Austrian Sebastian Proedl scored a stoppage-time equalizer as Werder Bremen came from two goals down to stun second-placed Bayer Leverkusen in a 2-2 draw in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Leverkusen looked to be cruising to an easy victory with goals from Eren Derdiyok and Simon Rolfes either side of halftime, but Bremen, whose coach Thomas Schaaf is under mounting pressure with the team battling to avoid the drop, pulled one back in the 82nd minute before Proedl headed in from close range.
Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese was outstanding in the first half, twice denying Leverkusen from point-blank range, but he was helpless three minutes before the break when Derdiyok rose above two Bremen defenders to head in.
Rolfes slotted in from the left midway through the second half, before Stefan Kiessling scored an own-goal eight minutes from time.
Piling players forward, Bremen were rewarded with a confidence-boosting equalizer from Proedl. They move up to 25 points, a point above the relegation playoff spot.
Leverkusen ended the game with 10 men after Arturo Vidal was sent off.
VfB Stuttgart improved their chances of staying up with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt, despite playing most of the game with 10 men.
Stuttgart, who had Mathieu Delpierre sent off after 15 minutes, took the lead when Martin Harnik pounced on a goalkeeping error to score in the 64th minute.
The visitors added another goal four minutes later through Tamas Hajnal to seal the win and move up to 22 points, three ahead of last-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach.
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
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was