Borussia Dortmund extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to 13 points on Friday, blitzing second-placed Bayer Leverkusen with three goals in just six minutes for an impressive 3-1 away win.
Having already begun the year with a 10-point lead, Dortmund hit second-half goals in quick succession from teenager Mario Goetze and two from 22-year-old Kevin Grosskreutz to seal the win.
With such a commanding cushion, Dortmund can start dreaming of their first German title since 2002.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I have been going to watch Dortmund since 1994 and I know what it’s like to win the league title as a fan on the terraces,” Grosskreutz said. “I have been dreaming of this since I was a little boy and I’d love to hold the cup in my hands.”
Although Leverkusen rallied in the game’s final 15 minutes, Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp — who has been tipped as a future manager of English giants Liverpool — was clearly delighted with his side’s convincing away win.
“The plan was to continue to play our own style of football, which we did,” Klopp said. “The first goal settled the nerves and we weren’t comfortable until we got the third goal.”
Leverkusen goalkeeper Rene Adler had a busy evening between the posts.
Grosskreutz, who is tipped as a future Germany star, opened the scoring when he latched on to a handball by Leverkusen defender Daniel Schwaab and tapped his shot past Adler on 49 minutes.
Just four minutes later, the attacking midfielder curled his shot around Adler after Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller’s goal-kick was headed on by striker Robert Lewandowski for Grosskreutz to blast home.
Leverkusen’s misery was compounded when Grosskreutz turned provider as Goetze beat Adler for the third time from close-range on 55 minutes.
Only a superb save from Adler stopped it from being 4-0 when substitute Lucas Barrios fired in a shot from the left flank from long-range that needed a full-stretch save from the Germany national goalkeeper shortly afterwards.
With 10 minutes remaining, Leverkusen striker Steffan Kiessling pulled a goal back for the hosts when he latched on to a cross from Renato Augusto to stab the ball into the net and injure himself in a collision with the goalpost in the process. The result saw Leverkusen drop down to third place.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two