The Malta Independent on Sunday
Union Berlin beats Hertha in derby, stays 2nd in Bundesliga
Union Berlin fans brought fire to the city derby as their team closed the gap on Bundesliga leader Bay‐ ern Munich to one point by beat‐ ing Hertha Berlin 2‐0 on Saturday.
Bayern was later held at home by Eintracht Frankfurt to 1‐1 for its third consecutive draw. Leroy Sané fired Bayern ahead in a cagey opening half and Randal Kolo Muani equalized in the 69th before the visitors pushed for more.
It means Bayern has failed to win any of its three games so far in 2023.
STADTMEISTER AGAIN
While Bayern keeps drawing, Union keeps winning.
Goals either side of halftime from Danilho Doekhi and Paul Seguin earned Union its fourth straight league win over its old rival and left Hertha mired at sec‐ ond‐from‐last after its third con‐ secutive loss to start the year. Union has won their last five der‐ bies including last season's Ger‐ man Cup meeting.
Hertha later fired its head of sport, Fredi Bobic.
The second half commenced with a spectacular pyrotechnics display from the visiting Union fans, who ignored the stadium an‐ nouncer's pleas for them to stop. Many of the supporters, including those who were bringing Union flags, were delayed getting to the game but they made up for their lateness after the break.
State police said on Twitter that a group of around 300 people tried attacking visiting fans on their way to the match at Ostkreuz train station. The police said they and local officers managed to stop the attack and they confiscated pyrotechnics, face‐coverings and gum shields.
There were noticeably more po‐ lice around the stadium than usual, and both sets of fans were corralled through separate en‐ trances in a bid to avoid flash‐ points. Special forces also had a helicopter in operation.
Union's fans, conspicuous in their club's red‐and‐white colors, occupied Olympiastadion's west‐ ern end, while Hertha's blue‐and‐ white boasted a majority in the rest of the stadium.
Union started to threaten only toward the end of the first half. It was enough to seize the lead in the 44th minute when Doekhi headed in a free kick from captain Christopher Trimmel. It was the Dutch defender's third goal in three games for Union, all set up in similar fashion by Trimmel.
Seguin scored in the 67th after the smoke cleared from the fans' fireworks show, tapping into an empty net after Sheraldo Becker crossed to finish off a counterat‐ tack.
Union keeper Frederik Rönnow produced an outstanding save to deny Lucas Tousart a response, then another to stop a deflected effort from Marco Richter.
Martínez nets 2 as Inter fights back to beat Cremonese 2‑1
Lautaro Martínez's rich vein of scoring form produced two more goals to help Inter Milan win at bottom club Cremonese 2‐1 and move into second spot in Serie A on Saturday.
Cremonese took a surprise lead with a stunning strike from David Okereke but Martínez scored in each half.
That took the World Cup winner to six goals in his past six matches for Inter and lifted his team two points above third‐placed AC Milan, which plays Sassuolo on Sunday. Inter and Milan meet in a Serie A derby next weekend.
Inter was looking to bounce back from a demoralizing loss at home to Empoli but found itself surprisingly behind in the 11th minute when Okereke carved out space on the edge of the area and curled a superb strike into the top right corner.
Inter leveled 10 minutes later when home goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi did well to parry Edin Džeko's volley from a corner but Martínez tapped in the rebound.
The Nerazzurri almost went in at halftime ahead but Carnesecchi first parried a fierce Federico Di‐ marco shot and managed to swiftly get back up to deny Martínez on the follow up.
However, Martínez did get his second in the 65th when he was released by a Džeko throughball and his effort took a deflection to loop over Carnesecchi.
COMEBACK
Torino scored twice in the final eight minutes — and almost net‐ ted the winner — to salvage a 2‐2 draw at Empoli.
The home team appeared to be coasting to victory after Sebas‐ tiano Luperto headed in his first Serie A goal shortly before half‐ time and Răzvan Marin scored a sensational long‐range strike in the 69th.
But Samuele Ricci pulled one back against his former club in the 82nd and Antonio Sanabria curled in the equalizer three min‐ utes later.
Incredibly, Torino came close to the winner in the final minute but Aleksej Mirančhuk's effort came off the left post.
EPL strugglers Leeds, Leicester, Southampton win in FA Cup
While they are fighting for sur‐ vival in the English Premier League, Leeds, Leicester and Southampton are advancing in the FA Cup.
Securing top‐flight status re‐ mains the priority for all three, but the cup is providing some welcome relief from their battles against relegation.
Leeds won against third‐tier Ac‐ crington Stanley 3‐1, Leicester overcame fourth‐tier Walsall 1‐0, and bottom‐of‐the‐league Southampton won against sec‐ ond‐division Blackpool 2‐1 on Saturday.
Goals from Leeds' Jack Harri‐ son, Junior Firpo and Luis Sinis‐ terra ended any chance of a miracle for Accrington in front of its home fans at Wham Stadium. Leslie Adekoya, however, gave them something to cheer with a late consolation goal.
It was only Leeds' second win since Nov. 5, both of them com‐ ing in the FA Cup.
Leicester — cup winner in 2021 — needed a 68th‐minute goal from Kelechi Iheanacho to end Walsall's resistance in a match that also saw Youri Tiele‐ mans miss a penalty.
Romain Perraud scored twice in Southampton's win. Charlie Patino pulled one back for Black‐ pool.