Bayern Munich Rebounds
Four players scored and five hammered shots against either the crossbar or post Sunday as German champion Bayern Munich put its recent woes behind it with a convincing 4-1 victory over rival Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern, which had won only once in its previous six games and whose players had been depicted in a German newspaper Friday wearing skirts and carrying handbags, moved up to fourth place in the Bundesliga.
Goals by Michael Ballack, Willie Sagnol, Hasan Salihamidzic and Claudio Pizarro were more than enough in a lopsided game. Czech forward Jan Koller scored Dormund’s lone goal.
“There has been some turmoil surrounding us lately,” Ballack said. “But we came in determined. We have the best players, we just have to show it on the pitch.”
VfB Stuttgart leads the Bundesliga, followed by Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen. Bayern Munich is six points out of first.
“We were in a real hole,” said Bayern Coach Otmar Hitzfeld. “I’m assuming we’ve turned the corner.”
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Real Madrid Crushed
Spanish champion Real Madrid squandered a chance to take first place in La Liga when it was trounced, 4-1, at Sevilla, which scored three times in the first 16 minutes.
A sixth-minute own goal by Madrid defender Ruben Gonzalez started the rout, after which Dario Silva, Daniel Alves and Javi Casquero scored for Sevilla.
Ronaldo, the top scorer in the Spanish league, netted his ninth goal of the season.
Deportivo de La Coruna leads La Liga, followed by Valencia, which was upset by Racing Santander, and Real Madrid.
Mexican defender Rafael Marquez scored his first Spanish league goal to give Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Real Betis and move it up to fourth place.
Barcelona lost Ronaldinho to a right thigh injury, however. The forward might miss Brazil’s World Cup qualifying matches against Peru on Nov. 16 and Uruguay on Nov. 19.
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Chelsea Runs Riot
Chelsea remained hot on the trail of London rival Arsenal when it crushed Newcastle United, 5-0, to close to within a point of the Gunners at the head of the English Premier League.
Goals by Glen Johnson, Hernan Crespo, Frank Lampard, Damien Duff and Eidur Gudjohnsen did the damage.
Manchester United is one point further behind in third place after edging Liverpool, 2-1, at Anfield. Ryan Giggs scored twice for the Red Devils, whose coach, Alex Ferguson, this week is expected to sign a reported $30-million contract keeping him in charge through 2007.
Harry Kewell scored for Liverpool.
“Once we went up 2-0, Liverpool started to play well,” Ferguson said. “It was a nail-biting finish.”
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Quick Passes
Two goals by Marco Di Vaio helped Italian champion Juventus romp past Udinese, 4-1, and remain in first place in Italy’s Serie A, two points ahead of AC Milan, which was held to a scoreless tie at Parma. Brazilian midfielders Alessandro Mancini and Emerson scored late as AS Roma beat Lazio, 2-0, in the Rome derby to move into third place.... Croatia’s Dado Prso scored the only goal as AS Monaco beat AC Ajaccio to stay in first place in the French league, ahead of defending champion Olympique Lyon, which crushed Olympique Marseille, 4-1, at Marseille.
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Times wire reports contributed to this report.
