Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Sunday cruised past bottom-of-the-table Fortuna Duesseldorf 3-0 to keep themselves in a tight Bundesliga title race.
A first-half header from Kai Havertz, followed by a second-half goal from captain Lars Bender and a penalty from Lucas Alario ensured the win and fifth place, six points behind league leaders RB Leipzig.
The visitors remained rooted to the foot of the table.
Photo: AP
Havertz was the hosts’ most dangerous man and he headed a Karim Bellarabi cross beyond the grasp of Florian Kastenmeier to give the hosts the lead in the 40th minute.
Captain Lars Bender doubled their lead with 11 minutes remaining, tapping home Kerem Demirbay’s looping corner.
Lucas Alario made it 3-0 from the penalty spot in the final minutes, sending Kastenmeier the wrong way after Nadiem Amiri was brought down in the area.
“We played well and had good chances. We’re satisfied with the win,” Havertz said. “I always feel good when I score a goal and I feel good when I play a good game.”
Earlier, Werder Bremen sank further into relegation trouble after slumping to a 3-0 home defeat to Europe-chasing TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
A Davy Klaassen own-goal in the 65th minute was followed up by strikes from Christoph Baumgartner and Sargis Adamyan for the away side to subject Bremen to their fifth defeat in six matches.
The loss leaves the hosts in the Bundesliga’s relegation playoff place on 17 points, one behind FSV Mainz 05 in 16th place.
“We played a really good away game today, the boys defended with discipline,” Hoffenheim manager Alfred Schreuder said. “In the end, we deserved to win — this is a very important victory for us.”
Hoffenheim — who are up to seventh, two points away from the UEFA Europa League spots — were initially kept at bay by a Bremen side determined to keep a clean sheet for the second time this season.
Bremen managed to stifle Hoffenheim until Stefan Posch got his head to the ball at a corner, with Klaassen’s attempted clearance landing in his own net.
It was a demoralizing goal to concede for Bremen, who went two down 14 minutes later when Baumgartner’s superb back-heel floated over the head of goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka.
A third followed just four minutes later, Andrej Kramaric finding Adamyan in the penalty area.
The Armenian’s deflected shot gave Pavlenka no chance and sealed Hoffenheim’s third win in four matches.
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