Misfiring Bayern Munich dropped their first points of an up to now faultless Bundesliga season in a goalless draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday.
Pep Guardiola’s Bavarian giants, who had been 10 from 10 this league campaign, were thwarted by a stoic Eintracht defense.
The stalemate, the first time Bayern have failed to win a Bundesliga game since mid-May, put them eight points clear of Borussia Dortmund, who were seeking to reduce the gap at Werder Bremen yesterday.
Photo: AP
Bayern arrived in Frankfurt three days after beating Wolfsburg in the German Cup and ahead of the arrival of Arsenal on Wednesday in the Champions League.
Bayern ‘keeper Manuel Neuer said: “We wanted to win, we didn’t create enough chances and Frankfurt were clever.”
Eintracht’s Stefan Aigner said: “We tried to give them as little space as possible. It was a great performance from us today. It was only a point, but it means a lot.”
Photo: AFP
The game was only 17 seconds old when Aigner picked up a yellow card for a late challenge on Rafinha.
Eintracht ‘keeper Lukas Hradecky was forced into an early one-handed save to palm Arturo Vidal’s header over the crossbar.
Bayern were dominating, but having difficulty breaking down a well-organized Eintracht defense.
A rare foray down the other end then earned Eintracht their first corner, with Robert Lewandowski heading Marc Stendera’s delivery out of danger.
The hosts deservedly went into the break all square.
Seconds after the restart Eintracht were let off the hook when an unmarked Douglas Costa pounced on a loose ball in the area, Hradecky blocking the shot with his legs.
Guardiola decided to beef up his forward line on 50 minutes, introducing Thomas Mueller for right-back Rafinha.
As the game opened up Eintracht had two major chances — first with a dangerous corner then a fluffed clearance by Neuer, who deftly recovered to save Stendera’s volley.
Bayern captain Philipp Lahm was booked for a foul on the ever dangerous Aigner and was replaced shortly after for David Alaba as Guardiola went for broke.
Lewandowski, set up by Arjen Robben’s high cross, had a gift-wrapped chance on 80 minutes but one-on-one with Hradecky blasted wide. He then had a goal ruled correctly offside as Bayern ran out of time to maintain their perfect campaign.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at
RSS