Rising star Toni Kroos was both chief playmaker and goalscorer on Sunday in Bayer Leverkusen’s 3-0 win over TSG Hoffenheim that knocked his parent club, Bayern Munich, off the top of the table.
Kroos is on loan at Leverkusen from Bayern and the midfielder demonstrated what his employers are missing by creating two goals and then scoring one of his own in the second half — his fifth in the last four league games.
The Germany under-21 star, who only turned 20 earlier this month, showcased the class that has led Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge to insist he will be returning to Munich at the end of the season, but Leverkusen boss Jupp Heynckes was unimpressed with his side’s first-half performance, when Hoffenheim went close on several occasions.
PHOTO: AFP
“We were careless and negligent after we went 1-0 up,” said Heynckes, his side still unbeaten this season. “I said at the break that we must take the initiative, and in the second half we showed our class and showed why we are top of the league.”
After Bayern beat Werder Bremen 3-2 on Saturday to temporarily take over at the top of the table, Leverkusen’s win puts them back on top of the Bundesliga with a two-point advantage, while Bayern drop to second.
Leverkusen took the lead when Kroos curled in a free-kick from the flanks and defender Sami Hyypia slotted home from 3m out past Hoffenheim goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand after 11 minutes.
Kroos then turned in a cross from Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok on 51 minutes, before providing the final pass for Tranquillo Barnetta to slot home on 71 minutes and seal a win that leaves Hoffenheim ninth in the table.
Earlier, Bundesliga strugglers Cologne earned their second win in three games after inflicting a shock 3-2 defeat on defending champions VfL Wolfsburg, who have now gone seven league games without a win.
With striker Lukas Podolski missing with a back injury, Cologne showed they can do without their Germany star and managed to defend for all they were worth to hold on at the Volkswagen Arena and claim the three points.
The defeat leaves Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh under immense pressure and it remains to be seen whether he will be in charge for their next game at Hamburg on Friday.
Cologne took the lead when midfielder Kevin Pezzoni slipped his marker after seven minutes to head home, but Wolfsburg fought back when Christian Gentner equalized after only 21 minutes.
Cologne striker Sebastian Freis then managed to hold off the challenge of two defenders and the goalkeeper to slot his shot into the back of the net on 57 minutes.
The home side responded through Portugal defender Ricardo Costa, but Cologne were not to be denied only their fifth win of the season, and on 74 minutes Fries played Adil Chihi into space and he drilled his shot past Wolfsburg goalkeeper Andre Lenz.
The result leaves Wolfsburg 10th and Cologne 13th, but shouts of “Veh out” will not have been ignored by the Wolves coach, who is now looking in danger of losing his job.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
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
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
OBJECTIVE REACHED: ’Now for us, it’s about getting healthy, making sure everybody is ready to go, and we can ramp up,’ the Atlanta Hawks’ C.J. McCollum said after the game The Atlanta Hawks on Friday secured an NBA playoff berth with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Boston Celtics locked up the Eastern Conference second seed with a lopsided win of their own. C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 29 points for the Hawks, who came into the contest at sixth in the East and still in danger of falling into the play-in tournament that would see the seventh-through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff berths in each conference. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson scored 18 points apiece, and Dyson Daniels added a triple-double of 13
RSS