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Bayern Suffer Nine-Year Low In Shock Loss, Slip Eight Points Off Title Pace

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Bayern Munich slumped to a shock 3-2 loss at lowly Bochum on Sunday, suffering a third successive defeat for the first time since 2015 and leaving them eight points behind Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga title race.

The result followed a 3-0 league defeat to Leverkusen last weekend and a 1-0 loss against Lazio in the Champions League as coach Thomas Tuchel came under renewed pressure.

Tuchel was bullish after the match, saying “the loss today wasn’t justified. We were extremely unlucky.”

Bayern were also reduced to 10 men with 13 minutes remaining when Dayot Upamecano elbowed Kevin Stoeger in the box, picking up a second yellow, giving away a penalty and seeing red for the second match in a row.

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Stoeger blasted the penalty past Manuel Neuer to give Bochum a 3-1 lead.

Harry Kane scored with three minutes remaining to get Bayern back into the match and even had a chance to equalise late, but directed a tame header straight at Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Riemann.

Bayern had beaten Bochum 7-0 in three of their past five meetings and the visitors scored early, Jamal Musiala blasting in after 14 minutes.

It was the German champions’ first goal in over three hours of football.

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Kane had a chance shortly after when one-on-one with Riemann but skied his shot into the stands.

Tuchel lamented his side’s wastefulness in attack, telling DAZN “we had more than enough high-quality chances which those guys would normally put away.”

The home side absorbed waves of Bayern pressure before Takuma Asano levelled after 38 minutes, shooting a low shot past Neuer on a counter attack.

Bayern fell behind just six minutes later, Keven Schlotterbeck heading in a corner.

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The visitors turned the screws early in the second-half but the match was delayed for 12 minutes by fan protests against the Bundesliga’s investment plan, after which Bochum held their own against the German giants.

With just over 10 minutes remaining, Upamecano clashed with Stoeger contesting a corner and was sent off.

In teeming rain, Stoeger hit his penalty low and hard to the right, past Neuer’s outstretched hand.

Bayern’s teenage forward Mathys Tel set up Kane after 87 minutes, getting Bayern back into the match but then Kane wasted a golden chance to seize a last-gasp point.

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Stoeger said: “It’s an enormous relief. We thought we could get a point and we got three.”

“I think all of Bochum is proud of the performance we delivered.”

Bochum coach Thomas Letsch added: “To win against Bayern is especially nice, given they’re a team stacked with talent.”

– Freiburg, Frankfurt draw –
Earlier on Sunday, Freiburg forward Michael Gregoritsch scored in the last minute to snatch his side a 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.

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Two goals from Ansgar Knauff, both set up by the impressive Omar Marmoush, who also got on the scoresheet, had Frankfurt on course for three points.

The visitors however failed to clear a corner and the 1.93-metre-tall Gregoritsch headed past Kevin Trapp to level the scores for Freiburg for the third and final time.

A frustrated Trapp told DAZN “we’re shooting ourselves in the foot”.

“It went back and forth, which is a shame for us. We could have taken more out of it.”

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Frankfurt’s Marmoush scored first, but Freiburg’s Ritsu Doan hit back just three minutes later on the half-hour mark.

Marmoush’s superb pass allowed Knauff to score on the counter but the match was level again by half-time thanks to a penalty from Italy midfielder Vincenzo Grifo.

Knauff again put Frankfurt in front after 72 minutes before Gregoritsch came to the rescue.

In another match interrupted as fans threw objects on the pitch, Knauff then saved Frankfurt in the ninth minute of added time when he cleared a bouncing ball off the line.

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The point moves Frankfurt four clear of Werder Bremen in sixth-place, the last European spot.

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2026 World Cup Heroes Get 150kg Of Tomatoes From Hometown As Gifts

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Spain’s World Cup-winning stars, Fabián Ruiz and Gavi, have been honoured with their combined weight in tomatoes by their hometown after helping the country lift the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The two players, who are from Los Palacios y Villafranca, a town south of Seville with a population of fewer than 40,000, returned home on Wednesday for an official civic reception at the town hall.

As part of the celebration, Ruiz and Gavi stepped onto weighing scales to determine the quantity of tomatoes they would receive in recognition of their achievement.

Ruiz received 85 kilograms of tomatoes, while Gavi was presented with 68.5 kilograms, bringing the total gift to more than 150 kilograms.

Local authorities described the presentation as a longstanding tradition that has become a symbol of the municipality’s recognition of its outstanding athletes.

Former Spain winger Jesús Navas, who became the first footballer from Los Palacios y Villafranca to win the FIFA World Cup in 2010, also attended the ceremony.

Navas and Ruiz had previously received the same honour after Spain won the UEFA Euro 2024 championship.

The town already has a sports pavilion named after Navas and Ruiz, while football pitches in the municipality will now be renamed in honour of Gavi to celebrate his achievements.

The town council also announced plans to construct a monument dedicated to Navas, Ruiz and Gavi in recognition of their contributions to Spanish football.

According to the council, the monument is intended to serve as a lasting tribute to the three champions, whom it described as the pride of the community and role models for younger generations through their sporting achievements and personal conduct.

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Transfer: Arteta Seriously Chasing Two EPL Defenders After Saliba’s Injury Debacle

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Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, is keen on signing John Stones or Ezri Konsa, following news that William Saliba will be out for an extended period.

Saliba has opted not to have surgery after injuring his back while playing for France at the 2026 World Cup.

But the 25-year-old defender is facing a lengthy period of rehabilitation.

Stones is available as a free agent, after he left Manchester City at the end of his contract.

The 32-year-old worked with Arteta during his time as assistant to Pep Guardiola at City.

Konsa, who represented England alongside Stones at the World Cup, has two years left on his contract at Aston Villa.

Both players can also operate at right-back.

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Joshua sets targets for Fury ahead of return

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British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua has begun preparing for a fight with Tyson Fury by training with a specially made heavy bag replica of the Gypsy King, ahead of both men’s tune-up bouts this weekend.

Joshua and Fury have signed contracts to finally settle a decade’s worth of debate over a domestic showdown, but must first come through separate warm-up assignments, with Joshua facing Kristian Prenga on Saturday in Jeddah and Fury taking on 46-year-old veteran Mariusz Wach in Thailand.

Joshua’s first-ever boxing coach, Sean Murphy, unveiled the bespoke bag and told DAZN it had been designed specifically to resemble Fury, describing it as reproducing the Gypsy King’s chin for practice purposes.

Murphy said Joshua had provided all the bags currently hanging in the gym and had personally funded other refurbishments at the facility, including new ring covers and an overhaul of the female changing room.

Joshua, aged 36, has vowed never to overlook an opponent again after being stunned by Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 while he had one eye on a prospective fight with Deontay Wilder, though with his Fury deal now signed, he is being careful not to look past Prenga.

The Saturday bout will be Joshua’s first contest since a car accident claimed the lives of two of his close friends, and comes ten days after he stopped Jake Paul in a heavily anticipated crossover fight.

Joshua is expected to dedicate victory over Prenga to his late friends as he continues plotting a route towards the long-awaited Battle of Britain with Fury, aged 37.

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