West Brom edge Wolves for 1st EPL win under Allardyce Leipzig denied top spot again
Dortmund rue missed penalty
BERLIN, Jan 16, (AP): Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw with lowly Mainz while Leipzig again missed the chance to move to the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Leipzig, which were denied top spot in losing to Dortmund 3-1 last weekend, could manage only 2-2 at Wolfsburg and they remain a point behind league leaders Bayern Munich. Bayern host Freiburg on Sunday.
Dortmund were looking for their fourth win in five league games under new coach Edin Terzić but were frustrated by a committed performance from Mainz in Bo Svensson’s second game in charge.
The draw was enough for Mainz to move off the bottom on goal difference from Schalke, which visit Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
Dortmund got off to a fine start with Erling Haaland firing inside the left post in the second minute. But the goal was ruled out through VAR as Thomas Meunier was offside in the buildup.
Jude Bellingham struck the post toward the end of the half and it was as close as Dortmund came to scoring before the break.
Mainz defended doggedly and took its chance in the 57th when Levin Öztunali eluded Mats Hummels with a back-heel trick and let fly from 20 meters inside the top right corner.
The visitors almost grabbed another shortly afterward when Alexander Hack struck the crossbar with a header.
The 16-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko had just gone on for Dortmund and he played a decisive role for his side’s equalizer in the 73rd, keeping the ball in play before sending in a cross that was cleared by Mainz defender Phillipp Mwene - only as far as Meunier, who fired back in to equalize.
Meunier was then fouled in the penalty area by Hack, giving Reus a chance to score from the spot. The Dortmund captain sent his kick outside of the left post.
It could have been worse for Reus’ team as Mainz captain Danny Latza hit the post late on. Dortmund remained fourth, four points behind Bayern, which have a game in hand.
SOCCER
Substitute Cedric Teuchert scored late for Union Berlin to stun thirdplaced Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 .
Teuchert came on for the injured Sheraldo Becker midway through the first half and missed chances before finally beating Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky in the 88th minute after a brilliant through ball from Christopher Lenz.
“A few good counterattacks before we eventually get the goal. An amazing win,” Union forward Marcus Ingvartsen said.
The game ended on a sour note, however, with Leverkusen midfielder Nadiem angrily approaching Union midfielder Florian Hübner and pointing his finger in his face. Union coach Urs Fischer attempted to console the furious Nadiem.
Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah told broadcaster DAZN that Nadiem was abused by an opponent who used a racially charged term referring to the Germany midfielder’s Afghan background.
“It doesn’t belong on the football pitch, no matter how emotional things get,” Tah said. “It’s the most bitter part of the evening. I hope there are consequences.”
Fischer said he missed the alleged incident. “I heard there were words on the pitch that have no place on the pitch,” Fischer said. “I heard from both sides that words were exchanged between two sides.”
Leverkusen dominated possession but lacked efficiency and slumped to their third defeat in four games. Peter Bosz’s team had been unbeaten before losing at home to Bayern Munich 2-1 on Dec 19 and they haven’t won since.
Union are surprising many in their second Bundesliga season, a season in which they had been expected to be fighting relegation.
WOLVERHAMPTON, England, Jan 16, (AP): West Bromwich Albion collected only their second win in the Premier League - and first under new manager Sam Allardyce - as two penalties by Matheus Pereira helped to earn a 3-2 victory over Wolverhampton on Saturday.
Allardyce was unable to call upon two key players - goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and winger Matt Phillips - after they contracted the coronavirus, but West Brom still managed to boost its survival hopes with its first win since beating Sheffield United on Nov. 28.
SOCCER
Pereira slotted home his first penalty in the fourth minute after Callum Robinson was tripped at the edge of the penalty area, but Wolves fought back to lead at halftime thanks to goals by Fabio Silva in the 38th and Willy Boly in the 43rd.
Center half Semi Ajayi scored for the third time since Allardyce arrived a month ago after a header following a long throw-in in the 52nd minute, and Pereira regained the lead for West Brom four minutes later from a penalty again won by Robinson.
West Brom remained in next-to-last place, but moved in sight of safety.
West Ham 1, Burnley 0
Michail Antonio scored in his first English Premier League start for West Ham since November in a 1-0 win over Burnley .
Antonio side-footed home from close range in the ninth minute after a left-wing cross from Pablo Fornals flicked off the top of Burnley defender Ben Mee’s head and into the path of the West Ham forward, who was free at the back post.
West Ham have missed the mobility and presence up front of Antonio, who was sidelined before Christmas with a hamstring injury and has been eased back into action by manager David Moyes given his importance to the team. He came on as a substitute against Southampton and Everton over the festive period, and played in the win over Rochdale in the FA Cup on Monday.
Moyes has few other alternatives for the striker role, especially with Sebastien Haller recently leaving to join Ajax in the Netherlands, so keeping Antonio fit is particularly important if West Ham are to finish in the top half of the standings.
Burnley thought they equalized before halftime when a cross by Chris Wood was turned into his own net by West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell, but the goal was disallowed because Wood was offside in the buildup.
While West Ham are unbeaten in their
last four league games, keeping three straight clean sheets in the process, Burnley have lost three of their last four games and dropped to fourth-to-last place, one above the relegation zone.
Scoring is their biggest problem - Sean Dyche’s team have just nine goals in 17 games, tied for the fewest in the league with last-placed Sheffield United. Relegation is a distinct possibility for the northwest club, which became the latest league team to be owned by Americans when ALK Capital’s sports investment arm, Velocity Sports Partners, bought an 84% stake in December.
Brighton 1, Leeds 0
Brighton notched their first English Premier League win in nearly two months thanks to Neal Maupay’s firsthalf goal in a 1-0 victory at Leeds.
The French striker applied the finishing touch at the far post following a flowing team move in the 17th minute
for his seventh goal of the season.
Brighton halted a 10-game winless run in all competitions. The last triumph was on Nov. 21 at Aston Villa.
It was a successful return to Elland Road for Brighton’s Ben White, who helped Leeds win promotion to the top-flight during a loan spell last season. His former club slipped to a third straight loss for the first time in 12 months.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side were bidding to bounce back from last week’s embarrassing FA Cup defeat at fourth-tier Crawley and sorely missed suspended midfielder Kalvin Philiips.
Leeds rarely got close to producing the form which has won the team so many admirers since their return to the Premier League.
Rodrigo was inches away from converting Ezgjan Alioski’s low cross, however, and Mateusz Klich blazed off target after neat buildup play.