Frankfurt thrash 10-man Bayern 5-1
BERLIN: Eintracht Frankfurt routed 10-man Bayern Munich 5-1 in the Bundesliga to give visiting coach Niko Kovac an unhappy return to his former side on Saturday. Kovac, who coached Frankfurt to a German Cup win over Bayern in 2018, saw his former side end its 16-game winless run against the Bavarian powerhouse.
This was Bayern’s heaviest Bundesliga defeat for a decade after Jerome Boateng was sent off in the 10th minute for bringing down Gonçalo Paciência as the last defender. Referee Markus Schmidt initially awarded the home side a penalty after Paciência fell in the area, but changed it to a free kick after consulting video replays.
Filip Kostic scored in off the far post in the 25th, and Djibril Sow made it 2-0 after more speedy Frankfurt play nine minutes later.
BARCELONA SHOCKED VALENCIA: Lionel Messi scored again but was helpless to prevent Barcelona conceding three goals in seven minutes on Saturday as Levante stormed to a surprise 3-1 victory in La Liga.
Messi converted a first-half penalty at the City of Valencia stadium for his sixth goal in five games only for Levante to stun the defending champions with an incredible treble shortly after the hour.
Jose Campana and Borja Mayoral scored in the 61st and 63rd minutes before Nemanja Radoja added a third in the 68th to finish Barca off and give Real Madrid the chance to move top of the table later on Saturday.
PSG STUNNED
PARIS: Paris Saint-germain suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of rock-bottom Dijon on Friday with coach Thomas Tuchel accusing his expensivelyassembled team of “being too passive and not playing together”. It was the third loss of the Ligue 1 season for the French champions who could also see their lead at the top trimmed to just five points by the end of the weekend. Dijon, who started the day at the foot of the table with just nine points, fell behind to Kylian Mbappe’s fifth goal in seven games.
However, Mounir Chouiar levelled in the sixth minute of stoppage time in the first half before Venezuelan international Jhonder Cadiz hit the winner in the 47th minute.
“We were too passive in the first half, not only in defence but also in attack because we did not play together,” said Tuchel.
PUNIA’S 75 IN VAIN
NORTH SOUND: Opener Priya Punia’s fifty went in vain as the Indian women’s team suffered a one-run defeat against the West Indies in the first ICC Women’s Championship ODI here. Chasing 226 to win, Punia smashed six boundaries in her 107-ball innings, while Jemimah Rodrigues (41) scored a 67-ball 41 at the top but they didn’t get enough support from lower-order to be dismissed for 224 in 50 overs by the hosts.
Earlier, Stefanie Taylor opted to bat first and produced a captain’s knock, scoring a 91-ball 94 studded with eight boundaries and two sixes.
Brief Score: West Indies 225 for 7 in 50 overs (S Taylor 94; S Pandey 2/38) beat India 224 all out in 50 overs (P Punia 75; A Mohammed 5/46) by one run.
AXAR, MARKANDE SHINE RANCHI: All-rounder Axar Patel smashed a 61-ball 98 before legspinner Mayank Markande claimed four wickets as India C trounced India B by 136 runs in the third and final one-dayer of the Deodhar Trophy here on Saturday. Batting first, India C posted 280 for 5, riding on Axar’s brilliance and and Virat Singh’s 96-ball 76. They then returned to dismiss India B for 144 in 43.4 overs to complete the drubbing. Brief Score: India C: 280/5 in 49.6 overs (Axar Patel 98, Virat Singh 76; S Nadeem 2/37). India B: 144 in 43.4 overs (B Aparajith 53; M Markande 4/25).