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Tag: Bundesliga

  • Bundesliga: Bayern beat Dusseldorf 5-0

    Bundesliga: Bayern beat Dusseldorf 5-0

    Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Bayern Munich moved 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a 5-0 thrashing of Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday evening.

    Benjamin Pavard gave the hosts the lead in the 15th minute after his shot took a deflection off Mathias Jorgensen.

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    Pavard doubled the lead in the 29th minute nodding home a cross from Joshua Kimmich.

    Read Also: Bundesliga: Awoniyi Plays 90 Minutes As Mainz Lose To Hoffenheim; Drop To Relegation Spot

    Lewandowski scored his first goal of the game two minutes before the break.

    Bayern continued the dominance after the restart as Lewandowski completed his brace with a simple finish from close-range after some good work by Serge Gnabry.

    Alphonso Davies completed the rout in the 52nd minute slotting home from close range

    Borussia Dortmund will look to cut the lead when they travel to Paderborn.

  • Havertz goal earns Bayer Leverkusen win at Freiburg

    Havertz goal earns Bayer Leverkusen win at Freiburg

    Bayer Leverkusen secured a scrappy 1-0 Bundesliga victory at Freiburg on Friday, bouncing back from a midweek setback to win with an opportunist goal by forward Kai Havertz.

    The result lifted Bayer Leverkusen, who were hammered 4-1 by VfL Wolfsburg at home on Tuesday, two places up to third on 56 points from 29 games.

    They are eight points behind champions and leaders Bayern Munich who entertain Fortuna Duesseldorf on Saturday.

    Freiburg stayed eighth on 38 points after stretching their winless run to four games since the Bundesliga restarted on May 16 following a two-month lay-off caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Havertz netted a 54th minute winner for the visitors when he poked a close-range shot through goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow’s legs after Leon Bailey threaded a superb pass through to the 20-year-old.

    A dull first half produced a solitary chance for Freiburg in the 43rd minute, when Lucas Hoeler fired wide of the far post with only Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky to beat.

    With Bayer Leverkusen gaining the upper hand after taking the lead, Julian Baumgartlinger had a goal disallowed for the visitors in the 63d minute.

    The goal was disallowed for a push on Dominique Heintz and that finally seemed to spring the home side into action.

    Nils Petersen missed Freiburg’s best chance for an equaliser in the 87th minute, allowing Hradecky to keep out his scuffed shot.

    This was after a flowing move left him with time and space inside the penalty area.

    In Saturday’s other standout fixture, former champions Werder Bremen, who are in danger of relegation as they are six points adrift of the safety zone, visit ninth-placed Schalke 04.

    Schalke 04 are on a 10-match winless league run.

  • Bayern Munich closer to league title after 1-0 win at Dortmund

    Joshua Kimmich’s first-half lob gave leaders Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory at second-placed Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Tuesday.

    The slim win closes Bayern in on the league title with a seven-point advantage over their rivals and six games left in the season.

    Kimmich, sent a perfectly-weighted chip over stranded keeper, Roman Buerki in the 43rd minute as the champions landed big win, at an empty stadium that normally seats 80,000 fans.

    The win is in the visitors’ quest for a record-extending eighth straight league crown.

    Bayern, who have now won their last seven league matches, are on 64 points with Dortmund still on 57. RB Leipzig, who face Hertha Berlin on Wednesday, are third on 54.

    The Bundesliga became the first major league to restart 10 days ago after a break of more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with games played without supporters to reduce the risk of infection.

  • Erling Haaland scores on Bundesliga return

    Erling Haaland scores on Bundesliga return

    Erling Braut Haaland scored for Borussia Dortmund as they marked the return of the Bundesliga during the coronavirus outbreak with a convincing derby win over Schalke.

    The game will mostly be remembered for the surreal circumstances in which it was played, as Germany became the first major league in Europe to resume action behind closed doors.

    There was an eerie atmosphere at Dortmund’s iconic Signal Iduna Park stadium, with every shout by players or coaches audible, and social distancing protocol followed by substitutes and during goal celebrations.

    Haaland opened the scoring with a trademark cool finish, flicking home Thorgen Hazard’s cross to continue his sensational season, albeit after an enforced break of almost 10 weeks.

    Raphael Guerreiro added two more goals and Hazard also found the net as Dortmund went on to claim a comfortable win over their near neighbours and move within a point of leaders Bayern Munich, who play on Sunday.

  • ‘Ghost’ derby lifts curtain on Bundesliga restart

    ‘Ghost’ derby lifts curtain on Bundesliga restart

    Borussia Dortmund host Schalke 04 in Germany’s fiercest derby on Saturday but no more than 300 people will be in and around the 80,000 capacity arena due to COVID-19 restrictions as the Bundesliga gets back to business after a two-month break.

    The Bundesliga is the first major sports league to resume since world sport was brought to a standstill by the pandemic, and players will have to abide by a strict set of health guidelines aimed at minimizing the risk of infection.

    Fans will not be able to attend the matches as part of the safety regulations, leaving it up to the players to provide the spark for what are being called “ghost” games.

    “It will most certainly be the most unusual derby in history,”Dortmund’s head of pro players Sebastian Kehl said this week.

    “This game lives off fans, their emotions, the intensity of the stadium. We will not experience any of that. The players will be badly missing the motivation from the atmosphere and the fans,”he told Welt newspaper.

    Whatever the conditions, Dortmund will look to pick up where they left off before the break and earn a victory over their fierce rivals that would keep them in the title hunt.

    With nine matches left, Dortmund are on 51 points, four behind leaders Bayern Munich and one ahead of RB Leipzig.

    Dortmund have always relied on their 80,000 sold-out crowd to push them forward at every home game, but on Saturday only about 200 people will be allowed on the pitch side and in the stands, with another 100, mainly security staff, posted outside the arena.

    With Europe’s biggest standing tribune, the Yellow Wall, empty on Saturday the hosts have staged several training sessions at the arena to get used to playing without fans.

    During Wednesday’s training session music that is played prior to matches blared from the speakers as the team simulated Saturday’s conditions.

    On paper, the hosts are favourites, having won seven of their last eight games. Since January, Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho have scored nine goals together, more than double that of the entire Schalke team (four).

    But Dortmund will be missing injured Captain Marco Reus and defender Dan-Axel Zagadou while midfielders Axel Witsel and Emre Can are also doubtful.

    Schalke are without a win in their last seven league games, the longest winless stretch under coach David Wagner, and have scored just two goals in the process.

    After a strong start to the season they have dropped to sixth on 37 points and are in danger of missing out on Europe next season.

    Champions Bayern, chasing a record-extending eighth straight title, travel to Union Berlin on Sunday with the hosts likely to be without coach Urs Fischer, who on Wednesday left the team’s mandatory seven-day isolation camp ahead of the season restart.

    Leipzig, on 50 points, host Freiburg while Borussia Moenchengladbach, a further point behind in fourth place, travel to Eintracht Frankfurt.

  • 2019/2020 Bundesliga restarts amid pandemic

    2019/2020 Bundesliga restarts amid pandemic

    The eyes of the sports world will be on Germany’s Bundesliga this weekend as it becomes the first “big league’’ to restart after the COVID-19 shutdown.

    But little would have changed on the pitch with Bayern Munich hunting an eighth straight crown.

    The German Football League decided last week to resume the first and second divisions from May 16 after a two-month suspension.

    The teams will undergo a seven-day isolation period after testing for the new coronavirus.

    Leaders Bayern Munich begin the final nine match days with a trip to Union Berlin on Sunday with Borussia Dortmund, four points behind the Bavarians, playing Schalke 04 a day earlier.

    “The Bundesliga manages to become the first big league worldwide to restart,” Bayern Munich Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.

    “And with the Bundesliga as the only league to be broadcast on TV, I expect we will have an audience of a billion,” he said on Wednesday.

    Strict health regulations mean all games will be played in empty stadiums with only some 300 essential staff and officials in and around the arenas.

    Players have been told not to spit, celebrate in groups, or touch hands with team mates.

    Also, some clubs will use music and cardboard cutouts of fans to enhance the atmosphere at matches.

    The league is desperate to complete the season by June 30 for contractual reasons.

    The organisers say they are aware of the risk of another suspension if there are many positive virus cases among players.

    It has already warned of the “existence-threatening” financial situation of several clubs due to the suspension and has warned another interruption would be disastrous for both league and teams.

    The interruption has allowed the league’s top goalscorer, Robert Lewandowski, to recover from a leg injury.

    It was an injury that would have ruled the Bayern Munich forward out of several matches had the season not been halted.

    The Pole has been back fit for weeks and will look to pick up where he left off.

    This means he can add to his 25 league goals as he chases the season record of 40 set by Gerd Mueller in 1972.

    Borussia Dortmund, on 51 points, one ahead of RB Leipzig, have not given up on the title but will restart without injured captain Marco Reus.

    Borussia Dortmund have the more difficult run-in and RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann hopes to give Bayern Munich a run for their money.

    “If Bayern Munich are in top form then the title will be decided by them, especially when they have such a lead,” he said.

    “But we will still try to win this nine-game tournament to create the theoretical conditions to end very high up.”

    Borussia Moenchengladbach, fourth on 49 points, and Bayer Leverkusen, on 47 points, still have to play Bayern Munich.

    But they look almost certain to battle it out for the fourth UEFA Champions League spot with Schalke 04 a further 10 points back in sixth.

    At the other end of the table, Paderborn’s Bundesliga stint looks set to come to an end after one season.

    They are last on 16 points, six off the relegation playoff spot occupied by Fortuna Duesseldorf.

    The 2004 champions Werder Bremen, in 17th place on 18 points, will need to step up a gear if they are to avoid their second relegation since 1980.

  • Bundesliga teams in isolation ahead of season restart

    Bundesliga teams in isolation ahead of season restart

    German soccer teams started the week in isolation on Monday after going into seven-day quarantine ahead of the Bundesliga season restart on Saturday.

    Club bosses all said that completing the campaign amid the coronavirus outbreak will not be easy.

    The German Football League (DFL) decided last week to resume the first and second division from May 16 after a two-month suspension, making it the first major sports league to attempt a restart.

    Teams have been sent into mandatory seven-day isolation after testing for the virus in order to reduce the risk of infection before playing in empty stadiums with only a handful of staff and officials, to help prevent the spread of the virus.

    Several clubs, including champions Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg, have picked hotels in their cities to cut travel times to training locations and airports for the weekend matches.

    Others like Schalke 04, who face Dortmund in the Ruhr valley derby, and Borussia Moenchengladbach are using hotels at their stadiums.

    Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin have moved to more isolated hotels in the countryside, as have bottom club Paderborn who will spend the week in a nearby thermal springs town.

    Players and staff wore face masks as they departed for hotels where distance between tables at team lunches and dinners will become routine, as will single rooms where players will make their own beds to reduce unnecessary contact with other people.

    Plans to restart, however, suffered a setback on Saturday after the entire team of second tier Dynamo Dresden was placed in two-week quarantine following two positive coronavirus tests.

    “We always expected that the remainder of this season will not be trouble-free,” Borussia Dortmund Chief Executive Hans-Joachim Watzke told the Funke media group.

    “These tests and results are also a sign of our transparency.”

    The league, desperate to complete the season by June 30, has drawn up a detailed set of regulations for training and matches, including stringent testing that helped it get the government’s green light to restart.

    But with the virus far from gone in Germany where almost 170,000 people have been infected and over 7,400 have died, the DFL is concerned any positive virus cases could seriously damage chances of finishing the season, and inflict potentially “existence-threatening” financial damage to some clubs.

    “I expect everyone now to live up to their responsibilities,” DFL CEO Christian Seifert said at the weekend.

  • BREAKING: Bundesliga returns May 16, new fixtures released

    BREAKING: Bundesliga returns May 16, new fixtures released

    German Football Association has confirmed the Bundesliga will return on May 16.

    The league was suspended in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic on March 13.

    DFL CEO Christian Seifert confirms in a press conference that the plan for the Bundesliga is to resume playing on May 16th.

    However the games will be played behind closed-doors with fans watching from home to contain spread of the virus.

    Clubs have been informed of the date and can begin to ramp up training in preparation.

    Below is the list of fixtures

    Dortmund vs. Schalke

    Leipzig vs. Freiburg

    Hoffenheim vs. Hertha BSC

    Fortuna vs. Paderborn

    Augsburg vs. Wolfsburg

    Eintracht vs. Gladbach

    Sunday fixtures:

    Köln vs. Mainz

    Union Berlin vs. Bayern

    Monday fixtures:

    Werder Bremen vs. Leverkusen

  • Bundesliga: Bayern Munich to resume training

    Bundesliga: Bayern Munich to resume training

    Bayern Munich players will return to training on Monday for the first time since the Bundesliga campaign was halted by the coronavirus pandemic.

    Germany’s top flight has been on hold since 13 March.

    The German Football League recommended clubs should not train until Sunday, 5 April; the Bundesliga leaders will welcome back players in small groups.

    “Training will take place with no members of the public present,” a club statement read.

    “In order to further slow the spread of the coronavirus, FC Bayern asks fans to continue to follow the instructions of the authorities and therefore please do not come to the FC Bayern training ground.”

    The Bundesliga remains suspended until at least 30 April following a meeting of league clubs last Tuesday.

  • Bundesliga: Bayern go top with victory at Paderborn

    Bundesliga: Bayern go top with victory at Paderborn

    Champions Bayern Munich went top of the Bundesliga as they won away at newly promoted Paderborn.

    Robert Kovac’s side leapfrogged RB Leipzig, 3-1 losers at home to Schalke.

    Serge Gnabry and Phillipe Coutinho put Bayern 2-0 up before Kai Proger responded for the hosts.

    When Robert Lewandowski, who had missed a sitter, dinked in it meant he had scored in his first six games of the season, and Jamilu Collins’ thunderous strike proved only to be a consolation.