BERLIN: Jude Bellingham and Mahmoud Dahoud scored late goals as Borussia Dortmund came from behind to seal a dramatic 3-2 win at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Dortmund cut Covid-hit Bayern Munich’s lead to six points at the top of the Bundesliga.
With nine players sidelined by Covid, a makeshift Bayern side lost 2-1 at home to Gladbach on Friday before second-placed Dortmund left it late in Frankfurt a day later.
Eintracht raced into an early 2-0 lead with Colombia striker Rafael Borre scoring both goals before Dortmund pulled one back with 19 minutes left.
Erling Haaland sparked the recovery by setting up Thorgan Hazard to halve the deficit.
Bellingham levelled with three minutes left by heading past Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp before Dahoud curled in the winner from the edge of the area just before the final whistle.
Earlier, Togo striker Ihlas Bebou struck twice as Hoffenheim also fought back to seal a 3-1 home win against Augsburg to climb to third in the table.
Augsburg took an early lead through a header by Michael Gregoritsch before Bebou converted a pair of crosses to put Hoffenheim ahead, with defender David Raum bagging their third goal in stoppage time.
The win allowed Hoffenheim to leapfrog both Freiburg and Leverkusen, who drew at home to Arminia Bielefeld and Union Berlin respectively.
Freiburg threw away a two-goal lead at home as Bielefeld’s Japan midfielder Masaya Okugawa and substitute forward Bryan Lasme scored second-half goals to earn a 2-2 draw in Germany’s Black Forest.
Lasme’s equalizer three minutes from time was down to a mistake by Freiburg stand-in goalkeeper Benjamin Uphoff on his Bundesliga debut with first choice Mark Flekken sidelined by Covid.
Freiburg had been 2-0 up 20 seconds into the second half when South Korean midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong netted after Janik Haberer gave the hosts an early lead with a long-range shot.
In Leverkusen, Germany defender Jonathan Tah headed in a late equalizer for the hosts to rescue a 2-2 draw with Union Berlin.
Czech Republic striker Patrik Schick notched his 17th Bundesliga goal this season from a tight angle to give Leverkusen a first-half lead after a powerful run by team-mate Moussa Diaby.
However, Union attacking midfielder Grischa Proemel scored twice before Tah headed in a Karim Bellarabi cross six minutes from time.
Portugal striker Andre Silva scored twice as hosts RB Leipzig routed 10-man Mainz 4-1 with Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai also getting on the scoresheet.
Visitors Mainz had defender Alexander Hack sent off after just 20 minutes for using his arm to block a Silva shot that was heading into the goal.
Hack trudged off and Silva converted the resulting penalty while Szoboszlai doubled Leipzig’s lead just after the break when the Hungarian midfielder fired home after Nkunku’s perfectly-timed pass.
South Korea’s Lee Jae-sung grabbed a goal back for Mainz, but just 62 seconds later Leipzig were 3-1 up when Szoboszlai returned the favor by setting up Nkunku before Silva grabbed his second.
The win saw Leipzig climb to eighth in the table while Greuther Fuerth remain bottom after a goalless draw at home to Stuttgart.
Dortmund fight back in Frankfurt to trim lead of Covid-hit Bayern
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Dortmund fight back in Frankfurt to trim lead of Covid-hit Bayern
- Dortmund cut Covid-hit Bayern Munich's lead to six points at the top of the Bundesliga
- Erling Haaland sparked the recovery by setting up Thorgan Hazard to halve the deficit
Kosovo players walk off in Romania game after ‘Serbia’ chants
Bucharest: A Nations League game between Romania and Kosovo in Bucharest was suspended on Friday in injury time after fans in the crowd shouted “Serbia!.”
The Kosovo players left the pitch after the chants, leading to the game to be paused with the score 0-0.
Animosity between Kosovo and Serbia has persisted since the war between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian insurgents in the late 1990s.
Kosovo and Serbia do not play each other in UEFA and FIFA tournaments.
Football’s world governing body opened disciplinary proceedings against Serbia during the 2022 World Cup after the team hung a flag in their changing room depicting Kosovo as part of Serbia.
Kosovo joined FIFA and European confederation UEFA in 2016.
When Romania played in Pristina, they beat Kosovo 3-0.
Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight
PORTO, Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal staged a second-half supershow to crush Poland 5-1 and reach the Nations League quarter-finals on Friday.
Portugal join France, Germany, Italy and Spain in the last-eight while Poland’s hopes of going through from Group A1 were ended.
Having struggled to plant a shot on target in the first half, Portugal stepped on the accelerator after the break.
Rafael Leao broke the deadlock in Porto just before the hour mark after starting and finishing the move.
The AC Milan striker raced away and passed to Nuno Mendes whose cross from the left was headed powerfully past Marcin Bulka in the Portugal goal.
Thirteen minutes later, skipper Ronaldo got his name on the scoresheet, converting a penalty after Jakub Kiwior was penalized for a handball in the area.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes made it 3-0 in the 80th minute, scoring after a clever run by Vitinha.
Pedro Neto added the fourth three minutes later after Ronaldo’s fine pass which left the Polish defense stranded.
As Polish spirits sank, Ronaldo added his second and Portugal’s fifth in the 87th minute with a spectacular overhead kick before Dominik Marczuk tucked away a consolation goal for the visitors.
Poland had enjoyed the better chances before falling behind but their potency in front of goal was blunted by the absence of record goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski who was sidelined with a back injury.
Moments before Leao’s goal, Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa pulled off a fine save to deny Marczuk having also been alert to deny Nicola Zalewski in the first half.
Portugal’s best chance in the first 45 minutes had fallen to Ronaldo who fired a close-range effort over the bar from close range.
Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura says he will play next season at age 58
- Miura will turn 58 in February
- He intends to play next season for his fourth-tier Japanese club, Suzuka
TOKYO: Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura is several generations older than his teammates. His contemporaries retired decades ago. Lionel Messi is 37, and Cristiano Ronaldo is 39 — mere youngsters compared to Miura.
Miura will turn 58 in February, and the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported this week that he intends to play next season for his fourth-tier Japanese club, Suzuka. It will be his 40th season playing in professional soccer.
Miura is widely listed as the oldest active professional soccer player.
Miura scored 55 goals in 89 appearances and was a star with Japan’s national team in the 1990s.
He has played professionally in Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal. He made his debut in 1986 with Brazilian club Santos, a side made famous by Brazilian star Pelé.
Japan beat Indonesia 4-0 to extend group lead in Asian World Cup qualifying
- Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round.
- Australia, Saudi Arabia and China all have 6 points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with 3
JAKARTA: Japan defeated Indonesia 4-0 on Friday to move seven points clear at the top of Group C in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Two goals in each half mean the Samurai Blue stays on course for an eighth successive World Cup appearance.
After a bright start from the home team, the 78,000 fans at a sold-out Gelora Bung Karno Stadium were silenced after 35 minutes as Daichi Kamada broke down the left and sent a cross which defender Justin Hubner put into his own net from close range.
Takumi Minamino then scored from inside the area off Kaoru Mitoma’s pass to extend the lead five minutes before the break.
Hidemasa Motira took advantage of an errant pass from Indonesia’s goalkeeper to make it 3-0 early in the second half and Yukinari Sugawara rounded out the scoring in the 69th minute.
Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round. Australia, Saudi Arabia and China all have six points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with three.
The top two from each of the three groups will be guaranteed a place at the World Cup, with the third- and fourth-place teams progressing to the next stage.
Pogba and Juventus end contract mutually before he returns from doping ban
- The Serie A club never seemed overly enthusiastic about welcoming Pogba back
- “Juventus Football Club and Paul Pogba announce that they have reached a mutual agreement for the termination of their contract as of Nov. 30, 2024,” the Bianconeri said
TURIN, Italy: Paul Pogba will no longer be a Juventus player from next month.
Juventus announced on Friday they came to “a mutual agreement” with Pogba to cancel his contract despite the France World Cup winner having a ban for doping slashed last month.
The Serie A club never seemed overly enthusiastic about welcoming Pogba back after his four-year ban for doping was reduced to 18 months following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The 31-year-old Pogba, who will be free to resume his career in March 2025, had said he was ready to give up money to play for Juventus again.
“Juventus Football Club and Paul Pogba announce that they have reached a mutual agreement for the termination of their contract as of Nov. 30, 2024,” the Bianconeri said in a brief statement. “The club wish Paul the very best for his professional future.”
Pogba tested positive for testosterone in August last year and the Juventus midfielder was handed the maximum punishment by Italy’s anti-doping court.
But CAS judges cut Pogba’s ban as they acknowledged a lack of intent and said his positive test was the result of erroneously taking a supplement prescribed to him by a medical doctor in Florida.
Pogba’s contract with Juventus was set to expire in June 2026.
“My time at Juventus has come to an end. It has been a privilege to pull on the shirt of the Bianconeri and to share so many special memories together,” Pogba said in a statement.
“I cherish the memories we made. They live on. Even in the most difficult moments over the past year, your support was crucial and I want to thank Juve fans around the world for their compassion.”
Pogba was the most expensive soccer player in history when he joined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of 105 million euros ($113 million) in 2016.
He starred in France’s World Cup triumph in 2018 and returned to Juventus as a free agent in 2022. But injuries limited him to just eight Serie A appearances in his second spell at the club before his ban last year.
“I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career and to stepping out on the pitch with my next club,” Pogba added.
