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Boniface Scores As Brilliant Leverkusen Stretch Unbeaten Run To 50 Games

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Bayer Leverkusen stretched their season-long unbeaten run to 50 games with a 5-0 win at 10-man Bochum on Sunday.

Bochum defeated a 10-man Leverkusen in May 2023, the last side to beat Xabi Alonso’s side in any competition, but the tables turned on Sunday with Leverkusen’s goals coming from five different scorers.

Alonso’s league champions are just one game away from the first unbeaten Bundesliga season and three games from a remarkable treble.

Bochum lost a man early when Felix Passlack saw red for a last-man foul on Nathan Tella.

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With attacking midfield maestro Florian Wirtz missing through injury, Alonso started strikers Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick and both had a goal by half-time.

Schick blasted in an Arthur cross with a superb first-touch finish after 41 minutes. Boniface converted a penalty five minutes later after Tella was fouled in the box.

Amine Adli, brought on for Schick with 20 minutes remaining, headed in a corner to make it 3-0.

Josip Stanisic, who scored in stoppage time to keep Leverkusen’s unbeaten run alive against Roma in the Europa League on Thursday, added a fourth with three minutes remaining before setting up Alex Grimaldo’s goal in the final moments.

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Within three days in late May, Leverkusen face Atalanta in the Europa League final in Dublin before taking on second-division Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final.

No Kane, no problem for Bayern
Thomas Tuchel’s heavily changed Bayern Munich line-up made short work of Wolfsburg at home, winning 2-0 to leapfrog Stuttgart into second spot.

Tuchel made eight changes to the side eliminated from the Champions League with a 2-1 loss at Real Madrid on Wednesday, with England captain Harry Kane, out with back issues, missing his first league match of the season.

If the England captain returns next week, Kane — currently on 36 league goals this season — will have just one match remaining to try and reach Robert Lewandowski’s all-time record of 41.

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Bayern captain Manuel Neuer was proud with his side for bouncing back after the disappointing and controversial loss to Real.

“We were in control for over 90 minutes and got into the game well, that was crucial,” Neuer told DAZN.

“Real was difficult to deal with, today we had to ignore it – we did a good job of that.”

The win sends Bayern two points clear of Stuttgart in second with one game remaining.

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Croatian midfielder Lovro Zvonarek, aged just 19, celebrated his first start by scoring after four minutes. Leon Goretzka was set up by Thomas Mueller just 10 minutes later.

Four minutes after Goretzka’s goal, Spain winger Bryan Zaragoza, also making his first league start for Bayern, had a goal was ruled out for offside.

Bayern, who will finish the season without a trophy for the first time since 2012, gradually took the sting out of the match and handed out further debuts in the final stages.

Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz came on late in the second half, replacing Bayern captain Manuel Neuer who was playing his 500th Bundesliga game. Teenagers Matteo Perez Vinlof and Jonathan Asp-Jensen also came on.

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“Daniel has given the team so much and shown good performances, he simply deserves to get minutes,” said Neuer.

The loss means Wolfsburg are yet to win in the Bavarian capital after 27 games.

Earlier on Sunday, Hoffenheim boosted their chances of qualifying for Europe with a 6-0 demolition of already relegated Darmstadt.

Both Ihlas Bebou and Maximilian Beier scored doubles with Pavel Kaderabek and former Liverpool centre-back Ozan Kabak adding goals against the last-placed team.

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AFP

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Osimhen fires brace in Galatasaray away win

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Victor Osimhen scored twice as Galatasaray thrashed Kayserispor 5-1 in their Turkish Super Lig clash on Sunday.

Osimhen gave Okan Buruk’s side the lead from the penalty spot in the fourth minute.

The 25-year-old netted his side’s fourth goal of the day 19 minutes from time.

The powerful striker has now scored 12 goals and provided five assists across all competitions for the Yellow and Reds this season.

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Baris Yilmaz (brace) and Yunus Akgun were the other goal scorers for Galatasaray in the game.

Galatasaray remain top of the standings with 44 points from 16 games.

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Liverpool thrash Tottenham in nine-goal thriller

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Liverpool swept four points clear at the top of the Premier League as Mohamed Salah’s masterclass inspired a memorable 6-3 rout of Tottenham on Sunday.

Salah delivered a sublime performance featuring two goals and a pair of assists as Arne Slot’s side ran riot in north London.

Liverpool took advantage of second-placed Chelsea’s 0-0 draw at Everton earlier in the day to cement their status as title favourites heading into the Christmas period.

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Bournemouth humble Man United 3-0 at Old Trafford

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Manchester United crashed to a humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth on Sunday as Ruben Amorim lost for the fourth time in his nine games in charge of the troubled Old Trafford club.

United boss Ruben Amorim, who once again left Marcus Rashford out of his squad, is set for a miserable Christmas following the worst result of his brief reign.

Languishing in 13th place, United have suffered four defeats in nine matches in all competitions since Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon in November to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag.

United’s second successive loss after their League Cup exit at Tottenham on Thursday underlined Amorim’s belief that their road back to the top will be long and arduous.

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United, who have conceded first in their last six games, were booed off at half-time, while the final whistle was greeted by more jeers from the few fans who stayed until the bitter end.

While it is far too early to pass judge on Amorim, the Portuguese coach cannot afford many more results like this if he is to keep the players and fans on his side.

Amorim’s decision to play without Rashford for the third consecutive game will face fresh scrutiny after United’s wretched performance.

Amorim surprisingly omitted the 27-year-old England forward from the squad for United’s win at Manchester City last weekend, prompting Rashford to hint he was willing to leave the club for a “new challenge”.

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Rashford was at Old Trafford wearing a United tracksuit amid his extended exile as Amorim made six changes from the line-up beaten 4-3 by Tottenham in the League Cup quarter-finals.

Again, United were exposed at set-pieces in the 29th minute when Bournemouth’s teenage defender Dean Huijsen punished poor marking at a free-kick to glance a header past Andre Onana.

There was even worse to come for Amorim in the second half as Justin Kluivert doubled fifth-placed Bournemouth’s advantage with a 61st minute penalty following Noussair Mazraoui’s foul on the forward.

Antoine Semenyo compounded United’s misery two minutes later with a cool finish from Dango Ouattara’s pass.

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