Bayern Munich, who went behind against Eintracht Frankfurt and struggled for periods, hit back mainly thanks to a double by Italian striker Luca Toni to notch up a 3-1 away victory and restore their 10-point advantage at the top of the German league on Wednesday.
Bayern look set to earn their 21st league title with just five matches to go.
Ottmar Hitzfeld’s men, who beat Borussia Dortmund 5-0 on Sunday, had a poor first half despite the return of France international Franck Ribery who had been rested at the weekend.
However Ribery, like the whole of the Bayern team, struggled against more focused and motivated opponents. Eintracht went ahead after a superb move which concluded with a Benjamin Koehler header who made the most of both Brazilian Lucio and Frenchman Willy Sagnol failing to mark him.
Frankfurt almost went two goals to the good before the break but Ioannis Amanatidis failed to find the target though Bayern’s defense, and Michael Rensing who replaced No. 1 keeper Oliver Kahn, had been put on the back foot.
Bayern looked to have more stability in the second half when Lukas Podolski came on and they equalized with half an hour to go from a header by Belgian international defender Daniel Van Buyten.
Frankfurt were under a great deal of pressure in their goalmouth but Rensing made some good saves.
Ribery went off midway through the half but from then on it was all Bayern as Italian World Cup winning striker Toni got two more goals to seal what might prove to be a crucial victory in the season run-in.
Hitzfeld said afterwards: “We had a lot of luck today because Frankfurt could have led 2-0 and perhaps even deserved to win this match but we came back well after the break.”
More good news for Bayern was that Borussia Dortmund, whom they face in Saturday’s German Cup final, had a major setback in losing 3-1 at home to Hanover.
On Tuesday, second-placed Werder Bremen won 2-1 at Hansa Rostock, three days after thrashing third-placed Schalke 04 5-1.
Germany international Torsten Frings opened the scoring with a 57th minute shot for his first league goal since November 2006 but Rostock drew level in the 76th minute through Sebastian Haehnge.
Bremen got the winner with eight minutes to go however. A penalty kick was saved by the Rostock keeper but the ball fell nicely to Ivan Klasnic who made no mistake with the rebound.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
RSS