Leaders Bayern Brush Union Aside
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Established 1961 Sport TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2020 Trump says golf stars ‘are all great Sky Germany attracts record Hertha defender Dedryck 18people’ despite Rory McIlroy blast 19 audience for Bundesliga restart 19 Boyata denies ‘kiss’ Leaders Bayern brush Union aside BERLIN: Bayern Munich’s German midfielder Serge Gnabry (R) attempts to score past Union Berlin’s Polish goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz during the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Union Berlin v FC Bayern Munich on May 17, 2020 in Berlin. — AFP BERLIN: Robert Lewandowski bagged his 26th work to do, but are happy to have dominated the restart attracted over six million viewers in Germany, wasn’t a kiss” or “a celebration” when he grabbed the league goal this season as leaders Bayern Munich re- game and can head home with the three points.” a new record for broadcasters Sky, according to spe- Serbia midfielder. sumed their Bundesliga title chase with a 2-0 win at Union had shocked previous leaders Dortmund cialist website DWDL.de. “I was giving him instructions about a set piece.” Union Berlin behind closed doors in their first match and Borussia Moenchengladbach earlier in the sea- And while millions tuned in to watch, a significant “We must definitely be careful now that we play in two months on Sunday. son, backed by passionate home support at their portion of match-going supporters are livid at the under this situation,” he added. In Cologne, striker Lewandowski netted a first-half penalty and de- Alten Forsterei stadium. idea of games going ahead without the noisy back- Mark Uth said that the absence of fans was no excuse fender Benjamin Pavard scored a late header for Bay- With players’ voices echoing around the empty drop provided by German fans. for throwing away a two-goal lead in Sunday’s early ern in Berlin. The Bundesliga on Saturday became the ground, Thomas Mueller looked to have given Bayern On Saturday, Augsburg fans left a banner inside game — a 2-2 draw with struggling Mainz. first top European league to restart during the coro- the lead on 18 minutes only for the goal to be disal- their team’s ground which read “Football gives life — “If you’re up 2-0, you have to finish things off — navirus pandemic. lowed for offside. your business is sick”. with or without spectators,” fumed goalscorer Uth. Poland star Lewandowski, who missed two games Bayern eventually broke Second-division St Pauli The hosts took an early lead when Uth converted a with injury before the league was interrupted in mid- through when Union defender meanwhile published a picture penalty with just six minutes gone and Florian Kainz March, reached 40 goals for the campaign in all com- Neven Subotic fouled Leon on Twitter of a banner that added a second when he headed home a cross with petitions as Bayern restored their four-point lead over Goretzka in the area on 38 min- read “Football lives through its just over half an hour left. Borussia Dortmund. utes, with Lewandowski step- Fans protest fans! Without you, it’s all noth- Replacement striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who had only Dortmund, who thrashed Schalke 4-0 in the Ruhr ping up to slot home the ing!” been on for five minutes, tapped home from close derby on Saturday, host Bayern in a pivotal fixture on resulting penalty. ‘ghost games’ With clubs having agreed to range for his first Bundesliga goal to give Mainz hope. May 26, another game that will be behind closed Bayern coach Hansi Flick draconian hygiene guidelines Cameroon midfielder Pierre Kunde then earned a doors in line with the league’s strict hygiene guide- brought on French winger in a plan approved by the Ger- point for Mainz when he beat two defenders and lines. Kingsley Coman for his 100th man government, Hertha Berlin poked the ball past goalkeeper Timo Horn to equalise “I have to say, each minute is very long when there Bundesliga appearance as the defender Dedryck Boyata de- on 72 minutes. are no fans and no noise,” said Bayern captain Manuel visitors sought to make the points safe. nied planting a kiss on team-mate Marko Grujic dur- “It was like street football, a huge game for us,” Neuer. “It was a different atmosphere to what you It was Coman’s countryman Pavard who grabbed ing their 3-0 win over Hoffenheim. said Mainz sports director Rouven Schroeder. “For would expect at the Alten Forsterei, but, okay, it’s the second goal on 80 minutes when he headed a “I apologize for putting my hands on (Grujic’s) the first game after so many weeks, it was really good. about motivation and attitude. “We still have a bit of Joshua Kimmich corner inside the far post. Saturday’s face,” Boyata wrote on Instagram, explaining that “it The guys didn’t want to be left behind.”— AFP has become typical NASCAR fashion with some tire onship card aired live from an empty arena in Jack- With limited crew members drivers were left to do NASCAR returns to burning donuts that would normally spark a massive roar sonville, Florida on Saturday, sport starved fans had their some of the more mundane chores, such as filling water of approval from the stands but in this race there was no choice on Sunday of a charity skins game featuring golf bottles and making lunch, that might have otherwise one to witness the show. greats Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, Professional fallen to staff. sound of silence Not even the growl from 40 V8 stock car engines Bull Riding and NASCAR. When called to the track, drivers, crews and officials could make up for the silence as drivers exited the track US President Donald Trump said in an interview with wore face masks. With no practice or qualifying places to muffled applause from pit crews and officials. NBC Sports during the skins broadcast that sport was a on the starting grid were set by a random draw with Brad NEW YORK: Kevin Harvick and NASCAR both cele- “I didn’t think it was going to be that much different part of “the psyche of our country”. Keselowski on pole. brated victories on Sunday as the stock car series re- and then we won the race and it is dead silent out here, As the NBA, NHL and MLB work through scenarios NASCAR’s oldest speedway on the Cup circuit is turned to live racing from a two-month novel so we miss the fans,” said a bewildered Harvick, standing that could get them playing again, NASCAR is ready to known as the “Track Too Tough to Tame” and proved to coronavirus forced hiatus at an empty Darlington Race- alone on the track. “It is weird just because there is no- go — Sunday’s race the first of 20 taking place across be just that for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who had his return way. While the day unfolded with none of the bells and body up there. seven Southern states over 36 days. come to an abrupt end as he slammed into the wall on whistles that have made NASCAR North America’s most “Usually you get out of the car and the crowd is NASCAR will be back at Darlington Raceway on the opening lap. popular motor sport, on the track the race delivered as screaming and yelling ... today it was like, well, I don’t Wednesday for the second Cup race in four days. While Otherwise racing was free of major wrecks as drivers promised with plenty of bumper-to-bumper action. know really what to do here. “We got done, everybody the action on the track was familiar, everything else was quickly settled into their routines. “I have been around Harvick, winner of the 2007 Daytona 500, produced left.” For U.S. sports fans the Real Heroes 400 was the uncharted. this deal for a long time and this is not like anything I a masterful drive to pull away after a late restart to cross highlight of a weekend that saw sport slowly come back Teams, each allowed 16 members, arrived in the have experienced,” said Harvick. 2.15 seconds clear of Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch to to life after most events were shuttered mid-March by morning at designated times and temperatures were “It is very similar to coming back after 9/11 but that collect his 50th career Cup win. the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed over 88,000 screened before entering the infield. Only 900 essential day had 100,000 fans in the stands and now you have The 44-year-old driver celebrated his victory in what American lives. Following an Ultimate Fighting Champi- personnel were approved to be inside the gates. no fans.” — Reuters.