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Bundesliga wrap: Mainz holds Bayern; Kruse bags four

By Nicholas MendolaApr 22, 2017, 2:56 PM EDT
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RB Leipzig has a chance to close the Bundesliga gap to six points after Bayern Munich dropped points to Mainz on Saturday.

[ FA CUP SEMI: Chelsea 4-2 Spurs ]

Despite hosting the match, the Allianz Arena needed a pair of equalizers to gain a point.

Bayern Munich 2-2 Mainz

A huge boost for the visitors, who likely didn’t expect this relegation safety aid. Stoke City loanee Bojan Krkic scored early and Daniel Brosinski converted a penalty to give Mainz 1-0 and 2-1 leads, but Arjen Robben and Thiago Alcantara arranged a point for the Bavarians.

Ingolstadt 2-4 Werder Bremen

Max Kruse scored not one, not two, not three, but four goals as once relegation-threatened Werder surged up the table and into sixth place. The visitors trailed 2-1 with 10 minutes to play when Kruse scored in the 81st, 87th, and fourth minute of stoppage time.

Borussia Monchengladbach 2-3 Borussia Dortmund

BVB overcame throwing away an early lead and conceding an own goal to climb into third place on goals from Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Raphael Guerreiro.

USMNT phenom Christian Pulisic went 90 minutes for BVB, won 10 duels and made more sprints (42) than anyone else in the match.

Koln 1-1 Hoffenheim

If you missed it Friday, this is how Kerem Demirbay nabbed the point which ensure Hoffenheim will make its first trip to European competition by virtue of a Top Six finish.

Elsewhere
Hertha Berlin 1-0 Wolfsburg – Ibisevic scores
Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 Augsburg – Two for El Tri’s Fabian
Hamburg 1-2 Darmstadt – Sulu, Platte with goals
Freiburg vs. Bayer Leverkusen – 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday
Schalke vs. RB Leipzig – 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday

Standings

 

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Home Away PTS
 Bayern Munich 30 21 7 2 73 17 56 11-4-0 10-3-2 70
 RB Leipzig 29 19 4 6 55 30 25 12-1-2 7-3-4 61
 Borussia Dortmund 30 16 8 6 65 35 30 11-3-0 5-5-6 56
 1899 Hoffenheim 30 14 13 3 57 32 25 10-5-0 4-8-3 55
 Hertha BSC Berlin 30 14 4 12 38 35 3 12-1-2 2-3-10 46
 Werder Bremen 30 12 6 12 50 51 -1 7-1-7 5-5-5 42
 1. FC Köln 30 10 11 9 43 37 6 7-6-2 3-5-7 41
 Eintracht Frankfurt 30 11 8 11 32 34 -2 7-6-2 4-2-9 41
 SC Freiburg 29 12 5 12 36 51 -15 8-1-5 4-4-7 41
 Mönchengladbach 30 11 6 13 39 44 -5 7-3-5 4-3-8 39
 FC Schalke 04 29 10 7 12 38 34 4 8-3-4 2-4-8 37
 Bayer Leverkusen 29 10 6 13 42 44 -2 5-5-5 5-1-8 36
 FSV Mainz 05 30 9 6 15 39 49 -10 6-4-5 3-2-10 33
 VfL Wolfsburg 30 9 6 15 30 43 -13 5-2-8 4-4-7 33
 Hamburger SV 30 9 6 15 30 55 -25 7-3-5 2-3-10 33
 FC Augsburg 30 8 8 14 29 49 -20 4-5-6 4-3-8 32
 FC Ingolstadt 04 30 8 4 18 33 54 -21 4-3-8 4-1-10 28
 Darmstadt 30 6 3 21 23 58 -35 5-3-7 1-0-14 21

Sheffield United battle past Crystal Palace

By Joe Prince-WrightAug 18, 2019, 10:56 AM EDT
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Sheffield United beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Sunday, as the Blades’ first home game back in the Premier League ended in victory.

[ MORE: Watch full PL match replays ] 

John Lundstram was the hero at Bramall Lane as his goal just after half time sealed all three points for the Yorkshire club, which was their first PL win since 2007.

Chris Wilder‘s side have now picked up four points from their first two games back in the big time, while Palace have yet to score across their opening two matches.

3 things we learned

1. Bramall Lane can become a fortress: The home fans created a wonderful atmosphere in their first PL home game since 2007, and they dragged their team over the line late on. As hefty challenges flew in and Chris Wilder wound up his players from the sidelines, this will be an intimidating place for teams to play. If the Blades are going to stay up, their home form needs to be very good and it seems like that is going to be the case.

2. Overlapping CBs a joy to watch: Chris Basham and Jack O'Connell marauding down the flanks was a joy to watch, and something we will see a lot from Sheffield United this season. Basham and O’Connell are encouraged to fly down the flanks and join attacks, with the holding midfielders sitting in for them and it certainly gives opponents a very different tactical headache to solve. O’Connell pushed forward down the left wing for United’s opening goal and the overload it created in a dangerous area worked superbly. Pretty soon a lot of other teams will be copying the Blades.

3. Wilfried Zaha not up to speed: In his first start of the season, Zaha spent most of the first half having a row with the home bench and fans. Roy Hodgson was hoping he would be focused after a summer-long saga which saw him state his desire to leave Palace, but moves to Arsenal and Everton both fell through. Zaha’s display on the pitch looked like a player who doesn’t really want to be at Palace. That is very worrying for the Eagles.

Man of the Match: Chris Basham – A dominant force in the air and on the ground, the center back held United’s defensive unit together and he epitomized their gritty display. The Blades’ longest-serving current player stood tall.

After a steady start to the game for both teams, Sheffield United started to cause plenty of problems as David McGoldrick had a shot blocked and Palace managed to scramble clear from a corner as the hosts built up a head of steam in the first half.

Callum Robinson struck an effort over the bar as the Blades dug deep and substitute Luke Freeman (who replaced the injured John Fleck) brought plenty of energy to the midfield battle.

The Blades should have taken the lead just before half time as Lundstram’s perfect cross the back post found McGoldrick but Vicente Guaita saved well.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ] 

Sheffield United got off to a perfect start in the second half as Jack O’Connell raced down the left flank and Freeman cut inside and sent a ball across goal which Guaita saved but the ball fell to Lundstram who slammed home to send Bramall Lane wild.

That opening goal sprung the game into life as Andros Townsend‘s deflected shot from distance was pushed out by Dean Henderson and even though Palace tried their best to get into the game, Sheffield United’s defense held firm.

Some meaty challenges flew in late on as substitute Ollie McBurnie made a nuisance of himself, as the home fans roared their team to victory.

Report: Alexis Sanchez pushing for Inter Milan loan

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By Joe Prince-WrightAug 18, 2019, 10:22 AM EDT
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A report from Italy states that Manchester United are in talks with Inter Milan over loaning Alexis Sanchez for the 2019-20 campaign.

Sanchez, 30, has reportedly asked United to send him to Inter for the upcoming season as the Chilean star has failed to settled at Old Trafford over the last 18 months and scored once in 20 Premier League appearances last season.

He has yet to play this season or over the summer after being injured playing for Chile in the Copa America this summer, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been positive about Sanchez whenever he’s spoken about him this summer and said wants to keep him at Man United.

However, per the report from Fabrizio Romano in Italy the former Arsenal star wants to head back to Serie A — where he started his career in Europe with Udinese — and Inter only want to pay $16.6 million to sign him permanently next summer when he will still have two years left on his contract at United.

With the summer transfer window still open in Germany, Spain and Italy until Sept. 2, this move is something to keep an eye on.

This is a big call for United.

Do they really want an unhappy and lackluster Sanchez around, blocking the pathway for the likes of Mason Greenwood to break into the first team?

Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard will provide goals and will be helped out by Juan Mata and Greenwood, but if one of Rashford or Martial gets injured, Solskjaer’s attacking options diminish quite rapidly.

Selling Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan already has them down a senior striker and if they have to subsidize Sanchez’s huge wages just to send him out on loan, is it really worth it?

After VAR drama, does new handball law need to change?

By Joe Prince-WrightAug 18, 2019, 9:39 AM EDT
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The fallout from Manchester City and Tottenham’s wild 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium continues, as late VAR drama stole the show with Gabriel Jesus‘ strike ruled out deep into second half stoppage time.

[ MORE: VAR drama dominates ] 

Jesus’ goal in stoppage time was ruled out for a handball on Aymeric Laporte after being checked by VAR, as the new laws brought in by IFAB this summer were interpreted correctly. The exact same thing happened as Wolves had a goal chalked out against Leicester during the opening weekend of the season.

But do those new laws need to be tweaked?

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ] 

The new rules state that if there’s a handball in the box from an attacking player which either a) leads to the ball going into the net or b) leads directly to a goal being scored, then it will be called a handball.

However, the same law states that if a defending player handles in the box then it is down to the referees discretion to decide whether or not it was a deliberate handball.

As you’d expected, Man City midfielder Ilkay Gunodgan has strong feelings on this law change, and our broadcast crew discuss whether or not this law needs to be changed in the video above.

The overall feeling is that the law needs to tweaking to state that handballs in the box by either attacking or defending players are treated the same and called a handball.

Watch Live: Sheffield United v. Crystal Palace

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By Joe Prince-WrightAug 18, 2019, 8:50 AM EDT
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Sheffield United host Crystal Palace at Bramall Lane on Sunrday (Watch live, 9 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com) as the Blades fans will enjoy their first home game back in the Premier League.

WATCH LIVE ONLINE

Chris Wilder, the lifelong United fan who is now their manager, will be emotional and fans of the Yorkshire club will create a heated atmosphere for opponents to visit this season.

In team news Sheffield United are unchanged from the team which drew at Bournemouth last week, with club captain Billy Sharp on the bench.

Crystal Palace bring in star man Wilfried Zaha who starts up top

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