Defending champions Borussia Dortmund crashed to a 1-0 defeat at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday, while top coach Felix Magath demanded the introduction of video replays to correct referee blunders.
Hoffenheim poached an early lead when Bosnia striker Sejad Salihovic curled in a free-kick after just nine minutes to shock Dortmund and the champions’ attack had a rare off-day as they failed to impose themselves on a determined defense.
Dortmund’s rising teenage Germany star Mario Goetze, who orchestrated his country’s 3-2 friendly win over Brazil midweek, had a quiet game and was taken off by coach Jurgen Klopp after 54 minutes.
Photo: Reuters
Having beaten Hamburg SV 3-1 last weekend, Dortmund showed none of the self-assurance which secured that victory despite Klopp reshuffling his attacking midfield with three second-half changes.
“Hoffenheim got the victory because they showed greater passion,” Klopp said. “In spite of that, we still could have still managed to win the game. Over 40 to 50 minutes, we played well and created a number of chances to score.
“The defeat feels really bad as I didn’t have the feeling we couldn’t have picked up anything here in terms of points,” he added.
Having been shocked at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach last weekend, Bayern Munich picked up their first win as Brazil midfielder Luiz Gustavo scored in the 91st minute for a 1-0 win against 2009 champions VfL Wolfsburg.
French playmaker Franck Ribery provided the final pass and Gustavo drilled his shot into the top left-hand corner.
“We were playing against a team who had their heads held high,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said after Wolfsburg had won 3-0 at Cologne last weekend. “We were very happy to get a goal, even if it came in added time. After the opening defeat to Moenchengladbach, it was exceptionally important to get a point here.”
Bayern were at near full strength, although Dutch winger Arjen Robben was missing because of a back and adductor problem.
Wolfsburg had the ball in the Munich net in the first half, thanks to a header from former Germany striker Patrick Helmes, but the effort was ruled offside, leading coach Felix Magath to call for video referees.
“If four referees are not able to assess the situation properly, then it’s time for television referees,” Magath said after replays showed Helmes was not offside.
Schalke 04 bounced back from last weekend’s defeat at VfB Stuttgart with an impressive 5-1 win at home to Cologne as Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat-trick.
Hanover 96 and FSV Mainz 05 both picked up their second wins of the season.
Hanover — who host Sevilla in a Europa League playoff on Thursday — picked up a 2-1 win at Nuremberg, while Mainz enjoyed a 2-1 win at SC Freiburg to go top of the table on goal difference.
Hertha BSC Berlin picked up a point in a 2-2 draw at Hamburg, while Stuttgart and 10-man Moenchengladbach shared a point on Saturday evening with a 1-1 draw.
Moenchengladbach had defender Roel Brouwers sent off for a second yellow card, while Belgium defender Filip Daems netted a second-half penalty for the hosts, before Stuttgart’s Cacau equalized.
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barca secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barca a 2-0 win over
RSS