Michael Olize scored twice as Bayern Munich started the new year by routing Wolfsburg 8-1 with six second-half goals to move 11 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Olize, Harry Kane and Luis Díaz picked apart the Wolfsburg defense on Sunday in a display of dominance which leaves Bayern firmly on course to defend the title in only the 16th game of the 34-game season.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany was pleased his players didn’t let up.
“It’s these moments where it’s five, six, 7-1, and they keep running, they keep pressing and keep trying to score goals,” he told broadcaster DAZN. “I have to say, I like that.”
In freezing temperatures for Bayern’s first game since the winter break, Olize got a brace and Kane and Díaz one apiece, along with goals for substitutes Raphael Guerreiro and Leon Goretzka, and two Wolfsburg own-goals.
Bayern only had two nervous moments all game. The first was Dzenan Pejcinovic’s goal for Wolfsburg in the 13th, which leveled the score at 1-1 after right back Konrad Laimer missed an interception.
The other was a brief injury scare for Kane, who needed treatment after being caught on the ankle by defender Moritz Jenz midway through the first half but was soon back in action.
It was Bayern’s biggest margin of victory in a Bundesliga game since Kompany took over ahead of the 2024-25 season. His team has scored a remarkable 63 goals in 16 league games this season, nearly four per game, and conceded only 12.
Bayern hasn’t lost a Bundesliga game since March and remains the only unbeaten team in any of Europe’s five biggest leagues. Wolfsburg is 14th, three points above the relegation zone, as a troubled season hits a new low.
Bayern’s closest rivals all had difficulties this weekend as second-place Borussia Dortmund drew 3-3 with Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen lost 4-1 to Stuttgart and Leipzig’s game was postponed due to snow.
Wolfsburg’s American midfielder Kevin Paredes entered in the 77th minute, his first match this season after recovering from foot surgery in August.
Also Sunday, United States full back Joe Scally scored his first goal since 2023 as Borussia Moenchengladbach beat Augsburg 4-0. Gladbach moved up two places to 10th after winning at home for only the second time this season.
Bayern demolishes Wolfsburg 8-1 to go 11 points clear in Bundesliga
https://arab.news/9gkxy
Bayern demolishes Wolfsburg 8-1 to go 11 points clear in Bundesliga
- Bayern hasn’t lost a Bundesliga game since March and remains the only unbeaten team in any of Europe’s five biggest leagues
Pakistan bowl first against Netherlands in T20 World Cup opener
- The Pakistan government has instructed its national team to boycott its Feb. 15 Group A game against co-host India
- The ICC has requested the Pakistan Cricket Board to reconsider the decision otherwise it will forfeit the marquee game
COLOMBO: Pakistan, at the center of a boycott controversy that has overshadowed the lead up to the T20 World Cup, has won the toss and elected to field against the Netherlands in the tournament’s opening game on Saturday.
The Pakistan government has instructed its national team to boycott its Feb. 15 Group A game against co-host India, a decision that shook the cricket world only six days ago.
The ICC has since requested the Pakistan Cricket Board to reconsider the decision otherwise it will forfeit the marquee game of the tournament.
If Pakistan goes ahead with its boycott against India, it can ill afford to lose points in its three other Group A games — a group that also features the US and Namibia.
A grassy wicket at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, hosting its first T20 in 16 years, surprised Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha.
“First time I’ve seen this much grass in Sri Lanka,” Agha said at the toss. “We’re playing three pacers and allrounders. Netherlands are a good side, but we want to execute our plans.”
The Netherlands has a history of surprising stronger opposition in T20 World Cups, including beating South Africa in 2022 in Australia which cleared the way for Pakistan to qualify for the semifinals.
Captain Scott Edwards said his team had got used to the conditions after spending more than a month in India and Sri Lanka.
“For us, it’s a big game, so are the other three,” Edwards said.
LATER SATURDAY
In the two other games on Saturday, Scotland, which replaced Bangladesh in Group C, will meet two-time champion West Indies in Kolkata while co-host and defending champion India plays against the US at Mumbai in a Group A match.
LINEUPS
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (captain), Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren.
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed.
