BERLIN: Borussia Moenchengladbach maintained their strong recent record against Bayern Munich with an outstanding performance from ‘keeper Yann Sommer securing a 1-1 away draw on Saturday.
Gladbach have performed better than any other Bundesliga club against Munich in recent seasons, with two wins and a draw in the 2021-22 season.
Bayern began the match in the same manner they started the season, dominating possession and pinning Gladbach in their own penalty area.
Former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane had the ball in the net twice in two minutes in the first half, but had both efforts pulled back for offside.
With Bayern launching wave after wave of relentless pressure on Gladbach, a goal seemed a mere formality, but it was the visitors who took the lead when French striker Marcus Thuram took advantage of a poor error from countryman Dayot Upamecano to put his side up 1-0 in the shadows of halftime.
Bayern continued to dominate and almost equalized in the 61st minute through Mane, but Sommer somehow stopped the Sengalese twice in quick succession from close range.
Sommer again saved his side in the 65th minute, somehow preventing Bayern winger Leroy Sane from scoring when one-on-one with the former Man City man.
As the game wore on, frustration began to creep into the home side’s game, with Joshua Kimmich, Marcel Sabitzer, Sane and manager Julian Nagelsmann all picking up avoidable second-half yellow cards.
Musiala, brought on by Nagelsmann with 67 minutes gone, set up the equalizer in the 82nd minute, sliding a pass through for Sane to curl the ball past Sommer into the bottom left of the net.
Bayern went close several times in the closing stages, but Sommer was equal to the task to ensure his side remain unbeaten so far this season.
Alongside Bayern in top spot sit Union Berlin, who won 6-1 away at Schalke earlier on Saturday.
Union, who welcome Bayern to the German capital on Saturday, won through braces from Sheraldo Becker and Sven Michel, along with strikes from Morten Thorsby and Janik Haberer.
The Berlin club, who will begin their first ever Europa League campaign in September, are unbeaten (four wins and a draw) after five competitive games in 2022-23.
Berlin coach Urs Fischer did not want his team to get carried away with the “lucky” win.
“Our 3-1 half-time lead was lucky. Sc halke were better, more aggressive and more agile than us,” the Swiss manager told Germany’s SID.
“What was good was that we were more efficient.”
Elsewhere, RB Leipzig gained their first Bundestags win of the season with a 2-0 home victory over Wolfsburg.
Leipzig’s French forward Christopher Nkunku converted a penalty after five minutes to open the scoring.
Former Chelsea striker Timo Werner, who started from the bench after an infection, set up Nkunku’s second in the 90th minute to relieve some pressure from Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco.
Bayer Leverkusen picked up their first points of the season with a 3-0 win away at Mainz.
Leverkusen, who had scored just one goal in three Bundesliga games and had already been eliminated from the German Cup, scored three first-half goals, including a brace for Dutch wing back Jeremie Frimpong.
Hoffenheim won their third game of the season with a hard-fought 1-0 home victory over Augsburg, thanks to a first-half goal from Dennis Geiger.
Sommer heroics see Gladbach hold on for draw at Bayern
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Sommer heroics see Gladbach hold on for draw at Bayern
- Gladbach have performed better than any other Bundesliga club against Munich in recent seasons
- Frustration began to creep into the home side's game, with Joshua Kimmich, Marcel Sabitzer, Sane and manager Julian Nagelsmann all picking up yellow cards
Al-Hilal win tightens Saudi Pro League title race
- The 3-2 victory over Al-Khaleej leaves Al-Hilal a single point behind Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr, who play on Saturday
DUBAI: The gap at the top of the Saudi Pro League table was cut to just one point on Friday night, following Al-Hilal’s 3-2 win over Al-Khaleej.
Simone Inzaghi’s team leapfrogged Al-Taawoun into second place to remain the closest challengers to Al-Nassr in the title fight, with the leaders set to host Al-Okhdood on Saturday.
Al-Hilal opened the scoring on 18 minutes when Mohammed Kanno met Hamad Al-Yami’s lay-off on the edge of the penalty area, his long-range shot beating Al-Khaleej goalkeeper Anthony Moris at his left-hand post.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic doubled the lead on 39 from Malcom’s assist to leave the visitors with a mountain to climb in the second half. Al-Hilal looked to have secured all three points comfortably when Malcom made it 3-0 on 57 minutes, but Al-Khaleej had other ideas.
Joshua King’s goal on 79 minutes looked to be nothing more than a consolation, but five minutes later Al-Hilal were left sweating after Giorgos Masouras cut their lead to a single goal. The visitors’ revival was short-lived, however, with no more additions to the score.
The defeat leaves Al-Khaleej in eighth place, with three matches still to be played on Saturday.
Earlier on Friday, Al-Taawoun briefly climbed to second place in the table after an away win against Al-Kholood at Al-Hazem Stadium. Their goals came from Christopher Zambrano after 22 minutes and a William Troost-Ekong’s own goal in the 75th; Al-Taawoun ended the match with 10 men after Muteb Al-Mufarrij was sent off in stoppage time, but the three points were already secured.
Al-Hilal’s win later in the day meant Al-Taawoun dropped to third, while Al-Kholood sit in 12th.
The first match of the day saw Al-Fateh shock reigning Asian champions Al-Ahli with a 2-1 win, after falling behind at home to Valentin Atangana’s 22nd-minute goal. However, the home team turned the match around with two goals from Maria Vargas either side of half time.
The win saw Al-Fateh rise to 14th while Al-Ahli stayed in fourth.
