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BAYERN MUNICH

Bayern batter Freiburg to extend title lead

Bayern Munich warmed up for Wednesday's Champions League last 16, first-leg clash at Arsenal by trouncing Freiburg 4-0 on Saturday to stretch their Bundesliga lead to 16 points.

Published: 16 February 2014 10:23 CET
Bayern batter Freiburg to extend title lead
Bayern Munich's Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates during his club's win against Freiburg. Christof Stache/AFP

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola — whose side extended their record unbeaten league run to 46 matches — rested several stars ahead of the clash with the Gunners in London, but still started with 10 internationals.

"We wanted to put in a good performance before the Arsenal game — now we're looking forward to the Champions League," said Bayern goalkeeper Manuel
Neuer.

Brazil centre-back Dante opened the scoring when he headed home on 19 minutes, and Swiss Xerdan Shaqiri added the second on 34 minutes after a superb reverse pass from Claudio Pizarro fell into his path and he fired home. The stocky Swiss then added his second just before the break, and veteran striker Pizarro added a fourth two minutes from time.

The game ended on a sour note for Shaqiri, though, as he had to go off with a torn hamstring.

Meanwhile, second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, crashed to another home defeat when they lost
2-1 to Schalke 04.

Having suffered a shock 1-0 extra-time defeat at home to second-division Kaiserslautern on Wednesday in the German Cup quarter-finals, Leverkusen stumbled to their fifth defeat in their last seven games.

Fourth-placed Schalke took the lead when 19-year-old midfielder Leon Goretzka scored on 28 minutes before Royal Blues centre-back Felipe Santana netted a second-half own goal to restore parity.

But Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar headed Schalke's winner from a free-kick on 74 minutes to punish Levekusen and leave the Royal Blues fourth in the table.

Hamburg suffered an eighth straight defeat, crashing 4-2 at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig. Routed 5-0 by Bayern in the German Cup on Wednesday, Hamburg have now lost a club record seven successive league games.

Striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga put Hamburg ahead on 23 minutes, but Braunschweig's Democratic Republic of Congo-born Dominick Kumbela came off the
bench to score twice.

Croatia midfielder Ivo Ilicevic appeared to save Hamburg's blushes with the equaliser 14 minutes from time, but Kumbela wrapped up his hat-trick when he pounced in a goal-mouth scramble. To add to the visitors' misery, midfielder Jan Hochscheidt scored Braunschweig's fourth — the 51st goal Hamburg have conceded this season — in the third minute of added time.

The result means Hamburg remain second from bottom, but now only four points separate the bottom five teams.

Having already won 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund enjoyed a 4-0 romp against Armin Veh's side in the league to stay third. Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who headed the winner at Frankfurt, was back to terrorise Eintracht with two goals in the opening 20
minutes.

Poland striker Robert Lewandowski netted a penalty, while Serbia's Milos Jojic, a January signing from Partizan Belgrade, then needed just 17 seconds to score his first Bundesliga goal on his Dortmund debut.

"That was a great game and a great mentality from my team, they were strong from the first second. We scored the goals at just the right times,"said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.

Poland international Ludovic Obraniak netted his first Bundesliga goal since joining from Bordeaux in January when he equalised two minutes from time
to secure a 1-1 draw at home to Borussia Mönchegladbach.

Hoffenheim enjoyed a 4-1 romp at home to VfB Stuttgart, while on Friday Mainz inched closer to a Europa League place next season with a 2-0 win over Hanover 96 to stay just outside the top six on goal difference.
 

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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.

Published: 13 August 2021 17:39 CEST
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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