Hamburg SV lost 3-1 at Augsburg on Sunday to suffer another setback in the struggle to avoid the first Bundesliga relegation in the club’s history.
In the late match, Borussia Moenchengladbach won 1-0 at Schalke 04 on a first-half goal by Patrick Herrmann as Schalke failed to strengthen their grip on third place and a direct slot in the UEFA Champions League.
Hamburg’s eighth straight away loss also means four teams are safe from relegation. Werder Bremen, Hannover 96, SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt are now mathematically certain to stay in the top flight.
“Our only concern now is the [relegation] playoff place,” Hamburg coach Mirko Slomka said.
Only VfB Stuttgart can be overhauled by Hamburg, which are 16th and in a relegation playoff place, but Stuttgart are five points ahead with only two matches remaining, while Nuremberg and Eintracht Braunschweig are one and two points behind respectively.
The two-leg playoff involves the 16th-placed team from the Bundesliga and the third-placed team from the second division.
Halil Altintop scored twice and Andre Hahn also netted to give Augsburg a 3-0 lead, before Heiko Westermann pulled one back for Hamburg in the 44th minute.
Schalke remained third with 58 points, three ahead of Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Moenchengladbach have 52, two behind VfL Wolfsburg in fifth.
Herrmann’s goal all but secured Moenchengladbach’s place in the UEFA Europa League next season.
Both teams wasted good opportunities and Schalke’s Adam Szalai hit the post from close range in the 82nd minute.
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