MUNICH: A 10-man Bayern Munich went unpunished for a shock 3-2 home defeat to Bochum on Saturday after title chasers Bayer Leverkusen were beaten 2-0 by Werder Bremen.
Despite the loss, just Bayern’s second of the season, the Bavarians still hold an eight-point lead over defending champions Leverkusen with nine games to play.
Leverkusen’s woes were deepened with an injury to star midfielder Florian Wirtz, who limped off after a rough challenge having played just 14 second-half minutes.
With an eye on Tuesday’s return leg in the Champions League last 16 against Leverkusen, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany named a heavily changed XI, including leaving striker Harry Kane on the bench.
Bayern midfielder Raphael Guerreiro’s 14th minute goal, when the Portuguese hammered a loose ball into the net, had Bayern on track before Serge Gnabry missed a 21st-minute penalty.
With Kane, who has converted his past 30 penalties in a row, sitting on the bench, Gnabry stepped up but hit the ball against the post.
Guerreiro however scored again with a rare header on the 28-minute mark, just three minutes before Bochum’s Jakov Medic pulled one back with an unstoppable rocket.
Bochum were given hope when Bayern’s Joao Palhinha saw red for sinking his studs into Giorgos Masouras’s ankle just before half-time.
Ibrahima Sissoko headed Bochum level six minutes into the second half and Matus Bero put the underdogs in front 71 minutes in, going the length of the field to knock in a Philipp Hofmann pass.
Bochum’s surprise victory, their first win in Munich since 1991, took them three points clear of the automatic relegation placings.
Leverkusen were down after just seven minutes when Romano Schmid tapped in from close range.
With Leverkusen failing to click, coach Xabi Alonso brought Wirtz from the bench at halftime, but the Germany midfielder was brutally fouled eight minutes afterwards and limped from the field.
Any injury to Wirtz, the club’s talisman and best player this season, would be a serious blow to Alonso’s side, particularly ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League match against Bayern, who hold a 3-0 lead from the first leg.
Borussia Dortmund’s slim chances of reaching the top four took a hit with a 1-0 home loss to Augsburg, with Jeffery Gouweleeuw’s first half header the only goal in the game.
Dortmund were toothless in attack and offered little against an in-form Augsburg, who have conceded just three goals in the league in 2025 — the best mark in Europe.
Dortmund, last season’s Champions League finalists, sit 10th in the league, seven points off the top four.
Elsewhere, St. Pauli scored their first goal in five matches in a 1-1 draw at Wolfsburg, going two points clear of the relegation playoff spot.
Fellow promoted side Holstein Kiel also picked up a point with a hard-fought 2-2 home win over Stuttgart.
Later on Saturday, Freiburg host RB Leipzig.
Bayern unpunished for shock loss as Leverkusen fall to defeat
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Bayern unpunished for shock loss as Leverkusen fall to defeat
- Despite the loss, just Bayern’s second of the season, the Bavarians still hold an eight-point lead over defending champions Leverkusen with nine games to play
- Leverkusen’s woes were deepened with an injury to star midfielder Florian Wirtz
Al-Ain set to host fourth UAE National MMA Championship
- The event will take place on May 24-25 at ADNEC Centre Al-Ain
ABU DHABI: The UAE Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts Federation will host the fourth UAE National MMA Championship at ADNEC Centre Al-Ain on May 24 and 25.
The event is expected to draw around 300 male and female athletes from across the UAE, representing various age categories and clubs.
The federation’s decision to organize the event in Al-Ain Region is part of an initiative to popularize mixed martial arts across the UAE. It also seeks to expand the sport’s grassroots base and provide a professional setting for young athletes to improve their technical and physical talents.
The championship features multiple divisions, including Youth D (ages 10–11), Youth C (ages 12–13), Youth B (ages 14–15), Youth A (ages 16–17), and the adult category (ages 18 and above), offering athletes a platform to compete, improve, and progress toward elite-level representation.
Mohammed Jassim Al-Hosani, a member of the federation’s Mixed Martial Arts Committee, said: “The UAE National MMA Championship, which has five rounds throughout the year, is vital to our championship calendar. Its growth in participation and geographic variety highlights the success of our nationwide development initiatives.
“Hosting this round in Al-Ain shows our commitment to inclusivity and equal opportunity for athletes nationwide. With the inclusion of the adults division, the championship’s intensity is increased, and athletes are exposed to a variety of competitive methods and skill sets.”
France's Caroline Garcia says will retire from tennis
PARIS: France’s former world number four Caroline Garcia said on Friday she will retire from tennis, with the French Open starting this weekend her last time at Roland Garros.
An 11-time title winner on the WTA tour and former French Open women’s doubles champion, Garcia wrote on social media that she has “a few tournaments left” and will then call it quits.
“Dear tennis, it’s time to say goodbye,” the 31-year-old said.
“After 15 years competing at the highest level, and more than 25 years putting pretty much every second of my life into it, I feel ready to start a new chapter.”
Garcia has earned nearly $19 million in prize money and won the season-ending 2022 World Tour Finals, seen as the next rung down from Grand Slams.
That same year she won the French Open doubles title for the second time with compatriot Kristina Mladenovic.
Her best run in singles at a major was the semifinals of the US Open, also in 2022.
She reached a career-high four in the world but is now ranked 145th.
“My tennis journey hasn’t always been easy. Since my early days, tennis has been much more than just winning or losing. It’s been love or hate. Happiness or anger,” she wrote.
“But now it’s time for something else. My body and my personal goals need it.
“Still, this is not over — not just yet. I have a few tournaments left,” she said.
The first will be at Roland Garros when the tournament starts on Sunday.
UEFA apologizes after running out of medals during Europa League final ceremony
- Spurs captain Son Heung-min and two other players, the last to line up for individual medals, were left empty-handed
- Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the club’s fourth European title on Wednesday
UEFA has apologized for running out of winners medals during the Europa League final trophy ceremony on Wednesday after more Tottenham Hotspur players than expected lined up to receive their individual prizes.
Spurs captain Son Heung-min and two other players, the last to line up for individual medals, were left empty-handed after their team beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the club’s fourth European title on Wednesday.
Son lifted the trophy without a medal around his neck.
“To our great displeasure, we did not have enough medals available on stage during the trophy ceremony presentation due to an unexpected discrepancy in the player count ...” British media quoted European soccer’s governing body as saying on Thursday.
“More team members – including injured players – participated in the ceremony than initially anticipated.
“The missing medals were promptly delivered to the winning team in the dressing room, along with our sincerest apologies for the oversight.”
Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder to 2-0 lead over Minnesota
- Gilgeous-Alexander was presented with his MVP award on court before the game but any suggestions that the celebrations would distract from the task at hand quickly evaporated
- OKC head to Minnesota on the back of their 60th win by double figures this season and in buoyant mood
WASHINGTON: Newly crowned NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder to an imposing 118-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to open up a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals on Thursday.
Gilgeous-Alexander was presented with his MVP award on court before the game but any suggestions that the celebrations would distract from the task at hand quickly evaporated.
Roared on by a loud and passionate home crowd, the Canadian top-scored for the Thunder with 38 points and added eight assists and three rebounds.
OKC head to Minnesota on the back of their 60th win by double figures this season and in buoyant mood.
The Timberwolves will take some encouragement from a strong showing from Anthony Edwards, who after disappointing in Game 1, posted 32 points with six assists and nine rebounds.
But if they are to fight their way back into this series they will need to tighten up their defense, improve on 41.4 percent field-goal shooting and get more out of Julius Randle who was restricted to six points.
After a tight first half, the game was won by a blistering third quarter from the Thunder, who outscored Minnesota by 14 points.
A Chet Holmgren alley-oop dunk with 2:54 left in the quarter opened up a 17-point 82-65 lead.
Although the Timberwolves were able to reduce the deficit to 10 points in the fourth, the outcome was never in real doubt.
Jalen Williams had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Holmgren added 22 points for the Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander said the team’s ability to go on strong runs had its roots in their strong defense.
“It feels good. It starts with getting stops though, it always does. We get stops, we’re able to play fast, play to our strengths, play in the open court, be special,” he said.
Anti-doping bodies condemn ‘dangerous’ drug-fueled Enhanced Games
- The Enhanced Games will be staged in Las Vegas in May 2026, with athletes participating in three sports — athletics, swimming and weightlifting
- Aron D’Souza, the Australian entrepreneur who is the founder of the event, says the Enhanced Games are an exercise in testing the boundaries of human performance
LOS ANGELES: Anti-doping bodies on Thursday condemned plans for the first edition of the Enhanced Games in Las Vegas, an Olympics-style event where athletes will be free to use performance-enhancing drugs.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and bodies across the world have taken aim at the event after organizers revealed the date, venue and format for the competition.
The Enhanced Games will be staged in Las Vegas in May 2026, with athletes participating in three sports — athletics, swimming and weightlifting.
Athletes will be allowed to use drugs which are banned across international sport such as steroids and human growth hormones, with winners of each event receiving $250,000, and a bonus of $1 million for anyone who breaks a world record.
Aron D’Souza, the Australian entrepreneur who is the founder of the event, says the Enhanced Games are an exercise in testing the boundaries of human performance.
“The Enhanced Games is renovating the Olympic model for the 21st century,” D’Souza said on Wednesday as details of the games were revealed.
“We are here to move humanity forward,” D’Souza said. “The old rules didn’t just hold back athletes, they held back humanity.
“We are not just organizing competition, we are in the business of unlocking human potential. We are the vanguard of super-humanity.”
The Enhanced Games will take place from May 21-24 at the Resorts World hotel in Las Vegas.
Swimming will hold 100m and 50m freestyle events, along with 100m and 50m butterfly.
Athletics events include the 100m and 100m and 110m hurdles. Weightlifters will compete in the snatch and clean & jerk disciplines.
WADA, the global anti-doping watchdog, on Thursday condemned plans for the event as “dangerous,” voicing concern it could lead athletes around the world to dabble in illicit substances with potentially deadly consequences
“WADA condemns the Enhanced Games as a dangerous and irresponsible concept,” the agency said in a statement. “The health and well-being of athletes is WADA’s No. 1 priority.
“Clearly this event would jeopardize that as it seeks to promote the use of powerful substances and methods by athletes for the purposes of entertainment and marketing.
“There have been many examples of athletes suffering serious long-term side-effects from their use of prohibited substances and methods. Some have died.”
Travis Tygart, the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), said the event was a “dangerous clown show that puts profit over principle.”
Australia’s anti-doping body, Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), also condemned the risks posed to athletes participating in the Enhanced Games.
“We work to ensure that sport is safe and fair to all,” SIA chief executive Sarah Benson said in a statement. “The Enhanced Games is promoting the complete opposite and poses a significant risk to athlete health and safety.”
USADA’s chief science officer, Matt Fedoruk, highlighted that many substances had been banned in conventional sporting events because they were proven to be dangerous.
“These things aren’t just banned because they’re effective at making athletes stronger or faster,” Fedoruk said in a post on USADA’s website.
“Many are banned because they’ve been proven to be dangerous for athletes, with some harmful side effects being potentially irreversible.”
Enhanced Games founder D’Souza however has pushed back on those criticisms, insisting that the competition would be conducted “safely.”
“We live in a world transformed by science — from vaccines to AI,” said D’Souza.
“But sport has stood still. Until today. We are not updating the rulebook — we are rewriting it. And we’re doing it safely, ethically, and boldly.”
The Enhanced Games have received financial backing from investors who include billionaire PayPal founder Peter Thiel as well as investment firm 1789 Capital, in which Donald Trump Jr. is a partner.
