Mario Mandzukic scored twice as a nervous Bayern Munich struggled past Hertha BSC 3-2 on Saturday to stay top of the Bundesliga, with second-placed Borussia Dortmund claiming a 3-1 victory against Schalke 04.
Substitute Mandzukic, who had come on for the injured Arjen Robben in the 26th minute, headed in three minutes later to cancel out a quick Hertha lead through Adrian Ramos.
Bayern, who had 35 efforts on goal in their 4-0 UEFA Champions League win over Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday, needed almost 20 minutes to get their first shot on target, with goalkeeper Thomas Kraft punching Toni Kroos’ powerful drive wide.
Photo: Reuters
Aggressive Hertha came close to a second goal with Anis Ben-Hatira’s sensational long-range chip over goalkeeper Manuel Neuer that bounced off the bar, but Mandzukic leveled the score with a well-timed header at the far post and go joint top on the scorers’ list with seven goals.
The Croatian added another goal in the 51st minute and fellow substitute Mario Goetze headed in three minutes later.
Ben-Hatira set up a nervous second half, cutting the deficit in the 58th minute, but Hertha, the first team in the league to score twice against Bayern this season, were unable to find an equalizer.
“This was one of the best teams we have played against this season,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola told reporters.
The victory still stretched Bayern’s unbeaten league run to 35 games, one short of the record held by Hamburg SV, and last season’s treble winners lead the standings with 26 points.
Winger Franck Ribery also became the first Bundesliga player to have played 39 consecutive games without defeat.
Dortmund, who eased past rivals Schalke in a fiery Ruhr Valley derby after the kickoff was briefly delayed due to flares lit in the stands, are a point behind along with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 2-1 winners over Augsburg.
Dortmund, whose visiting fans lit flares in the stands prompting the referee to delay the start of the match, silenced the 60,000 crowd with a lightning quick break completed by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 14th minute.
Schalke’s Kevin-Prince Boateng missed the biggest chance to level when his penalty was saved by goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller.
A sublime left-footed drive from Nuri Sahin six minutes after the restart gave Dortmund a two-goal lead, before Max Meyer pulled one back for the hosts, but Jakub Blaszczykowski completed the win in the 74th minute leaving Schalke in sixth on 14 points.
VfL Wolfsburg leapfrogged into fifth spot with a dominant 3-0 win over toothless Werder Bremen, with Croatian forwards Ivica Olic and Ivan Perisic notching a goal each.
Hannover 96 slumped to a 4-1 defeat against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and had two players sent off, including striker Mame Diouf, who set a Bundesliga record for the fastest dismissal for two bookings after being shown two yellow cards in the opening 12 minutes.
FSV Mainz 05 moved up to 10th after grabbing their first win in seven games, with Shinji Okazaki scoring both goals in their 2-0 victory over Eintracht Braunschweig.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
RSS