Sports
Leverkusen Set New 33-Match Unbeaten Record, Go 11 Points Clear

A long-range shot from Robert Andrich took Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen to a 2-1 home win against Mainz on Friday, setting a new German record of 33 games unbeaten.
Andrich’s goal was helped by a goalkeeping mistake from Mainz’s Robin Zentner, who allowed the ball to slip through his hands and into the net.
Leverkusen were nervy and made a number of uncharacteristic errors, but the victory takes them 11 points clear of Bayern Munich in their bid for a first-ever Bundesliga title.
“We have to be honest and say we didn’t play a great game and were a bit lucky to win, but we won’t complain about the three points,” Andrich told DAZN.
Bayern, who announced their plan to part ways with coach Thomas Tuchel in the summer on Wednesday, host RB Leipzig on Saturday.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen, who have won 29 and drawn four of their 33 games this season, broke the record set by Hansi Flick’s Bayern between 2019 and 2020 — a run which included a Champions League victory.
The week had been dominated by talk of Alonso’s future, amid links to Liverpool to replace Jurgen Klopp, along with the upcoming vacancy in Munich.
Alonso had shut down the rumours, saying any discussion of a return to the clubs he represented during his playing career was “only hypothetical”.
After the match, Andrich told DAZN “we don’t know anything about it, but we take it in our stride.”
“It’s like rumours about a player. As long as everything works well in the dressing room, they can talk about what they like outside of it.”
Granit Xhaka got the hosts off to the best possible start, thumping in a dipping rocket from the edge of the box after just three minutes, his first goal in Leverkusen colours.
“I was under a lot of pressure from my teammates, who reminded me I hadn’t scored a goal yet,” Xhaka told DAZN.
“I’m more than happy and I hope there’s more to come.”
Leverkusen’s elation was short-lived however, with second-bottom Mainz striking back just four minutes later.
Nadiem Amiri, who started the season at Leverkusen before moving to Mainz in search of game time, was the architect of the equaliser, floating in a free kick which rebounded for Dominik Kohr to head in.
Nerveless during their stunning run this season, the goal sucked the momentum out of Leverkusen’s game, with the side’s normally crisp passes missing the target.
The pressure showed as Jeremie Frimpong and Alonso both saw yellow late in the first half having objected to a decision not to call a foul against the Dutch winger.
Mainz had a golden chance to take the lead early in the second half when the normally reliable Edmond Tapsoba passing directly to Lee Jae-sung, but the midfielder blasted over with the goal beckoning.
With just under 20 minutes remaining, midfielder Andrich took a speculative long shot from outside the box.
Zentner, who had impressively kept Leverkusen at bay throughout the match, made a meal of a routine save, allowing the hosts to reclaim the lead.
Late in the match, Mainz were reduced to 10 men, Jessic Ngankam shown a straight red for sinking his studs into Xhaka’s calf, just 15 minutes after coming on.
The decision snuffed out Mainz’s hopes of a comeback and ensured Leverkusen took another major step to a first-ever league crown.
AFP
Sports
Club World Cup: 10-man Real Madrid defeat Pachuca 3-1

Real Madrid recorded their first win at the 2025 Club World Cup against Pachuca, despite going down to 10 men as early as the sixth minute.
Los Blancos had been held to a 1-1 draw in their first game against Al Hilal.
The LaLiga giants were looking to bounce back in their second fixture, but saw Asensio sent off for a last-man tackle.
However, it was Madrid who went in front, with Jude Bellingham bursting into the area to finish confidently.
Xabi Alonso’s men doubled their advantage before the break, with Arda Güler stroking home after a sublime team move.
Federico Valverde made it 3-0, before Pachuca pulled one back through Gonzalo Montiel.
Madrid now have four points ahead of their final game against Salzburg.
Sports
Pogba set for football comeback, says in ‘talks with a club’

Former France midfielder Paul Pogba, who wants to resume his career after a doping ban, said on French television on Sunday he is “talking” with a club, which sources close to him said was Monaco.
The 32-year-old also said he had re-established contact with his brother Mathias, sentenced to a year in prison last December for his involvement in a plot to extort 13 million euros ($15 million) from the 2018 World Cup winner.
Pogba, who played for Manchester United and Juventus, is hoping to put three chaotic years behind him.
Pogba suffered through repeated injuries and patchy form that led to his departure from United in 2022. He returned for a second stint at Juventus, where his problems continued.
He failed a drugs test after a game in Italy in August 2023 and was handed a four-year doping ban, which was reduced 18 months on appeal. It ended in March.
“It was very, very hard,” he said.
He said he was “talking” to a club, which multiple sources said was Ligue 1 Monaco.
Pogba said he was determined “to get back on the pitch, mentally ready, physically ready, it’s just a matter of time”.
The extortion case involving six men linked to Paul Pogba shocked France because the perpetrators included three childhood friends and his own brother.
The five other defendants were found guilty of extortion, kidnapping and detention, as well as participation in a criminal association, and sentenced to up to eight years in prison. All six were also fined.
Paul Pogba said he was talking to Mathias who is being allowed to serve his sentence wearing an electronic bracelet rather than behind bars.
“We are in contact. We’ve spoken, among ourselves, with the family,” Paul Pogba said. “It’s a blood bond. There was a scar, of course. We’re moving forward. Only time can give us answers.”
“All we want is to always be united as a family. That’s the most important thing. It’s hard. Of course it’s very hard, I’m not going to lie. I was hurt. It’s not the same as before, but we’re in touch,” he added.
Paul Pogba was held at gunpoint in 2022 by two hooded men who demanded money.
He said on Sunday that he was initially willing to pay but “afterwards, I cracked,” he said, deciding “to speak out, even if it meant dying” and refusing “to throw away my money like that”.
He said the ban and the court case had changed him
“I learned a lot during this period,” Pogba said. “I did a lot of cleaning around myself too. I am also much closer to my family, my children.”
Sports
Ex-Ajax Winger Extradited To Netherlands, Begins Jail Term Over Drug Trafficking

Former Ajax winger and Dutch international Quincy Promes has been extradited to the Netherlands to begin a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being convicted of drug trafficking and aggravated assault, reports Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
Promes, 33, who had been playing professional football in Dubai, was apprehended following a formal extradition request by the Dutch authorities.
He arrived in the Netherlands aboard a chartered plane and was immediately transferred to a detention facility to commence his sentence.
According to reports, the earliest possible date for his release is 2030, depending on parole eligibility and the outcome of any legal appeals.
Promes was sentenced to six years in February 2024 by an Amsterdam court, which found him guilty of smuggling 1,360 kilograms of cocaine into the Netherlands in two separate shipments from Belgium in 2020.
The drugs were linked to organized trafficking rings with which Promes allegedly maintained regular contact.
While Promes denied the allegations, the court cited eyewitness accounts and intercepted phone calls as strong evidence of his direct involvement in the international drug trade.
The footballer had previously been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stabbing his cousin during a family gathering in 2020.
That sentence, too, had not been served, as Promes had remained outside Dutch jurisdiction until his recent arrest and extradition.
Combined, the two convictions result in a total sentence of seven and a half years.
Once regarded as one of the Netherlands’ brightest football talents, Promes rose through the ranks at Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, and Ajax, and earned over 50 caps for the Dutch national team.
His career took a sharp downturn following the criminal investigations, which ultimately led to his departure from Ajax and a move to the UAE.
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