BERLIN: Erling Braut Haaland weighed in with two goals and three assists as Borussia Dortmund threw down a marker on the first weekend of the Bundesliga season with a 5-2 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Defending champions Bayern Munich, who are bidding for a tenth straight league title, kicked off the new season with a 1-1 draw at Moenchengladbach on Friday.
Dortmund host Bayern in the German Super Cup in three days’ time.
The 21-year-old Haaland has now netted 62 goals in 61 games for Dortmund and proved he can create chances just as well as finish them.
“We have to be careful not to praise him too much, but he is already a complete package,” Dortmund captain Marco Reus said of Haaland, who enthusiastically celebrated the victory in front of home fans.
Haaland also claimed a hat-trick in the German Cup last week, giving him a tally of five goals and three assists after just two games this season.
“Erling is an unbelievable team player, he showed that with his assists and goals,” said Dortmund’s new coach Marco Rose.
When Dortmund attacked early on, Haaland drew the defense and squared to Reus, who scored his 100th Bundesliga goal on 23 minutes.
However, pressure by new Frankfurt signing Rafael Santos Borre saw Dortmund defender Felix Passlack put the ball into his own net four minutes later.
Haaland helped restore the lead on 32 minutes, releasing Thorgan Hazard, whose shot clipped the boot of Frankfurt’s goalkeeper Kevin Trapp on its way into the net.
Just over two minutes later, Haaland broke free of the defense and drilled his shot past Trapp to make it 3-1.
It could have been 4-1 at half-time, but Reus had a second goal ruled out as replays showed the ball went dead in the build-up.
Frankfurt’s new coach Oliver Glasner responded by making three changes, including giving a Bundesliga debut for new Norway signing Jens Petter Hauge, who scored Frankfurt’s late second goal.
However, there was only one Norwegian star in Dortmund as Haaland set up Giovanni Reyna to score the hosts’ fourth goal on 58 minutes.
Haaland showed his speed and strength to round off a move from the halfway line with a clinical finish for his second goal with 20 minutes left.
Dortmund were caught napping when Hauge got in behind the defense and tapped home Frankfurt’s second goal five minutes before the whistle.
Only a diving Trapp save denied Haaland a hat-trick in added time.
Earlier, VfB Stuttgart romped to a 5-1 thrashing of promoted Greuther Fuerth as defender Marc-Oliver Kempf netted twice.
Japan midfielder Wataru Endo opened the scoring after half an hour amid sweltering temperatures before Philipp Klement added Stuttgart’s second on 36 minutes.
After the break, Stuttgart winger Borna Sosa claimed three assists from two superb crosses and a pin-point accurate corner as Kempf scored either side of a Hamadi Al Ghaddioui header.
The win came at a cost, however, as Stuttgart had 17-year-old Dutch striker Mohamed Sankoh stretchered off with a serious Knee injury in the second half.
“Sankoh’s injury dampened the mood a little — we hope he gets back on his feet quickly. It will take around six months,” confirmed Stuttgart coach Pellegrino Matarazzo.
The top flight’s other new club Bochum also made a losing start, going down 1-0 at Wolfsburg, whose striker Wout Weghorst scored the first-half winner.
Hoffenheim enjoyed a 4-0 romp at Augsburg.
Forwards Jacob Bruun Larsen and Sargis Adamyan put Hoffenheim 2-0 up before French teenager Georginio Rutter came on to grab the third, and then set up Sebastian Rudy for the fourth.
Union Berlin started their season with a 1-1 draw at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
Nigeria striker Taiwo Awoniyi put Union ahead with seven minutes played only for Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby to equalize five minutes later.
Haaland nets twice, creates three goals as Dortmund rout Frankfurt
https://arab.news/y56w5
Haaland nets twice, creates three goals as Dortmund rout Frankfurt
- Dortmund host Bayern in the German Super Cup in three days' time.
- Haaland has now netted 62 goals in 61 games for Dortmund and proved he can create chances just as well as finish them
Forever Young features among strong field for Saudi Cup 2026
- Title-holder on course to clash with top-level winners from US and Japan in world’s most valuable race
RIYADH: Defending champion Forever Young heads a stellar list of names put forward for this year’s Group 1 $20 million Saudi Cup, which will take place at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
The two-day meeting, which begins on Feb. 13, has attracted 57 individual thoroughbred Group or Grade 1 winners in its entirety and 14 Purebred Arabian Group 1 winners. The nominations, spread among 22 different countries, will be competing for total prize-money of almost $40 million.
Prince Bandar bin Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, said: “This is only the seventh time we have staged the Saudi Cup meeting and it has already delivered countless memorable races and performances.
“With the nominations we have received for this year, we can be sure that the spectacular racing will continue. It is wonderful to see such a collection of both familiar and new names from all around the world due to be involved at King Abdulaziz Racecourse next month.”
Officially rated the joint-top dirt horse in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, Forever Young (JPN) has been successful on both his two previous visits to Saudi Arabia, winning the 2024 Saudi Derby before his gallant performance in the world’s most valuable race last year.
Yoshito Yahagi’s superstar, last seen winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic, could face a major challenge over the 1,800m from the US.
Former Classic champion White Abarrio (US) and Preakness Stakes victor Journalism (US) have been entered along with rising stars Nysos (US), the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile hero, and Magnitude (US), who beat a smart field in the Grade 2 Clark Stakes last time.
Further strength in depth from Japan could be added by W Heart Bond, the mare who won the recent Champions Cup, as well as Diktaean and Mikki Fight. They were first and second in the Tokyo Daishoten, the race used previously as a launchpad by Forever Young.
Sayyah (US), impressive in the recent Crown Prince Cup, and Star of Wonder (US), who claimed the King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Cup in late December, are among a number of promising Saudi Arabian-trained horses looking to secure a spot in the signature race.
This year’s Neom Turf Cup, sponsored by Howden, has been upgraded to Group 1 status, making it the first top-level turf race staged in the jurisdiction, and the purse has been increased to $3 million.
Charlie Appleby and Godolphin’s Rebel's Romance (IRE), the winner of nine top-level races around the world and a former Breeders’ Cup title-holder, is set to extend that extraordinary record in the 2,100m showdown. The likes of Bahrain International Trophy scorer Royal Champion (IRE) and Aidan O’Brien’s multiple Group 1-placed The Lion In Winter (IRE) could be up against him.
The Group 2 $2.5 million Red Sea Turf Handicap, sponsored by Longines, draws the cream of international stayers. Both Japan’s Durezza (JPN) and Joseph O’Brien’s Irish star Al-Riffa (FR) have been given entries for this race and the Neom Turf, while last year’s fourth Presage Nocturne (IRE) has improved again for Alessandro Botti.
This year’s Group 2 $2 million 1351 Turf Sprint, sponsored by SHG, could be an absolute cracker with entries headed by Jose d’Angelo’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint sensation Shisospicy (US) and Europe’s leading sprinter and Royal Ascot winner Lazzat (FR).
Similarly, the Group 2 $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint has drawn the cream of the international speedsters, including Book’em Danno and Shisospicy’s Breeders’ Cup-winning stablemate Bentornato, from the US, and two incredible talents from the UAE in Bhupat Seemar’s prolific Tuz (US) and last year’s Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Dark Saffron (US) for Ahmad bin Harmash.
Khamal (CHI), stylish winner of the Group 1 Premio Derby Nacional in Peru in late November, is among the jet-setting entries in the Group 3 $1.5 million Saudi Derby, sponsored by Zood Realty.
The card on Friday, Feb. 13 includes the International Jockey Challenge while the $500,000 Saudi International Handicap, sponsored by Lucid, has attracted potential runners trained as far afield as Bahrain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Oman, Qatar and Spain.
There are two Group 1 races for Purebred Arabians across the weekend. The main turf event, the $1.5 million Al-Mneefah Cup, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, was taken in brave fashion in 2025 by RB Kingmaker (US) and Helal Alalawi’s grey is set for a return visit.
The $2 million Obaiyah Arabian Classic, the principal event on dirt, was won spectacularly last year by the decorated Tilal Al-Khalediah (KS), who could feature again in a strong field from around the Gulf region.
Alalawi has entered not only RB Kingmaker but HM Alchahine (FR), who was a commanding winner over his third-placed stablemate in the Group 1 HH The President Cup in Abu Dhabi last time.
“We are delighted and honored that so many people have chosen to aim their horses for the 2026 Saudi Cup races and, on behalf of everyone at the JCSA, I would like to extend our gratitude to those owners and trainers,” Prince Bandar said.
“Year-on-year, thanks to the vision of our leadership, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his royal highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the crown prince and prime minister — may God protect them — the Saudi Cup has evolved into The Kingdom’s key sporting and social event.
“It has been especially pleasing to see the races recognised by the international authorities, too. The Saudi Cup has held Group 1 status since 2022 but we will now be staging our first ever Group 1 race on grass, the Neom Turf Cup, after its consistent level of performance.
“The Saudi Cup meeting is not only about world-class racing; it is a celebration of the horse as well as the culture and the hospitality of the Kingdom. The list of nominations only increases the excitement and we look forward to welcoming connections and racing fans alike next month for an event that has quickly made a huge impact on the global calendar.”
