Dutch winger Arjen Robben netted a hat-trick as Bayern Munich smashed their losing streak with a 6-0 rout of Hamburg on Saturday, while leaders Borussia Dortmund were beaten 1-0 at Hoffenheim.
After Bayern boss Louis van Gaal was told last Monday that his contract would be terminated at the end of the season — a year earlier than planned — Bayern secured their biggest win of the season following three straight defeats.
Bayern started strongly at Munich’s Allianz Arena and hit the woodwork three times in the first half, before Robben netted his first goal just before the break.
He then curled in a direct free-kick on 47 minutes and completed his hat-trick eight minutes later after French winger Franck Ribery tore through the Hamburg defense and squared to the Dutchman, who rifled home.
Not to be outdone, Ribery then scored his first goal since December when he outpaced the Hamburg defense and chipped home on 64 minutes.
Germany midfielder Thomas Mueller scored the fifth with 10 minutes remaining after a great pass from Turkey’s Hamit Altintop split the Hamburg defense.
To complete the humiliation, Ribery’s low cross deflected in off the legs of Hamburg captain Heiko Westermann in the 85th minute.
The goal was later awarded to Ribery and the win left Bayern fourth in the table.
On Saturday night, Bremen pulled further away from the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw over bottom side Borussia -Moenchengladbach as Brazil defender Dante scored a 92nd-minute equalizer for ’Gladbach.
The league’s top side Dortmund were beaten for only the third time this season through a second-half goal from Hoffenheim striker Vedad Ibisevic.
With second-place Bayer Leverkusen at Mainz yesterday, Dortmund keep their 12-point lead at the top, while defending champions Bayern are still 16 points off the pace despite their win in Munich.
Schalke, who booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals in mid-week, beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 to ease the pressure on coach Felix Magath after last week’s reports he is set to be fired.
Midtable Nuremberg picked up their sixth win in seven games with a 2-1 win at Wolfburg, which dropped Wolves into the relegation zone, while Kaiserslautern won 2-1 at home to Freiburg to escape the bottom three.
Cologne picked up their sixth straight league win at home with a 4-0 victory over Hannover on Friday night.
LIGUE 1
AFP, PARIS
Lyon prepared for their Champions League assignment at Real Madrid in ideal fashion with a 2-0 win at Sochaux on Saturday that lifted them to within a point of Ligue 1 leaders Lille.
Claude Puel’s side will take a 1-1 scoreline to Madrid in the second leg of their last 16 tie on Wednesday after condemning Sochaux to only their third home defeat of the campaign.
Elsewhere, an 80th-minute strike by Remy Cabella — his first in Ligue 1 — earned bottom club Arles-Avignon a 3-3 draw at home to Lorient in an end-to-end game at Avignon’s Parc des Sports.
Saint-Etienne, league leaders at the end of September, arrested a dismal run of four consecutive defeats with a 2-0 win at home to Brest.
Les Verts went ahead in the 35th minute courtesy of a Bakary Sako penalty and Dimitri Payet ended a wait of almost five months for a goal by firing home from 25m in the closing stages.
Nancy eased their relegation fears with a 2-0 victory over Caen that sent them six points clear of the relegation places and Nice extended their unbeaten run to four matches by defeating Auxerre 1-0.
Marseille put a difficult week behind them on Friday night to win 2-0 at title rivals Rennes, ahead of their trip to Manchester United in the Champions League tomorrow.
The champions had lost 2-1 at home to Lille last weekend and saw Brazilian striker Brandao arrested on suspicion of rape, but they are now within a point of both Rennes and Lille, who lead the table on goal difference.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite