Michael Gregoritsch scored one goal and set up another as Schalke 04 dealt a blow to Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Bundesliga hopes in a 2-0 win on Friday.
In the German league’s first game of this year after the winter break, ’Gladbach’s defense were frequently overwhelmed by the hosts’ rapid team moves, especially on counterattack.
After a string of first-half saves by ’Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer kept the score 0-0 at the break, but Schalke scored twice early in the second half.
Photo: AFP
Gregoritsch took the ball out to the left flank in the 48th minute, stretching the defense and opening up space in the middle. He passed for Suat Serdar to charge through the gap in ’Gladbach’s back line and score from the edge of the penalty area.
Ten minutes later it was Gregoritsch’s turn, finishing off a counterattack that ran almost the length of the field, with a lay-off pass from Benito Raman.
“We had trouble the whole game with Schalke’s movement. They put a lot of pressure on us and it was hard to play the ball out too. We gave them too much room,” Sommer said in televised comments. “We had chances in the first half when we could have scored a goal, but in general we were not good enough today.”
Photo: EFE
LA LIGA
AP
Getafe beat host CD Leganes 3-0 to win Madrid’s mini-derby on Friday. Jose Bordalas’ Getafe rose to fifth in La Liga ahead of the rest of the 20th round.
Photo: EFE
Getafe defender Leandro Cabrera headed in a cross from Damian Suarez to open the scoring in the 12th minute.
Allan-Romeo Nyom added a second goal from another header in the 21st minute, before forward Jorge Molino set up strike partner Jaime Mata to put the result beyond doubt in the 33rd minute.
Leganes goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar saved his side from an even bigger defeat when he rushed back and cleared a deflected shot by Mata from his line in the final minutes.
Leganes’ first loss in five rounds kept them in second-to-last place.
Javier Aguirre’s side were playing their first match since the club sold striker Youssef En-Nesyri to Sevilla.
COUPE DE FRANCE
AFP, PARIS
Olympique de Marseille struck three times in the final 15 minutes to overcome fourth-tier Granville 3-0 in the last 32 of the Coupe de France on Friday.
Alvaro Gonzalez, Nemanja Radonjic and Dimitri Payet scored for Marseille after Granville were reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of William Sea.
Marseille have won the Cup on 10 occasions — second only to Paris Saint-Germain (12) — but have not lifted the trophy since 1989.
They were dumped out of the competition in the round of 64 last season by fourth-division Andrezieux and only narrowly avoided a similar upset earlier this month when they beat Trelissac on penalties.
Pau, who play in the third tier, knocked out Ligue 1 club Girondins de Bordeaux on Thursday with a 3-2 victory.
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