Belgian defender Daniel van Buyten made amends for his dismissal at Bordeaux in midweek by heading a late winner for Bayern Munich in a 2-1 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
The centerback saw red in France last Wednesday in the 2-1 defeat to Bordeaux in the Champions League, but he came off the bench to score with a crucial 88th-minute header as the German giants came from behind.
“We created several good chances against opponents who were very defensively minded,” Bayern coach Louis van Gaal said, with his side now four points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen. “We couldn’t convert them into goals and Frankfurt scored through the first possibility. I decided to bring on [Arjen] Robben and [Mario] Gomez, and switched van Buyten for Luca Toni. I was very happy with the changes and in just eight days we have now halved the gap behind Leverkusen.”
Eintracht took the lead at Bayern’s Allianz Arena when midfielder Alexander Meier timed his run through Munich’s offside trap to perfection and latched onto a pass from Patrick Ochs on 60 minutes, before firing home.
Bayern welcomed back play-maker Robben after three weeks out with a knee injury and the Dutchman marked his return with the equalizer.
After Gomez won an aerial battle against Frankfurt goalkeeper Oka Nikolov, Robben pounced on the loose ball and slotted home on 70 minutes, before van Buyten’s priceless goal that put Bayern in fifth place.
Hoffenheim moved up to sixth after enjoying an impressive 3-0 win at home to Nuremberg when defender Christian Eichner slotted home a dream goal from 30m out, before striker Vedad Ibisevic hit their second after 38 minutes. Then 19-year-old Argentine striker Franco Zuculini, playing only his third Bundesliga game, unleashed a fierce shot from 20m out to add Hoffehneim’s third.
VfB Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel may have been given a vote of confidence by his board last week, but his position looks increasingly precarious after his side lost 1-0 at Hannover.
nnover
Former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was pulled out of position by Dutch midfielder Arnold Jan Bruggink, allowing Ivory Coast striker Didier Ya Konan a simple tap-in on 30 minutes.
Stuttgart hit the woodwork twice, but could not breach the Hannover defense as they lost their fourth straight game.
Mainz moved up to seventh with a 3-0 win at Freiburg, while Cologne were held 0-0 at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
Taiwan’s Lee Hao-yu on Friday went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, becoming the 19th Taiwan-born player to reach the big leagues. The Tigers ultimately lost 1-0 in 10 innings, ending their six-game winning streak. The 23-year-old started at third base and batted eighth for Detroit. He was promoted from Triple-A Toledo ahead of the four-game series against the Red Sox at the latter’s home stadium, replacing injured utility player Zach McKinstry. “Being right-handed, and given our schedule, I think six of the next 12 games are going to
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Matheus Cunha on Saturday fired Manchester United toward the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win at Chelsea, while Tottenham Hotspur remain in the relegation zone after twice blowing the lead to draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. Chelsea failed to take advantage of a United defense ravaged by injury and suspension as a fourth straight league defeat for the Blues left their Champions League hopes in ruins. United have missed out on the riches of Europe’s elite competition for the past two seasons, but are closing in on a return thanks to an upturn in fortunes under interim manager
RSS