BERLIN: Hamburger SV returned from a seven-year absence and emerged from its first game back in the Bundesliga with a 0-0 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The promoted side spent much of Sunday’s game defending, with goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes diving well to deny Gladbach captain Rocco Reitz among other saves.
“We knew we were coming up against a strong team that would have many people in midfield, so we kept it tight in the center and tried to hit on counterattacks,” Heuer Fernandes said. “Of course you never know where you stand after such a (difficult) pre-season, but I think everyone saw today how we can take on the league and that’s exactly how it should go.”
Hamburg substitutes Jean-Luc Dompé and Yussuf Poulsen increased their team’s attacking threat for the last 15 minutes. William Mikelbrencis, another substitute, thought he’d scored a late winner but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Hamburg was the last surviving member of the Bundesliga to have played every season since its formation in 1963, earning the nickname “der Dino,” until it was finally relegated in 2018 after several close shaves.
Hamburg next faces city rival St. Pauli for a derby at home next Friday.
Gladbach signed Gio Reyna from Borussia Dortmund on Saturday but the American wasn’t included in the squad.
Cologne’s successful return
Cologne marked its return as second-division champion with a 1-0 win at Mainz, which had Paul Nebel sent off on the hour-mark for a tactical foul to stop Jakub Kaminski. Kaminski would have been through on goal.
The sending off provided encouragement for Cologne, which had been primarily defending up to then, and Kaminski’s strike partner Marius Bülter headed the winner in the final minute.
“The whole 90 minutes were wild,” Cologne coach Lukas Kwasniok said after his Bundesliga debut. “It wasn’t a culinary delight from a footballing point of view.”
Hamburg celebrates Bundesliga return with goalless draw at Gladbach
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Hamburg celebrates Bundesliga return with goalless draw at Gladbach
- Hamburg next faces city rival St. Pauli for a derby at home next Friday
Inter continue Scudetto march after Champions League humbling
- Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march toward the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Inter, whose fans unloaded a collection of anti-Milan chants in anticipation of the derby, have dropped just two points in 15 league matches and have been a cut above the rest in Italy’s top flight this season.
Their domestic dominance comes in stark contrast to the humiliating manner in which they were dumped out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Norwegian minnows cast doubts over not just the quality of Cristian Chivu’s team but of Italian football as a whole.
There was plenty of quality in Dimarco’s opener however, the Italy full-back beautifully placing a first-time finish from a tight angle after exchanging passes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Little else happened in a humdrum encounter until Alex Amorim handled a cross from Luis Henrique, whose shot had been tipped onto the post just moments before.
Calhanoglu calmly stroked home the spot-kick on his return to action following niggling muscle problems which have caused him issues since before Christmas, sealing the points for Inter.
Big Rom back
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
“I was a dead player before coming here,” said Lukaku to DAZN.
“This season has been difficult, but we’ve got to aim high.”
Napoli’s title defense is all but over as they trail Inter by 14 points after an injury-ravaged season.
Napoli were missing key midfielders Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre-Frank Anguissa on Saturday, as well as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Verona, under interim coach Paolo Sammarco following the sacking of Paolo Zanetti earlier this month, are 10 points from safety after a 12th straight match without a win.
Como, who face Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Tuesday, strolled to 3-1 victory over strugglers Lecce to continue their push for a first-ever qualification for European football.
Cesc Fabregas’s team are two points behind Roma, in fourth and Juventus’ opponents on Sunday, and five behind Napoli.
Como are also two points ahead of sixth-placed Juve who face Roma trying to stay in touch with the Champions League places after being eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition by Galatasaray on Wednesday.
