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Bundesliga wrap: Bayern keeps Schalke reeling; Hertha wins

By Nicholas MendolaSep 22, 2018, 3:04 PM EDT
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Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin both stayed unbeaten ahead of Friday’s match-up in Berlin, with the former adding to Schalke’s league woes with an away win.

[ RECAP: Spurs snap skid ]

Also some American kid scored again for Borussia Dortmund.

Schalke 0-2 Bayern Munich

Schalke had a chance to turn around its season following an 0-2 with a visit from the presumptive champions.

Didn’t happen.

Bayern outshot Schalke 14-10 at Veltins-Arena, getting an early goal from James Rodriguez and a Robert Lewandowski penalty to keep Schalke winless.

USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie was pulled off after 54 minutes, completing just four of his nine attempted passes.

Hertha Berlin 4-2 Borussia Monchengladbach

The big man was at it again. Vedad Ibisevic canceled out the visitors’ early lead with a 31st minute marker and then scored again in the 63rd minute as the second place side doubled up Gladbach at the Olympiastadion.

Hertha is one of five teams with a zero in the loss column, and sits two points back of Bayern.

Hoffenheim 1-1 Borussia Dortmund

Meanwhile, McKennie’s USMNT teammate saved a point for Schalke’s rivals. Down a man and a goal, BVB got this equalizer from Christian Pulisic late on to get a point.

Elsewhere
Stuttgart 0-0 Fortuna Dusseldorf — Friday
Wolfsburg 1-3 Freiburg
Nurnberg 2-0 Hannover 96
Augsburg 2-3 Werder Bremen
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Mainz — 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. RB Leipzig — Noon ET Sunday

STANDINGS

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Home Away PTS
 Bayern Munich 4 4 0 0 11 2 9 2-0-0 2-0-0 12
 Hertha BSC Berlin 4 3 1 0 9 4 5 2-0-0 1-1-0 10
 Borussia Dortmund 4 2 2 0 8 3 5 2-0-0 0-2-0 8
 Werder Bremen 4 2 2 0 7 5 2 0-2-0 2-0-0 8
 FSV Mainz 05 3 2 1 0 4 2 2 2-0-0 0-1-0 7
 VfL Wolfsburg 4 2 1 1 8 7 1 1-1-1 1-0-0 7
 Mönchengladbach 4 2 1 1 7 6 1 2-0-0 0-1-1 7
 1. FC Nürnberg 4 1 2 1 4 3 1 1-1-0 0-1-1 5
 Fortuna Düsseldorf 4 1 2 1 4 4 0 1-0-1 0-2-0 5
 1899 Hoffenheim 4 1 1 2 6 7 -1 1-1-0 0-0-2 4
 FC Augsburg 4 1 1 2 6 7 -1 0-1-1 1-0-1 4
 SC Freiburg 4 1 1 2 7 9 -2 0-1-1 1-0-1 4
 RB Leipzig 3 1 1 1 5 7 -2 1-1-0 0-0-1 4
 Eintracht Frankfurt 3 1 0 2 4 5 -1 0-0-1 1-0-1 3
 Hannover 96 4 0 2 2 3 6 -3 0-1-0 0-1-2 2
 VfB Stuttgart 4 0 2 2 3 7 -4 0-1-1 0-1-1 2
 Bayer Leverkusen 3 0 0 3 2 8 -6 0-0-1 0-0-2 0
 FC Schalke 04 4 0 0 4 2 8 -6 0-0-2 0-0-2 0

Pulisic nabs equalizer for 10-man Dortmund (video)

AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert
By Nicholas MendolaSep 22, 2018, 11:27 AM EDT
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Borussia Dortmund was down a goal, then a man.

Fortunately, Marco Reus and Christian Pulisic are wearing black and yellow.

[ WATCH: Pogba’s otherworldly assist ]

BVB came back for a point after Abdou Diallo was shown red with 15 minutes to play in Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Pulisic then showed his supreme poacher’s instincts when Reus slid a ball into the six with six minutes plus stoppage to go at Rhein-Neckar Arena.

It’s Pulisic’s second goal in the week of his 20th birthday, having scored against Club Brugge in the Champions League at midweek.

Joelinton scored for Hoffenheim. The Pulisic goal and red card offense are below.

Bayern unhappy with opponents’ rough style in Bundesliga

AP Photo/Matthias Schrade
Associated PressSep 20, 2018, 10:19 PM EDT
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BERLIN (AP) Bayern Munich wants more protection from referees.

The defending champions lost French midfielder Corentin Tolisso and Brazilian defender Rafinha to injuries sustained in last weekend’s win over Bayer Leverkusen. Both club president Uli Hoeness and chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge have called for a reaction from the German soccer federation.

[ MORE: Europa League wrap ]

“It can’t go on like this. Otherwise we won’t have any players after the 10th round or we won’t be able to get 11 players together,” Rummenigge said ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga match against Schalke in Gelsenkirchen.

Tolisso was ruled out for several months after rupturing a cruciate ligament and the medial meniscus in his right knee, while Rafinha is out for several weeks with a partial tear of ligaments in his left ankle after a bad challenge from Karim Bellarabi, who was sent off.

Bellarabi, who apologized after the match, was subsequently banned for four games and fined 10,000 euros ($11,750).

After the game, Hoeness had called for Bellarabi to be banned for “three months – for stupidity.”

Bayern already lost French winger Kingsley Coman to injury in its first home game of the season, after which Rummenigge accused Hoffenheim of playing “football in a wild-west manner.”

Bayern coach Niko Kovac said his side was “fair game” for others to target with hard challenges.

It was different when Kovac was in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt from March 8, 2016, to June 30, 2018. No side committed more fouls per game (15.4) than Frankfurt in that time.

[ MORE: Top 5 Premier League storylines for Week 6 ]

Contrary to Bayern’s claims, both Kicker magazine and the Bild tabloid reported that promoted teams Nuremberg and Fortuna Duesseldorf, and Wolfsburg, all were fouled more the defending champions in the opening three games of the season.

Bayern’s 36 fouls is the same as Leipzig and Stuttgart, and its average of 12 per game is marginally below the average for last season.

Bayern’s players are more relaxed about the issue after winning their opening three league games and making winning starts in the German Cup and Champions League.

“I don’t think it’s so extreme,” Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich said.

On Saturday, the team can expect committed opponents again. Schalke, which finished runner-up last season, is looking for its first win after starting with three losses.

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More AP Bundesliga coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/Bundesliga and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Report: USMNT’s Zimmerman has interest from Premier League, Europe

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaSep 20, 2018, 8:08 PM EDT
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American center back Walker Zimmerman is reportedly hedging on signing a new deal with LAFC, and is entertaining interest from some of the bigger leagues in Europe.

[ MORE: Europa League wrap ]

MLSSoccer.com’s Sam Stejskal says that Zimmerman has at least one formal offer from Europe, and is eligible to sign a pre-contract as his contract is up after this season.

The 25-year-old has three USMNT caps and a goal, and has “interest from clubs in France’s Ligue 1, the German Bundesliga and the English Premier League and Championship.”

Zimmerman leads LAFC in interceptions, clearances, and blocks per game. Those are all Top Ten statistics in the league as well.

The top of the U.S. defender pool is full of players who were either raised in Europe or left for top leagues after starring at the MLS level. Tim Ream, Matt Miazga, Geoff Cameron, and DeAndre Yedlin are four prime examples.

Pulisic “a bit lucky” on 20th birthday match-winning goal

AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert
Associated PressSep 18, 2018, 9:15 PM EDT
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BRUGES, Belgium (AP) Christian Pulisic celebrated his 20th birthday by scoring on his return from injury to give Borussia Dortmund a late 1-0 win at Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday.

“It was great to come back after injury to and to be back with the team,” said Pulisic, who also made his 100th appearance for the club.

[ MORE: Champions League wrap ]

The American, who hadn’t played since Aug. 26 due to muscular problems, came on with around 20 minutes remaining and scored in the 85th when Matej Mitrovic’s attempted clearance rebounded off his shin and looped in over Brugge goalkeeper Karlo Letica.

“It was a bit lucky but I’ll take it on my birthday,” said Pulisic, who had missed two Bundesliga games for Dortmund and the U.S. friendlies against Brazil and Mexico.

“I just saw the ball getting played through. I think the defender tried clearing it but I was in the right spot at the right time,” Pulisic said. “I think we deserved the goal at the time.”

Pulisic, who also netted against Benfica in March last year, is only the third American to score multiple Champions League goals after Fabian Johnson – who had two for Borussia Moenchengladbach – and DaMarcus Beasley, who scored six in stints at PSV Eindhoven and Rangers.

“I’m just going to enjoy the rest of the night with the team,” Pulisic said of his birthday celebrations.

Mario Goetze made a rare start for Dortmund but was unable to provide much of a spark against the spirited hosts. Leticia saved his effort in the first half. It was Dortmund’s only shot on target apart from Pulisic’s goal.

“It was a lucky win, a dirty win,” Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said.

The win means Dortmund has already bettered its Champions League campaign from last season, when it earned just two points in six group games.

Brugge was back in the Champions League group stage after a one-year absence and created the better chances.

In the other Group A game, Atletico Madrid beat Monaco 2-1.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports