Bayern Munich suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to Bundesliga strugglers FSV Mainz 05 on Sunday, a result which leaves the Bavarians third in the table, with champions Borussia Dortmund top for the first time this season.
Having lost 1-0 at home to Dortmund on Saturday last week, Jupp Heynckes’ men were beaten again, their defense struggling to cope with a Mainz side who were not intimidated by the German record champions.
“We made it easy for them, there is no doubt they’re fighting to stay away from the relegation zone,” Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said. “Generally speaking, we are normally the better team, but if you don’t put in the necessary effort, that is what happens.”
The win was no more than the hosts deserved after Bayern repeatedly surrendered possession in midfield, where they are missing the calming influence of injured star Bastian Schweinsteiger, who is nursing a broken collarbone.
Mainz were rewarded when Austrian midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz struck after just 11 minutes.
Bayern defender Daniel van Buyten equalized on 56 minutes, but Mainz were not to be denied a win which lifts them to 13th as midfielder Marco Caligiuri and defender Niko Bungert scored to put the hosts 3-1 up.
Van Buyten scored his second header to make it 3-2 with 11 minutes left to set up a tense finale, but Mainz held on.
“You can make a plan and tell the team, but the players have to believe in it and make it work,” Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel said. “We didn’t allow Bayern many opportunities and we deserved this win.”
Bayern director of sport Christian Nerlinger admitted his side had lost their way, despite qualifying for the knock-out phase of the Champions League.
“We have lost two of our last three games, which obviously has consequences on the league table,” he said.
“Things aren’t running as smoothly as they were, but I’m confident we’ll win our remaining league games before Christmas,” Nerlinger said.
Bayern’s defeat sees them slip to third, with Dortmund seizing the top spot in the wake of their 2-0 win over Schalke in the Ruhr derby on Saturday.
Borussia Moenchengladbach are second on goal difference after their 3-0 win at Cologne on Friday, with Bayern a point back in third and Werder Bremen, who enjoyed a 2-0 win at home over VfB Stuttgart, fourth on 26 points.
Dortmund now travel to ‘Gladbach on Saturday, while Bayern host Bremen, in what is shaping up to be another massive weekend in an increasingly fascinating title race.
Former European champions Celtic exited the UEFA Champions League in the qualifiers after a 3-2 penalty shoot-out defeat at Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty on Tuesday, following two goalless legs in the playoff tie. Kairat are to compete in the competition proper for the first time, while Norway’s Bodo/Glimt and Cyprus’s Pafos also secured debut appearances after coming through the playoffs. Celtic’s night ended in disappointment as they missed three penalties in the shoot-out, Daizen Maeda failing with the decisive spot-kick. The slugfest of a match went into extra-time with neither side finding the net and few overall chances, echoing the first
Rangers on Wednesday bowed out of the UEFA Champions League playoffs with a humiliating 6-0 defeat at the hands of Club Brugge which piles further pressure on head coach Russell Martin, while SL Benfica secured a place in the competition proper at the expense of Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce. The Glasgow giants traveled to Belgium right up against it after losing 3-1 at home in last week’s first leg, when they conceded three times in the opening 20 minutes. They never looked like turning the tie around as Club Brugge took the lead inside five minutes at the Jan Breydelstadion through Nicolo Tresoldi
HAVING THE LAST WORD: Shohei Ohtani crushed his 45th homer and delivered the knockout blow in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 8-2 victory over the Padres A heckler next to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dugout spent his entire Sunday giving an earful to the visitors, including a nonstop barrage of digs and chirps at Shohei Ohtani for his hitless performance in a portentous weekend series against the San Diego Padres. When Ohtani crushed his 45th homer and delivered the knockout blow in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 8-2 victory, the normally decorous three-time Most Valuable Player detoured on his way back to the dugout to slap hands — and get the last word — with the chagrined Padres fan. The Dodgers loved to see it, along with
Noah Lyles on Thursday warmed up for the upcoming athletics world championships by chasing down Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo to win the 200m at the Diamond League final. Lyles trailed Tebogo at the start, but gradually erased the deficit over the final 100m and pipped the Botswana sprinter to the line by centimeters. Lyles, the Olympic 100m champion and reigning world champion in both the 100m and 200m, clocked 19.74 seconds in a slight headwind. Tebogo was 0.02 seconds behind. It was Lyles’ sixth Diamond League title, a record for track athletes. “Six, that’s a big number,” Lyles said. “Shoot, that’s another record on