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Bayern draws 1-1 in Leverkusen
Source: Agencies |
April 11, 2010, Sunday
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BAYER Leverkusen kept the Bundesliga title race open by having to rally to earn a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich yesterday.
Arjen Robben converted a penalty for Bayern, before Arturo Vidal tied the game.
Bayern failed to take full advantage of another setback by second-place Schalke, which lost 4-2 at Hannover. Didier Ya Konan scored twice for Hannover, which is trying to avoid relegation.
Had Bayern won, it would have moved four points clear of Schalke, with four matches remaining. Now, Bayern has 60 points, Schalke 58 and Leverkusen 54.
"There are still 12 points to be had and we also have the Champions League to worry about," said Bayern coach Louis van Gaal, whose team reached the semifinals of the Champions League this week over Manchester United.
Fourth-place Borussia Dortmund also lost, going down 1-0 at Mainz.
Werder Bremen thrashed Freiburg 4-0, Stuttgart beat Hertha Berlin 1-0 and Cologne won 2-0 at Hoffenheim.
Bayern goalkeeper Joerg Butt saved a header from Eren Derdiyok by diving to his right, and Tranquillo Barnetta hit Butt's left post in what were the two best chances in the first half.
Franck Ribery, who had little impact in the first half, cut past Gonzalo Castro after a deft fake and was brought down by the Leverkusen defender. Robben converted the penalty in the 51st.
Leverkusen went close in the 58th when Stefan Kiessling's header bounced off the post, hit Butt in the back and then rolled along the goal-line before slipping away.
But one minute later, Leverkusen got the equalizer. Midfielder Toni Kroos, who is on loan to Leverkusen and will return to Bayern next season, drove a powerful free kick from some 25 meters (yards) against the post. Kiessling's attempt was blocked but Vidal fired in the loose ball.
"We played a clever game and should have won on chances. We had the better chances," said Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes, whose team snapped a three-game losing streak.
Robben and Kroos wasted chances and a terrible late backpass from Martin Demichelis nearly delivered the game for Leverkusen but Butt raced off his line to clear before Derdiyok.
Bayern had appeals for a penalty denied in stoppage time, although Hans Sarpei clearly tugged at Thomas Mueller as the substitute tried to take a shot.
"Maybe we should have had another penalty but overall I am pleased because they had more chances," Van Gaal said.
Schalke overcame a two-goal deficit with two quick goals at the start of the second half but Hannover hit back as Felix Magath's team lost its second straight match.
"We were unfortunate to go down, maybe my players were still trying to deal with the defeat against Bayern," Magath said. "We came back very well but after 2-2 we again allowed ourselves another letdown. We lacked the desire to win. But we still have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League."
Schalke captain Heiko Westermann gave away the first goal when he accidentally knocked the ball into his own net with his knee.
"It was an important game, three big points. After getting the 2-2, we shouldn't have lost. We still hope to be in the Champions League next season," Westermann said.
Ya Konan got his first in the 29th, shooting the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who had needlessly come off his line.
Edu pulled one back in the 46th and Ivan Rakitic converted a penalty in the 52nd to level the score.
But Hanno Balitsch fired a volley into the top corner in the 80th, and Ya Konan rounded Neuer to score again in stoppage time and seal Hannover's victory.
Hannover moved up one place to 16th, which at the end of the season leads to a relegation/promotion playoff with the third-place team from the second division.
Dortmund, unbeaten in five games, was hoping to move into third place with a win in Mainz coupled with Leverkusen's defeat.
But instead, coach Juergen Klopp's return to Mainz, where he had spent 18 years as player and later coach, turned sour when Adam Szalai scored his first Bundesliga goal for Mainz in the 30th minute.
In Bremen, Claudio Pizarro scored twice and had an assist as Werder moved within a point of Dortmund with an emphatic victory over next-to-last Freiburg. Pizarro has 14 goals this season.
Aaron Hunt and Mesut Oezil added goals for Werder.
Cacau came off the bench to score with a deflected shot in the 74th minute for Stuttgart in Berlin. Hertha is again five points away from the 16th place and winless at home since the opening match of the season.
Cologne deepened Hoffenheim's slump with two goals from Adam Matuschyk, his first in the Bundesliga.
Hoffenheim was the surprise team in its maiden season in the Bundesliga last year but has gone six games without a win and angry fans jeered after the match and called for coach Ralf Rangnick to leave.
Arjen Robben converted a penalty for Bayern, before Arturo Vidal tied the game.
Bayern failed to take full advantage of another setback by second-place Schalke, which lost 4-2 at Hannover. Didier Ya Konan scored twice for Hannover, which is trying to avoid relegation.
Had Bayern won, it would have moved four points clear of Schalke, with four matches remaining. Now, Bayern has 60 points, Schalke 58 and Leverkusen 54.
"There are still 12 points to be had and we also have the Champions League to worry about," said Bayern coach Louis van Gaal, whose team reached the semifinals of the Champions League this week over Manchester United.
Fourth-place Borussia Dortmund also lost, going down 1-0 at Mainz.
Werder Bremen thrashed Freiburg 4-0, Stuttgart beat Hertha Berlin 1-0 and Cologne won 2-0 at Hoffenheim.
Bayern goalkeeper Joerg Butt saved a header from Eren Derdiyok by diving to his right, and Tranquillo Barnetta hit Butt's left post in what were the two best chances in the first half.
Franck Ribery, who had little impact in the first half, cut past Gonzalo Castro after a deft fake and was brought down by the Leverkusen defender. Robben converted the penalty in the 51st.
Leverkusen went close in the 58th when Stefan Kiessling's header bounced off the post, hit Butt in the back and then rolled along the goal-line before slipping away.
But one minute later, Leverkusen got the equalizer. Midfielder Toni Kroos, who is on loan to Leverkusen and will return to Bayern next season, drove a powerful free kick from some 25 meters (yards) against the post. Kiessling's attempt was blocked but Vidal fired in the loose ball.
"We played a clever game and should have won on chances. We had the better chances," said Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes, whose team snapped a three-game losing streak.
Robben and Kroos wasted chances and a terrible late backpass from Martin Demichelis nearly delivered the game for Leverkusen but Butt raced off his line to clear before Derdiyok.
Bayern had appeals for a penalty denied in stoppage time, although Hans Sarpei clearly tugged at Thomas Mueller as the substitute tried to take a shot.
"Maybe we should have had another penalty but overall I am pleased because they had more chances," Van Gaal said.
Schalke overcame a two-goal deficit with two quick goals at the start of the second half but Hannover hit back as Felix Magath's team lost its second straight match.
"We were unfortunate to go down, maybe my players were still trying to deal with the defeat against Bayern," Magath said. "We came back very well but after 2-2 we again allowed ourselves another letdown. We lacked the desire to win. But we still have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League."
Schalke captain Heiko Westermann gave away the first goal when he accidentally knocked the ball into his own net with his knee.
"It was an important game, three big points. After getting the 2-2, we shouldn't have lost. We still hope to be in the Champions League next season," Westermann said.
Ya Konan got his first in the 29th, shooting the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who had needlessly come off his line.
Edu pulled one back in the 46th and Ivan Rakitic converted a penalty in the 52nd to level the score.
But Hanno Balitsch fired a volley into the top corner in the 80th, and Ya Konan rounded Neuer to score again in stoppage time and seal Hannover's victory.
Hannover moved up one place to 16th, which at the end of the season leads to a relegation/promotion playoff with the third-place team from the second division.
Dortmund, unbeaten in five games, was hoping to move into third place with a win in Mainz coupled with Leverkusen's defeat.
But instead, coach Juergen Klopp's return to Mainz, where he had spent 18 years as player and later coach, turned sour when Adam Szalai scored his first Bundesliga goal for Mainz in the 30th minute.
In Bremen, Claudio Pizarro scored twice and had an assist as Werder moved within a point of Dortmund with an emphatic victory over next-to-last Freiburg. Pizarro has 14 goals this season.
Aaron Hunt and Mesut Oezil added goals for Werder.
Cacau came off the bench to score with a deflected shot in the 74th minute for Stuttgart in Berlin. Hertha is again five points away from the 16th place and winless at home since the opening match of the season.
Cologne deepened Hoffenheim's slump with two goals from Adam Matuschyk, his first in the Bundesliga.
Hoffenheim was the surprise team in its maiden season in the Bundesliga last year but has gone six games without a win and angry fans jeered after the match and called for coach Ralf Rangnick to leave.
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