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.
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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
Jannik Sinner beats great rival Carlos Alcaraz to retain ATP Finals title
TURIN: Jannik Sinner retained the ATP Finals title on Sunday after beating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 and ending a turbulent season with victory over his great rival.
Italian Sinner brought the house down in Turin by winning the championship match tennis fans wanted to see, adding the prestigious year-ending tournament to the Australian Open and a landmark triumph at Wimbledon this season.
The 24-year-old also bounced back from a three-month ban which chopped out a large chunk of his season despite the World Anti-Doping Agency accepting that the Italian was accidentally contaminated with banned substance clostebol last year.
Sinner has now won 31 straight matches on indoor hard courts, a run which stretches back to the 2023 championship match at Turin’s Inalpi Arena which he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Four more wins on indoor hard courts would draw him level with Djokovic’s tally set between 2012 and 2015 — the second-highest in the Open era but some way behind John McEnroe’s record of 47.
He hasn’t dropped a set at the Finals since losing that final to the Serb two years ago, and he was imperious over the week in northern Italy.
While both Sinner and Alcaraz breezed into the final, the championship game was an attritional affair, with each player rock-solid on serve until an enthralling tie-break at the end of the first set.
Sinner took the lead thanks to a brilliant lob which set up set point, and he made no mistake with a missile of a serve which Alcaraz could only limply send wide.
But Sinner immediately handed Alcaraz the advantage in the second set with two double-faults which helped hand his opponent a break of serve at the start of the frame.
Sinner hadn’t dropped a service game in the whole tournament up to that point but he broke back in game six to put the crowd on their feet.
And Sinner collapsed to the ground in joy when Alcaraz sent a backhand wide on the first championship point, before heading into the stands to share his joy with his family amid the roars of the crowd.
Italian Sinner brought the house down in Turin by winning the championship match tennis fans wanted to see, adding the prestigious year-ending tournament to the Australian Open and a landmark triumph at Wimbledon this season.
The 24-year-old also bounced back from a three-month ban which chopped out a large chunk of his season despite the World Anti-Doping Agency accepting that the Italian was accidentally contaminated with banned substance clostebol last year.
Sinner has now won 31 straight matches on indoor hard courts, a run which stretches back to the 2023 championship match at Turin’s Inalpi Arena which he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Four more wins on indoor hard courts would draw him level with Djokovic’s tally set between 2012 and 2015 — the second-highest in the Open era but some way behind John McEnroe’s record of 47.
He hasn’t dropped a set at the Finals since losing that final to the Serb two years ago, and he was imperious over the week in northern Italy.
While both Sinner and Alcaraz breezed into the final, the championship game was an attritional affair, with each player rock-solid on serve until an enthralling tie-break at the end of the first set.
Sinner took the lead thanks to a brilliant lob which set up set point, and he made no mistake with a missile of a serve which Alcaraz could only limply send wide.
But Sinner immediately handed Alcaraz the advantage in the second set with two double-faults which helped hand his opponent a break of serve at the start of the frame.
Sinner hadn’t dropped a service game in the whole tournament up to that point but he broke back in game six to put the crowd on their feet.
And Sinner collapsed to the ground in joy when Alcaraz sent a backhand wide on the first championship point, before heading into the stands to share his joy with his family amid the roars of the crowd.
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