Bayern hammer 10-man Leipzig to open up lead

BERLIN, Germany -- Robert Lewandowski led Bayern Munich to a 3-0 triumph in their Bundesliga showdown against ten-man RB Leipzig that opened up a three-point lead over their rivals.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed a "perfect" first half in which Bayern's Thiago Alcantara and Xabi Alonso scored early goals before Leipzig winger Emil Forsberg was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle. That left the visitors to play an hour at Munich's Allianz Arena a man down.

Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi then conceded the penalty which Lewandowski converted on 45 minutes to put Bayern 3-0 up at the break.

The result put Munich three points clear of their battered opponents at the top of the German league table heading into the winter break.

Leipzig briefly knocked Bayern off top spot early this month and the two have been in a neck-and-neck battle since.

Ancelotti highlighted his side's first half display.


"We were very aggressive and quickly established control, which gives us self-confidence, but we must still improve," said the Italian.

There was a minute's silence for the victims of Monday's truck attack in Berlin at Munich, Cologne, Ingolstadt and Hoffenheim, but it was most poignant at the capital's Olympic stadium.

Hertha Berlin hosted Darmstadt seven kilometres (four miles) from Breitscheidplatz where a lorry ploughed into a busy Christmas market on Monday, leaving 12 dead and at least 48 injured.

Fans in Berlin held up thousands of lights during a poignant minute's silence before kick off. The Hertha squad had earlier laid a wreath at the site.

A second-half free-kick by Marvin Plattenhardt and a Salomon Kalou header sealed Hertha's 2-0 win to stay fourth.

In Munich, Ancelotti pulled a surprise by leaving Germany forward Thomas Mueller and French winger Franck Ribery on the bench.

- Thiago on target -

Thiago Alcantara and Douglas Costa started and the selection paid off with 17 minutes gone.

Captain Philipp Lahm fired in a cross, Lewandowski hit the post, but Thiago was waiting in the middle to convert the rebound.

A mistake by Leipzig's Naby Keita, who had recovered from a thigh injury, saw Bayern grab their second on 25 minutes.

Arturo Vidal robbed the Guinea midfielder of possession, Lewandowski sprinted clear and Thiago slipped the ball to Alonso, who fired home.

A header by Leipzig captain Willi Orban forced Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer into a diving save just before disaster struck for the visitors on 30 minutes.

Left winger Forsberg was sent off when his tackle caught Philipp Lahm on the Achilles tendon and referee Felix Zwayer pulled out a red card.

"He knew straight away that he had made a mistake, he's already apologised and we all can make mistakes," said Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuettl.

Gulacsi then conceded the penalty as it finished 3-0 at the break.

Bayern were then to let their opponent chase the ball as they enjoyed 75 percent possession, but the hosts battered the Leipzig goal in the closing minutes.

"I am proud of what the team has achieved this season, but this was a lesson for us and compliment to Bayern on the way they played," added Hasenhuettl.

Hoffenheim, the only unbeaten team in Germany's top flight, stay third after their tenth draw in 16 games as it finished 1-1 at home to Werder Bremen.

Hoffenheim's striker Sandro Wagner claimed his ninth league goal this season before Bremen's ex-Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry rescued a point.

Cologne striker Anthony Modeste gave his side a first-half lead before Bayer Leverkusen's Brazil defender Wendell equalised in a 1-1 draw.

Ingolstadt remain second from bottom after their 2-1 home defeat to mid-table Freiburg, for whom Florian Niederlechner netted twice.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Is Spain's elimination the end for tiki-taka?

RIO DE JANEIRO - Spain's elimination from the World Cup by Chile not only spelt the end for one of the greatest national teams, but also threatened the demise of an entire footballing philosophy.

Spain's intricate passing style, dubbed 'tiki-taka', swept all before it for the best part of six years, but the sight of Andres Iniesta and Xabi Alonso being harried out of their stride by Jorge Sampaoli's hard-working Chile at the Maracana on Wednesday felt like the end of an era.

Argentina legend Diego Maradona is among those who believe that tiki-taka has become a tactical relic, but can an approach that has become so widespread be invalidated by the result of just one game?

As Spain midfielder David Silva asked British newspaper The Independent before the tournament: "Why would we change? We've done very well with this style. There's no need to change it."

Where Spain led with tiki-taka, winning Euro 2008, so Barcelona followed, dominating the European club game between 2008 and 2011 under Pep Guardiola, who subsequently installed the same playing philosophy at Bayern Munich.

Carlo Ancelotti's counter-attacking Real Madrid got the better of both teams last season, however, routing Bayern 5-0 in the Champions League semi-finals and edging Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey.

Bayern's loss to Madrid was particularly illustrative, with the Spanish side procuring a 1-0 first-leg lead despite enjoying only 36 percent of possession at the Santiago Bernabeu.

- Counter-punchers arrive -

Indeed, all over Europe, teams have been relinquishing the ball and still enjoying success, with Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea in the vanguard of the new wave of counter-punching sides.

Rather than endlessly circulating possession in a manner that prompted some critics of tiki-taka to brand it 'boring', the counter-punchers rely on breathless industry and water-tight defensive organisation.

It is on their opponents' mistakes that they prey and in the tika-taka era, with teams falling over themselves to ape the Spanish style by taking more and more risks in possession, it is an increasingly effective approach.

Against such tactics, tiki-taka can seem naive in its steadfast commitment to conserving possession, but its impact already reaches so deep that it would prove impossible to fully uproot.

It was Barcelona, with Lionel Messi, who first brought the 'false nine' tactic to a wider audience, while it is now commonplace to see goalkeepers methodically practising first-time passes during their pre-match warm-ups.

The cult of possession has forced players in every position to sharpen up their technique and has made the scrutiny of passing completion statistics an early port of call in any after-match post-mortem.

Its legacy can also be seen in the ubiquitousness of small, Spanish midfielders at Europe's leading clubs, from Silva at Manchester City and Santi Cazorla at Arsenal to Thiago Alcantara at Bayern and Juan Mata at Manchester United.

- 'Change names, not identity' -
While Xavi Hernandez may never play for Spain again, having been dropped for the 2-0 defeat by Chile, it is in his image -- and with likeminded players such as Thiago -- that the national team will be rebuilt.

The 34-year-old midfielder, a faultless passing metronome for Spain and Barcelona, typifies tiki-taka more than any other player and he believes that it will always be a point of reference for teams such as his own where waiting for the opponent to make a mistake is not an option.

"If you go two years without winning, everything has to change. But you change names, not identity," he said in a 2011 interview.

"The philosophy can't be lost. Our fans wouldn't understand a team that sat back and played on the break."

As Sampaoli observed before his side's victory on Wednesday, Spain are paying the price for the fatigue and fading motivation of their players after six years of near-constant success, rather than any inherent flaw in their tactical approach.

Tiki-taka owed its origins to a unique set of circumstances, specifically the emergence at Barcelona and Spain of a group of similarly aged players who were coached in the same way.

Its figureheads, such as Xavi and Iniesta, were always destined to topple from the sport's summit at some point, but with tiki-taka disciples now dotting the game, it would be precipitous to sound the death knell too soon.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com