|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
German roundup Bayern wins showdown of top Bundesliga clubs
Posted: Wednesday February 09, 2000 07:05 PM
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Bayern Munich opened a three-point lead atop the Bundesliga by routing Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 in a showdown between the two top-ranked Bundesliga teams Wednesday. Although there are still 15 games remaining in the season, the victory was a huge psychological boost to Bayern's championship hopes. In other games, Hamburger SV beat Stuttgart 3-1 on the road to stay close behind in third place; Duisburg earned some badly needed points by beating Unterhaching 2-0; Eintracht Frankfurt also kept its hopes alive with a 2-0 victory over Freiburg; and Borussia Dortmund's slump continued with a 1-0 loss at Wolfsburg. With only 28,000 fans -- less than half the capacity -- watching in the cavernous Olympic stadium, Bayern stunned the visitors less than two minutes into the game. Leverkusen goalkeeer Adam Matysek contributed to the goal with a miscued, short kick-in that was intercepted by Giovane Elber on the right. Bayern's Brazilian forward sent in a low cross, and Leverkusen's defender Torben Hoffmann, under no pressure, kicked the ball into his own net. The Brazilians on both teams provided some of the early highlights. Elber sent a volley just over the bar, while on the other side Robson Ponte shot wide after a through pass from Emerson. Bayern, the defending champion, had the upper hand in an unspectacular game and captain Stefan Effenberg, under fire after wasting a penalty in Hamburg three days ago, scored in the final minute of the first half following a swift Bayern attack on the left flank. "We had some luck to score early and to get the second as time ran out in the first half," Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said. Leverkusen, winless in Munich for 11 years, pressed ahead in the second half, leaving itself vulnerable to counterattacks. Bayern, happy to leave the midfield to Leverkusen and wait for sudden openings, used such an opportunity to go up 3-0 in the 56th. Effenberg provided a long pass that found Mehmet Scholl alone around the center of the field. After a long run, Scholl sent a low shot to the corner, goalkeeper Matysek got his foot onto it but the ball ended in the net. Leverkusen continued to attack and in the 65th, Michael Ballack scored with a curving, dipping free kick from 20 meters. Bayern replied with another counterattack, this time Lothar Matthaeus launching Elber, but Matysek made a good save. Only seconds after coming in as a substitute and making his first appearance since returning to Leverkusen from Brazil, Paulo Rink hit the post. Bayern stayed true to its game plan, however, and in the closing moments Alexander Zickler, a late substitute for Elber, broke through to slot the fourth goal. "We were leading and that's why we did not attack much in the second half," Hitzfeld said. Leverkusen coach Christoph Daum has never won at Bayern with any team he has coached. "They had two chances in the first half and scored two goals, and in the second half they played very cleverly," Daum said. Bayern now has 40 points, Leverkusen 37 and Hamburg 35. Hamburger SV scored its first victory in Stuttgart since 1984. Ghana striker Anthony Yeboah brought his season total to nine goals by scoring twice in quick succession between the 63rd and 66th and Iranian forward Mehdi Mahdavikia added the third one minute from time. Substitute Jochen Endress got Stuttgart's only goal in the 67th. Stuttgart slumped to its second straight defeat, the fifth at home this season. Dortmund's troubles continued under new coach Bernd Krauss with the loss in Wolfsburg. Krauss took over last week, but Dortmund dropped its second in a row, falling to a Juergen Rische goal in the 44th. Frankfurt, under new coach Felix Magath, snapped a seven-game losing streak. Thomas Sobotzik headed in the first goal in the 31st, before Freiburg lost defender Oumar Konde through a red card five minutes before half-time. Michael Mutzel, who still doesn't have a professional contract, secured Frankfurt's victory in the 81st with his first Bundesliga goal. Duisburg's two Poles provided the goals before halftime. Defender Tomasz Hajto dilled a shot from 18 meters into the corner of the net in the 14th and Piotr Reiss added the second six minutes later.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
