Thomas Mueller’s first-half strike on Saturday was enough for Bayern Munich to win 1-0 at Werder Bremen and become the first side to start the Bundesliga with nine victories.
Mueller scored his ninth of the season in the 24th minute when he ran past the static Bremen defense for Thiago Alcantara’s clever ball, then eluded the goalkeeper with his first touch and slotted inside the post with his next.
Bayern had nearly 90 percent possession in the first half and might have had a penalty in either half, first when Robert Lewandowski was held by Alejandro Galvez, and then when he was caught badly above the knee by Bremen goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald’s studs.
Photo: Reuters
“It was a penalty. It is a pity the referee did not give it,” Lewandowski said. “It would be a bigger issue if it had been decisive, but we won. Three points.”
Anthony Ujah missed Bremen’s best chance to equalize when he shot straight at Manuel Neuer.
Bayern restored their seven-point lead over Borussia Dortmund with their 999th Bundesliga victory.
“The performance was enough this time, but we will need more in the coming weeks,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said.
Also on Saturday, Max Meyer scored in stoppage-time for Schalke 04 to beat 10-man Hertha BSC 2-1 and consolidate third place, Max Kruse scored a hat-trick as VfL Wolfsburg defeated TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 4-2, Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 0-0 at Hamburger SV and promoted SV Darmstadt 98 won 2-0 at Augsburg.
Darmstadt climbed to ninth thanks to first half strikes from Sandro Wagner and Peter Niemeyer.
Leverkusen slipped to eighth after their fourth draw.
Borussia Moenchengladbach routed Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 away to continue their resurgence under interim coach Andre Schubert.
Raffael put the visitors ahead in the 16th minute after Yann Sommer saved Lars Stindl’s initial effort.
Sommer gave away a penalty for bringing down Luc Castaignos, and Alexander Meier duly equalized from the spot in the 29th minute.
Mahmoud Dahoud restored the visitors’ lead with a deflected shot in the 51st minute and then set up Raffael in the 57th.
Andre Hahn added a penalty in the 82nd minute after the impressive Dahoud was fouled by Marco Russ, and then completed the scoring in the last minute.
Moenchengladbach have won all four league games since Lucien Favre quit as coach after starting with five defeats.
Hertha might have moved third, but the side’s prospects were damaged when Vedad Ibisevic was sent off for a foul on Meyer in the 18th minute.
Benedikt Hoewedes put Schalke ahead nine minutes later with a header from a corner on his first league start of the season.
Salomon Kalou equalized with a header from Mitchell Weiser’s cross in the 73rd minute, only for Meyer’s late strike after some fine work by Leroy Sane to set off the home side’s celebrations.
In Wolfsburg, midfielder Julian Draxler set up Kruse in the first minute and then Bas Dost in the sixth, before Jeremy Toljan pulled one back for Hoffenheim in the 29th.
Jonathan Schmid equalized in the 54th minute, but Kruse claimed his second of the match in the 62nd and completed his hat-trick in the 83rd.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and