Germany star Lukas Podolski hit his 14th league goal of the season on Tuesday to seal Cologne’s 1-1 draw with FSV Mainz 05 in a replayed Bundesliga match to warm up for their trip to Bayern Munich.
Cologne’s last league game of the year is in Munich tomorrow against the league leaders in a match that gives Podolski the chance to go up against his former club, where he spent three unfruitful years before returning to Cologne in 2009.
There has been a storm of interest around Podolski in the German media ever since Schalke 04 revealed their interest in signing him on Saturday, but the German hot-shot has a contract with the Rhineland club until 2013.
Photo: Reuters
The 26-year-old justified the fuss to equalize against Mainz with a crisp 86th-minute strike to claim his 10th goal in his last eight league games, with the draw leaving Cologne 10th in the league.
“Mainz were clearly the better team and deserved to win, luckily for us I managed to score after all,” Podolski said. “The point we got was sheer luck.”
On Sunday, Podolski took a swipe at Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp, who criticized him for a lack of consistency, but the striker said the banter between the pair had been blown out of proportion.
“No, he hasn’t apologized, I don’t even know if he has my number, otherwise I bet he would have,” Podolski said. “We like each other and this has been played up by the media.”
The original Cologne-Mainz match was canceled on Nov. 19 following the attempted suicide of referee Babak Rafati in his hotel room just hours before kickoff.
While much of the pre-match interest surrounded Podolski, the Cologne star struggled to finish his opportunities with clear chances either side of the break, which kept Mainz goalkeeper Christian Wetklo busy.
Both teams showed why they are in the middle of the table without a clear shot on goal in the first 35 minutes.
The opener came on 70 minutes when Tunisia striker Sami Allagui headed home to break his eighth-match drought for Mainz.
However, Podolski put his side level with a trademark goal from just outside the penalty area when midfielder Mato Jajalo slipped a pass to him and he blasted home his shot, which slammed off the right post and gave Wetklo no chance.
The draw leaves Mainz 12th in the table as they face fourth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday in their last league game before the winter break.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
RSS