The new Bundesliga began in an empty stadium on Friday with eight-time defending champions Bayern Munich marching to an 8-0 rout of Schalke 04 for a record in the league’s opening match.
And it should have been more.
Germany winger Leroy Sane starred and scored on his Bayern debut, while Jamal Musiala became Bayern’s youngest-ever goalscorer at 17 years, 205 days, but otherwise it was business as usual as they totally dominated and the visitors tried limiting the damage.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Schalke’s winless run stretched to 17 games, while Bayern extended their winning run to 22.
Serge Gnabry scored a hat-trick and Sane set up two of the goals. It was 3-0 by halftime and Bayern missed a host of chances.
“Everyone was so hungry. We were all looking forward to the new start and we just wanted to attack,” said Sane, a former Schalke player who joined Bayern from Manchester City in the off-season.
Photo: AP
The game took place without fans, despite plans for 7,500 spectators to attend. A spike in local COVID-19 infections prompted authorities to close the doors.
“It’s a really big blow. We were really looking forward to our fans,” Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said before the game.
The team showed no ill effect from the supporters’ absence, nor the short break of 26 days after winning the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Photo: AP
It was the biggest opening night win since 2016, when Bayern routed Werder Bremen 6-0.
Gnabry got the side off to a flying start in the fourth minute, taking Joshua Kimmich’s pass from midfield, switching direction to elude Schalke captain Benjamin Stambouli, then unleashing a fine strike with his left boot inside the left corner.
Robert Lewandowski almost made it 2-0 a minute later after being set up by Sane, but Sebastian Rudy deflected the Poland striker’s shot.
Schalke held out until the 19th minute, when Leon Goretzka scored against his former side with Thomas Muller laying the ball back.
Sane brilliantly set up Lewandowski shortly afterward, but the Poland striker fired over.
Lewandowski finally got off the mark from the penalty spot in the 31st minute after he had been fouled by Ozan Kabak.
Central defender Niklas Sule struck the post and Bayern missed other chances before the break.
Sane set up Gnabry’s second goal in the 47th minute and repeated the feat to help his Germany teammate complete his hat-trick in the 59th.
Lewandowski set up Muller in the 69th by wrapping his right boot behind his left leg, a rabona move, two minutes before Kimmich set up Sane for his first goal.
Sane made way for Musiala to make his second Bundesliga appearance in the 72nd. The 17-year-old English midfielder grabbed his first goal in the 81st minute.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Australia yesterday won two of four races on the first day of the SailGP Sydney event on Sydney Harbour to finish the day atop the points table ahead of Britain and a French team who made an outstanding return after missing the first two events of the season. Australia also had a third and a second placing, finishing the day with 37 points, ahead of Britain with 32 points and France with 27. Britain won the second race of the day and Switzerland, who won the first race, were in fourth place overall. Australia’s prowess in the start box was again the
RSS