Skip to main content

Costa stunner takes Bayern to the summit

Douglas Costa’s winner was his third Bundesliga goal of the season.

Douglas Costa’s spectacular winner took Bayern Munich top of the Bundesliga on goal difference before Wednesday’s meeting with title rivals RB Leipzig.

The Brazilian’s 25-yard left-foot shot swerved in off the underside of the bar to send bottom club Darmstadt to a seventh straight defeat.

Bayern laboured for much of the game against spirited opponents.

Peter Niemeyer should have equalised, heading straight at Manuel Neuer, who had parried Jerome Gondorf’s free-kick.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side regained first place from Leipzig, who had moved three points clear by beating Hertha Berlin 2-0 on Saturday.
One eye on Wednesday?

Leipzig have supplanted Borussia Dortmund as Bayern’s biggest Bundesliga title rivals this season, and Wednesday’s meeting between the two side in Munich is keenly anticipated.

There was a sense that Ancelotti and his players may have had one eye on that fixture, as they were far from at their best against Darmstadt.

Bayern captain Philipp Lahm, who was listed on the team sheet, suffered a problem during the warm-up and was not risked – perhaps with Wednesday in mind – as Rafinha was drafted in to replace him.

There was little fluency about Bayern’s play, and Robert Lewandowski – who signed a contract extension lasting until 2021 on Tuesday – did not look like continuing the run that had brought him five goals in his previous three matches.

The closest that the Poland striker came to a goal was a free-kick floated just over the bar towards the end of the first half, on a day when Bayern rarely threatened other than from set-pieces.

There was a degree of encouragement in defeat for Darmstadt, who have struggled to recover from the departure of coach Dirk Schuster for Augsburg during the summer.

Norbert Meier, Schuster’s replacement, was sacked on 5 December, but interim coach Ramon Berndroth coaxed an energetic performance from his players, and they would have gained a valuable point but for Costa’s unstoppable shot.

-BBC

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fall of Assad is a Blow to Russia's Prestige

The potential fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-standing ally of Russia, would mark a turning point in Moscow’s global influence, particularly in the Middle East. Steve Rosenberg’s analysis underscores the profound implications for Russia, which has invested heavily—both militarily and politically—in ensuring Assad’s survival over the past decade. This article delves into why Assad’s downfall would strike at the core of Russian prestige and what it could mean for the broader geopolitical landscape. Russia's Strategic Commitment to Syria Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Russia has been a staunch supporter of Assad's regime. In 2015, Moscow launched a military intervention that proved decisive in stabilizing Assad’s hold on power. This intervention solidified Russia's role as a key power broker in the Middle East and demonstrated its willingness to project military power far beyond its borders. Syria is not just an ally for Russia; it is a...
Post a Comment
Read more