Defending champions Bayern Munich were held to a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday evening to find themselves lagging 14 points behind Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.
With top side Dortmund earlier coming from behind to win 2-1 at SC Freiburg to pick up their 11th league win from 13 games, Bayern are leaving themselves a considerable gap to bridge with more than a third of the season now played.
Bayern are up to eighth in the league, while Leverkusen are third.
PHOTO: AFP
“The point is OK, but we could have won,” Bayern goal-scorer Mario Gomez said.
Gomez was left kicking himself after missing a late chance, while Bastian Schweinsteiger had a header disallowed for offside after just two minutes.
Munich took the lead when national players Thomas Mueller, the top-scorer at the World Cup, Schweinsteiger and Gomez combined for a dream goal.
Mueller lobbed in a cross from the flank, Schweinsteiger, who led Germany in the goalless draw against Sweden in midweek, chipped Leverkusen goalkeeper Rene Adler and striker Gomez volleyed into the net on 34 minutes.
It was Gomez’s fifth league goal in four games and his eighth this season, but Leverkusen drew level when Bayern’s Croatia defender Danijel Pranjic brought down midfielder Stanley Sam on the edge of the penalty area in first-half stoppage-time and Chile striker Arturo Vidal fired home the 47th-minute spot-kick.
Earlier, Bundesliga leaders Dortmund came from behind to earn a 2-1 win at title rivals Freiburg to keep their seven-point lead over second-placed FSV Mainz 05, who ended their three-game losing streak.
The winner came on 78 minutes when Freiburg defender Mensur Mujdza slid the ball into his own net as Dortmund attacked in waves to seal their 11th win from 13 league games.
Mainz are back up to second after they also fought back with a 3-2 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Schalke 04 hammered fellow Champions League side Werder Bremen 4-0 as former Spain and Real Madrid striker Raul scored a hat-trick.
The win leaves Schalke 14th and Bremen 11th.
Hannover 96 are fourth after their 3-2 win at Hamburg SV, while TSG 1899 Hoffenheim are fifth after they enjoyed a 4-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt. Kaiserslautern won 3-1 at Nuremberg.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and