BERLIN -- Injury-hit Augsburg ended Bayern Munichs record 53-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 victory Saturday and Borussia Dortmund came from
behind to beat Wolfsburg 2-1.
Customized Atlanta Falcons Jersey . Sascha Moelders scored in the 31st minute for Augsburg to hand Bayern its first league
loss since a 2-1 defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen on Oct. 28, 2012. "Thats
football, thats sport," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. "You cant always win.
There was going to be a loss sooner or later." It was Augsburgs first victory
over its larger Bavarian rival after five league and three German Cup defeats,
and Bayerns third successive game without a win in all competitions since it won
the Bundesliga title with seven games to spare. Guardiolas side drew 3-3 against
Hoffenheim last weekend and then 1-1 at Manchester United in the Champions
league quarterfinal first leg on Tuesday. With one eye on next Wednesdays return
leg, the Spaniard fielded a weakened side in Augsburg, with seven changes to the
side that lined up in Manchester. Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Philipp Lahm
were left out of the squad, while David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, Mario Goetze,
Dante and Thomas Mueller all started on the bench. "The Bundesliga is over for
us. Our target is the Champions League," Guardiola said in the run-up to the
game, before opting to give Mitchel Weiser, Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg and Ylli
Sallahi their starting debuts. Deputy goalkeeper Tom Starke was also supposed to
start but he tore a ligament in his right elbow in training on Friday. A mistake
from Weiser led to the goal. The Bayern midfielder was easily dispossessed by
Daniel Baier, who set Moelders through on goal in front of Manuel Neuer. The
Augsburg striker fired hard and high to give the Bayern No. 1 little chance. The
lead was deserved, with Bayern unusually passive and disorientated in the face
of the home sides harrying and quick passing game in the first half. "The lead
was super for us. We could be more compact and rely on the counterattack then,"
said Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl, who missed three injured regulars and
suspended top-scorer Andre Hahn. "It all went very well." Neuer denied Alexander
Esswein in the 52nd, and though Bayern improved -- David Alabas effort crashed
back off the post in the 68th -- Augsburg managed to hold on, and even struck
the post through Moelders in the 89th. "We accept it and now we have to prepare
as quickly as possible for the Manchester game," Guardiola said. "Next Wednesday
we have a final. Its about life or death." Marco Reus scored one and set up
another for Dortmund in the late game, denying Wolfsburg the chance to go
fourth. Ivica Olic fired the visitors ahead on a rebound in the 34th, and might
have scored again six minutes later, when he struck the crossbar and then hit it
again with the rebound from his first attempt. Robert Lewandowski equalized in
the 51st with a header from Reus corner, and a mistake from Wolfsburg keeper Max
Grun on his 27th birthday, when he dropped the ball after colliding with a
defender, allowed Reus to swoop for the winning goal in the 77th. Dortmund next
hosts Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, when it hopes to overturn
a 3-0 away defeat. "I havent given up in any case," Reus said. "Nothing is
impossible in football." The result meant Borussia Moenchengladbach stayed
fourth on goal difference from Bayer Leverkusen after a 2-0 win at
relegation-threatened Nuremberg. Juan Arango scored with a deflected free kick
that gave Nuremberg keeper Raphael Schaefer no chance in the 18th, and Max Kruse
made sure of the result with a penalty in the 79th. "It was close, but the
result is not undeserved," Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said. Also
Saturday, Schalke drew 1-1 at Werder Bremen, Stuttgart beat fellow relegation
candidate Freiburg 2-0, and Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Mainz 2-0. Bremen
striker Franco Di Santo scored from a narrow angle in the 15th minute, but Leon
Goretzka equalized in the 33rd for Schalke. Ibrahima Traore did brilliantly to
create Stuttgarts breakthrough in the 69th, eluding three defenders on the right
and playing a one-two with Christian Gentner before crossing for Maxim Alexandru
to score. Martin Harnik sealed the win in the 89th, as Stuttgart climbed above
Hamburger SV on goal difference and out of the relegation zone. "Its only a
little step," Stuttgart coach Huub Stevens said. Goals from Joselu in the 52nd
and Alexander Meier in the 85th were enough for Frankfurt. Leverkusen earlier
sacked Sami Hyypia as coach with Champions League qualification anything but
assured.
Steve Bartkowski Falcons Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown
the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president
Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be
back in 2014.
Matt Ryan Falcons Jersey . - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to meet with Richie Incognito to determine if one of the
central figures in the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal can help their struggling
offensive line.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild gave Zach Parise all that
money for games like this. Parise signed that megadeal two years ago for games
even bigger than this. They forced at least one more with a furious finish.
Parise scored early and late on tipped shots, and the Wild tacked on two
empty-net goals for a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night
that sent the first-round playoff series to a decisive Game 7. "Its one of those
nights where you just want to keep touching it and keep having the puck," said
Parise, who added two assists for a career-playoff-high four points. The teams
will meet in Denver on Wednesday night, with the winner taking on the defending
Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference semifinals.
"We dont have any time to hang our heads here and feel sorry for ourselves,"
Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog said. "Were just going to get right back on the
horse here and get ready for Game 7." Ah, Game 7. An already-tight series will
produce one final dramatic performance. "We didnt sign here to win a first-round
game. We look at the big picture," said Parise, who joined close friend
Ryan Suter in signing 13-year, $98 million contracts with the Wild two seasons
ago. The Wild were in trouble at the second intermission after what Avalanche
coach Patrick Roy said might have been his teams best period of the whole
series. Parise scored just 49 seconds into the game on a power play and
Mikael Granlund made it 2-0 later in the first period, but a costly turnover by
Suter at the end of a failed 5-on-3 situation led to a short-handed goal for the
Avalanche when Paul Stastny scored for the fourth time in the series.
Nick Holden got the tying goal in the second period to stop the power-play skid
for the Avalanche, who had been denied by a resurgent Wild penalty-kill unit in
19 of 20 previous opportunities in the series. The Wild stumbled through to the
second intermission, lacking the edge they had here throughout Games 3 and 4 and
in the first period of this Game 6, and the atmosphere in the building became
anxious, with one more goal by the Avalanche holding tthe power to end the home
teams season.
Atlanta Falcons Store. So Wild coach Mike Yeo gave his team a spark by reuniting Parise on the first line with centre
Mikko Koivu, who had two assists. "I think we started to get a little bit of
fear in our game. Not necessarily afraid of them, just afraid maybe of what we
were losing," Yeo said, adding: "Both of those guys were leading the charge up
front and for me, their determination, their kind of get-after-it attitude, I
wanted those guys going out together." Parked in the crease with the season on
the line, Parise took a shove in the back from goalie Semyon Varlamov and then
outmuscled defenceman Erik Johnson for position on Koivus shot from behind the
circle that he knocked in with his stick with 6:29 left in the game. Roy pulled
Varlamov with 2:44 remaining, and this time the daring move backfired after it
led to tying goals for the Avalanche in Games 1 and 5. Jason Pominville and
Marco Scandella found the back of the net for the Wild, and the celebration was
on. Matt Duchene returned to the Avalanche lineup and notched an assist in
extensive time on the power play, after missing the last month due to a left
knee injury. The Avalanche leader with 70 points during the regular season,
Duchene wasnt cleared for action until minutes before faceoff. "He was flying
out there. He was playing well. He was playing hard," Roy said. He wasnt the
only one. Ryan OReilly had two assists, and the Avalanche refused to express any
frustration afterward, even though theyll be in an elimination situation for the
first time in the series. "If thats what its going to need to be, then thats
what its going to need to be," Avalanche right wing P.A. Parenteau said. "Its
been a battle back and forth with the Wild. Were lucky we have the home ice
advantage, but were going to have to be ready." NOTES: The Wild went 18-4-2 when
Parise scored a goal in the regular season. ... Duchene said he felt all right:
"Youve got to learn to trust an injury like that coming back, and as the game
wore on I felt a lot more confident with it. Theres still a long ways to go."
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