Berlin, May 5 (IANS) Dortmund shared points with 10-men Bayern as Manuel Neuer saved a penalty meanwhile Leverkusen sealed the Champions League spot for next season at the 32nd round of German Bundesliga.
Before the Champions League final clash between Bayern and Dortmund, both sides had to get the job done in the league. Yet, it was a nearly insignificant encounter as Bayern already snatched the title weeks ago and Dortmund secured Champions League for next season, reports Xinhua.
In a rough match with many fouls and cards Saturday, Dortmund opened the scoring with just 11 minutes into the game. Kevin Grokreutz met Jakub Blaszczykowskis cross at the far post to volley home into the roof of the net from inside the box. The Bavarians responded in the 23rd minute through Mario Gomez, who headed home inside the box following a cross from the right wing by Rafinha.
The ‘BVB’ had the golden chance to grab the lead again as Bayern defender Jerome Boateng was penalised for a handball (59th). Dortmund’s top striker Robert Lewandowski stepped up but Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer saved his shot into the bottom right. From the 65th minute, Bayern had to finish the game with 10-men as Rafinha booked his second yellow of the match due to repeated foul play.
However, Dortmund were incapable to overcome Bayern’s defence for the winner.
Leverkusen’s Oemer Toprak and Stefan Kieling wrapped up a 2-0 win over Nuremberg to secure a ticket for the UEFA Champions League. The ‘Werkself’ defended third position as they increased their point cushion to seven points with only two matches to play meanwhile Nuremberg suffered their fourth loss in a row but not before ensuring another season in first division.
Both sides staged a seesaw match at the opening period but as the match progressed, Leverkusen took the reins to open the scoring in the 26th minute. Gonzalo Castro’s corner found Oemer Toprak, who nodded home his first Bundesliga goal in his 89th match. Leverkusen’s top scorer Stefan Kieling doubled the lead when he converted a handball penalty by Nuremberg’s Per Nilsson to mark his 23rd of the season (62nd).
The visitors even allowed themselves the luxury to squander an awarded penalty as Sidney Sam struck the left post in the 81st minute.
Bremen wasted a 2-0 lead at the relegation battle as Hoffenheim restored parity in the last five minutes of the match thanks to the brace by Sven Schipplock. Hoffenheim sit at 17th position, a relegation spot, with two points to safety meanwhile Bremen occupy 14th place, just three points away from a relegation playoff spot.
The hosts caught a bright start when they broke the deadlock with just two minutes into the game as Aaron Hunt converted an awarded foul play penalty. Bremen made it 2-0 as Kevin de Bruyne curled a diagonal pass by Nils Petersen into the far post corner (24th).
It looked like Bremen were on the road to victory but six minutes before the final whistle Sven Schipplock scored twice to steal one point from Bremen in the relegation battle.
Elsewhere, newly promoted Frankfurt remain on course for UEFA Europa League as a brace by Alexander Meier and one goal by Srdjan Lakic were enough to beat relegation threatened Dusseldorf 3-1.
Hannover shared points with Mainz after a 2-2 draw and relegated Greuther Fuerth defeated Stuttgart 2-0 to ensure their fourth win of the season.
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by authors, news service providers on this page do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Hill Post. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual.
Hill Post makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site page.
