Leipzig ‘aim’ to break Bayern hold on league

Bundesliga returns from winter break

DÜSSELDORF, Germany, Jan 16, (AP): When one club have won the league title seven years in a row, you might expect fans of other teams to cheer on any viable challengers. Not so in Germany.

The Bundesliga returns from its winter break this weekend with Leipzig in first place, the favorite to break Bayern Munich’s dominace.

Few German fans love Bayern’s financial clout or their tendency to cherry-pick top talent, but they’re not warming to Leipzig either.

Besides Leipzig and Bayern, Borussia Mönchengladbach are also in the chase for the title and have become the neutrals’ favourites.

Created barely a decade ago, Leipzig are creating their traditions as they go along.Their success this season is built on the Bundesliga’s youngest squad, relentless attacking play and 18 goals from forward Timo Werner.

A title win for Leipzig wouldn’t just be a reward for their young players and 32-year-old coach Julian Nagelsmann. It would also mark a symbolic return of soccer in the former East Germany - though Leipzig were not founded until 20 years after the Berlin Wall fell. Until Leipzig’s third-place finish last season, no team based in the old East had ever come close to winning a national title.

Leipzig return to Bundesliga action on Saturday against Union Berlin, a club which also have East German roots, but one that’s built on a passionate fan community . Union are in 11th place after a strong start to the season following promotion, but a lack of squad depth means they can’t relax.

For those neutral German fans who can’t stomach Leipzig, Gladbach offers hope of a fairytale title run similar to Leicester’s Premier League win in 2016. Gladbach dominated the league in the 1970s but have not won since. They are in second place, two points behind Leipzig and two ahead of Bayern.

After it seemed to run out of steam before Christmas, taking four points from their last three league games, Friday’s visit to fifth-place Schalke could show whether Gladbach can really sustain a season-long title bid. Fourthplace Dortmund, exciting but fragile all season, visit Augsburg on Saturday.

Werner

couldn’t run. He struggled a little bit with his back and got another knock. It didn’t help.”

Wolves thought they had scored in the 11th minute through Pedro Neto, only for the strike to be ruled by VAR for a handball against Raul Jimenez in the buildup. “It’s constant, all we are talking about is VAR. It’s ridiculous, it’s stupid,” Wolves defender Conor Coady said.

“You can’t celebrate. Raul

Bayern play Sunday at Hertha Berlin, but the winter break has done little to fix their injury crisis. Coach Hansi Flick labeled the situation “really poor” as Bayern lack forwards Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry, as well as defenders Niklas Süle, Lucas Hernández and Javi Martínez.

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The Bundesliga’s top scorer, Robert Lewandowski, also missed Bayern’s winter training camp in Qatar after undergoing planned groin surgery. The club say he is fully fit for Sunday’s game against Hertha, though he has missed recent friendlies.

In Hertha, Bayern face a club with big ambitions and very little to show for them. Investor Lars Windhorst has talked up his plans to turn Hertha into a top-class European club, overturning decades of soccer mediocrity in the German capital, but his team are in 12th place, only four points above the relegation playoff spot.

There’s been an uptick in form under Jürgen Klinsmann, who returned to coaching with Hertha in November for the first time since leaving the United States national team in 2016, but Hertha have a long way to go. Awkwardly, Klinsmann has spent part of the week tracking down his coaching license - supposedly in a drawer at his California house - so he can avoid being decertified as the club’s coach.

At the bottom of the standings, no one’s surprised to see frugal, promoted Paderborn in the relegation zone, but seeing Werder Bremen there is a shock.

Bremen have not played outside the top tier since 1981 but are in danger of the drop after earning only 14 points in 17 games. Saturday’s visit to Fortuna Düsseldorf could have a big impact on the relegation picture at the end of the season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Raul Jimenez is tackled by Manchester United’s Harry Maguire (right), during the English FA Cup third round replay soccer match between Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers

at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on Jan 15. (AP)

Jimenez didn’t even know he had handballed it ... All of it is terrible, for me. It’s not for me, it’s not for a lot of players. But people higher up in the game are happy with it.”

United will play either Watford or third-tier Tranmere in the fourth round. Their replay was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch and will be played next week.

Cardiff won 4-3 at Carlisle in the other replay.

Fourth-seeded Isner was also taken to two tiebreakers by compatriot Tennys Sandgren in the second round before winning 7-6 (3), 6-7 (1), 6-3. He again showed an ability to step up on key points in Thursday’s quarter-final.

Second-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov double-faulted on set point in the first set and match point in the second to hand a 7-5, 6-4 victory to France’s Ugo Humbert.

Isner had 25 aces and showed resilience in a match that had no breaks of serve, hinging on a handful of points in the tiebreakers.

“I’m happy with how I played in that second set, especially toward the very end of the match,” Isner said. “That match point I played very aggressively and very well.” Shapovalov’s match with Humbert also pivoted on a couple of points in each set. There no breaks in the first set until the 12th game when the Canadian double-faulted on set point.

MADRID, Jan 16, (AP): Quique Setién’s first task at Barcelona will be a difficult one: Replace injured striker Luis Suárez.

Just before Setién arrived at the Camp Nou, Suárez was ruled out for fourth months with a knee injury, and now it will be up to the new coach to keep Barcelona’s attack thriving without the prolific Uruguay forward.

Suárez, who underwent surgery on his right knee last Sunday, was Barcelona’s second-leading scorer this season with 14 goals, behind only Lionel Messi.

Suárez didn’t play in the beginning of the season because of another injury, but since his return he had missed only one game – against Slavia Prague in the group stage of the Champions League in November.

Setién has few options in the squad to replace Suárez.

Ousmane Dembele – usually the team’s first reserve in attack – also is out injured, meaning Setién will likely have to rely on Messi and Antoine Griezmann, with the sporadic support of youngsters Ansu Fati and Carles Aleñá.

The team could also sign another striker in the current transfer window to help make up for Suárez’s absence, but for now Setién will have to be creative.

“Obviously it’s a concern because there is an important player who is

Spain’s Rafael Nadal practises on Rod Laver Arena ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia on Jan 16. (AP)

The second set went the same way when Shapovalov faced match point in the 10th game and inexplicably doublefaulted to give Humbert a massive win.

“I’m really, really happy about this win, one of the biggest wins of my career,” Humbert said.

French Open final opponents Ash Barty and Marketa Vondrousova delivered the same outcome at the Adelaide International on Thursday: A dominating victory for the No. 1 player in the world.

The Australian beat Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3 at Memorial Drive to advance to the semifinals.

The last time the players met in the final at Roland Garros, Barty won her first Grand Slam title. Vondrousova has failed to win a set against Barty in four matches.

Barty will next play American Danielle Collins, who beat No. 7-ranked Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-1.

Barty lost her first match at the Brisbane International last week but has showed steady improvement in Adelaide.

“That is just a gradual progression of spending time on court and spending time in that competition mode,” Barty said.

Aryna Sabalenka will meet Dayana injured,” Setién said Tuesday after being introduced as Ernesto Valverde’s replacement. “But we have to think about the players that we have available. That’s what really matters right now.” Setién could change the team’s usual 4-3-3 tactical scheme at some point, which could help accommodate Suárez’s absence. A solution could be to use Messi as a “false” No. 9 up front.

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The 61-year-old Setién, who was without a club since leaving Real Betis at the end of last season, has his first game in charge of Barcelona on Sunday, when the team host Granada in

Yastremska in the other semifinal on Friday.

Yastremska beat Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-3, while Sabalenka defeated secondseeded Simona Halep 6-4, 6-2.

Halep won the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon. She reached the Australian Open final in 2018.

Meanwhile Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley defended the decision to hold qualifying matches this week even though Melbourne’s air quality was among the worst in the world because of smoke from wildfires devastating parts of the country.

The tournament has drawn criticism from players for contesting matches in conditions that led one, Dalila Jakupovic, to collapse to her knees while coughing heavily, and another, Bernard Tomic, to seek medical attention because of trouble breathing.

Tiley said Thursday the conditions were under a threshold set after Australian Open organizers consulted with with sports and medical experts, and scientists from the Environmental Protection Authority.

“Our medical team were satisfied with the conditions that the players were competing in, per all of the research and the data and the science that they have,” Tiley said. the Spanish league. The Catalan club lead the league ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference. They have drawn three of their last four league games.

Setién has scheduled a practice session for the morning of the match, something players were not accustomed to during Valverde’s time.

The coach will likely be able to count on the return of Marc-André ter Stegen on Sunday. The goalkeeper has yet to play this year because of a knee ailment.

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Setién’s first surprise move in charge of Barcelona could be to call up youngster Riqui Puig to the first team.

The 20-year-old midfielder had few chances under Valverde last year, but there are signs he may be part of Setién’s plans.