Dortmund ease past Wolfsburg 2-0 to stay in title hunt
BERLIN, (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund scored a goal in each half through Raphael Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi to beat hosts VfL Wolfsburg 2-0 yesterday for their sixth straight Bundesliga win to stay on the heels of leaders Bayern Munich.
Portugal international Guerreiro tapped in a cutback from Thorgan Hazard after Erling Haaland had failed to connect in the 32nd minute, and Hakimi fired in from a fine Jadon Sancho assist — his 16th of the season — in the 78th to make sure of the three points.
The result lifted second-placed Dortmund to 57 points, four behind leaders Bayern, who beat Eintracht Frankfurt 5-2.
The Bundesliga resumed last week, with no fans in attendance, after being suspended for more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dortmund central defender Mats Hummels was taken off at halftime with a knock on the leg, although he did not appear to be seriously injured. They are already missing injured Dan Axel Zagadou and captain Marco Reus.
“I briefly spoke to the doctor,” Dortmund sports director Michael Zorc said. “Mats had problems with his heel. He has had them in training
Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland in action yesterday with VfL Wolfsburg’s Renato Steffen, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Michael Sohn/Pool via REUTERS
for some time. We hope that he will be able to play on Tuesday.”
The Wolves only briefly got a look-in when Renato Steffen was sent through right after the restart, but with only keeper Roman Buerki to beat his shot glanced the bar and sailed high.
They have now lost five consecutive home games to Dortmund, the
first team to do that at Wolfsburg, while Dortmund have not conceded a goal in their two games since the league restart.
Wolfsburg, who suffered their first defeat in eight league games, were left with 10 men when substitute Felix Klaus was sent off with 10 minutes remaining for a rough challenge.
BARCELONA, (Reuters) - Spanish soccer’s top flight division La Liga can return to action from June 8 after being disrupted by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said yesterday.
All organised soccer in Spain was provisionally suspended on March 12 although clubs in the top two divisions have since returned to group training.
La Liga has yet to officially confirm a date on which it will resume, although its president Javier Tebas had said previously he hoped the season could do so from June 12.
“We are very happy with the decision, but it is the result of the great work of clubs, players, coaches... CSD (National Sports Council) and agents involved,” Tebas said on Twitter.
“But it is very important to follow the health rules and that the evolution of the pandemic respects us. We cannot let our guard down.”
Germany’s Bundesliga became the first major European soccer league to resume on May 16, with matches played without fans.
Players in the English Premier League have returned to small group training with their clubs ahead of a possible resumption in June, although nothing has so far been agreed.
The Italian government will decide on May 28 if and when the Serie A season can resume. The French season was called off by the government, and Paris St Germain were crowned champions.
La Liga was suspended with 11 rounds of fixtures still to be completed. Barcelona lead the table, two points above Real Madrid, with Sevilla 11 points back in third place.
In his address on Saturday, Sanchez said that “new horizons” could now open after Spain “has done what it needed to do.”