Sports
Leverkusen Beat Heidenheim To Go Eight Clear In Bundesliga
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Goals from Jeremie Frimpong and Amine Adli earned Leverkusen a 2-1 win at Heidenheim on Saturday, sending Xabi Alonso’s Bundesliga leaders eight points clear of Bayern Munich in second.
Leverkusen’s win extended their unbeaten run to 32 games in all competitions this season, equalling the record set by Hansi Flick’s Bayern across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
Frustrated by the resolute hosts early, Leverkusen eventually broke through right before half-time when Frimpong’s deflected shot found the net.
Midfield maestro Florian Wirtz hit the crossbar late but helped seal the result shortly after, laying on a perfect pass for Adli to round the goalkeeper and score.
Heidenheim’s Tim Kleindienst headed in a goal with three minutes remaining, the first time Leverkusen had conceded in six hours in the league.
“Altogether we did it very smartly, other than the late goal we conceded,” Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka told Sky.
“The team is ripe. We showed again how dominant we can be.”
Second-placed Bayern, thumped 3-0 by Leverkusen last week, can narrow the gap when they play on Sunday at Bochum.
Elsewhere, RB Leipzig’s won 2-0 at home against Borussia Moenchengladbach in a match overshadowed by the death of a spectator who fell ill in the stands.
Leipzig tweeted during the game that medical staff had “tried to resuscitate” the individual but were unsuccessful.
Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons gave his team the lead with a brilliant goal, bouncing a Dani Olmo pass off his thigh before unleashing a rocket from the edge of the box.
Lois Openda doubled Leipzig’s lead after 57 minutes, chipping over the goalkeeper’s head and into the goal.
Openda, who arrived from Ligue 1 side Lens in the summer, has 16 league goals this season and has scored in each of his past five games.
Leipzig’s win took them one point behind fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund, who drew 1-1 at struggling Wolfsburg, with home midfielder Yannick Gerhardt’s second-half header cancelling out an early Niclas Fuellkrug goal.
Having absorbed some early pressure from the hosts, Dortmund scored after eight minutes, Fuellkrug kneeing in a rebound from a Marco Reus shot on the counter.
Gerhardt equalised after a long interruption due to fan protests against an investor deal for the Bundesliga, heading in from close range after a deflected clearance from the Dortmund defence.
“We didn’t have enough chances on the whole,” said Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. “We are not satisfied with the point.”
Serhou Guirassy scored his first goal of the calendar year as 10-man Stuttgart won 2-1 at Darmstadt to go five clear of Dortmund in third.
Guirassy headed in from close range 15 minutes in for his 18th league goal of the season.
Both sides scored in second-half injury time as Stuttgart held on despite being reduced to 10 men late in the first half.
Union Berlin secured a crucial victory in their bid to avoid the drop, American midfielder Brenden Aaronson scoring late for a 1-0 win at Hoffenheim.
Both sides played the second half with 10 men after Hoffenheim’s Stanley Nsoki and Union’s Kevin Volland picked up second yellow cards just before half-time.
Union’s win took them eight points clear of the relegation spots in an increasingly crowded lower half of the table.
Mainz won just their second match of the season 1-0 at home over Augsburg, with Liverpool loanee Sepp van den Berg’s first-half strike enough despite Nadiem Amiri missing a penalty.
AFP
Sports
Racism probe: Mourinho gets 4-game ban for Galatasaray comments
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Fenerbahçe manager, José Mourinho, has been handed a ban for his comments following their 0-0 draw with Galatasaray last weekend.
After the Istanbul Derby on Sunday, Mourinho criticised the Galatasaray bench for “jumping like monkeys” following an early challenge.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss also claimed the match would have been a “disaster” if a Turkish referee had been put in charge instead of Slovenian official Slavko Vinčić.
Galatasaray later issued a strong statement accusing Mourinho of racism and threatening legal action.
In response, Fenerbahçe hit back with a statement of their own, insisting their coach’s comments were “completely taken out of context and an attempt was made to deliberately distort them”.
Now, according to Sky Sports, the Turkish Football Federation has decided to punish Mourinho with a two-game ban for racist comments and a further two-match suspension for offensive remarks made about the fourth official.
Sports
Chelsea emphatic win against Southampton gives them hope of top four finish
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Chelsea stormed back into Premier League top four with a commanding 4-0 victory over struggling Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
The emphatic win lifted Enzo Maresca’s side to fourth place, reigniting hopes of a Champions League return after three consecutive defeats had cast doubt over their campaign.
Amid growing frustration among supporters—who gathered pre-match to chant for former owner Roman Abramovich—Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring with a courageous header, marking his 14th goal of the season.
The French star celebrated in trademark style, blowing a blue balloon, signaling a return of belief at the Bridge.
Pedro Neto doubled Chelsea’s lead with a clinical strike before Levi Colwill powered home a header from a Neto free-kick just before halftime.
The Blues capped their largest Premier League victory since 2022 when Marc Cucurella slotted in the fourth late on, ensuring the dominant display didn’t go unrewarded.
Facing pointed questions after defeats to Aston Villa and Brighton, Maresca insisted Chelsea were “on the right track.”
His side answered emphatically, though critics might note Southampton’s woeful form—bottom of the table with just nine points from 27 matches.
For Southampton, the defeat further deepened their crisis.
With 11 goals conceded in their last three league games and manager Ivan Juric branding the season a “disaster,” the Saints look destined to replicate their 2022-23 relegation woes.
While Chelsea’s top-four hopes received a boost, their position remains precarious.
For now, though, Chelsea can take solace in a performance that suggests Maresca’s project may yet bear fruit.
Manchester City and Newcastle could reclaim fourth spot with wins in their midweek fixtures.
Sports
Sad! Uganda based Nigerian footballer, Lawal falls to death from shopping mall
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Police on Monday said they were investigating the death of Nigerian footballer Abubakar Lawal who fell from a shopping mall balcony in Kampala.
The 29-year-old striker played for local premiership club Vipers.
He fell from the third floor of Voicemall Shopping Arcade early on Monday, police said in a statement.
He had been visiting a Tanzanian friend staying in one of the residential apartments that form part of the mall.
The friend told police she had left him alone shortly before the fall.
Authorities are retrieving CCTV footage and conducting thorough interrogations to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the incident,” police said.
The Vipers Sports Club said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened to announce the sudden and untimely passing of our beloved player, Abubakar Lawal, who left us this morning.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Lawal’s family, club fans, friends and loved ones during this difficult time,” it added.
Lawal had been the team’s striker since joining the club in July 2022 after two years with AS Kigali in Rwanda.
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