Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the German first division with two goals from Luca Toni in a 3-0 win against Bavarian rival FC Nuremberg.
Bayern's victory moved them five points clear of second-placed Karlsruher SC for a record lead after nine rounds of the season.
Also on Sunday, promoted Eintracht Frankfurt beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 behind Sotirios Kyrgiakos's two headers.
Nuremberg goalkeeper Jaromir Blazek was unable to hold Hamit Altintop's long-distance attempt in the 31st minute and Toni got to the ball to score. With nine minutes left, the Italian international headed in a corner from Ze Roberto for his second goal.
Toni tied injured teammate Miroslav Klose for the league high of eight goals this season.
Ze Roberto scored Bayern's second goal in the 40th minute on a low shot, following Bastian Schweinsteiger's backheel pass.
Hitzfeld's return to Bayern eight months ago was spoiled by Nuremberg, which routed his club 3-0 and went on to claim the German Cup.
This time, however, Bayern was in control. Bayern has won its last four games 13-1 in goals and is unbeaten with seven wins and two draws.
Nuremberg, who have lost their starting forwards to injury, fell into 17th place.
Frankfurt took the lead with Kyrgiakos's 54th minute header off a free kick as they moved into seventh place. The Greek was left unmarked as he again headed a goal for a 79th-minute winner.
Marko Ross' own goal in the 72nd leveled briefly as Leverkusen dropped into eighth place. Last week, the team was second and gave Bayern its toughest match in weeks before losing 1-0.
In other games, it was: Borussia Dortmund 2, VfL Bochum 1; VfB Stuttgart 0, Hannover 96 2; Schalke 0, Karlsruhe 2; Hertha Berlin 0, Energie Cottbus 0; Arminia Bielefeld 0, Hamburger SV 1; VfL Wolfsburg 1, Hansa Rostock 0; and MSV Duisburg 1, Werder Bremen 3.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
Shin Oebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo, and he is very aware how Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani touches his players. “With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Oebori said, wrapping up practice yesterday on an all-dirt field set alongside a local Buddhist temple, below an elevated highway, and in the shadow of tall apartment blocks in central Tokyo. “Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream,” Oebori said, stepping out of the fenced practice field that keeps balls from landing on the temple grounds. None of the players hitting sponge-soft baseball has reached
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
CRICKET Azhar’s 59 leads Stallions Aashir Azhar’s blazing half-century guided the Taipei Stallions to victory over Taipei Super 11 in the Taiwan Premier League’s Group A at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei yesterday. The Stallions were 102-3 and into the 12th over of 20 when Azhar came to the crease. He hit seven sixes and two fours in the 25 deliveries he faced to push his side to 171-5. Gokul Kumar was the star with the ball for Super 11, taking 3-17. In the reply, Deepak Vishnu outscored Azhar with 77 from 50 balls, but nobody else got past 20 as