BERLIN: Two goals in one first-half minute from striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting carried Bayern Munich to a narrow 3-2 victory away at Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Bayern, who led 3-0 at one point in the first half, endured a nervy final few minutes in the German capital, with French defender Dayot Upamecano appearing to have handballed in injury time as Hertha pushed for a late equalizer.
Referee Bastian Dankert decided against going to the video, helping Bayern to their eighth straight win in all competitions.
Teenage forward Jamal Musiala had put Bayern in front after just 12 minutes, before the quick-fire double from Choupo-Moting looked to have the visitors in pole position.
A 40th-minute volley from Dodi Lukebakio, who has now scored more goals against Bayern than any other Bundesliga player other than Borussia Dortmund veteran Marco Reus, saw Hertha pull one back, before Davie Selke scored a 45th-minute penalty.
Bayern will sit in the familiar top spot on the Bundesliga table for at least 24 hours, with Union Berlin having a chance to go back in the lead when they take on Leverkusen on Sunday.
Borussia Dortmund’s teenage striker Youssouffa Moukoko may have won himself a spot in Germany’s World Cup squad with two goals as his side romped to a 3-0 home win over Bochum.
Moukoko, 17, opened the scoring after just eight minutes with a stunning solo goal, winning the ball from Bochum’s Ukrainian defender Ivan Ordets before curling in a shot from the penalty arc.
Another teenager, American Gio Reyna scored Dortmund’s second, converting his first ever Bundesliga penalty in the 12th minute after Dutch forward Donyell Malen was brought down in the box.
Moukoko scored a second in first half injury time, looping the ball over goalkeeper Manuel Reimann and into the back of the net.
In Augsburg, Frankfurt came from behind for the second time in less than a week, with goals for captain Sebastian Rode and Dortmund loanee Ansgar Knauff canceling out Mergim Berisha’s first-minute strike.
The 2-1 scoreline was the same as Frankfurt’s midweek away win over Sporting Lisbon, which saw them into the Champions League knockout stages.
In Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku continued to make his case for a spot in France’s World Cup squad, scoring two goals in a 3-1 win.
Nkunku now has 11 goals from 13 games this season to top the Bundesliga scoring charts.
Wolfsburg’s recent resurgence continued away at Mainz, with a 3-0 victory. The Wolves, who were winless in their first five games this season, are now unbeaten in their last eight.
In Saturday’s late game, the Bundesliga’s two promoted teams clash when Werder Bremen host Schalke.
Choupo-Moting double sends Bayern top of Bundesliga
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Choupo-Moting double sends Bayern top of Bundesliga
- Bayern, who led 3-0 at one point in the first half, endured a nervy final few minutes in the German capital
- Borussia Dortmund's teenage striker Youssouffa Moukoko may have won himself a spot in Germany's World Cup squad with two goals as his side romped to a 3-0 home win over Bochum
Humbert stuns Tsitsipas as defending champion exits Dubai in first round
- Last year’s winner lost in straight sets to the 2024 champion
- Ugo Humbert will now play the 2022 champion, Andrey Rublev, on Wednesday
DUBAI: Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday night, falling in the first round to 2024 title-winner Ugo Humbert under the bright lights of the center court.
The 4-6, 5-7 defeat at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium means the 27-year-old Greek, who left the court with his head bowed, will drop outside the world top 40 for the first time in almost eight years.
The first-round meeting between the two unseeded Dubai champions caught the eye as soon as the main draw took place on Saturday for this week’s ATP 500 tournament. Only seven world ranking places separated the pair and the lower-ranked Humbert, at No. 37, edged the pre-match head-to-head record at 3-1. Tsitsipas has not yet progressed beyond the quarterfinals across five events since the start of the year.
“It was a funny first round — the two last winners of the tournament,” said Humbert, who beat Alexander Bublik in the final here two years ago. “It’s so good to be back where I won the tournament. I have such good memories, and it was a tough battle tonight.”
From the first exchanges, both players dominated their service games with remarkable ease. Tsitsipas only conceded two points in his first four, while Humbert was forced to deuce in just one game. Yet as the scoreline progressed in undramatic fashion to 5-4 to Humbert, and with Tsitsipas’ majestic topspin backhand starting to purr, the Greek’s serve deserted him when he needed it most.
Fewer than 24 hours after he had enjoyed a Ramadan cultural experience that saw him don a dark blue kandura to eat the fast-breaking iftar meal, Tsitsipas demonstrated the season’s spirit of generosity by gifting Humbert a pair of double-faults, an unforced error and, ultimately, the opening set.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Tsitsipas unable to change the course of the match. Humbert conceded two break points in the first game yet found the resolve to dig deep and hold on. The set stayed on serve for 11 consecutive games until, with Humbert 6-5 up and Tsitsipas serving to stay in the tournament, another two wasteful forehands by the three-time finalist handed Humbert two match points.
The Frenchman took the victory at the first opportunity as Tsitsipas’ third unforced forehand error in sequential points sealed his fate.
“I think today, it was a big battle,” said Humbert. “We both served very well, and I had just a few opportunities and I did it, so I’m super happy. It’s nice to come back to play again on this beautiful court. I have such a nice feeling when I play here and it’s nice to be in (the) second round.”
Next up for Humbert is 2022 champion Andrey Rublev, who eased past France’s Valentin Royer 6-3, 6-4. The energetic Muscovite shuttled around Center Court like a man incapable of letting a ball past him, with more than one seemingly impossible return sent safely back by the 28-year-old.
Royer saved eight second-set break points by the time he levelled the set at 2-2, but Rublev’s serving was at times unplayable. His shot selection must have left his opponent bewildered as he mixed impudent drop shots with returnable volleys at the net.
“It was a great win for me because I knew very well in our first meeting, I lost,” said Rublev. “[Royer’s] a great fighter, and I’m really happy that I was able to take that challenge and go through in straight sets. When you play so late, to have some time to recover before the next match is so important.”
On facing Humbert, he added: “It’s going to be great for me to see my level because Ugo is a great player. He’s hitting the ball really hard; he’s getting better and better, and always fights until the end, playing super aggressive and hitting bombs from all over the place. He’s won here in the past too, so it’s going to be an interesting fight.”
Earlier in the day, eighth seed Jiri Lehecka survived losing the first set to Lucky Loser Luca Nardi — a late injury replacement for France’s Arthur Fils — by recovering to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The Czech world No. 22 will face Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta on Wednesday after the qualifier disposed of Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-4.
In the final game on New Court 1, sixth seed Jakub Mensik edged past Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-4, 7-6 (7). Mensik will face Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, the world No. 47, who narrowly edged out Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.
Meanwhile on Court 2, world No. 25 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands — the highest-ranked player not seeded in Dubai this week — defeated Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen 6-3, 6-4 to set-up a mouthwatering second round match against second seed Alexander Bublik.
Elsewhere, Arthur Rinderknech also lost the first set en route to defeating Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The imposing Frenchman will play British fourth seed Jack Draper in the next round. The USA’s Jenson Brooksby, the world No. 49, dispatched Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-4 to seal a last-16 tie against seventh seed Karen Khachanov, who required three sets to eliminate Lucky Loser Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3.
