SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2014 SPORTS Leverkusen end Preview losing streak BERLIN: Second-placed Bayer Leverkusen Hanover 96’s revival under new coach Tayfun Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng firing broke their three-match losing streak with a 2-1 Korkut continued as they earned a 3-1 win over home the winner nine minutes from time. win at home to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga Borussia Moenchengladbach. Korkut’s team had The Royal Blues, who have lost just once in yesterday. picked up only their first away win of the season nine games, had taken an early lead after a Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok headed home last weekend by the same margin at Wolfsburg. scrappy goal was credited to Brazilian centre- Leverkusen’s winner six minutes from time. Striker Artjoms Rudnevs headed home his back Felipe Santana as both he and Boateng Stuttgart’s Moritz Leitner had given the visitors second goal in as many games for Hanover after lunged for the ball. an early lead before Bayer striker Stefan Kiessling the break, then Senegal striker Mame Diouf then Wolfsburg drew level despite being down to equalised in the first half. The result sees rose highest at the backpost to head home the 10 men, after Daniel Caligiuri was sent off for Leverkusen close the gap behind league leaders first of his two goals on 81 minutes. insulting the referee five minutes into the sec- ond-half, when teenager Maximilian Arnold fired home on 65 minutes. But Boateng then fired home the winner for his sixth goal of the season to give Schalke their LONDON: Arsenal’s Spanish defender Nacho Monreal. —AFP second straight win. Schalke face a tough run of matches with Hanover, Leverkusen and Mainz coming up before they host Real Madrid in the Wenger eyes Arsenal’s last 16 of the Champions League. There was a strong South Korean influence in Mainz’s 2-0 win at home to Freiburg as Park Joo- return to EPL summit Ho gave them a first-half lead. Compatriot Koo Ja- Cheol added the second as the three points lifted LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene up to six weeks with a recurrence of a Mainz to seventh. Werder Bremen’s poor form con- Wenger wants his side to apply pressure thigh problem. tinues as they suffered a 3-1 defeat at Augsburg on their Premier League title rivals by The Wales midfielder has been one of with the visitors finishing up with ten men. reclaiming top spot with victory over the stand-out performers for the An own goal gifted Bremen an early lead Crystal Palace today. Gunners this season, scoring 13 goals for they could not maintain. Midfielder Tobias The Gunners lost their place at the the north Londoners in all competitions. Werner equalised for Augsburg, then Bremen summit of the table to Manchester City He will miss crunch league fixtures in had defender Santiago Garcia sent off for a sec- following their mid-week 2-2 draw at February against Liverpool and ond yellow card just before the break. Southampton. Manchester United, the FA Cup fifth- Goals by Augsburg’s Turkey striker Halil While Arsenal dropped points at St round clash with Brendan Rodgers’s Altintop and midfielder Andre Hahn in the first Mary’s last Tuesday, City were rampant in men, and the mouth-watering ten minutes after the break sealed their win. The result left Bremen 12th in the league a 5-1 mauling of Tottenham Hotspur 24 Champions League last 16 first-leg tie while Augsburg stay ninth. Hamburg’s slump hours later. against Bayern Munich. continues as they were drubbed 3-0 at But Wenger hopes his men can get “He finished training normally, came Hoffenheim, leaving Bert van Marwijk’s side back to winning ways immediately at in and had pain. We checked in on the third from bottom as they suffered their fifth the Emirates Stadium against Tony Pulis’s scan and is was a recurrence of his mus- GERMANY: Leverkusen’s Roberto Hilbert (top) challenges for the ball with Stuttgart’s straight defeat. resurgent outfit. That will restore a two- cle problem,” Wenger said. Moritz Leitner during the German Bundesliga soccer match. —AP “Our biggest problem is that we concede point advantage for the Gunners over “Why did it happen? Have we not goals too easily,” mused Hamburg coach Bert nearest rivals City, who host third-place been cautious enough? We have Bayern Munich to ten points with the European There were three goals in the last 10 minutes van Marwijk. “The 2-0 was the turning point, we Chelsea tomorrow. respected the procedures. Maybe we champions hosting Eintracht Frankfurt today. as Borussia striker Peniel Mlapa grabbed a con- behaved like amateurs. “That’s our target,” Wenger said. “Can should have been a bit more cautious, “We didn’t start very well by conceding an solation goal on 84 minutes, while Diouf could “We have to be able to get through a game you win the next game if you give but it was not obvious.” early goal,” said Bayer coach Sami Hyypia, whose have finished with a hat-trick. without conceding a goal and shooting our- side had lost successively to strugglers Frankfurt, He had a great chance saved late on, then selves in the foot.” On Friday, Borussia absolutely everything? Yes, so let’s do it. Wenger reacted to Ramsey’s injury by Bremen and Freiburg. slammed home his second and Hanover’s third Dortmund picked up their first win in five “It is a great opportunity for us to win bringing in Sweden international mid- “The difference compared to the matches on 90 minutes to the delight of the home league games with a 2-1 victory at bottom side our game and respond to our draw at fielder Kim Kallstrom from Spartak against Freiburg and Bremen, which the team crowd. Eintracht Braunschweig with Gabon winger Southampton. Moscow on a short-term loan deal. had really wanted to win, was that we had more Schalke 04 moved up to fourth with a 2-1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring both “At the moment they (City) are on fire. Improving Palace have lost only twice structure in our game.” victory at home to ten-man VfL Wolfsburg with goals. —AFP But I believe we have just to focus on in their last six matches under new man- our own run because if you look at the ager Pulis, who has seen his side climb schedule, if we are consistent we have a to 14th place in the table. The south good chance to do it. London club brought a raft of new play- Aberdeen thrash St Johnstone “You cannot speculate on any weak- ers to the club before the January trans- ness in Man City in the coming months. fer window closed on Friday. GLASGOW: Aberdeen took a step closer to claim- the second minute. box before slipping the ball under the keeper for a So let’s focus on us, and our strengths, in Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, cen- ing their first trophy in 19 years following an However, the Dons and Rooney weren’t to be cool finish. the coming months. tre-back Scott Dann and midfielders Joe emphatic 4-0 win over St Johnstone in their denied a minute later when the January signing In the second half Gary McDonald saw his “It is the way we can do, if we keep Ledley and Tom Ince all arrived at League Cup semi-final clash at Tynecastle. from Oldham rolled the ball across goal for Jonny header come back off the post for St Johnstone the consistency and manage to win the Selhurst Park, while Jason Puncheon’s Jonny Hayes grabbed the first and final goals Hayes to turn home the opener. before the Dons added their third. Pawlett sent big games-one of them will be Man City loan move from Southampton was with Peter Pawlett and Adam Rooney adding the Saints responded well and Lee Croft looked set Rooney clear and the striker held his nerve to curl at home (on March 29). turned into a permanent transfer. others in between as Aberdeen reached their first to level matters when he got in behind the the ball beyond the advancing Banks. “Of course that will be very impor- “Obviously it was good business done major final since 2000. Aberdeen defence but he was foiled by a tremen- Andrew Considine sent his header off the cross It was sixth time lucky for the Dons, who had dous save from Jamie Langfield. bar for the Dons before Hayes grabbed his second tant. Of course they had an impressive by the football club and we just hope it failed at the semi-final stage in their five previous Aberdeen doubled their advantage - against of the match in the 79th minute. The forward jinxed win, and a great quality game as well at gels as quick as necessary to get us the attempts, who will now meet the winners of the run of play - in the 32nd minute when Pawlett in from the left before sending an angled shot Tottenham. points to keep us in the Premiership today’s match between Hearts and Inverness picked up a loose clearance and drove into the beyond Banks to seal the win. —AFP “But if you analyse it well, this game (Premier League),” Pulis told Sky Sports. Caledonian Thistle. Aberdeen manager Derek could have turned as well. All the turn- “The important thing was getting McInnes said his side deserved the win. Cagliari halt Fiorentina’s march ing points went in their favour.