Fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund eased past bottom side Darmstadt 3-0 away on Saturday for a winning start to the new year as Jadon Sancho set up one goal on his return for the Ruhr valley club following his loan move from Manchester United.
The England international had left Dortmund after four years for United in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and has made just three appearances this season after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag. But he looked right at home as Dortmund earned their first win in five league games in the Bundesliga restart following a three-week winter break.
The visitors struck in the 24th minute following a superb solo run from Jamie Bynoe-Gittens as Julian Brandt finished the move with a low shot. Dortmund were made to work hard for more than an hour with Darmstadt carving out chances and coming agonisingly close with a 63rd minute Luca Pfeiffer point-blank header that goalkeeper Gregor Kobel blocked with a reflex save.
Dortmund killed off the game in the 76th minute when Sancho, who had come on in the 55th, was sent through and set up fellow substitute Marco Reus for an easy tap-in. Youssoufa Moukoko then made it 3-0 with a fine move in the box deep in stoppage time. Dortmund are fifth on 30 points, three behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig, who lost 1-0 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Exequiel Palacios drilled in a stoppage-time goal to give Bayer Leverkusen a dramatic 1-0 win at Augsburg on Saturday and keep them top of the Bundesliga with a four-point advantage.
Despite Leverkusen having hit the woodwork and missing several chances throughout, the game was heading for a goalless stalemate until Argentina international Palacios stabbed home from close range to lift his team to 45 points at the halfway stage of the season.
Champions Bayern Munich, 3-0 winners over Hoffenheim on Friday, are second on 41 and with a game in hand. Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen team, who remain unbeaten after 26 matches in all competitions this season, had the upper hand from the start but managed only to hit the post through Alejandro Grimaldo’s left-foot shot in the 28th minute.
The Augsburg keeper Finn Dahmen did well to deny Robert Andrich and Patrik Schick. Grimaldo was also denied by Dahmen in the first half with Leverkusen clearly missing the offensive power of Victor Boniface. The Nigerian, Leverkusen’s top scorer this season, was injured last week while preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations and will be out at least until April following adductor muscle surgery.
The visitors created chances for Jeremie Frimpong and Jonas Hofmann after the break and Augsburg, who did not have a shot on goal in the first half, threatened twice on the break. Seconds before the final whistle, however, Palacios benefited from confusion in the box to break the deadlock.
In Serie A Amir Rrahmani scored deep in extra time as Napoli came from behind to snatch a 2-1 win at home to bottom-of-table Salernitana on Saturday to ease the pressure on the under-fire defending champions. Napoli move up to sixth in the standings on 31 points and Salernitana stay bottom on 12 points. “We continued to play, we remained calm and given the chances we created, the victory is deserved,” the Napoli manager, Walter Mazzarri, told Dazn.
Napoli came into the match without a win in their last three league games, and the fans in the sun-soaked Stadio Diego Armando Maradona made their feelings known before the action began. “Those who don’t feel up to it should leave with dignity, we only want those who have pride, ambition and respect for the city,” read one banner unfurled by the Napoli ultras.
Antonio Candreva scored a stunning goal to give Salernitana the lead in the 29th minute, taking one touch to beat Matteo Politano before curling his shot into the far top corner from well outside the area for his fifth goal this season. “We were penalised straight away because we conceded a goal in the first action. It wasn’t easy, given the moment,” Mazzarri said.
It looked like the visitors would take their lead into the break, but in added time Napoli were awarded a penalty for a foul by Federico Fazio on Giovanni Simeone and Politano put his spot kick into the bottom corner beyond Guillermo Ochoa. It was Napoli’s first goal since 16 December, after failing to score in their last four games, including their exit from the Coppa Italia.
Napoli emerged for the second half with a different attitude, and Jens Cajuste had two chances at goal in the first four minutes, the second a shot from outside the area that curled just wide of the far post. Napoli poured forward in desperation towards the end, with the crowd at their back, and in the 96th minute a free-kick into the box saw keeper Ochoa collide with his teammate and when the ball fell to Rrahmani he turned and fired in from close range.
“The ball was coming from behind towards me, it wasn’t clean so I stopped and shot, there was nothing to think about,” Rrahmani said. For Salernitana, it was heartbreak for the second weekend in a row having also lost 2-1 to an added time goal against Juventus in their last game.
More to follow
