SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2013 SPORTS Real ease past Malaga MADRID: Gareth Bale got his first taste of being on a win- ning side at the Santiago Bernabeu as Real Madrid moved to within two points of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid with a 2-0 win over Malaga yesterday. After Angel di Maria’s intended cross had found the back of the net to give Madrid the lead just after half-time, the Welshman was introduced for the final 13 minutes on his return from a thigh injury. And it was Bale who was brought down by Weligton in stoppage time to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to seal the three points from the GERMANY: Bayern’s Bastian Schweinsteiger (left) and Mainz’s Junior Diaz of Costa penalty spot. Rica (center) challenge for the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga soc- It was a much improved all cer match. —AP round performance from Madrid, who were only denied a far more comfortable margin Bayern close in on record of victory due to a series of wonderful saves by Malaga BERLIN: Bayern Munich extended their Hoffenheim. keeper Willy Caballero. unbeaten Bundesliga run to 34 games yes- The German Football Federation (DFB) terday by coming from behind for a 4-1 are set to investigate while Hoffenheim “The game today was good, home win over Mainz to go back top of the have called for a replay after Stefan I liked the attitude of the Bundesliga. Kiessling’s 70th-minute winner came in team. We defended well, were Having last lost in the German league bizarre circumstances. more aggressive and com- SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo (centre) misses a chance as he faces Malaga’s goalkeeper Wilfredo back in October 2012, Bayern are now just Replays showed his header only ended pact,” said Madrid boss Carlo Caballero (left) during a Spanish La Liga soccer match. —AP two matches short of Hamburg’s 30-year- in the back of the net after flying through a Ancelotti. old, 36-match streak. hole in the side netting and a DFB sports “We had opportunities to we have three days to make a Maria’s cross and Caballero by Caballero as the hosts Bayern were punished for a poor first- court is set to meet tomorrow. score more goals and I hope in decision.” was again called into action by looked to put the game to half in Munich when Mainz striker Shawn Hertha Berlin went fourth after their 1-0 the games to come we can And Ancelotti also con- Ronaldo as the pressure con- bed. And the hosts were near- Parker fired home after capitalising on a win at home to Borussia maintain the same intensity.” firmed that the French interna- tinued to build. ly made to pay for their profli- mistake by centre-back Jerome Boateng. Moenchengladbach with Colombia’s The victory was a fine start to tional duo of Karim Benzema The opener did finally arrive gacy when substitute Bobley But Bayern roared back when Germany Adrian Ramos scoring the winner in the a hugely important week for and Raphael Varane should be less than 60 seconds after the Anderson’s fierce effort flew midfielder Mario Goetze came off the capital with a first-half header. Madrid as they host Juventus fit in time to face Juventus. interval in somewhat fortu- inches past Diego Lopez’s left bench for the second-half and played a key Schalke, who host Chelsea in the in the Champions League on In Benzema’s absence due itous circumstances as hand post with 13 minutes part in the hosts’ first three second-half Champions League on Tuesday, needed a Wednesday before facing to a calf injury, Alvaro Morata Ronaldo just failed to get on remaining. Ronaldo was goals. 91st-minute winner from Roman Barcelona at the Camp Nou on started up front and the the end of Di Maria’s cross but denied again by Caballero “We really, really struggled in the first Neustaedter to seal a 3-2 win at bottom Saturday. Spanish under-21 internation- the ball sailed into the far cor- when it seemed easier to score half and we tended to lack concentration,” side Eintracht Braunschweig. Bale had been kept in al was highly involved in the ner in any case. four minutes later and the admitted Bayern captain Philipp Lahm. Having only picked up their first win of reserve from the start due to first period as Madrid did Isco should have doubled Argentine produced his best “It happens frequently after internation- the season a fortnight ago against his lack of match practice, but everything but score. the advantage moments later save yet seconds afterwards to al breaks, and we need to get a grip on it as Wolfsburg, Braunschweig gave Schalke an Ronaldo saw a curling effort against his old club, but turn Jese Rodriguez’s sweetly soon as we can. “We switched things almighty scare before Germany’s Ancelotti believes he will be around a little after that and it paid off, but Neustaedter hit the winner. ready to play 90 minutes later come off the top of the bar Caballero got down well to struck effort behind. However, credit to Mainz, they made life very difficult Borussia Dortmund, who are at Arsenal in the week. after just seven minutes and parry his effort to safety. he was powerless to stop for us.” on Tuesday in the Champions League, “He could start, it is an then ought to have opened Morata then saw a glancing Ronaldo’s perfect penalty Goetze made the difference and his stayed second with a hard-fought 1-0 win option that we have, I don’t the scoring when he skewed header flash between Ronaldo deep into stoppage time after dream pass through to Arjen Robben at home to Hanover 96. think he will have any prob- wide with just Caballero to and the far post from Isco’s Bale had induced a reckless allowed the winger to equalise on 50 min- Germany winger Marco Reus hit the lems playing from the start. beat. Morata headed straight corner and the Portuguese challenge from Weligton utes and two minutes later, Goetze com- winning penalty after just four minutes We will see what happens, but at the Malaga keeper from Di saw a free-kick clawed away inside the area. —AFP bined with the Dutchman for Germany’s when Hanover’s Japan defender Hiroki Thomas Mueller to fire home to make it 2-0. Sakai fouled left-back Erik Durm in the area. With Bayern finally making their 80 per- Sakai was shown a yellow card for the cent possession pay off, Goetze fired in a foul and Reus blasted home the spot kick cross for Mario Mandzukic to score their as Dortmund picked up the three points. “I Ibrahimovic, Cavani propel third on 69 minutes. am happy with the result, we knew it And when Bayern vice-captain Bastian would be difficult,” said Dortmund coach Schweinsteiger was fouled in the area, Jurgen Klopp. “We started well, but then PSG back to Ligue 1 summit Mueller stepped up to drill home the got weaker, but for me it was decisive that penalty for his second of the game eight the lads dealt with the situation. “We can minutes from time to make it 4-1. play better football and we will.” PARIS: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and “We were like a 1970s VW Beetle and Borussia stay second and level on 22 Edinson Cavani both struck twice you can’t dream of winning a race against a points with third-placed Leverkusen, just a to inspire Paris Saint-Germain to a Formula One car,” admitted Mainz coach point behind Bayern. Second-from-bottom comfortable 4-0 victory over hap- Thomas Tuchel. Freiburg picked up a point with a goalless less Bastia and lift the capital side Bayern’s win put them back on top of draw at Werder Bremen, while Eintracht three points clear in Ligue 1 yes- the Bundesliga after Bayer Leverkusen had Frankfurt drew 1-1 at home to Nuremberg. terday. Ibrahimovic opened the briefly gone top on Friday thanks to a con- Today, Hamburg host VfB Stuttgart and scoring after only 10 minutes and troversial ‘phantom’ goal in their 2-1 win at Augsburg are home to Wolfsburg.—AFP added a second three minutes later which broke the game wide open and put PSG in command against their Corsican visitors. Super sub Forrest Cavani then added a brilliant third and a late penalty to carry Laurent Blanc’s unbeaten side to rescues Celtic their seventh win in ten outings. “We started really well and EDINBURGH: Substitute James Forrest res- Kayal and Georgios Samaras returned to the played a good match because the cued a point for Celtic as they warmed up starting line-up. coach rested several players, so to for their midweek Champions League Both sides failed to create any meaning- win 4-0 ahead of the trip to match against Ajax with a 1-1 draw with ful chances early on as they struggled on Anderlecht (Champions League Hibernian at Easter Road. the slippery Easter Road pitch due to the on Wednesday) is not too bad,” Hibs took the lead in controversial cir- torrential rain conditions in Edinburgh said PSG’s French midfielder cumstances in the 18th minute when Paul before Hibernian took a controversial lead. Adrien Rabiot. Heffernan, who looked offside, poked the A slack pass from Virgil van Dijk was inter- ball through the legs of Fraser Forster after cepted by Thomson, who won a tackle with “We had some players sus- Kevin Thomson had sent him one-on-one Scott Brown to prod the ball forward for pended and others who came off with the keeper.