter-finals will not take place until early February.

Bryan Okoh (RB Salzburg): In Austria, the cup quarter-finals will not take place until early February.

Elmedin Fazlic (Domzale): The Slovenian competition is on hold until mid-February.

Leo Lacroix (Craiova): The ex-Basel and Sittener continue playing in the 3:4 against Rapid Bucharest.

Nicolas Bürgy (Viborg): The competition is on hold until mid-February.

Petar Pusić (NK Osijek): The Croatian competition is on hold until the end of January.

Josip Drmic (Dinamo Zagreb): Winter break until the end of January.

Zoran Josipovic (NK Istra): Winter break until the end of January.

David Mistrafovic (Varazdin): Winter break until the end of January.

Gokhan Inler (Besiktas Istanbul): Still without playing minutes this season, not even in the selection against Pendikspor (0:4).

Albian Ajeti (Gaziantep FK): Once again not in the selection for the 2-2 draw against Sivasspor.

Marco Burch (Legia Warsaw): The Polish competition is on hold until mid-February.

Leo Seydoux (Dordrecht): We are waiting for his first appearance after his free transfer from Belgian club Westerlo. Will it happen on Monday evening against AZ Alkmaar II?

Kwadwo Duah (Ludogorets Razgrad): The Bulgarian competition is on hold until mid-February.

Haris Seferovic (Al Wasl): The competition is on hold until mid-February due to the Asian Cup.

Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire): The new MLS season starts on February 21.

Maren Haile-Selassie (Chicago Fire): The season starts on February 21.

Roman Bürki (St. Louis): The season starts on February 21.