Bayern Munich Wins on Penalties
Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn stopped two of four penalty kicks to give Bayern Munich a 4-2 victory over Manchester United after a scoreless tie in regulation during a ChampionsWorld Series exhibition game Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago.
In a matchup of teams coming off disappointing seasons, Roy Keane was the only player in the opening lineup who had started 35 or more games for Manchester United. Bayern started several of its stars, including Kahn, who is captain of Germany’s national team.
After 80 scoreless minutes, fans started booing the teams. The crowd of 58,121 became more vocal after David Bellion sent a bad ball to Manchester newcomer Alan Smith, which ended a two-on-one opportunity.
Chicago-area native Jonathan Spector, who graduated from St. Viator High only weeks ago, made his debut for Manchester United. The 18-year-old defender played a solid left back and made a great stop on Hasan Salihamidzic in the first half.
Phil Bardsley’s 25-yard shot during first-half injury time was the best scoring chance for Manchester, but it sailed high.
Piotr Trochowski almost scored for Bayern in the 54th minute, but goalkeeper Roy Carroll made a diving save.
U.S. Women Win
Kelly Wilson scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the United States under-21 women’s team to a 3-0 victory over Norway in the Nordic Cup at Olafsfjordur, Iceland.
The result put the U.S. on the verge of reaching the championship game.
The U.S., which defeated Finland, 3-0, in its first game, needs at least a tie against Germany on Tuesday to earn a spot in the title game of the eight-team tournament.
“We were a lot sharper, we connected better and had a lot more energy,” said U.S. Coach Chris Petrucelli, comparing the effort to the team’s first game.
“The first game got us a little more played in, but today, we were in their end the whole first half so it seemed like eventually we were going to break them down.”
Sarah Huffman scored the other goal for the U.S., which outshot Norway, 22-1.
Inzaghi Seeks Answers
AC Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi flew to the United States on Sunday for a round of consultations with specialists about a slow-healing left ankle injury.
The 30-year-old player, one of the highest scoring Italian forwards and a star of Italy’s league champion, was accompanied by AC Milan doctor Jean Pierre Meersseman and trainer Bill Tillson.
The Italian club said Inzaghi and the team officials were set to meet specialists in Chicago, Oakland and Los Angeles.
China, Bahrain Advance
Host China moved closer to its dream of a title on home soil when it and Bahrain clinched berths in the Asian Cup quarterfinals by eliminating Qatar and Indonesia at Beijing.
China defender Xu Yunlong scored a second-half goal as his team held on for a 1-0 victory over Qatar at Beijing.
Bahrain got goals from Husain Ali, A’ala Hubail and Talal Jusuf in a 3-1 victory over Indonesia at Jinan.
China and Bahrain join Japan and Uzbekistan as teams heading to the next round.
