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MUNICH

Bayern go top and eye 30-year record

Pep Guardiola was delighted as Bayern Munich went top in the Bundesliga with a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen, a result which also nudged them closer to breaking a 30-year record.

Bayern go top and eye 30-year record

“Congratulations to my players, we’re first in the table and I’m very, very proud of our performance,” said coach Guardiola as Bayern top the German league for the first time since he took charge in June.

“We gave everything and played very well. Nevertheless, we didn’t win, despite having 27 shots on goal — that’s football, but the most important thing is that we’re top of the table.”

Bayern extended their unbeaten run to 33 Bundesliga games and are closing in on Hamburg’s record of 36, set in 1983, as the Bavarians returned to the site of their last league defeat in October 2012.

Previous leaders Borussia Dortmund lost top place after suffering a shock 2-0 defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Dortmund dropped to second place, a point behind Bayern, and level on 19 points with third-placed Leverkusen.

In a high-tempo clash at Leverkusen’s BayArena, Germany midfielder Sidney Sam’s 31st-minute equaliser for the hosts came straight after Toni Kroos’ opening goal for Bayern.

Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno guaranteed a point for his side by denying Franck Ribery twice in as many second-half minutes, then Mario Goetze, while Thomas Müller had a penalty appeal turned down.

“I had expected that I had a lot to do, because Bayern are an elite side,” said Leno.

“For a goalkeeper, games like this are great as they are a chance to show what you can do. From a playing perspective, we have to acknowledge that we are still some

way from Bayern.”

“Despite that, I have to pay the team a huge compliment, we fought like lions and earned the point, even if it was a bit lucky.”

Bayern took the lead when France wing Ribery found Kroos on the edge of the area and the attacking midfielder blasted home.

Leverkusen drew level when Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer parried Poland defender Sebastian Boenisch’s shot, but the rebound fell to Sam to tap home into an empty net.

Bayern, fresh from Wednesday’s 3-1 Champions League win at Manchester City, again dominated possession — nearly 80 percent — but were continually frustrated by some determined defending.

Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger had a late header cleared off the line, while Leverkusen’s Son Heung-Min blasted wide with the final shot of the game.

Fresh from their impressive 3-0 Champions League win over Marseille, Dortmund were set to claim an away point until a disastrous final 10-minute spell.

Germany defender Mats Hummels earned a red card on 81 minutes with a reckless challenge on ‘Gladbach’s Norway midfielder Havard Nordtveit in the area which left referee Manuel Graefe reaching for the red card.

Germany striker Max Kruse netted the resulting penalty, then Brazilian forward Raffael hit their second four minutes from time to see ‘Gladbach move up to fourth.

“That was an unusual game, we had our opponents under brutal pressure for long periods of play, but didn’t score,” admitted Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.”

“We played our part in the defeat, we left the game too open and allowed ‘Gladbach to come to life when they took their chances.”

Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender is an injury doubt for Germany’s World Cup qualifiers against Republic of Ireland on Friday and Sweden four days later after being left bruised by a second-half challenge.

AFP

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MUNICH

Four injured as WWII bomb explodes near Munich train station

Four people were injured, one of them seriously, when a World War II bomb exploded at a building site near Munich's main train station on Wednesday, emergency services said.

Smoke rises after the WWII bomb exploded on a building site in Munich.
Smoke rises after the WWII bomb exploded on a building site in Munich. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Privat

Construction workers had been drilling into the ground when the bomb exploded, a spokesman for the fire department said in a statement.

The blast was heard several kilometres away and scattered debris hundreds of metres, according to local media reports.

Images showed a plume of smoke rising directly next to the train tracks.

Bavaria interior minister Joachim Herrmann told Bild that the whole area was being searched.

Deutsche Bahn suspended its services on the affected lines in the afternoon.

Although trains started up again from 3pm, the rail operator said there would still be delays and cancellations to long-distance and local travel in the Munich area until evening. 

According to the fire service, the explosion happened near a bridge that must be passed by all trains travelling to or from the station.

The exact cause of the explosion is unclear, police said. So far, there are no indications of a criminal act.

WWII bombs are common in Germany

Some 75 years after the war, Germany remains littered with unexploded ordnance, often uncovered during construction work.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about WWII bomb disposals in Germany

However, most bombs are defused by experts before they explode.

Last year, seven World War II bombs were found on the future location of Tesla’s first European factory, just outside Berlin.

Sizeable bombs were also defused in Cologne and Dortmund last year.

In 2017, the discovery of a 1.4-tonne bomb in Frankfurt prompted the evacuation of 65,000 people — the largest such operation since the end of the war in Europe in 1945.

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