Sports
Leverkusen Defeat Freiburg, Extend Unbeaten Run To 38 Matches
Florian Wirtz scored after 84 seconds as Bayer Leverkusen made it 38 games unbeaten in all competitions with a 3-2 victory in Freiburg on Sunday.
Leverkusen’s seventh league win on the bounce kept them 10 points clear of serial champions Bayern Munich with eight games to play in their quest for the club’s first ever Bundesliga crown.
“It was a good performance, a deserved victory. It’s not easy to win in Freiburg but we keep going,” Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso told DAZN before praising the performance of his playmaker Wirtz.
“It’s not just the goal he scored, he has a super game. He has real quality and I am very happy for his development.”
Wirtz, one of Leverkusen’s key performers this season, got things moving in style. The Germany forward cut in from the left and unleashed a perfect shot with his right foot, chalking up his seventh league goal of the campaign.
The early goal stunned Freiburg, who came into the game fresh from a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of West Ham in the Europa League, with Leverkusen to face the Londoners in the quarter-final of the competition next month.
Freiburg responded against the run of play though, with Japan forward Ritsu Doan exchanging passes neatly with Lucas Hoeler to drill a low shot beyond the unsighted Lukas Hradecky.
Leverkusen put their noses back in front before half-time though, with Adam Hlozek tapping into an empty net after a mistake by Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu.
Patrik Schick put the gloss on another convincing victory for Alonso’s team, with a sensational finish to a scintillating Leverkusen counter-attack.
Jeremie Frimpong’s cross from the right was caressed into the top corner by the Czech striker, who was the Leverkusen hero on Thursday with two stoppage-time goals against Qarabag in Europe.
Yannik Keitel pulled one back for Freiburg but the damage was already done, leaving the hosts in ninth and with European qualification slipping away.
In the final game of the weekend, Borussia Dortmund left it late against Eintracht Frankfurt but eventually secured a 3-1 win to stay a point ahead of RB Leipzig in the race for fourth spot.
Dortmund, who beat PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League last week to set up a quarter-final showdown against Atletico Madrid, fell behind to a breakaway Frankfurt goal by former hero Mario Goetze in front of the Yellow Wall.
But the hosts struck back through Karim Adeyemi before the break.
Mats Hummels’ diving header from Julian Brandt’s free-kick put Dortmund ahead for the first time in the 81st minute, with Emre Can’s stoppage-time penalty adding the gloss.
“We’ve now won our last four games and go into the international break with a much better feeling than we had two weeks ago,” Hummels said.
“We’re all very satisfied to be in the quarter-finals of the Champions League but, in the Bundesliga, of course we’re lagging behind.”
AFP
Manchester City beat Arsenal in their major Premier League title race clash at the Etihad thanks to Erling Haaland’s winner.
Pep Guardiola’s side defeated their rivals 2-1 on Sunday afternoon to move to within three points of the league leaders.
Rayan Cherki opened the scoring in the first half, before Kai Havertz pounced on a Gianluigi Donnarumma’s error to equalise.
And then during a tense second half, Haaland managed to find the all-important winner to sink the Gunners in Manchester.
Man City now know they can move to the top of the Premier League table with a win over Burnley on Wednesday, live on talkSPORT.
Erling Haaland’s goal is the difference and Man City now have the chance to move to the top of the Premier League.
They’ll be celebrating tonight – but not too hard, ahead of their meeting with Burnley on Wednesday, live on talkSPORT.
As for Arsenal, it’s a nightmare evening for them.
The Gunners had the quadruple in their sights a few weeks ago, but now, after losing four of their last six, hopes are doomed.
There will be no Carabao Cup, no FA Cup, and now potentially no Premier League following their dismal run.C CB.
Real Sociedad edged Atletico Madrid 4-3 on penalties to win the Copa del Rey for a fourth time in the club’s history after a 2-2 draw in a gripping final on Saturday in Seville.
After Alexander Sorloth and Julian Alvarez missed from the spot for Diego Simeone’s Atletico, Pablo Marin smashed home his kick to claim victory for the Basque side.
Ander Barrenetxea had headed Real Sociedad ahead after just 14 seconds, with Ademola Lookman levelling for Atletico.
Mikel Oyarzabal put the Basque side ahead from the penalty spot before the break but Alvarez rescued Atletico and forced extra time and ultimately penalties with a superb strike.
La Real’s season seemed set to be one of struggle until American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo was appointed in December, and he resuscitated their campaign.
At La Cartuja stadium it was a battle between two teams that often attack fast and direct, and Real Sociedad certainly did that, netting the quickest ever goal scored in a Copa del Rey final.
Goncalo Guedes scampered away down the left on to a long ball, crossing for Barrenetxea to head beyond Juan Musso before the Rojiblancos had even touched the ball.
Simeone’s side, who last won the competition back in 2013 near the start of his 14-year reign, wrestled their way back level through Lookman.
Antoine Griezmann laid off the ball to him on the edge of the box and without much on, the Nigeria international spied a route to goal and drilled into the bottom corner.
Lookman almost created a goal for Griezmann but Real Sociedad scrambled to block the 35-year-old French forward, who is leaving Atletico at the end of the season for MLS side Orlando City.
Atletico goalkeeper Musso, chosen ahead of the fit-again Jan Oblak after he impressed during the Slovenian’s recent injury absence, handed La Real the lead again just before the break.
Musso clumsily clattered Guedes fists first as the Portuguese leapt for a header and the Basque side were awarded a penalty.
Oyarzabal, who scored from the spot when they won the 2020 edition, without their fans present because of the global pandemic, sent Musso the wrong way.
After a first half in which they struggled, Atletico began to build some pressure after the interval.
Griezmann lashed over and Lookman whipped a shot high and wide as La Real tried to stave off the Rojiblancos, who dominated the ball.
Alvarez forces extra time
Simeone called for his battering ram, sending on Norwegian target man Sorloth to try and force a way through.
Eventually the goal they craved came from the guile of former Manchester City striker Alvarez instead.
The Argentina forward took a neat touch to spin on the edge of the box and then another to plant the ball in the top corner for his 19th goal of the season.
With La Real caving Johnny Cardoso should have won it for Atletico in stoppage time. The American fired a golden opening wide of the far post with just goalkeeper Unai Marrero to beat.
Musso made a fine save to thwart Icelandic striker Orri Oskarsson as he tried to turn home a rebound in extra time.
At the other end Alvarez crashed a shot off the crossbar from long range, with both teams creating enough opportunities to win it before penalties.
Marrero denied both Sorloth and Alvarez on Atletico’s first two penalties, with Musso stopping one from Oskarsson to give Atletico a chance.
However Marin made no mistake with Real Sociedad’s fifth penalty to spark wild celebrations.
Atletico’s last realistic chance of silverware this season, and something for Griezmann to celebrate on his departure, is in the Champions League where they face Arsenal in the semi-finals.
AFP
Manchester United beat Chelsea 1-0 away at Stamford Bridge to put a huge 10-point gap between Michael Carrick’s Red Devils in third and Liam Rosenior’s hapless Blues in sixth
United take three vital points at Stamford Bridge to further strengthen their ambitions of European football next season.
Matheus Cunha scored the only goal of the game shortly before half-time to maintain interim manager Michael Carrick’s impressive tenure since taking charge in January.
For the Blues, who saw a goal ruled out and twice hit the woodwork, they remain in sixth but failed to make a dent in the four-point gap between them and fifth-placed Liverpool.
The result means Liam Rosenior’s side are on a run of four successive top-flight defeats for the first time since the 1990s – doing so without scoring a single goal.
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