A second-half wonder goal by Hamburg’s Croatian striker Ivica Olic sealed a 2-1 win over Werder Bremen on Sunday.
Olic’s goal — his fifth of the season — on 74 minutes from outside the penalty area was superb as he drove his shot into the top left-hand corner giving Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese no chance.
“It was great to see the goal go in, but it was more important for us to pick up the three points,” Olic said.
PHOTO: AFP
“I knew it was going on as soon as it left my boot, it was a nice feeling.”
Bremen have now won just two of their last seven league games and the defeat is hardly ideal preparation for tomorrow’s Champions League trip to Anorthosis Famagusta — a game Bremen must win if they are to progress.
Hamburg took the lead on Sunday when Peru striker Jose Paolo Guerrero fired home after Wiese parried a shot from Croatia striker Mladen Petric, but the south American smashed home the rebound on six minutes.
Diego scored his seventh goal in 10 games when he curled his shot around the Hamburg defense and although home goalkeeper Frank Rost got a glove to the shot, Werder equalized on 24 minutes.
The result leaves erratic Hamburg — they have both won and lost three of their last six league games — fifth in the league while Bremen are ninth.
On Saturday, another five-star performance from France midfielder Franck Ribery helped third-placed Bayern Munich to a 4-1 win over Energie Cottbus on to keep the pressure on leaders Hoffenheim.
The league leaders are now three points clear of rivals Bayer Leverkusen after their 3-1 win at Cologne after Leverkusen slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Arminia Bielefeld.
And Hertha Berlin kept up their pressure on the league leaders with an impressive 3-2 win at snowy Bochum to go fourth in the table.
Schalke 04 moved up to seventh thanks to their 3-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach.
There was a rough afternoon for goalkeeper Jens Lehmann as he leaked four goals in Wolfsburg’s 4-1 win over Stuttgart.
Eintracht Frankfurt did their flagging league position the power of good with a rampant 4-0 win over Hanover.
German Bundesliga
Team P GD PTS
1 TSG Hoffenheim 14 17 31
2 Bayer Leverkusen 14 15 28
3 Bayern Munich 14 12 28
4 Hertha Berlin 14 3 27
5 Hamburg 14 0 26
6 Borussia Dortmund 14 7 24
7 Schalke 04 13 9 23
8 Wolfsburg 14 10 22
9 Werder Bremen 14 6 20
10 Cologne 14 -5 19
11 Vfb Stuttgart 14 -2 18
12 Eintrach Frankfurt 14 -4 16
13 Hannover 96 14 -12 13
14 Arminia Bielefeld 14 -9 12
15 Borussia M’gladbach 14 -12 11
16 Vfl Bochum 14 -6 10
17 Karlsruhe 14 -13 10
18 Cottbus 14 -16 9
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women’s Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prevot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prevot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600m and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prevot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. “I didn’t know if
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
RSS