BERLIN: A goal from French teenager Mathys Tel was not enough as Bayern Munich were held 2-2 at home to Stuttgart, their third Bundesliga draw in a row.
In just his second start for Munich, Tel became the youngest goalscorer for the club when he gave the German champions a 1-0 lead at half time.
Tel is 17 years and 136 days, 69 days younger than the previous holder of the honor, Jamal Musiala when he scored against Schalke two years ago.
Tel broke Stuttgart’s stubborn resistance 36 minutes into the opening half, side-footing the ball under visiting keeper Florian Mueller after some superb lead-up work from Alphonso Davis.
Stuttgart looked to have equalized early into the second half when Serhou Guirassy swept the ball in from close range, but the goal was chalked off by VAR for a seemingly innocuous foul on Joshua Kimmich in the lead-up.
The visitors did not need to wait long to score their first however, with Chris Fuehrich’s 57th-minute rocket giving Manuel Neuer no chance in goal.
Sensing a resurgent energy in the visitors, Bayern quickly struck back through Musiala, now 19, who once again demonstrated his calm and assured presence, holding off two defenders to score his third of the season.
With one eye on Tuesday’s visit from Robert Lewandowski’s Barcelona, Bayern looked to take the energy out of the match, bringing on several changes and dominating possession, before a late foul from Matthijs de Ligt brought Guirassy to the spot.
The Guinean slammed the ball into the top right corner of the net to give his side their fifth draw from six matches this season.
In Leipzig, one-time Dortmund coach Marco Rose secured a win against his former side in just his first match in charge, with a 3-0 victory.
Rose coached Dortmund to second in the 2021-22 season before being let go in favor of current boss Edin Terzic, was only appointed Leipzig coach on Thursday after the sacking of Domenico Tedesco.
While Dortmund started brightly, Willi Orban gave a jubilant Leipzig the lead after just six minutes with a towering header.
Leipzig’s Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai made it 2-0 just before halftime with a swerving strike from outside the box, before former Chelsea striker Timo Werner set up Amadou Haidara in the dying stages of the match to give the home side a dominant victory.
The visitors, who had the chance to go outright first on the ladder with a win, now sit in fourth place with three games left to come this round.
Hoffenheim ran out dominant victors at home against a ten-man Mainz, with a 4-1 win to go to second on the ladder.
In Frankfurt, Wolfsburg recorded their first win of the season — and their debut Bundesliga victory under former Bayern coach Niko Kovac — with a narrow 1-0 victory over Eintracht.
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen’s woes continued, held to a 2-2 draw away at lowly Hertha Berlin.
Tipped as an outside chance for the title at the start of the season, Leverkusen could end the round as low as 17th depending on other results.
Bayern held for third straight draw at home to Stuttgart
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Bayern held for third straight draw at home to Stuttgart
- In just his second start for Munich, Tel became the youngest goalscorer for the club when he gave the German champions a 1-0 lead at half time
- In Leipzig, one-time Dortmund coach Marco Rose secured a win against his former side in just his first match in charge, with a 3-0 victory
Al-Ittihad slump to fourth defeat of season in home loss to Al-Ettifaq
- Visitors’ Khalid Al-Ghannam scores only goal of the game as the reigning Saudi Pro League champs drop more points after drawing with Damac on Tuesday
- Earlier, Al-Fateh’s five-game winning streak ends with 1-1 draw against Al-Najma, and Al-Khaleej enjoy comfortable 4-1 victory over Al-Okhdood
RIYADH: Al-Ittihad’s disappointing defense of their Saudi Pro League title continued on Friday with a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Al-Ettifaq.
Khalid Al-Ghannam scored the decisive goal for the visitors as the hosts dropped more points after their draw with Damac on Tuesday.
In the absence of Fabinho, who was suspended after being sent off late in Tuesday’s match, Mahamadou Doumbia partnered with N’golo Kante in midfield for Al-Ittihad. The Malian showed his composure early on when he shielded the ball under pressure before unleashing a long-range shot in the 10th minute, but it was comfortably saved by Marek Rodak.
The deployment of Al-Ghannam proved pivotal, as he repeatedly tested the hosts. In the 23rd minute he burst down the left flank, beating three defenders with some clever dribbling before testing Predrag Rajkovic in goal, who parried the effort.
Al-Ghannam bothered the defense again just minutes later, threatening the Serbian goalkeeper with another attempt from a similar position. However, the game remained goalless at halftime.
The second half began with Al-Ittihad on the front foot. Within minutes, Roger Fernandes found himself in front of goal and put the ball in the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Al-Ghannam’s effort and influence eventually paid off for the visitors in the 54th minute. Operating as a left-sided striker during an Al-Ettifaq counterattack, he cut inside to curl a powerful shot into the far corner.
Al-Ittihad’s attacking approach varied as they fought to get back into the game, with Fernandes patrolling the left flank, Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti cutting inside near the byline, and central contributions from the combination of Doumbia and Steven Bergwijn. But the Al-Ettifaq defense remained resolute.
Danilo Pereira, pushing up into an advanced midfield position as Al-Ittihad forced Al-Ettifaq to defend deep, unleashed a long shot in the 67th minute, urged on by the home fans, but his effort went wide.
With time running out, Sergio Conceicao made four substitutions in the space of seven minutes, bringing on Ahmed Al-Julaydan at right-back for his crossing abilities, Abdulaziz Al-Bishi and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi to play between the lines, and Saleh Al-Shehri for added impetus up front.
Despite several chances, Al-Ittihad were unable to grab the equalizer, and in the 85th minute things got even worse for them. Keeper Rajkovic tripped on his way to confront a Mohau Nkota counterattack and stuck out his hand at the edge of the box to push the ball away. A review by the video assistant referee ruled he had handled the ball outside the box and he was shown the red card.
After seven minutes of added time, and one final attempt by Doumbia to salvage something for the hosts through a free-kick, the referee blew the final whistle.
It was the fourth defeat of the season for Al-Ittihad and means they remain in sixth place in the table, three behind Al-Qadsiah who have a game in hand. Al-Ettifaq are seventh, just two points behind the defending champions.
Earlier, Al-Fateh’s five-game winning streak came to an end when they returned from a trip to Qassim to face Al-Najma with only a point. The visitors took the lead in the 12th minute but a goal for the home side by Ali Jasim in the 75th denied them all three points as the game ended 1-1.
In the Eastern Province, Greek duo Giorgos Masouras and Kostas Fortounis proved the main inspirations for Al-Khaleej in a 4-1 victory over Al-Okhdood that temporarily lifted them into seventh place in the table, until Al-Ettifaq reclaimed the spot.
On Saturday, Al-Fayha face Damac, Al-Kholood take on fourth-place Al-Ahli, and second-place Al-Nassr are in action against Al-Shabab.
