Month: February 2021

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BUNDESLIGA: BAYERN MUNICH HELD AT HOME BY ARMINIA IN SIX GOALS THRILLER

Robert Lewandowski claimed his 25th Bundesliga goal this season with a brilliant volley as Bayern Munich needed three second-half goals to salvage a 3-3 draw at home to strugglers Arminia Bielefeld in heavy snow on Monday. “It was a tough game, regardless of the weather, but we showed a fighting spirit, so a 3-3 draw is okay,” said Bayern forward Eric Choupo-Moting. Despite the draw, Bayern are still five points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.

However, four days after winning the Club World Cup final in Qatar, Bayern struggled on their Bundesliga return in Munich as Bielefeld raced into a 2-0 lead.

Bayern needed second-half goals by Lewandowski, Corentin Tolisso and a thunderbolt of a volley from Alphonso Davies to rescue a point.

“A lot of things came together in the first half,” said Bayern coach Hansi Flick.

“We didn’t defend well, Bielefeld scored two goals from two chances and conditions weren’t the best.

“But the team still showed their mentality again and we have to be satisfied with the point.”

A wintry shower just before kick-off covered the Allianz Arena turf with thick snow and Bielefeld coped far better with the icy conditions.

Bielefeld are third from bottom, yet they dominated the world champions in the first-half.

Bayern looked tired, especially with Thomas Mueller in quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19 last week in Qatar.

The hosts fell behind when Dutch striker Michel Vlap scored just nine minutes into his Bundesliga debut as his brilliant turn wrong-footed the defence before he calmly slotted past Manuel Neuer.

The 23-year-old scored with his first shot in the Bundesliga.

Vlap struck again when he floated in a corner which centre-back Amos Pieper headed past Neuer on 37 minutes.

Bayern pulled a goal back three minutes after the break when Lewandowski chested the ball down and volleyed home with a brilliant finish — it was his 25th goal in his 20th league game.

Bielefeld went 3-1 up when left-wing Andreas Voglsammer beat Bayern right-back Bouna Sarr for pace and Christian Gebauer tapped home

Tolisso struck with a header to pull it back to 3-2 with 57 minutes played before Davies equalised with a thunderbolt shot with 20 minutes left.

Bielefeld’s Venezuelan forward Sergio Cordova had the ball in Bayern’s net for the fourth time, but the goal was ruled offside 16 minutes from time

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WESTHAM THRASH SHEFFIELD UNITED

Declan Rice, Issa Diop and Ryan Fredericks each scored their first Premier League goals of the season as West Ham United beat Sheffield United 3-0.

After the home side had an early penalty decision overturned for offside by VAR, Rice scored from the spot four minutes before half-time after Chris Basham had brought down Jesse Lingard.

David McGoldrick was denied a Sheff Utd equaliser when Lukasz Fabianski superbly tipped his header over the bar.

Diop doubled the lead in the 58th minute when he rose highest to head Aaron Cresswell’s corner into the far corner of the net.

And Fredericks hit a late third after being set up by fellow substitute Said Benrahma.

The Hammers move above Liverpool to go fifth in the table on 42 points, behind Chelsea on goal difference.

Sheff Utd stay bottom on 11 points, 14 adrift of 17th-placed Newcastle United.

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TIMO WERNER ENDS GOAL DROUGHT AS CHELSEA BEAT NEWCASTLE

Olivier Giroud and Timo Werner scored in a nine-minute first-half spell to give Chelsea a 2-0 win over Newcastle United that takes them up to fourth in the table.

Giroud, an early substitute for the injured Tammy Abraham, was on hand to score the opener after a Werner cross was diverted into his path by Magpies goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

And then Werner scored his first Premier League goal in exactly 1,000 minutes when Mason Mount’s corner found its way to him at the far post.

Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, playing his first league match since October, had to save from Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Willock after the break as Newcastle responded.

But at the other end, Darlow denied Marcos Alonso and Reece James.

Chelsea are now ahead of Liverpool and West Ham on 42 points, four behind Manchester United and Leicester.

Newcastle stay 17th on 25 points, seven ahead of Fulham.

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MARCO ROSE TO JOIN DORTMUND NEXT SEASON FROM BORRUSIA MONCHENGLADBACH

After weeks of speculation, Borussia Mönchengladbach confirmed on Monday that head coach Marco Rose will leave the club at the end of the season in order to take charge of Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund.

The 44-year-old’s contract with Gladbach runs until 2022, but Dortmund are set to trigger a €5 million ($6m) release clause to bring Rose from one Borussia to the other.

“We’ve had many discussions about Marco’s future in recent weeks,” said Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl, after tabloid BILD and football magazine Kicker had broken the news. “Unfortunately, he has decided to make use of a clause in his contract and move to Borussia Dortmund in the summer.”

Dortmund themselves confirmed the move but said they would be refraining from commenting further until the end of the season.

Dortmund had made Rose their number one target to take over long term from former head coach Lucien Favre, who was sacked in December. Under interim coach Edin Terzic, the Black and Yellows have only won four out of ten league games and have dropped to sixth in the Bundesliga level on points with seventh place Gladbach.

Despite a poor recent run of form – Gladbach haven’t won in three games either and lost a local derby to Cologne last week – Rose’s rapid rise has quickly generated interest.

He began his coaching career with hometown club Lokomotive Leipzig in 2012 before coaching several Red Bull Salzburg academy teams. He took over Salzburg’s first team in 2017, winning the Austrian Bundesliga and qualifying for the Champions League for the first time.

He was headhunted by Gladbach sporting director Eberl ahead of the 2019-20 season and led the Foals to fourth place, returning them to the Champions League for the first time since 2016, where they progressed through a group containing Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

Under Rose’s tutelage, Gladbach have impressed with an aggressive pressing game and a potent attack built around Marcus Thuram, Alassane Pléa and captain Lars Stindl. Behind them, Florian Neuhaus and Denis Zakaria have developed into two of the Bundesliga’s top midfielders.

Gladbach’s offensive style of play has seen them outscore both Bayern Munich (3-2) and Borussia Dortmund (4-2) since the turn of the year, playing the sort of football that the BVB bosses want to see at the Westfalenstadion.

Rose will face his future employers again in the German Cup quarterfinal on March 2.

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UFC: STEFAN STRUVE ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM MMA DUE TO HEALTH ISSUES

Longtime UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts competition.

Struve, 32, announced his retirement on social media on Monday morning, citing health issues that will prevent him from fighting.

“I was able to take my space and time the last couple of months to overthink this, so this time it really is for good,” Struve said, referencing a previous retirement announcement (h/t MMA Fighting). “I’ve had an inner ear issue I’ve been battling since May last year. I caught a viral infection that has damaged my vestibular system and the hearing nerve in my right ear. After new tests done recently we learned that the vestibular system is not working properly, the first conclusion in May was that it was most likely [Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo].

“Because of this I have also been dealing with vertigo issues, and also loss of hearing and tinnitus, a ringing noise in my ear,” Struve continued. “After I caught it in May things got a lot better, after a couple rough weeks at first. I was doing good although still experiencing some vertigo and other minor issues but my idea was, especially with the doctors telling me the issues would go away after a while, to just keep going and ignore it until it really was gone completely. Unfortunately during [my most recent] fight some of the issues came back after getting hit flush on the right ear, it was a punch that should not be an issue normally.

“After that fight I was having more issues again and the doctors scheduled new tests,” Struve continued. “Those, unfortunately for me, took a long time to happen because of the lockdown over here in the Netherlands. After these tests I was told the damage in the ear and the vestibular issues caused by the viral infection I’d been dealing with are most likely permanent. I have no big issues when I’m just doing my everyday things and, or, training on a normal level to be healthy and in shape.

“The extreme intensity I have put my body through in training camp to get ready for fights I can’t do anymore,” Struve continued. “At this juncture, I realize that it’s time to hang up the gloves for good, and my put my health and family first. I’ve had a long career and battled through multiple injuries, including a broken jaw and my heart condition. Pushing forward and training hard without listening to my body would be asking for real trouble in my opinion.”

Stefan Struve has been fighting for the UFC 2009. During that time, he’s amassed a promotional record of 13-11, beating the likes of Pat Barry, Stipe Miocic, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Daniel Omielanczuk. He’ll hang up the gloves with an overall record of 29-13.

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JURGEN KLOPP RUBBISHES EXIT RUMOURS

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has denied that he needs a break and insisted his team will turn around their poor run of form.

Liverpool conceded three late goals on Saturday to lose 3-1 to Leicester City and could drop out of the top four if Chelsea avoid defeat against Newcastle United on Monday evening.

“I don’t need a break, I am full of energy,” Klopp said at a press conference on Monday, ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League match against RB Leipzig in Hungary.

Liverpool have lost their last three Premier League matches, against Leicester, Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion, respectively.

They have picked up just seven Premier League points in 2021 with their place in the top four under serious threat.

This has also been an incredibly difficult period for Klopp, who was unable to return to Germany for his mother’s funeral last week because of COVID-19 travel restrictions. Germany has banned most travel from countries containing new variants of the virus, including the UK.

On Monday morning some Liverpool supporters made their support for Klopp clear by hanging a banner outside Anfield which read ‘Jurgen Klopp YNWA’, in reference to the club’s ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ anthem.

Ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League match against RB Leipzig in Budapest on Tuesday, Klopp was asked about the banner left outside Anfield by supporters and rumours on social media that he could quit the club.

“I heard about both,” he said. “The banner was nice but not necessary. I don’t feel that I need special support in this moment or whatever.

“On the second thing, did I get the sack or did I leave by myself? Neither, nor. I don’t need a break. Look, the last thing I want to do is talk about private things in a press conference. But everyone knows yes that, privately, we’ve had a tough time.

“That wasn’t just for three weeks, it was a much longer time already. We always deal with it as a family 100 per cent. I’ve worked in football as a coach for 20 years so I can split things, I can switch one thing off. I don’t carry things around. If I’m private, I’m private, if it’s football then I’m here. Nobody has to worry about me or whatever.

“I might not look like it because the weather is not cool and my beard gets more and more grey, yes I don’t asleep a lot, that’s all true, but I’m full of energy, honestly.”

Liverpool take on Leipzig on Tuesday night in the Champions League Round of 16.

Ahead of the clash, Simon Hughes has profiled Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann, a talented young manager who may one day emulate Klopp.

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MAJA’S DEBUT DOUBLE SECURES HISTORIC FULHAM WIN AT EVERTON

On-loan striker Josh Maja scored twice on his full Premier League debut as Fulham recorded a first league win at Everton in their history, with a deserved 2-0 victory ending a 12-match run without a win.

The 22-year-old former Sunderland man scored two typical poacher’s goals from close range.

It moved the third-bottom Cottagers to within seven points of Newcastle in 17th and offered them some hope of an escape if Maja, whose two goals incredibly moved him to joint-fourth on Fulham’s leading league scorers list this season, can reproduce this form on a more regular basis.

They will not find many opponents as passive as Everton, however, who blew the chance to strike a huge psychological blow for the forthcoming Merseyside derby.

Four points from this match and Manchester City on Wednesday would have put them above their rivals across Stanley Park ahead of Saturday’s short trip to Anfield.

But Everton were toothless without injured top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin and also lacked the necessary competitiveness to make Fulham’s first league win at Goodison Park in 28 attempts anything other than comfortable.

Bobby Decordova-Reid’s cheeky backheel from a corner looping over a crowded six-yard area and onto a post set the early tone and was followed by Harrison Reed driving just wide of the angle of post and crossbar and former Everton winger Ademola Lookman somehow shooting wide having cut in from the left.

Everton’s best chance came from full-back Seamus Coleman, who ran unchallenged from the halfway line to strike a post with a left-footed shot from outside the area in the 34th minute.

By then Richarlison had taken the last of his four touches of the half as even a move to a more central role did not improve his fortunes.

While Fulham failed to take advantage of having the better of the opening 45 minutes they did not need long to rectify that after the break.

Within five minutes of the restart Ola Aina burst forward from left-back to cross for the unmarked Maja to slide home his first Premier League goal on only his second appearance.

The same combination almost added a second but for the outstretched foot of Mason Holgate and that prompted a change of personnel and formation.

Coleman and midfielder Tom Davies made way for Michael Keane – with Holgate moving to right-back – and Josh King as manager Carlo Ancelotti made his second formation switch of the game by going to 4-4-2.

Maja struck again, though, when goalkeeper Robin Olsen tipped Reed’s shot on to a post and he anticipated well to tap home.

King was denied a debut goal by an offside flag but there was little else to trouble the visitors’ defence as Everton slipped to a third home defeat in four matches.

It was also the first time Ancelotti had failed to win in four home league games since December 2007 and next up are the in-form City.

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SERIE A: LUKAKU STARS IN INTER WIN OVER LAZIO,ROMA EDGE UDINESE

Romelu Lukaku scored twice to reach 300 career goals as Inter Milan moved above AC Milan to the top of Serie A with an impressive 3-1 home win over Lazio on Sunday. Lukaku’s brace came in the first half as Inter

Milan made the most of their city rivals’ surprising 2-0 loss at Spezia on Saturday. Inter, bidding for a first Scudetto since winning the treble under Jose Mourinho in 2010, are now one point clear of AC Milan, with Roma six points further back in third. The stage is set for a mouthwatering Milan derby at the San Siro next Sunday.

“He (Lukaku) came back firing on all cylinders tonight and we need this Romelu. We need this determination and passion from everyone in the team,” Inter coach Antonio Conte said.

“I am happy for the lads, inevitably this must be a starting point for us and not the finish line. We know the next game is the derby with Milan, going into it above them is obviously much better.

“It’s going to be a fascinating game between two teams who have strong ambitions.”

Conte apologised on Saturday for appearing to show the finger to his former club’s directors at half-time of the controversial Italian Cup match at Juventus on Tuesday.

At the San Siro, Lukaku opened the scoring on 22 minutes from the penalty spot after Wesley Hoedt fouled Lautaro Martinez.

The Belgium forward then moved level with Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the Serie A goalscoring charts just before the break, as he hit a loose ball first time on the half-volley for his 16th league goal of the campaign.

The deficit was halved just after the hour mark as Gonzalo Escalante’s free-kick was deflected to leave Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic flat-footed.

But Inter’s return to the summit was secured in the 64th minute as Lukaku turned the provider for Martinez.

A move which started at the edge of the home box and continued with Lukaku’s powerful run from the halfway line ended with Martinez side-footing in his 11th effort of the season.

Earlier, French midfielder Jordan Veretout also struck twice as Roma beat Udinese 3-0 to climb back to third.

Atalanta moved up to seventh, level on points with fifth-placed Napoli, after Luis Muriel scored in the 90th minute to earn a 1-0 victory at Cagliari.

One week after losing to Juve, Roma took advantage of the champions’ loss to Napoli

Roma continued their strong form at the Stadio Olimpico even without Edin Dzeko, who returned from his brief exile when he came on for the last 21 minutes. They are the only team in Serie A still unbeaten at home this season.

Veretout put Roma ahead after five minutes, racing forward to meet a cross from Gianluca Mancini with a powerful header.

After visiting goalkeeper Juan Musso upended Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the 25th minute, Veretout converted the penalty.

It was Veretout’s fourth succesful penalty and ninth league goal of the season.

With 15 league goals (and 17 in all competitions) since his arrival in Rome from Fiorentina in 2019, the former Aston Villa and Nantes player has overtaken Vincent Candela as Roma’s top-scoring French player.

Veretout said he had been told to get into the opposing penalty area more often by coach Paulo Fonseca.

“I have challenged him on the number of goals he scores,” said Fonseca. “I told him that he had to score more than ten.”

In Cagliari, Atalanta were frustrated for 90 minutes by the relegation-haunted hosts before the game sprung to life in the dying seconds.

Atalanta looked heavy legged four days after beating Napoli in the Italian Cup semi-finals but their bench made the difference. Muriel, who came on in the 68th minute, beat two defenders on the edge of the box before drilling home the winner in the 90th minute.

“It was a very difficult match from the start, I’m happy to have scored. Winning like that means a lot,” said Muriel.

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AUBAMEYANG HATRICK GIVES ARSENAL 4-2 WIN AGAINST LEEDS UTD

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first Premier League hat-trick as Arsenal held off a Leeds United comeback to win 4-2 at Emirates Stadium.

Aubameyang netted his first on 13 minutes, when he cut in from the left side before firing low beyond Illan Meslier.

Arsenal went 2-0 ahead from the penalty spot on 41 minutes as Aubameyang sent Meslier the wrong way after the Leeds goalkeeper had fouled Bukayo Saka.

Dani Ceballos’s nutmegged pass after a slick team move then set up Hector Bellerin, who beat Meslier at his near post for the Gunners’ third on the stroke of half-time.

Aubameyang completed his treble two minutes after the restart with a close-range header from Emile Smith Rowe’s delivery.

Pascal Struijk’s header reduced the arrears on 58 minutes and Helder Costa added a second 11 minutes later, before Aubameyang was denied his fourth goal as he hit the post.

Arsenal’s biggest home win of the season moves them above Leeds to 10th spot on 34 points. Leeds drop to 11th, two points behind the Gunners.

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AUSTRALIAN OPEN: SERENA WILLIAMS, NAOMI OSAKA REACH QUARTER FINALS.

Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka both survived close battles to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

Third seed and title favourite Osaka saved two match points on her way to a 4-6 6-4 7-5 victory over last year’s runner-up Garbine Muguruza while Williams was a 6-4 2-6 6-4 winner against Aryna Sabalenka.

Seventh seed Sabalenka has been one of the form players of the last few months and many people have been waiting for the big-hitting Belarusian to make a grand slam breakthrough.

She fought back from 1-4 to draw level in the final set but Williams was just too strong in the end.

The 39-year-old, who is now again within touching distance of a record-equalling 24th grand slam singles title, said: “It felt good to kind of clutch that in the end and get through that.

“I just felt like even games that I lost, I was so close to winning. Not all games, but probably most of those games. I just needed to play better on the big points. I knew that I could. I still hadn’t reached my peak. I was like, ‘OK, Serena, you got this, just keep going’.”

Among Williams’ support camp is sister Venus and the 10th seed credited her sibling for keeping her calm.

“She’s really one of the only voices I hear,” said Serena. “I don’t know if I zone out and she’s the only one I hear. I know when I hear her voice, it just makes me calm and confident. I think there’s something about it that just makes me feel really good.”

Osaka hung on by the skin of her teeth against Muguruza, who was full of confidence after a strong start to the season.

The Spaniard led by a set and a break and held two match points at 5-3 in the deciding set only for Osaka, the 2019 champion in Melbourne, to pull through with a run of four games in a row.

Asked how she had dug herself out of trouble, the Japanese star said: “I’m not really sure, to be honest. I was just trying to fight for every point, then it sort of led me to win.

“On the first match point, I was just thinking that I didn’t hit a decent serve that entire game, so I should really focus on my serve. I feel like my serve stats were pretty good that set, so I was just telling myself to do better.

“Then on the second point, when the rally started, I just told myself not to push (the ball) but also don’t do something crazy and make a really bad unforced error.”

Osaka also credited a brief moment of temper for clearing her mind, saying: “I felt the entire match I was overthinking. There was a moment when I got angry and hit my racquet on the ground. I feel like I released a lot of the thoughts that I had. It just made me go more into instinct-based tennis.”

Osaka will next face the highly unconventional Hsieh Su-wei, who at 35 became the oldest player to reach a first slam quarter-final in the Open era with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Marketa Vondrousova.

Hsieh came close to beating Osaka at the Australian Open in 2019 and, asked what makes her challenging to play, the third seed said with a laugh: “Have you watched her play? It’s like, ‘What’?

“She’s one of those players that, for me, if it was a video game, I would want to select her character just to play as her. Because my mind can’t fathom the choices she makes when she’s on the court. It’s so fun to watch. It’s not fun to play, but it’s really fun to watch.”