Defending Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund romped to a 3-0 win at home to Nuremberg on Friday to provisionally go second in the Bundesliga, behind leaders Bayern Munich.
With Bayern at south German rivals VfB Stuttgart today, Dortmund took their opportunity to move up to second ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, who played against SC Freiburg yesterday night.
There was a strong Poland theme to Dortmund’s scoresheet with national teammates, midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski — who netted a controversial first-half penalty — and striker Robert Lewandowski sharing the goals.
Photo: Reuters
“Nuremberg actually had the better chances, although we had 80 percent possession,” Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp said after a match played in sub-zero temperatures.
“If our goalkeeper hadn’t made two sensational saves, Nuremberg would have taken an early lead. We had to be patient, which was the test we passed and at the end of the day, winning 3-0 is a good thing,” he added.
Nuremberg last scored a goal in Dortmund back in 2006 and this was their 14th visit to Borussia without a win.
“The first-half penalty they were awarded was definitely questionable and at the end, the result was probably a goal too many,” Nuremberg manager Michael Wiesinger said. “The second half was a brave performance from us. It is a bitter defeat, but they do not give us much to work with.”
Nuremberg’s Czech striker, Tomas Pekhart, and then midfielder Markus Feulner forced Borussia goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller into reflex saves with 15 minutes gone, but Dortmund raced into a 2-0 lead soon after.
Dortmund captain Blaszczykowski — known as Kuba — scored twice in three minutes during a devastating first-half spell.
After Nuremberg winger Timo Gebhart was judged to have fouled Dortmund rightback Lukasz Piszczek, Kuba drilled home the penalty on 18th minutes and then slotted his second after Germany star Mario Goetze’s cross found him.
Dortmund were rarely threatened in the second half, as midfielder Nuri Sahin came on to make his first appearance at home since his return from 18 months away at Real Madrid and Liverpool.
With two minutes left, Germany midfielder Marco Reus set up Lewandowski to blast home the Pole’s 12th league goal of the season to make sure of the points.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care