Robert Lewandowski on Saturday scored his 30th league goal of the season as Bayern Munich came from behind to claim a 4-2 victory against Bayer 04 Leverkusen and move a step closer to the Bundesliga title.
After Lucas Alario secured an early lead for the home side, Bayern struck twice in quick succession just before halftime to turn the game in their favor after Kingsley Coman’s equalizer.
“We didn’t start well, but I think it’s something which really distinguishes us at the moment, that we are able to fight our way back into games,” midfielder Leon Goretzka told Sky. “Without the crowd pushing you, you have to rely on yourself and your teammates. We are doing this well at the moment.”
Photo: AP
Lewandowski netted in the second half — setting a new personal best with 44 goals in all competitions — as Bayern established a 10-point lead over title rivals Borussia Dortmund, although that was reduced when Dortmund later on Saturday beat Hertha BSC 1-0.
Leverkusen teenager Florian Wirtz struck late in the game.
Bayern wore black armbands to support protests over the death of George Floyd in the US. The armbands bore the slogan “Black Lives Matter.”
“As players, we always have the same message: We are tolerant, we are open, we are open to the world,” Bayern captain Manuel Neuer told Sky after the game.
Elsewhere, a late equalizer from Christian Strohdiek gave bottom-of-the-table SC Paderborn a faint glimmer of hope in the race for survival as they snatched a 1-1 draw away to RB Leipzig.
Chelsea-bound Leipzig striker Timo Werner set up Patrik Schick on 27 minutes to give Leipzig the lead, but they were forced to defend it with 10 men after Dayot Upamecano was booked twice.
Strohdiek’s last-minute strike gave Paderborn their fourth draw in five games, although Steffen Baumgart’s side remain eight points behind Fortuna Duesseldorf in the relegation play-off place.
Duesseldorf battled to a dramatic 2-2 draw against 10-man TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Uwe Roesler’s side remain three points adrift of survival after FSV Mainz earned a rare 2-0 win over local rivals Eintracht Frankfurt.
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
RSS