Defending Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund romped to a 3-0 win at home to Nuremberg on Friday to provisionally go second in the Bundesliga, behind leaders Bayern Munich.
With Bayern at south German rivals VfB Stuttgart today, Dortmund took their opportunity to move up to second ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, who played against SC Freiburg yesterday night.
There was a strong Poland theme to Dortmund’s scoresheet with national teammates, midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski — who netted a controversial first-half penalty — and striker Robert Lewandowski sharing the goals.
Photo: Reuters
“Nuremberg actually had the better chances, although we had 80 percent possession,” Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp said after a match played in sub-zero temperatures.
“If our goalkeeper hadn’t made two sensational saves, Nuremberg would have taken an early lead. We had to be patient, which was the test we passed and at the end of the day, winning 3-0 is a good thing,” he added.
Nuremberg last scored a goal in Dortmund back in 2006 and this was their 14th visit to Borussia without a win.
“The first-half penalty they were awarded was definitely questionable and at the end, the result was probably a goal too many,” Nuremberg manager Michael Wiesinger said. “The second half was a brave performance from us. It is a bitter defeat, but they do not give us much to work with.”
Nuremberg’s Czech striker, Tomas Pekhart, and then midfielder Markus Feulner forced Borussia goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller into reflex saves with 15 minutes gone, but Dortmund raced into a 2-0 lead soon after.
Dortmund captain Blaszczykowski — known as Kuba — scored twice in three minutes during a devastating first-half spell.
After Nuremberg winger Timo Gebhart was judged to have fouled Dortmund rightback Lukasz Piszczek, Kuba drilled home the penalty on 18th minutes and then slotted his second after Germany star Mario Goetze’s cross found him.
Dortmund were rarely threatened in the second half, as midfielder Nuri Sahin came on to make his first appearance at home since his return from 18 months away at Real Madrid and Liverpool.
With two minutes left, Germany midfielder Marco Reus set up Lewandowski to blast home the Pole’s 12th league goal of the season to make sure of the points.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS