Bastian Schweinsteiger scored with 10 minutes remaining for Bayern Munich to beat Hertha BSC 1-0 and move even closer to the Bundesliga title on Saturday.
Mitchell Weiser eluded four Hertha defenders and cut the ball back for Schweinsteiger to score with a fine strike to the top corner.
Bayern were to claim their 25th German title yesterday if second-placed VfL Wolfsburg failed to beat Borussia Moenchengladbach away.
Photo: Reuters
Despite dominating possession, Bayern struggled to create chances in an uneventful first half.
The best chance fell to Nico Schulz early in the second, but the Hertha midfielder was denied by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in a one-on-one situation.
Bayern increased the pressure in the final 15 minutes, with Robert Lewandowski forcing a smart save from reserve Hertha ’keeper Sascha Burchert and Schweinsteiger hitting the post before Weiser’s decisive run.
“I think it’s a deserved win for Bayern. Compliments on the German championship,” Hertha coach Pal Dardai said.
The 18-year-old Sinan Kurt played the second half in his competitive debut for Bayern.
“We have to get through the next couple of weeks. We had a lot of injuries, not many breaks, it’s not easy. Every game is incredibly important now,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said.
Bayern next have a home semi-final against Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup tomorrow. Two games against Barcelona await Guardiola’s team in the Champions League semi-finals.
Earlier, Pierre-Michel Lasogga scored twice as Hamburg SV boosted their chances of avoiding relegation with a 3-2 win over Augsburg.
Ivica Olic scored Hamburg’s first goal in seven games in the 11th minute and Lasogga headed in the second eight minutes later, only for Raul Bobadilla to pull one back for the visitors six minutes after that.
Tobias Werner equalized with a precise effort inside the left post in the 69th, but Lasogga answered two minutes later with a fierce effort to the roof of the net for Hamburg’s first win in 10 games.
“I had the feeling I was getting more and more into shape the last few weeks. You have to earn your luck,” Lasogga said. “We have to keep going. The relegation battle is really exciting.”
Hamburg climbed off the bottom to the relegation playoff place. They are one point above VfB Stuttgart — who drew 2-2 at home against SC Freiburg — and one below Hannover 96, who lost 2-1 at home to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Paderborn slipped to last place, but were to play Werder Bremen yesterday. Only four rounds remain after the weekend’s games.
Dortmund moved three points behind Augsburg in the last Europa league qualification place by defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 at home and third-place Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 1-1 in the Rhine derby at Cologne.
“It’s a great point because it ensures that we finish at least in fourth place,” Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt said of the Champions league playoff place.
Third ensures direct qualification for Europe’s premier competition.
In Dortmund, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s coolly taken penalty put the home side ahead in the 24th, and the Gabon forward turned provider eight minutes later for Shinji Kagawa to seal the result against a harmless Frankfurt side missing injured top-scorer Alexander Meier.
Leverkusen teenager Julian Brandt struck on the hour in Cologne, before substitute Bard Finne earned the home side a point with seven minutes remaining.
Michael Frontzeck’s tenure at Hannover got off to a bad start when Hoffenheim’s Anthony Modeste scored in the second minute. TV replays showed the French striker was offside.
Lars Stindl equalized with a penalty in the 24th, only for Sven Schipplock to score late for the visitors.
“It’s a relegation battle and with one good attack, Hoffenheim claimed the winner,” said Frontzeck, who replaced the fired Tayfun Korkut on Monday last week. “I saw a good game from my team. I’m still optimistic.”
Hannover are 14 games without a win.
Stuttgart started well with Daniel Ginczek scoring in the 24th, three minutes before Filip Kostic crossed for Martin Harnik to make it 2-0.
However, Adam Hlousek was booked for giving away a penalty, converted by Nils Peterson in the 58th, and then earned a second yellow card in similar fashion eight minutes later.
Peterson claimed his second goal with five minutes to go for Freiburg to stay two points clear of danger.
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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB