BERLIN — Quadruple winners Bayern Munich slumped to a shock 4-1 loss at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Sunday to end their 32-match unbeaten run in all competitions stretching back to last year.
Bayern, winners of the Super Cup against Sevilla after extra time on Thursday, had not lost since Dec. 7, 2019, and had gone 21 consecutive Bundesliga matches without defeat, winning their last 15.
Schalke 04 have sacked head coach David Wagner following their poor start to the season, the German Bundesliga club said in a statement on Sunday.
Schalke were thrashed 8-0 by champions Bayern Munich in their first game last weekend and suffered a 3-1 defeat by Werder Bremen on Saturday.
The Schalke-Werder match has lost a bit of luster from an American perspective since Weston McKennie joined Juventus on loan. Indeed, David Wagner’s side has been miserable since losing his American midfielder to the Italian giants, having opened the season with an eight-goal defeat to Bayern Munich.
But there was still one American featuring in Saturday’s Schalke-Werder match, and he made himself known.
Josh Sargent, the 20-year-old Missourian striker, set up Werder Bremen’s first goal with his sparkling red head to help his side to a 3-1 victory on Saturday.
BERLIN — Bundesliga title hopefuls Borussia Dortmund suffered a blow in a 2-0 defeat at Augsburg on Saturday, surrendering without a fight as Daniel Caligiuri set up the first goal and scored the second in his 300th league game.
Despite Dortmund having close to 80% possession for much of the first half, it was Augsburg who scored when Felix Uduokhai connected with a Caligiuri free kick in the 40th minute to nod in from three metres with their first chance of the match.
BUDAPEST — Bayern Munich beat Sevilla 2-1 after extra time on Thursday to lift the UEFA Super Cup and complete a quadruple under coach Hansi Flick, in the first European game played with fans in the stands since the sport returned amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Substitute Javi Martinez headed in the winner in the 104th minute after Europa League winners Sevilla had taken a 13th-minute lead through Lucas Ocampos's penalty and Bayern levelled through Leon Goretzka in the 34th.
There’s no global women’s footballer more under appreciated in America than Germany’s Dzsenifer Marozsán. For those whose interest in the game peaks around World Cup time, the stylish No. 10 is pretty much an unknown.
After winning her first cap in 2010, Marozsán missed the 2011 World Cup with a knee injury. In 2015 she contributed eight goals throughout qualifying but was severely limited during the finals with an ankle injury. When the USWNT met Germany in the semifinals, Marozsán could only enter the match in the 77th minute with Die Nationalelf already trailing 1-0.
Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder on Monday urged Bayern Munich fans not to travel to the UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla in Budapest this week or risk turning the event into a hotbed for COVID-19 to spread.
The German champions, who won the Champions League, face Europa League winners Sevilla in the Hungarian capital on Thursday.
"My stomach hurts thinking about the Super Cup. Budapest is a risk area. We have to be very careful that we don't risk turning it into a football-Ischgl," he said.
RB Leipzig eased past Mainz 3-1 in their Bundesliga opener on Sunday to enjoy a successful start to league life without striker Timo Werner.
Werner joined Chelsea in the close season and missed their run to their Champions League semifinals in August but Leipzig had little trouble finding the back of the net against Mainz, striking twice in four minutes.
Emil Forsberg converted a 17th-minute penalty for a foul on Dani Olmo and Yussuf Poulsen rose high to drill in a header for the second goal.
BERLIN — Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland scored twice and teenager Giovanni Reyna added another goal as they cruised past Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-0 in their season opener on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Haaland scored a 54th minute penalty, awarded for a foul on Reyna, and bagged another with a sensationally quick counter-attack and a Jadon Sancho assist as Dortmund utilised their fearsome youthful attacking weapons.
Bayern Munich is the best team in the world. The German giants proved that by winning the Champions League in August on the back of eight straight Bundesliga titles. But based on the way Bayern opened its 2020-21 campaign, including a stunning Robert Lewandowski rabona assist, Die Roten might be even better this season.