Soccer, 2nd league: With record scorer Robert Glatzel, Hamburger SV has finally ensured a six-way battle in the 2nd Bundesliga. On Sunday, HSV won the top game of the 21st matchday at Darmstadt 98 5-0 (3-0), Glatzel was the third player in second-division history to score a hat-trick up to the 13th minute and later made it 5-0. Although Darmstadt remains the leader with 39 points, HSV is fourth with 37 points. Nevertheless, the classification has moved closer together. Darmstadt are followed by FC St. Pauli and Werder Bremen (both 38), behind Hamburg are FC Schalke 04 and 1. FC Heidenheim (both 37) with a maximum gap of two points.
In the table basement it is getting tighter for Düsseldorf coach Christian Preuss. At Holstein Kiel, the Fortunes lost 1-0 to a dream goal by Joker Jonas Sterna in the third minute of injury time. With 20 points, Düsseldorf, who have been without a point or a goal for five games, is only separated from the relegation place by the goal difference, Kiel has created a lot of room in the relegation battle with an eight-point lead. FC Hansa Rostock (24) set a real exclamation mark with the 4:1 (4:0) at Dynamo Dresden, who are now tied.
Soccer: The new DFL boss Donata Hopfen does not rule out playoffs in the Bundesliga and a German Supercup in Saudi Arabia. “The league would of course be more attractive if it had more competition at the top,” said the 45-year-old in an interview with the picture on sunday with a view to FC Bayern Munich’s possible tenth title in a row. “If playoffs help us, then we’ll talk about playoffs. But we mustn’t forget that Bayern have done a super job in recent years.” Due to the constant successes in the Champions League, the Munich team has also “become bigger and bigger” economically. Hopfen pointed out that when she took office at the beginning of the year as the successor to Christian Seifert in the German Football League, she said there were no sacred cows for her.
When asked whether it was also conceivable for the Bundesliga to hold the Supercup with four teams in Saudi Arabia like the Spaniards, Hopfen said: “Every measure that is supposed to bring us money in the future must suit us. But I think , we cannot rule out anything in this regard at the moment.” Hopfen said last week that the pandemic threatened the Bundesliga with a loss totaling 1.3 billion euros.
Football, England: Liverpool have reached the next round of the English FA Cup without the two Africa Cup of Nations participants Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané. The Reds beat second division football club Cardiff City 3-1 (0-0) at home on Sunday and will next meet Norwich City, which is in danger of relegation. Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have also qualified for the fifth round of the cup. Record champions Man United made a fool of themselves and are out. Diogo Jota (53rd minute), Takumi Minamino (68th) and Harvey Elliott (76th) created a good atmosphere in Anfield with their goals. Liverpool was clearly the superior team in front of their own audience, but acted too harmlessly for a long time. After the first half with few chances, Jota initiated the clear victory with his head. Thanks to Rubin Colwill’s goal (80′), which is well worth seeing, the visiting fans in the stadium also celebrated. New signing Luis Diaz, who joined from FC Porto during the winter break, made his debut in the second half to loud jubilation.
3rd League, 1860: Despite leading 2-0 at half-time, TSV 1860 Munich was unable to continue its winning streak against Eintracht Braunschweig. In a heated game in the 3rd football league, the Lower Saxony were able to win a 2:2 (0:2) against the Munich “Lions”. With the draw on Sunday afternoon in front of 3750 spectators, 1860 missed the chance to shorten the gap to the promotion places. On Saturday, the table night guest at SV Meppen. The former Braunschweig player Marcel Bär gave the lions the lead in the 3rd minute. Phillipp Steinhart increased the lead to 2-0 (34th) before the half-time break. But the Braunschweigers did not give up. The 1967 German champions increased the pressure in the second half and scored the goal through Lion Lauberbach in the 55th minute. Jan-Hendrik Marx finally equalized in the 78th minute. Braunschweig’s Brian Behrendt had to leave the field prematurely in a heated final phase with yellow-red.
Tennis: Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro is set to return to the tour after a long injury layoff and is then likely to retire. In the coming week, the Argentinian tennis pro will return to a tournament in Buenos Aires after two and a half years. “It’s more of a farewell than a comeback. I’ve tried different treatments and seen doctors for many years, and I could never have imagined retiring from tennis without playing,” said the 33-year-old, visibly moved, at a press conference . On Tuesday he meets his compatriot Federico Delbonis in the first round. “I couldn’t have found a better tournament than Buenos Aires to do that. After this week I’ll be thinking about the future.”
Meanwhile, Del Potro also has a wildcard for the ATP tournament in Rio de Janeiro a week later. The highlight of Del Potro’s career came when he won the 2009 US Open, beating Roger Federer in the final. The former world number three also won Olympic bronze in singles in London 2012 and silver in Rio 2016. He also won the Davis Cup with Argentina in 2016. During his career he had to struggle with injuries again and again, knees and wrists in particular caused problems. In June 2019, Del Potro suffered a fractured kneecap and hasn’t played since, slipping him to 757th in the world rankings.
Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton: British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton has ended his silence on social media after almost two months. The 37-year-old posted on his Instagram profile on Saturday for the first time since December 12, 2021. “I was gone for a long time, now I’m back!” Hamilton wrote succinctly. The seven-time world champion did not reveal more.
Most recently, his almost 27 million followers, media, fans and opponents had puzzled over the future of the Mercedes driver. “The silence is there because he simply lacks the words,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, a close confidant of Hamilton, in December: “I don’t think we’ll ever get over it, it’s impossible, especially for him as a driver.” It remains unclear whether the most successful driver in the history of the premier class will go on the hunt for his eighth world title in the coming season with the W13, even after the posting on Saturday. On December 12, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen snatched the title from Hamilton on the very last lap. Since then there has been speculation about Hamilton’s resignation.