Established 1961 15 Tuesday, January 5, 2021 Sports Lewandowski nets twice; Bayern Munich roar back to stun Mainz Sancho shines as Dortmund beat Wolfsburg 2-0 BERLIN: Robert Lewandowski netted twice as minute before the break. Flick substituted Boateng Bayern Munich roared back from two goals down to for Suele and switched Kimmich from midfield to earn a 5-2 home win over Mainz on Sunday which right-back for the second period. The result was put the European champions back at the top of the almost instant as Kimmich headed Bayern’s first goal Bundesliga. Mainz’s 2-0 half-time lead was wiped out on 50 minutes, then set up Sane to score six minutes within 10 minutes of the restart as Bayern netted five later. unanswered second-half goals at the Allianz Arena. On his 21st birthday, Mainz midfielder Leandro The result leaves Bayern two points clear of second- Barreiro had an own goal overturned when VAR placed RB Leipzig, who had gone top after their 1-0 spotted an offside Bayern player. “We were lucky win at Stuttgart on Saturday. that Mainz didn’t score the third goal,” Kimmich later Accoring to Bayern coach Hansi Flick, the fight admitted. However, the goals kept flowing as Suele back should give them “self-confidence” to tackle tapped home a corner on 70 minutes. Lewandowski their congested fixture list in the coming weeks. then converted a penalty on 76 minutes after Serge Mainz caretaker coach Jan Siewert insisted his side Gnabry had to be helped off after being fouled in a gave their all, but “you have to respect Bayern’s qual- heavy tackle. The Poland striker added his second, ity”. Joshua Kimmich marked his return from a knee and Bayern’s fifth, from close range seven minutes injury by bagging Bayern’s first, with Leroy Sane and from time. Niklas Suele scoring before Lewandowski added two more goals to increase his league tally to 19. Sancho ends goal drought Lewandowski, named last month as FIFA’s player of Earlier, England winger Jadon Sancho scored his the year, has now netted 22 times in all competitions first Bundesliga goal this season to seal a 2-0 win for for Bayern this season. Borussia Dortmund at home against Wolfsburg to “In the second half we came out with a completely breathe life back into his side’s fading title hopes. different attitude,” Kimmich told Sky. “We always After crashing to a shock 2-1 defeat at Union Berlin know that we can turn games around, but of course it before the league’s two-week winter hiatus, costs a lot of effort.” Bayern were in trouble at the Dortmund saw off a spirited Wolfsburg side. break after second-from-bottom Mainz clinically took Dortmund finally broke the deadlock at Signal Iduna MUNICH: Mainz’s German defender Daniel Brosinski (Bottom) fouls Bayern Munich’s French mid- their chances. Their striker Jonathan Burkardt nudged Park when Manuel Akanji’s powerful header hit the fielder Corentin Tolisso during the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Bayern Munich v Mainz 05 on January 3, 2021. —AFP Jerome Boateng, who was knocked off balance while net on 66 minutes before Sancho broke clear to leaping for the ball, and sprinted away before firing score their second in added time. Having occasionally the visitors into a shock lead on 32 minutes. struggled this season, the 20-year-old Sancho the ball went in,” Akanji told Sky. Dortmund moved several chances before coming off with 10 minutes Boateng was booked for furiously arguing he had capped a fine display in style after also providing the up to fourth, eight points behind leaders Bayern. left. Wolfsburg were unlucky not to be awarded a been fouled, but the goal was allowed to stand after a corner from which Akanji scored. Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland returned from penalty after the ball struck the hand of Dortmund lengthy review. Mainz doubled their lead when cen- “It wasn’t an easy win, but we stayed calm and I’m a hip injury after missing the previous seven games. midfielder Axel Witsel, but no spot-kick was awarded tre-back Alexander Hack headed home a free-kick a pleased that Sancho put in such a good corner and Although short of match fitness, he went close with after a long review. —AFP if Lampard has always cautioned Lampard testing Abramovich’s Chelsea will need more time to match the standards set by Liverpool and City in recent seasons. “The expectations are patience amid Chelsea collapse different this year because everyone Africa roundup: Red looks and says ‘you spent this amount of LONDON: Frank Lampard knows the more than Chelsea’s position of eighth money’,” Lampard said after a fourth demands of being a Chelsea manager in the table nearly halfway through the cards as Uganda hold defeat in six games. under Roman Abramovich more than season. Patience has not been a virtue “The reality is a lot of the players most having played for nine different of the Russian’s 18-year reign as that have come in are new, young, Cameroon in warm-up coaches during his playing career at Chelsea owner and even a club legend Frank Lampard Stamford Bridge. Now Lampard is the like Lampard, who is the club’s all-time have been injured, or not played JOHANNESBURG: Uganda drew 1-1 with host man in the firing line after Sunday’s 3-1 top goalscorer, is unlikely to be afforded together. There are a lot of expecta- country Cameroon in a fiery African Nations defeat to Manchester City capped a run much more time to turn the situation tions that are not real.” But the man- Leicester, Aston Villa and Everton, leav- Championship (CHAN) warm-up match despite of one win in six games that looks to around. The Athletic reported on ner of defeat to a City side depleted ing Lampard with the lowest points- having a player sent off after only 12 minutes. Ben have extinguished any hope of a Premier Sunday that Chelsea are already lining by coronavirus infections and who per-game tally of any manager in the Ocen was shown a straight red card following his League title challenge. Much more was up suitable candidates should the 42- have struggled to score goals this sea- Abramovich era. The former England reckless challenge on Alfred Meyong at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, the 42,500-capacity national sta- expected of the Blues after a £220 mil- year-old be sacked. son, offered little sign of what international’s relationship with his dium in Yaounde. Cameroon went ahead through Lampard is trying to build towards. players has also been questioned since lion ($300 million) spending spree in the Banga Bindjelme just a minute after Uganda were transfer market at a time when most of Great expectations Chelsea’s failure to launch a title chal- his public rebuke of their attitude and reduced to 10 men, but Milton Karisa leveled on 70 European football’s major powers were Lampard does have some credit in lenge is all the more disappointing as commitment in a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal minutes and the home side had Basile Yamkam red- scaling back due to the economic effects the bank from his first season in charge, Liverpool and City’s standards have last weekend has not summoned the carded in the final minute. Here, AFP Sport rounds of the coronavirus pandemic. which took the club back into the dropped in an unusual season, open- response he hoped for. Instead there up African football news. After bankrolling the purchases of Champions League despite a transfer ing the door to the chasing pack. were more examples of lethargy as Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Hakim ban and the sale of Eden Hazard to Real As Manchester United and Ziyech watched on, while Kevin De Cameroon Ziyech, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Madrid. But expectations have changed Tottenham have stepped forward to Bruyne surged past him to score City’s Cameroon will face Niger and Zambia in other Mendy, Abramovich will have expected since the summer spending spree, even close the gap, Chelsea are trailing third goal inside 35 minutes. —AFP friendly matches as the central African nation pre- pares to host a major Confederation of African who in 2016 became the only club from outside the financially with the biggest clubs, they can make Football (CAF) male tournament for the first time Leicester can upset ‘Big Six’ to win the league title since 1995 - are a their presence felt on the pitch. since 1972. The Nations Championship kicks off on point behind leaders Liverpool, who visit “We want to be a team that, year on year, can January 16 in Yaounde with a Group A clash Southampton later on Monday, and second-placed get European football,” said Rodgers. “Our job is, between Cameroon and Zimbabwe, and Burkina the Premier League Manchester United. can we disrupt the hierarchy? We might not finan- Faso and Mali meet later in the second half of a dou- ble-header. Group winners and runners-up advance Leicester have played a game more than several cially - we don’t have the finances to go and get to the quarter-finals of a tournament reserved for established order of their rivals in a wide-open title race, with just that £70 million ($96 million), £80m, £90m play- footballers playing in their country of birth. seven points separating Liverpool and United from er-but we can in a football way.” Rodgers said his LONDON: Leicester have the potential to disrupt West Ham in 10th.