Bayern Munich take a comfortable eight-point lead into the Bundesliga Christmas break, during which coach Pep Guardiola is expected to clear up his future.
Bayern beat Hannover 96 1-0 on Saturday and, combined with second-placed Borussia Dortmund’s 2-1 loss in Cologne, the league leaders and defending champions can be satisfied with what’s happening on the field.
Off the field, some German media are reporting that Guardiola has decided to leave the Bundesliga powerhouse when his contract expires at the end of the season. Bayern and Guardiola have declined to comment on the reports, saying the decision will be announced shortly.
Photo: EPA
Thomas Mueller converted a penalty close to halftime for Bayern.
Dortmund led Cologne for much of the game, but conceded two goals in the final 10 minutes.
“It was totally unnecessary to lose here,” Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender said.
In other matches, Bayer 04 Leverkusen won 1-0 in Ingolstadt 04 on Javier Hernandez’s 19th goal in 22 matches in all competitions; Eintracht Frankfurt earned an important 2-1 win over Werder Bremen; Augsburg also won on the road, beating Hamburg SV 1-0; and Daniel Didavi scored twice for VfB Stuttgart to leave the relegation zone with a 3-1 upset of VfL Wolfsburg in the late game.
It was looking bad for the hosts when Maximilian Arnold fired Wolfsburg ahead early, but Didavi answered eight minutes later, Filip Kostic made it 2-1 nine minutes after that and Didavi claimed his second two minutes after the break as Stuttgart responded with their performance of the year.
Stuttgart defender Tonu Sunjic’s second yellow card should have ensured a nervy finale with 20 minutes to play, but Sebastian Jung missed on open goal and Max Kruse another chance for Wolfsburg late on.
In Hannover, Bayern had much of the possession, but looked tired, doing just as much as they needed to win three points. The penalty came when Christian Schulz handled the ball as he attempted a diving clearance of a low cross by Arturo Vidal.
Leon Andreasen came close for Hannover earlier, hitting the crossbar with a header.
Robert Lewandowski hit the post for Bayern and Mueller’s follow-up was kicked away by goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler.
Dortmund went ahead early in Cologne when Sokratis Papastathopoulos headed in a corner, but the hosts battled back late, after defending most of the time. Simon Zoller hit the equalizer and substitute Anthony Modeste notched the winner near the end.
Leverkusen moved into fourth place thanks to Hernandez’s second-half strike, a clinical finish of a counterattack guided by Karim Bellarabi, his 11th Bundesliga goal in 14 matches.
Ausgburg’s three points in Hamburg meant a decisive step away from the relegation zone for a side that started the season struggling, but are unbeaten in five consecutive matches.
Jan Moravek scored for Augsburg.
In Frankfurt, Eintracht fell behind to a goal by veteran Claudio Pizarro, but Alexander Meier headed in the equalizer from a long cross by Aleksandar Ignjovski and Stefan Aigner secured the win after halftime with a fine lob.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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