Bayern face Dortmund in ‘special’ tie
Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick says the absence of spectators for Tuesday’s top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash at Borussia Dortmund will be a “missing factor”.
Holders Bayern thrashed second-placed Dortmund 4-0 last November in front of 75,000 fans at the Allianz Arena. But the teams will meet again in Dortmund with the stands at Signal Iduna Park empty after the Bundesliga became the first top European league to return, behind closed doors, following the coronavirus lockdown.
“It is a very special game,” Flick said on Monday, with Bayern heading to Dortmund with a four-point lead. “As a coach, there is no question that the fans are a missing factor.”
‘41 MORE DEATHS DUE TO REDS-ATLETICO MATCH’
decision to let Liverpool’s Champions League match against Atletico Madrid go ahead may have “led to 41 additional deaths” due to the coronavirus, the Sunday Times reported.
The second-leg last 16 tie took place at Anfield on March 11 in front of a crowd of some 52,000, with 3,000 visiting supporters also in attendance.
According to Sunday Times, Edge Health, which analyses data for National Health Service, estimated the match was “linked to 41 additional deaths” at nearby hospitals between 25 and 35 days later, compared with similar hospital trusts that were used as a control.
LA LIGA BOSS WANTS JUNE 11 RESTART
Liga president Javier Tebas has said he hopes the resumed season will start on June 11 with the Seville derby, “one game for all of Spain”.
“It is possible that on Thursday, June 11, we could have the first Liga game,” Tebas told Movistar Plus television. “We would like it to be the Seville derby, Real Betis v Sevilla...”
“It would be our hope to have a single league game” that day so that the teams “play exclusively for all of Spain, almost as a tribute and to what has happened.”
Tebas confirmed that in the next few days there will be an official announcement concerning the restart date of La Liga.
PL CLUBS TO VOTE ON CONTACT TRAINING
Premier League clubs will vote on proposals for a return to contact training on Wednesday as the English topflight seeks to take another step closer to resuming the season next month.
New UK government guidelines issued on Sunday allow for the return of “close contact” training, including tackling.
Players and managers are to be consulted in a meeting on Tuesday before the proposals are put to a vote of the 20 clubs.
ELEVEN CHINESE CLUBS DISQUALIFIED
Fallen Asian giants Liaoning Hongyun bid farewell to their fans and apologised after they were among 11 clubs disqualified from Chinese football because of financial problems.
Chinese Super League (CSL) club Tianjin Tianhai folded earlier this month and now Liaoning, a traditional powerhouse in China, have similarly dissolved.
Liaoning, based in the northeastern city of Shenyang, were Asian champions in 1990 and dominated Chinese football from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.
HAMILTON QUESTIONED HIS FUTURE IN F1
Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he questioned his future in Formula One during the coronavirus lockdown.
“I have days when I wake up and feel groggy, I don’t feel motivated to work out. I feel, ‘Jeez, where are we going? What’s next? Should I continue racing?’,” the 35-year-old said in a video released by Mercedes.
WOODS, MANNING WIN; RAISE $20MN FOR FUNDS
Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning beat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady 1Up in a charity golf match in Florida on Sunday that raised $20 million for Covid-19 relief efforts.
Woods said he’s been able to use the down time to get himself in shape for an expected condensed fall golf season.