Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng returned to haunt his former club with a last-gasp goal that secured a 1-0 win over English title holders Manchester City in their opening UEFA Champions League Group E clash on Wednesday.
Boateng, who joined Bayern from City in 2011, broke the deadlock in Munich with a powerful shot after the German side controlled the game, but could not find a way past visiting goalkeeper Joe Hart, who made several superb saves, until the 90th minute.
“I think we had a lot of chances, we wasted many, but we believed until the end,” Germany international Boateng told reporters. “The ball came perfectly and I just drilled it in. We deserved to win, although City made a good game, but it was us who had the chances and it is extremely important to start off with a win.”
Photo: AFP
City, who had come back from two goals down to beat Bayern 3-2 in Munich in the group stage last year, were mostly on the back foot, but successfully kept the German side at bay, with Hart doing his best to keep the scores level until the last minute.
AS Roma are top of the group on goal-difference after crushing CSKA Moscow 5-1.
“It was important for the team to win,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. “We played well and it was deserved, and I am happy to have got the three points. Don’t forget we were playing against Manchester City. We played better. We had problems initially to control the game, but then we improved. I am satisfied with our performance.”
Bayern, with winger Franck Ribery out injured and Arjen Robben on the bench, were slow out of the blocks as both teams cautiously tried to get a foothold in the game.
There were four changes for City from the team which drew 2-2 with Arsenal on Saturday, with suspended Pablo Zabaleta replaced by Bacary Sagna, and Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko earning starting spots.
The hosts gradually got on top and almost took the lead when Thomas Mueller sneaked into the penalty area, but Hart parried his powerful header over the bar in the 20th minute.
Seconds later, the England goalkeeper pulled off another sensational save to palm Mario Goetze’s deflected effort past the post, before City responded with a curling Edin Dzeko shot that sailed narrowly wide.
The English champions, with suspended coach Manuel Pellegrini in the stands and his assistant Ruben Cousillas alone on the bench, successfully closed down space to keep Bayern at bay outside the penalty area.
David Alaba tried his luck twice from long range, but again Hart was on hand to rescue his team.
The Bavarians increased the pressure in the second half, but had problems cracking open a tight City defense.
The introduction of Robben and forward Claudio Pizarro late in the game helped provide an added impetus and Bayern’s pressure finally told when Boateng fired home.
“We fought hard all night against a good team and we had chances all night,” City goalkeeper Hart said. “We knew we going to be in for a tough game. The goal has come from a deflection in the end and Jerome has come back to haunt us. I think a draw would have been good.”
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
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Denmark’s double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, long a rival of Taiwan’s former world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen, yesterday announced his retirement at age 32, saying back problems meant he could no longer “compete and train at the highest level.” Axelsen, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and again in Paris in 2024, had back surgery in April last year and said he had not overcome his physical issues. “Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult,” he said in a statement. “But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue.” Axelsen retires as one
SEASON ENDING: The Nuggets took the third seed in the Western Conference and are to face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round The Denver Nuggets, fueled by 23 first-half points from Nikola Jokic, on Sunday beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-118, notching their 12th straight victory to clinch the Western Conference third seed on the last day of the NBA regular season. On a day when coaches rested dozens of players in preparation for the looming playoffs, three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Jokic had to play at least 15 minutes to be eligible for end of season awards, including MVP. The Serbian big man played just over 18, propelling the Nuggets to a 70-56 halftime lead that they would not relinquish
RSS