Sports
Bayern Suffer Nine-Year Low In Shock Loss, Slip Eight Points Off Title Pace
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
The point moves Frankfurt four clear of Werder Bremen in sixth-place, the last European spot.
Sports
NPFL: Musa nets winner for Pillars, Sunshine Stars pip El-Kanemi
Ahmed Musa netted the winning goal as Kano Pillars recorded a 2-1 victory over Niger Tornadoes at the Sani Abacha Stadium on Saturday.
Kano Pillars took the lead through Rashid Alhassan at the half-hour mark.
Niger Tornadoes fought back, with Mohammed Goyi equalising at the hour mark.
Musa found the target deep into stoppage time to win the game for Pillars.
Peter Awosanmi was on target as Sunshine Stars narrowly defeated El-Kanemi Warriors 1-0 at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne.
In Benin City, Bendel Insurance also recorded a 1-0 victory over Lobi Stars, with Isaac Annor scoring the decisive strike in the 83rd minute.
Sports
EPL: Man City suffer another loss
Manchester City’s crisis snowballed as they slipped to another devastating defeat at Aston Villa.
Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers goals meant Phil Foden’s late reply for the visitors was little consolation.
Defending champions City have dropped to sixth in the Premier League, nine points behind leaders Liverpool having played two games more, while Villa have moved above them into fifth.
It is now nine defeats in 12 games in all competitions for City, who are winless in their last eight away matches, as their season continues to spiral downwards.
Guardiola made six changes from the Manchester derby defeat last week but it made little difference during another laboured performance.
Villa, who had won just three of their previous 11 top-flight games, earned a much-needed victory, one which keeps their top-four hopes firmly alive.
They were rarely troubled, although Emi Martinez saved well from Foden in the first half, and Villa continually found ways past City’s frail backline.
The tone was set inside the first minute as City needed Stefan Ortega, in for the injured Ederson, to twice bail them out.
He brilliantly turned Pau Torres’ header on to the bar, the goalkeeper clawing the ball out from almost over the line, having already saved from Duran following Josko Gvardiol’s mistake after just 15 seconds.
Worse was to come after 16 minutes when City were sliced open by Youri Tielemans’ brilliant through-ball. He found Rogers to advance and unselfishly square for Duran to beat Ortega.
City were unable to respond until it was too late and Rogers, who spent two years at Etihad Stadium without making a senior City appearance, sealed victory for Villa with a fine low finish after 65 minutes, making Foden’s injury-time strike meaningless.
BBC
Sports
I Failed In Front of the World Four Years Ago — Lookman’s Touching Speech After Winning CAF Award
Super Eagles star, Ademola Lookman had delivered a touching speech after winning the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year award.
According to him, he learned from his failure four years ago which made him a better player.
He said: “Just over four years ago I failed in front of the world. Fast forward four years, I’m the best player in Africa,” Lookman said after receiving the award.
“I want to say to the young children and people watching this: don’t let your failures weigh you down that they break your wings. Matter of fact, turn your pain into your power and continue to fight.
“Firstly. I want to thank the Almighty God for everything he has been doing in my life, and everything he has been blessing me with.
“I want to thank the president, I want to thank all my teammates- club and country. I want to thank them for all their support and love that they gave me.”
“This award today is a blessing to me, to my family, to my nation, and to be recognized as the best player in Africa. It’s something incredible and I’m extremely proud of.”
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