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BAYERN MUNICH

Bayern back in form with win over Schalke

Bayern Munich strengthened their title credentials on Saturday with a crucial 2-1 win over Bundesliga rivals Schalke, opening up a one-point lead with five games remaining.

Bayern back in form with win over Schalke
Franck Ribery celebrates. Photo: DPA

After their Champions League quarter-final comeback against Manchester United midweek, Bayern proved their staying power as they scored twice in as many minutes midway through the first half to stun their rivals, who last won the title in 1958.

Bayern now have 59 points from their 29 games to 58 for Schalke.

Frenchman Franck Ribery netted his fourth goal of the season, helping Bayern win at the Veltins Arena for the second time in ten days and shrug off recent league losses to Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

“This is a very important win but it was the minimum that we had to do. The next couple of matches are crucial,” said Bayern skipper Mark van Bommel.

Coach Louis van Gaal was delighted after Thomas Müller’s goal 70 seconds after Ribery’s opener proved enough for full points with Kevin Kuranyi’s header scant consolation for Schalke.

“We are leaders and we are still in three competitions – even down to ten men I was not worried as I knew Schalke would struggle to produce,” insisted the Dutchman.

Ribery, starting a league match for the first time since February 28 after an injury-plagued season, snaffled the opener with a right-foot shot after good work from Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Müller made it 2-0 after home defender Rafinha could only clear as far as Hamit Altintop, who fed Mueller for a neat finish.

Schalke coach Felix Magath, who led Bayern to two domestic doubles before his 2007 sacking, was unable to conjure a recovery though Germany international Kuranyi did reduce the arrears with his 18th goal of the season.

Magath is hoping to win the title with a third different club having shocked Bayern – and the rest of the country – by leading unfashionable Wolfsburg to the crown last season.

Van Gaal’s Bayern, who had turned in some inconsistent form in recent weeks in the league, proved their strength of character in pulling off the win in the absence of Dutch star Arjen Robben while they also lost defender Daniel van Buyten during the course of the game through injury.

They also ended the game with 10 men after former Schalke man Altintop was sent off four minutes before the interval for a foul on Rafinha but hung on as they took a big step towards their 22nd title.

Fellow title aspirants Bayer Leverkusen went down 3-2 at Eintracht Frankfurt despite a brace for Stefan Kiessling, the league’s joint top scorer with Kuranyi.

Elsewhere, Dortmund took advantage of Leverkusen’s fourth loss in a month to close the gap on third place – worth a Champions League qualifying round slot – to a point with a 2-1 win over Werder Bremen while Stuttgart are up to seventh after a 2-1 success over Borussia Mönchengladbach.

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SPORT

EXPLAINED: The Covid rules for attending German football matches

The German Bundesliga kicks off on Friday evening with a match in Mönchengladbach. Here's a run-down of the Covid rules for football fans itching to join the crowds at the stadium.

EXPLAINED: The Covid rules for attending German football matches
Crowds cheer at a match between FC Kaiserslautern and Borussia Mönchengladbach, on August 9th, 2021. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Uwe Anspach

All eyes will be on Mönchengladbach this evening as the Bundesliga season kicks off with a match against reigning champions Bayern Munich – and this time, a crowd will be present in the stadium.

READ ALSO: German football fans get green light to return to stadiums next season

With several states liberalising their rules for public gatherings in recent months, many football fans are looking forward to enjoying a lively atmosphere at football matches once more. 

There’s just one problem: there are different rules for different stadiums. Here’s what you need to know about the Covid rules before you book your ticket for any of the upcoming fixtures. 

How many fans are allowed in the stadiums? 

According to a recent decision by the federal and state governments, football stadiums around the country are allowed to fill half of their seats and sell up to 25,000 tickets to fans. 

Of course, how much this limit affects the overall atmosphere – and the football clubs’ bottoms lines – depends on the capacity of the stadium. In Borussia Dortmund this weekend, the full 25,000 tickets have been sold – but that only equates to 30 percent of the stadium’s full capacity.

READ ALSO: German football: Which Bundesliga club should I support?

Meanwhile, in the stadium owned by Berlin’s FC Union, selling just 11,000 tickets is enough to fill half of the available seats. 

What do I need to show to get in? 

That really depends on the stadium in question, although in general anyone over the age of six will need to show a negative test or proof of vaccination or recovery – the so-called ‘3G’ rule – to enter the grounds. But other clubs, such as FC Cologne, have decided to only permit people who are vaccinated or recovered to attend matches from August 28th onwards – with exceptions for people who can’t get vaccinated, like children and pregnant woman.

At Mönchengladbach’s Borussia Park stadium, however, unvaccinated fans can enter with a negative test, though visitors who’ve stayed in a high-risk or virus variant area over the past two weeks will be unable to enter – along with people who’ve had recent contact with someone who has Covid. 


If you want to see action like this at FC Cologne’s stadium, you’ll need to get your Covid jabs sorted first. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Robert Michael

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund has taken a middle ground. While the 3G rule applies in principle, only 1,000 of the available 25,000 tickets will be sold to people who are providing a negative test. The remaining 24,000 seats will only be available for those who are vaccinated against – or recently recovered from – Covid. 

If you’re not vaccinated and are keen to see a match, it’s worth checking on your local club’s website beforehand or sending them an email to double-check whether you will be allowed in. 

What else do I need to know about? 

You’ll need to bring a FPP2 mask with you to matches to wear in your seat and while heading to the bathroom or bar, and also observe social distancing rules – meaning staying 1.5 metres apart from your fellow fans.

In most states, you’ll also need to provide your contact details, which will be saved by the club and potentially passed on to local health authorities in order to monitor a potential Covid outbreak. 

Will these rules continue throughout the season?

That’s still an open question. If infection rates in Germany continue to rise or high-profile superspreading events occur at future matches, the government could potentially crack down further on sports events in autumn.

This could involve limiting the seat numbers even further, or (more controversially), introducing a ‘vaccinated-only’ rule for entering stadiums. 

READ ALSO: Should Germany bring in Covid restrictions for unvaccinated people only?

A recent outbreak of Covid in the Mainz football team has also dampened celebrations slightly in the run-up to the start of the Bundesliga – leaving club owners urgently calling for both fans and footballers to get vaccinated. 

Speaking to WDR ahead of the season’s start, FC Cologne’s managing director Alexander Wehrle said widespread vaccination was the best route back to normality – a message reiterated by Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann. 

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