World Sports News in Brief

Late Lewandowski goal earns Bayern nervous 3-2 win over Paderborn

Bundesliga pacesetters Bayern Munich twice squandered the lead and needed an 88th minute winner from Robert Lewandowski to beat bottom club Paderborn 3-2 in a thrilling game on Friday.

Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Bayern Munich v SC Paderborn - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - February 21, 2020 Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scores their second goal. (Photo: Reuters)
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Bayern Munich v SC Paderborn - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - February 21, 2020 Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scores their second goal. (Photo: Reuters)

The Bavarians, who visit Chelsea in their Champions League last 16, first leg on Tuesday, have 49 points, four points clear of second-placed RB Leipzig, who are at Schalke 04 on Saturday.

* American Bryson DeChambeau was giddy with joy after charging into a one-stroke lead in the second round at the WGC-Mexico Championship on Friday as overnight pacesetter Rory McIlroy's title bid stalled. Physics major DeChambeau solved the high altitude puzzle, putting with precision and making seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch en route to an eight-under-par 63 in ideal conditions at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City. At 11-under 131, he headed South African Erik van Rooyen, who matched the course record with a nine-birdie 62 on his 30th birthday, and American Patrick Reed (63).

* Wayne Rooney marked his 500th game in English league football with a coolly-taken Panenka-style penalty for Derby County in their 1-1 draw against Fulham in the Championship on Friday. The 34-year-old ex-England and Manchester United captain, who made his debut for the Midlands club earlier this month after returning from a playing stint in the United States, cleverly chipped in a 55th minute penalty for the lead.

* Moussa Dembele helped Olympique Lyonnais gear up for their Champions League clash against Juventus with a goal and an assist as his scoring form continued in a 2-0 Ligue 1 win at Metz who finished with 10 men on Friday. Dembele got his 14th league goal of the season, his 10th in all competitions in 2020, with a penalty and Houssem Aouar struck deep into added time to lift OL to sixth with 37 points from 26 games.

* Napoli continued their revival when they came from behind to win 2-1 at lowly Brescia with a stunning Fabian Ruiz effort in Serie A on Friday that boosted their hopes of booking a European spot. Napoli, who host Barcelona in their Champions League last 16, first leg tie on Tuesday, rose to sixth on 36 points, one more than Parma, Verona and AC Milan who play at the weekend.

* South Africa's former world number five Kevin Anderson said on Friday he will be out of action for the foreseeable future after surgery on his right knee to repair a torn meniscus. Anderson, who missed the second half of the 2019 season to recover from a knee injury which required surgery in September, said he had the procedure in Miami on Wednesday.

* Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina marched into her fourth final of the season with a 7-6(5) 7-6(2) win over Petra Martic at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Friday. In the other semi, top-seeded Romanian Simona Halep was barely troubled by American qualifier Jennifer Brady, winning 6-2 6-0 in 62 minutes after converting five break points.

* Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson will be out for three weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in their 1-0 midweek Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid, manager Juergen Klopp said on Friday. The injury rules the influential midfielder out of Monday's Premier League home game against relegation-threatened West Ham United.

* Valtteri Bottas lapped close to record pace as he put Formula One champions Mercedes back on top of the testing timesheets on Friday, but Ferrari suffered an engine problem. The Finn produced the quickest lap of Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya so far in the first pre-season test of 2020. Bottas's time of one minute 15.732 in the morning session was three tenths slower than the outright circuit lap record of 1:15.406 he set in qualifying for last year's Spanish Grand Prix.

* Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay could make his first appearance of the year in Saturday's Premier League home game against Watford, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said. The 23-year-old Scotland international has not played since suffering knee ligament damage against Newcastle United on Boxing Day.

* Newcastle United striker Joelinton is still finding it difficult to adapt to the Premier League but the club are convinced he will improve and deliver, manager Steve Bruce said on Friday. Joelinton, 23, arrived at Newcastle for a club record fee in the region of 40 million pounds but the striker has scored only one goal in 26 league appearances. Bruce said the Brazilian is a doubt for Saturday's league trip to Crystal Palace with a thigh problem, adding to the injury list with fellow striker Andy Carroll also sidelined with a hip problem.

* The Republic of Korea’s top flight said on Friday it had postponed next week's opening home matches for Daegu FC and Pohang Steelers due to a surge of coronavirus cases in the southeastern region. After a meeting of league executives and representatives from the 12 clubs, the K-League said Daegu's season opener against Gangwon FC on Feb 29 and Pohang's meeting with Busan IPark on March 1 would be played later in March or in June.

* Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh smashed the half marathon world record by 20 seconds to win the Ras Al Khaimah event in the United Arab Emirates on Friday. Yeshaneh crossed the finish line in one hour, four minutes and 31 seconds at the World Athletics Gold Label road race, eclipsing the previous record of 1:04:51 set by Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei in Valencia in 2017. Kenya's Kibiwott Kandie won the men's race in 58:58, 18 seconds clear of compatriot Alexander Mutiso in second place.

* The Chinese women's national team will play the home leg of their Olympic qualification playoff against the Republic of Korea in Sydney to avoid any travel complications from a coronavirus outbreak, the Asian Football Confederation said on Friday. They will begin their playoff campaign with a trip to Yongin on Mar 6 before returning to Sydney's Campbelltown Stadium for the second leg on Mar 11. The playoff winners will secure a place in the Tokyo Olympics soccer tournament, alongside hosts Japan and the winners of the other playoff match between Australia and Vietnam.

Reuters