LEVERKUSEN, Germany: Bayer Leverkusen beat Augsburg 2-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday to postpone leaders Bayern Munich’s expected title win by at least a week.
The still reigning Bundesliga champions are on 67 points, eight behind leaders Bayern with three matches left to play. The Bavarians can seal their 34th league crown with a win at RB Leipzig next week.
Before Saturday’s game Leverkusen fans greeted coach Xabi Alonso, who led their team to an undefeated domestic league and Cup double last season, with loud applause and the unfurling of banners urging him to stay at the club.
The Spaniard, who has a contract to 2026, is a target for several top European teams, including reportedly Real Madrid, and has declined to say if he will be at Leverkusen next season.
Forward Patrik Schick struck in the 13th minute with Leverkusen’s first real chance, drilling home from the edge of the box for his 19th league goal of the season.
Leverkusen had the ball in the net again but Nathan Tella’s header at the far post was ruled offside.
They made amends in first-half stoppage time when Emiliano Buendia curled a shot past goalkeeper Finna Dahmen to make it 2-0 and ensure three points for the hosts.
“It was a better game for us, with better energy and more self-belief,” Alonso told a press conference.
Leverkusen had drawn their previous two league games to lose ground in the title race with Bayern.
“We were solid and focused and I’m satisfied with this game. We’ll use this feeling for the next three games,” Alonso added.
Leverkusen beat Augsburg to postpone Bayern’s title celebrations
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Leverkusen beat Augsburg to postpone Bayern’s title celebrations
- The still reigning Bundesliga champions are on 67 points, eight behind leaders Bayern
- The Bavarians can seal their 34th league crown with a win at RB Leipzig next week
Olympic favorite Malinin pulls off stunning GP Final win
- Short program winner Yuma Kagiyama finished second overall on 302.41
- Malinin becomes the first skater to land seven quads in competition and will head to the Milan-Cortina Games in February as clear favorite in his Olympic debut
NAGOYA: Ilia Malinin showed why he is red-hot favorite for Olympic gold by winning the Grand Prix Final with a world-record free skate score after landing an incredible seven quads.
The American “Quad God” lived up to his nickname, coming from third place after a disappointing short program to claim the title in Nagoya with an emphatic 332.29 points.
Short program winner Yuma Kagiyama finished second overall on 302.41, followed by Japanese countryman Shun Sato on 292.08.
Malinin becomes the first skater to land seven quads in competition and will head to the Milan-Cortina Games in February as clear favorite in his Olympic debut.
“It gives me a lot of confidence that I’m able to go out there and get this done,” said the 21-year-old.
“I know that right now I wasn’t at 100 percent, so being able to do this at what energy and what percent I am now gives me a lot of confidence for the future.
“I will take the next few months leading up to the Olympics trying to perfect everything,” he added.
Malinin botched his signature quad axel in his short program when he unleashed it for the first time this season on Thursday.
He nailed the ultra-risky move in style in his free skate and kept the fireworks going for the rest of his routine.
His free skate score of 238.24 was almost 10 points more than his old world record, set in his previous competition at Skate Canada last month.
Malinin said he was “thinking of trying to water it down to play it safe but then I remembered why I came to the Grand Prix Final.”
“I decided that I wanted to go full out and give myself a foundation of what it would look like,” he said.
“I’m really satisfied with my performance and I know that I’m able to get these jumps under pressure.”
Kagiyama, the 2022 Beijing Olympics silver medallist, had a job on his hands to beat Malinin even with his short program lead.
He made mistakes toward the end of his routine and placed fourth in the free skate.
- Chock, Bates win ice dance -
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States won the ice dance title.
The husband-and-wife team claimed the Grand Prix Final title for the third straight year, racking up 220.42 points to finish ahead of France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron on 214.25.
Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson were third on 208.81.
“It feels like a sprint to get to the Grand Prix Final and then all of a sudden you have a month or two before we’ll meet again in Milan,” said Bates.
“It really is the first half of the season and then there’s a lot of progress that can be made in the next few months, which is something that we’re looking forward to.”
