Borussia Dortmund’s new signings on Friday proved their class in a hard-earned 3-1 win over promoted SC Freiburg.
Substitute Raphael Guerreiro scored his second goal in two matches to seal the victory in injury time against a well-organized team that keeps dropping and returning to the Bundesliga.
Along with the win and more goals — 20 in the past four games — Dortmund also tied a club record by staying undefeated in 24 straight home matches.
Photo: AP
Dortmund’s highly-talented 19-year-old wingers, Ousmane Dembele and Emre Mor, tormented Freiburg’s defense in the first half. Mor hit the crossbar with a sublime shot, while Dembele’s speedy dribbling entertained the fans.
With time running out in the first half, Mario Goetze began the move that led to Dortmund’s first goal, feeding Dembele at the edge of the area. Dembele took a couple of steps forward and then slipped a perfect pass to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the far post and the Gabon striker slid to tap the ball home.
While Aubameyang began celebrating his fifth goal of the season, other Dortmund players piled on Dembele, whose skill created the goal.
Dortmund appeared to have secured victory when veteran Poland defender Lukasz Piszczek netted in the 53rd. Gonzalo Castro’s low cross was badly cleared and Piszczek stepped up to score his second in two matches.
However, Freiburg got back into the match through Maximilian Philipp’s cool finish in the 53rd.
Aubameyang hit the post from close range before Guerreiro scored in the second minute of stoppage time following the best move of the match. Aubameyang and Castro played successive back-heel passes that caught the Freiburg defense flat-footed, and Guerreiro slotted home from inside the penalty area.
Guerreiro, who won the European Championship with Portugal, was signed by Borussia in the summer, along with Dembele and Mor.
Borussia have 12 points from five matches, tied with Bayern Munich, who play this weekend.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break