Ten-man Werder Bremen had goalkeeper Tim Wiese sent off, but they still went top of the Bundesliga table after drawing 1-1 at Nuremberg, while Borussia Moenchengladbach stayed among the pacesetters after their 1-0 win at bottom-placed Hamburg SV on Saturday.
Wiese was dismissed in the 17th minute for a foul, but Bremen went ahead seven minutes later after scorer Mehmet Ekici combined well with Claudio Pizarro to curl in from 14m.
Philipp Wollscheid leveled for the hosts on the hour after the start of the second half had been delayed by heavy rain and hail for 20 minutes.
Photo: AFP
Bremen move up to 13 points, one more than Bayern Munich. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim are also on 12 points following their 3-1 win over VfL Wolfsburg.
“It was certainly not boring,” Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf told reporters. “We made it hard on ourselves with the red card and we put ourselves in a difficult position, but we scored and after our goal we remained disciplined, so I think the draw was deserved.”
Second-placed ’Gladbach, also on 13 points, sunk struggling Hamburg when Igor de Camargo headed in a free-kick on 66 minutes.
Last-placed Hamburg have yet to win this season and they stretched their losing streak to four straight league games, piling further pressure on coach Michael Oenning.
Cologne moved up to 13th after Lukas Podolski sparkled in their 4-1 win at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, scoring twice and setting up another for Milivoje Novakovic. Mato Jajalo completed an unexpectedly easy win in stoppage-time.
Podolski, whose Germany spot has been challenged by Leverkusen’s Andre Schuerrle in recent months, silenced his critics with a stellar performance as rival Schuerrle was dismissed for a harsh foul in stoppage-time.
Hoffenheim continued their fine season under coach Holger Stanislawski with Roberto Firmino scoring twice and Ryan Babbel adding another in their win over Wolfsburg, who dropped to 14th.
Also on Saturday, Kaiserslautern beat FSV Mainz 05 3-1 and Hertha BSC Berlin drew 2-2 with fellow newcomers Augsburg.
Additional reporting by staff writer
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
RSS