Mladen Petric scored 18 minutes from time to earn Hamburg top spot in the German Bundesliga on Saturday, ending Bayern Munich’s five-match winning streak.
Bayern had French international star Franck Ribery available from the outset for the first time this season following injury, but he was unable to prevent the Bavarians from slipping to their second league loss and they now trail their northern rivals by six points.
Bayern coach Louis van Gaal acknowledged that his side had slipped up.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“It was a great game. We had several chances, but we didn’t take them. That was the problem — and Hamburg are a top side. The side that gets the goal wins it,” the Dutchman said.
Bayern’s Belgian international defender Daniel van Buyten blasted what he termed a missed opportunity.
“We thought we’d take at least a point back home, but didn’t manage it. We’re sick — it’s a real shame,” said van Buyten, formerly a Hamburg favorite.
PHOTO: EPA
Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia saluted his side for making amends after a German Cup loss on penalties in midweek at third division Osnabrueck.
“They know they slipped up in the Cup and this was a great riposte,” said Labbadia, as Hamburg ended a three-game winless run.
“We analyzed where things had been going wrong, talked through our mistakes and resolved to do things better today. I think we succeeded,” Petric said.
Bayern, who face Juventus in Europe on Wednesday, had been seeking to go top for the first time in some 500 days with a win in Hamburg, but instead the four-times European champions stand just sixth.
Germany international forward Mario Gomez had hoped to make the difference for the visitors from the south after coming on as a substitute after the break, but instead it was he who allowed former Bayern veteran Ze Roberto to go down the wing and find Petric ghosting in ahead of defender Philipp Lahm, caught napping in the Bayern box.
Minutes earlier, Petric had come close to deflecting an Arjen Robben free-kick into his own net, but the ball bobbled just off target.
With three minutes remaining Lahm tried to make amends, but he fired wide after Ribery fed him as Hamburg held on.
“We didn’t play at all badly — but there was something missing going forward,” Lahm said.
Hamburg have 17 points from their seven games and lead Jupp Heynckes’ Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference after the latter bagged a 1-0 win at Cologne thanks to a late effort from Simon Rolfes.
Earlier, reigning champions Wolfsburg showed their star has not faded with a 4-2 win over Hannover 96 to leap back into contention on 12 points, level with Werder Bremen, 3-0 winners over Mainz, and one clear of Bayern.
The surprise champions have blown hot and cold this campaign, suffering three defeats for as many wins, and had slid down into mid-table ahead of this week’s Champions League confrontation with Manchester United.
The Wolves, however, roused themselves for a Lower Saxony local derby.
Brazilian striker Grafite, top scorer last season, had a quiet day, but Zvjezdan Misimovic scored a fine free-kick to get the ball rolling and although Hano Balitsch equalized, Christian Gentner fired the hosts back in front before Japanese star Makoto Hasebe made it 3-1 with a header three minutes after the restart.
Alex Madlung put through his own net to allow Hannover back into it in the 50th minute, but Bosnian hitman Edin Dzeko finally made the points safe with a neat close-range finish on 62 minutes.
Schalke 04 stand third on 13 points after Peruvian forward Jefferson netted the only goal away to local rivals and former European champions Borussia Dortmund, the South American firing home a left-foot strike following good work by Halil Altintop before an 80,000 crowd.
Elsewhere, VfB Stuttgart ended a four-match winless run with a 3-0 triumph at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS