BERLIN: Eight points behind leaders Leverkusen, Bayern Munich have cast themselves in the unfamiliar role of “hunters” with one third of the season remaining.
Bayern have 11 matches to close the gap on Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten side who are pushing for a first-ever Bundesliga crown.
New Bayern sporting director Max Eberl told reporters his side, who have won the past 11 Bundesliga titles were “now playing the role of the hunter.”
Bayern play away at Freiburg on Friday, the same day Eberl officially starts work.
Since Leverkusen’s dominant 3-0 home win over Bayern earlier in February, Alonso’s side have played before Thomas Tuchel’s side each weekend, throwing down the gauntlet to the under-pressure Bavarians.
With Leverkusen however now in action mostly on Sundays due to midweek Europa League commitments, Bayern can up the pressure on Alonso’s men by playing first most weekends.
After three straight losses equalled their worst run since 2015, Bayern beat RB Leipzig last week, albeit needing a stoppage-time strike from Harry Kane.
Tuchel said Thursday the “last-minute win gave us self-confidence and a positive atmosphere, which is what you need to play good and successful football.
“We stopped the negative series. It gave us energy and I think we did well.”
With Bayern on the verge of a last 16 exit in the Champions League, Tuchel had one eye fixed on Tuesday’s home clash with Lazio, with the Italian side holding a 1-0 advantage.
The Bayern coach said the Lazio clash was “a completely different game” but told reporters “the best preparation for the coming match is always a successful match before.”
Colorful Freiburg coach Christian Streich said Thursday “Bayern will want to win at all costs — we’ll do everything we can to make it difficult for them.”
An eight-point lead at this point of the season has never been chased down in the history of the Bundesliga.
Bayern however will be hoping that their winning history, along with five-time runners-up Leverkusen’s reputation for finishing second will give them an advantage in the final stretch.
Before that match, Tuchel had said “we are the last ones who will stop believing.”
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke knows only too well what Bayern’s relentless pressure can do to a club.
Tuchel’s Bayern won the title on the final day of last season after Dortmund drew 2-2 at home against a Mainz side with nothing to play for.
“It’s not over” Watzke told AFP and other journalists on Tuesday.
“Don’t be sure that Bayern Munich is dead. Bayern is dead after the last match of the season and never before.”
Bayer Leverkusen have had several players hit career-best form this season under Xabi Alonso — but few have risen as far as forward Nathan Tella.
An Arsenal junior who spent most of his time in the lower divisions, the 24-year-old arrived in summer from Southampton, having impressed in a loan spell at Burnley.
The lightning-quick Tella has only improved since arriving in Germany — an achievement recognized by a Nigeria call-up.
He played a crucial role up front in Leverkusen’s 3-0 defeat of Bayern Munich which put the unbeaten side on course for a debut Bundesliga title.
Speaking with the Bundesliga website on Thursday, Tella credits Alonso for keeping the side focused.
“He doesn’t get too carried away. He doesn’t think too far in the future, only the next game and how to improve.
“If we won a game 3-0, he will look at why we didn’t win 4-0.
“We strive to be the best as a team — he brings that out of us.”
Bayer Leverkusen have 61 points with one third of the season remaining.
Last year, Bayern Munich won the title with 71.
Only five points separate Hoffenheim in seventh and Bochum in 15th in the Bundesliga’s mid-table traffic jam.
Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo has converted his past 13 penalties in a row in the Bundesliga.
Bayern focused on hunting down Leverkusen
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Bayern focused on hunting down Leverkusen
- New Bayern sporting director Max Eberl told reporters his side, who have won the past 11 Bundesliga titles were “now playing the role of the hunter”
- Bayern play away at Freiburg on Friday, the same day Eberl officially starts work
Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy
- La Liga club host annual match in honor of former player who died aged 22 in 2007
- Match is latest pre-season friendly for both clubs ahead of the start of their domestic leagues in August
DUBAI: La Liga club Sevilla FC defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad 1-0 to claim the Antonio Puerta Trophy at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville on Friday night.
Lucas Ocampos scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot after 42 minutes.
The annual friendly has been hosted by the Andalusian club since 2008 in honor of former player Antonio Puerta who died from heart disease in 2007 at the age of 22.
This was the 13th hosting of the match, which was not contested in 2015, 2018, 2020 or 2021. Sevilla now have won won the trophy 11 times.
The match was also the latest outing for both clubs ahead of start of their respective domestic campaigns.
Al-Ittihad will play two more friendlies against Real Betis (Aug. 3) and Inter Milan (Aug. 7) before kicking off their Saudi Pro League season with a match against Al-Kholood on Aug. 24.
Sevilla will launch their La Liga campaign on Aug. 16 at Las Palmas.
Rahm leads by 2 after first round of LIV Golf UK
ROCESTER: Jon Rahm is accustomed to being in contention after most of his LIV Golf rounds this season. But for the first time since joining the league, he has the outright lead.
Thanks to a bogey-free 8-under 63, Rahm has a two-stroke lead over Abraham Ancer and Andy Ogletree after the first round at LIV Golf UK by JCB. Meanwhile, his Legion XIII is atop the team leaderboard by one stroke over Smash GC, HyFlyers GC and Fireballs GC.
Friday’s round was the 29th that Rahm has completed in LIV Golf. He has been inside the top 5 after 13 of those rounds, including a tie for the lead after the first round in Jeddah.
Six other times, Rahm has been inside the top 10. In each of his nine completed tournaments — he had to withdraw in Houston due to a foot infection — he has produced a top-10 result, and he is currently second behind Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann in the season-long points standings.
It is an impressive show of consistency that Rahm hopes will peak with his first individual LIV Golf title this week at JCB Golf & Country Club.
“Nothing much to say obviously but good things,” said Rahm, who entered the week off a tie for seventh at The Open Championship, his best major result of the year. “Played really good golf all day. With days like this, it almost feels effortless.”
Rahm played in the same group with his teammate and former Ryder Cup partner, Tyrrell Hatton, along with another Legion XIII player, Caleb Surratt, as the LIV Golf captains were grouped with their top-two teammates for the first round.
Not only did Rahm go low — the 8-under score matches his lowest LIV Golf round relative to par — but Hatton shot 66, bouncing back from an opening double bogey. The duo fueled Legion XIII’s 12-under total that also included a counting score of 72 from Kieran Vincent. Legion XIII has won three team titles during its inaugural season and is second in the points standings behind Crushers GC.
“It was the first time I played with any teammates in LIV Golf,” said Rahm, who had six birdies in his final nine holes to pull away from the pack. “I wasn’t sure how that was going to go. I was a little curious.”
Hatton said: “We’ve shared some pretty cool stages over the last few years, and we generally play well when we play together. So, it was nice for both of us to have a good round of golf and have some momentum going into the weekend.”
Ancer, the winner via playoff earlier this year in Hong Kong, finished with a flourish. The Fireballs star birdied four of his last five holes during a brilliant putting round in which he led the field.
Ogletree’s best finish during his first full LIV Golf season is a tie for third in Adelaide. He has battled a wrist injury that may require offseason surgery and forced him to make some swing adjustments to alleviate the pain.
“I’ve had a lot of days where I’ve played 13 and 14 really good holes and then kind of held myself back by a bad stretch,” said the HyFlyers member. “Today, I was in it all day and played some solid golf.”
Hatton and Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith are tied for fourth, while a group of seven players — including Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka and local resident Sam Horsfield of Majesticks GC — are four strokes off the lead in a tie for sixth.
On a course that was unfamiliar to most players and expected to give up low scores grudgingly, 35 of the 54 players in the field broke par, with a stroke average of more than one shot under par.
It was not a surprise for Rahm. “You can’t really say surprising when the best players in the world show up at a course,” he said.
Standings and counting scores for Friday’s opening round:
The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.
1. LEGION XIII -12 (Rahm 63, Hatton 66, Vincent 72)
T2. FIREBALLS GC -11 (Ancer 65, Garcia 68, Puig 69)
T2. SMASH GC -11 (Koepka 67, McDowell 67, Gooch 68)
T2. HYFLYERS GC -11 (Ogletree 65, Tringale 67, Mickelson 70)
T5. RIPPER GC -9 (Smith 66, Herbert 69, Jones 69)
T5. RANGEGOATS GC -9 (Wolff 67, Uihlein 68, Watson 69)
7. STINGER GC -8 (Oosthuizen 67, Burmester 68, Schwartzel 70)
8. TORQUE GC -6 (Munoz 68, Niemann 69, Pereira 70)
T9. CRUSHERS GC -5 (Casey 67, Lahiri 69, Catlin 72)
T9. CLEEKS GC -5 (Meronk 68, Bland 69, Samooja 71)
11. MAJESTICKS GC -4 (Horsfield 67, Stenson 70, Westwood 72)
12. 4ACES GC -1 (Varner 69, Johnson 71, Reed 72)
13. IRON HEADS GC Even (Na 70, Vincent 70, Kozuma 73)
Final four battle it out for MLBB Women’s Invitational title at Esports World Cup in Riyadh
- Hometown heroes Falcons Vega in the running for $180,000 first prize alongside Team Vitality, Victory Song Gamers and Omage Empress
RIYADH: Audiences are set to witness a monumental moment in professional women’s esports history as the Esports World Cup hosts the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational 2024 semifinals and Grand Final on Saturday.
One of the most highly anticipated competitions heading into the eight-week tournament at Boulevard Riyadh City, the MLBB Women’s Invitational debuted on Wednesday by welcoming 12 clubs on the world stage.
After three days of matchups, the last four standing are within touching distance of legacy status — with one assured of a place in the women’s esports hall of fame come Sunday morning.
The first semifinal between hometown heroes Falcons Vega and French club Team Vitality is at midday on Saturday. Saudi Arabia’s Falcons Vega head into the contest with confidence sky-high after whitewashing every opponent that they have faced — and many are tipping them to go all the way.
Awaiting the victors are the winners of the other semifinal featuring Victory Song Gamers of Russia and Filipino outfit Omega Empress. This showdown starts at 3 p.m. live from the SEF Arena where the grand final takes center stage hours later at 6 p.m.
The Esports World Cup is running from July 3–Aug. 25 with 22 tournaments across 21 titles during its eight-week duration.
Alongside the MLBB Women’s Invitational, audiences can also catch the Overwatch 2 quarter-finals and main tournament action from the PUBG Mobile World Cup 2024 on Saturday. Both these competitions end on Sunday before new tournaments headline Week 5, starting on Wednesday, July 31.
Emirati referee to officiate Dominican Republic vs Spain match at Paris 2024 Olympics
DUBAI: Emirati referee Adel Al Naqbi has been selected by FIFA to officiate an intriguing clash between Spain and the Dominican Republic at the Summer Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Saturday.
FIFA selected Al Naqbi to officiate the Dominican Republic vs Spain - Men's Group C Match 14 and he will be assisted by his countrymen Ahmed Al Rashidi (First Assistant) and Sabit Obeid (Second Assistant), according to WAM.
Al Naqbi has officiated matches in the UAE football league as well as continental championships, most notably the AFC Champions League.
He also officiated several friendly international matches since 2016.
The world football governing body has selected referees and assistant referees from 45 countries to officiate matches at the Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024.
Athletes from 184 countries will take stage to compete in various sports at the Paris Olympics over a two-week period between July 26 and Aug. 11.
South Korea expresses regret after its athletes introduced as North Korea at Olympics opening ceremony
- South Korea’s delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events
- North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes
SEOUL: South Korea expressed regret that its delegation of athletes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was introduced as from rival North Korea and has demanded assurances from organizers the mistake will not happen again.
As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” — the official name of North Korea — in French and English.
The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed.
South Korea’s vice minister for sports and culture, Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, had requested a meeting with International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.
“We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering,” it said.
South Korea’s National Olympic Committee immediately referred the incident to the Games’ organizers and requested that the error will not be repeated.
South Korea’s delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.
