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Rediff.com  » Sports » Football Extras: Bailey double as Leverkusen stun Bayern

Football Extras: Bailey double as Leverkusen stun Bayern

Last updated on: December 01, 2019 17:10 IST
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Leon Bailey celebrates scoring Bayer Leverkusen's first goal against Bayern Munich

IMAGE: Leon Bailey celebrates scoring Bayer Leverkusen's first goal against Bayern Munich, in Saturday's Bundesliga match at Allianz Arena, Munich. Photograph: Andreas Gebert/Reuters

Jamaica international Leon Bailey scored twice to help Bayer Leverkusen earn a shock 2-1 victory at wasteful Bayern Munich on Saturday for the champions' first defeat under interim coach Hansi Flick.

 

Bayern, who had won their previous four games in all competitions under Flick, hit the woodwork three times and missed close to a dozen golden chances from top scorer Robert Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry and Ivan Perisic among others.

It was the first time under Flick that the team conceded any goals having had a 16-0 goal record in the previous four games.

"I did not go crazy after the first four victories and it won't happen now either," Flick told broadcaster Sky.

"In the first half we did not pay attention twice and we knew they were strong on the break. They used that ruthlessly. I cannot blame my players as far as their will and commitment is concerned. We were just wasteful with our chances."

Leverkusen were left with 10 men after a red card for Jonathan Tah after he brought down Philippe Coutinho in the 82nd minute and survived enormous pressure to hold on to a memorable win.

The visitors, who in total ran six kilometres more than their opponents and outsprinted them as well, drew first blood in the 10th minute with Bailey, back from a two-game suspension, charging clear to latch onto a Kevin Volland pass and score.

It was another scintillating run by the 22-year-old that exposed the Bayern backline once more and put them ahead again, only a minute after Thomas Mueller had drawn the hosts level. It was Mueller's first goal since March after having fallen out of favour with Flick's predecessor Niko Kovac.

The Bavarians tried everything they could think of to get an equaliser in a one-sided second half.

But Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky made a string of outstanding saves, including two consecutive one-handed rescues in a matter of seconds, and the woodwork also helped repeatedly.

Bayern, who had won the previous six games at home against Leverkusen, dropped to fourth place on 24 points, three behind leaders RB Leipzig who won 3-2 against Paderborn. Leverkusen moved up to seventh on 22 points.

Saudi Arabia beat Bahrain to secure first Gulf Cup win

Saudi Arabia scored in each half to beat Bahrain 2-0 on Saturday and secure their first victory at the Arabian Gulf Cup.

Striker Abdullah Al-Hamdan put Saudi Arabia ahead after 29 minutes and defender Mohammed Al-Khabrani doubled the lead with a 58th-minute header at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.

Saudi Arabia, who lost their opening match 3-1 to Kuwait, now have three points in Group B along with Kuwait, who lost 2-1 to Oman for whom Abdulaziz Al-Muqbali scored twice from the penalty spot.

Defending champions Oman top the group with four points and Bahrain are bottom on one point.

Saudi Arabia face Oman and Bahrain play Kuwait on Monday, with all four teams still in contention to reach the semi-finals.

Lecce end winless run at struggling Fiorentina

Lecce recorded their first win in more than two months to stun Fiorentina with a 1-0 Serie A victory at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday as the hosts lost Franck Ribery to injury.

Andrea La Mantia’s diving header early in the second half earned the visitors a precious victory that moved them up to 14th place, four points clear of the relegation zone.

The pressure is increasing on Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella after three consecutive league defeats left his side in 11th place on 16 points.

Fiorentina created the better chances in the first half but failed to take them, and things got worse when Ribery limped off the pitch just before halftime.

La Mantia latched onto a cross to head the visitors in front five minutes into the second half and goalkeeper Gabriel made some excellent saves before Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic ballooned a finish over when unmarked inside the box.

Lecce substitute Khouma Babacar wasted a glorious chance to wrap up the points with a tame finish, but they held on to record their third win of the season and end an eight-match winless run.

Earlier on Saturday, two goals from Mario Pasalic helped Atalanta to a convincing 3-0 win at struggling regional rivals Brescia.

The Croatian midfielder headed in from close range midway through the first half before adding his second after the break with a neat backheel flick.

Josip Ilicic's strike then wrapped up a comfortable victory in stoppage time at the Stadio Mario Rigamonti to leave Brescia in further trouble at the bottom of the standings.

Pasalic could have had a hat-trick, as his first-half header came back off the post, while Atalanta substitute Ruslan Malinovskyi was also denied by the woodwork.

Mario Balotelli was restored to the Brescia team after being dropped by coach Fabio Grosso and he had their best chance of the game when he fired a second-half shot against the crossbar.

Yet it was a deserved victory for Gian Piero Gasperini's side which ended Atalanta's four-match winless league run, while condemning Brescia to a sixth consecutive defeat.

The win kept Atalanta sixth in the standings on 25 points while Brescia remain rooted to the bottom of the table with just seven points.

Torino moved into the top half of the table with a 1-0 win away at Genoa thanks to a Bremer header, before they had substitute Simone Edera sent off after he picked up two late yellow cards within seven minutes of coming on.

Genoa were denied by the woodwork twice before going behind inside the final 15 minutes, extending their winless run to five games and leaving them in the relegation zone with 10 points.

U-17 Women’s WC: FIFA team satisfied at progress of preparations at DY Patil Stadium

A team of officials from the world football governing body FIFA on Sunday inspected the DY Patil Stadium at Navi Mumbai, one of the proposed venues to host the U-17 Women's World Cup next year, and expressed satisfaction at the progress of preparations.

FIFA's Project Lead for the Tournament, Oliver Vogt said he was pleased at the state of facilities at the stadium.

"The existing infrastructure is good. What is also very important for us is that we have a very experienced and operationally strong team here who have already hosted a FIFA World Cup. It is human nature to want to do better every time, and that's what we would like to do to make sure we can provide the best experience for all teams," he said.

Tournament Director of the LOC, Roma Khanna was happy with the preparations and said, "After a stellar Emblem Launch in the state, we are happy to be in Navi Mumbai, and the DY Patil Stadium. The venue is already well-versed with the requirements of hosting a FIFA tournament and we only need some minor tweaking to improve from 2017.

"Women's football is already popular in Maharashtra, which is why it is very important to see it being promoted even more, especially in Navi Mumbai and Mumbai.

Navi Mumbai was the final venue to be inspected by the FIFA-LOC delegation. The next official FIFA inspection is scheduled next year to ascertain the progress on the pending works and the operational planning for the tournament.

The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup will take place from November 2 to 21 next year.

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Source: REUTERS
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