عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

European Qualification Brings Some Drama to Bundesliga

Leverkusen's Patrik Schick, center, celebrates with the team after winning the German Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt in Leverkusen, Germany, Monday, May 2, 2022. (AP)
Leverkusen's Patrik Schick, center, celebrates with the team after winning the German Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt in Leverkusen, Germany, Monday, May 2, 2022. (AP)
TT
TT

European Qualification Brings Some Drama to Bundesliga

Leverkusen's Patrik Schick, center, celebrates with the team after winning the German Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt in Leverkusen, Germany, Monday, May 2, 2022. (AP)
Leverkusen's Patrik Schick, center, celebrates with the team after winning the German Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt in Leverkusen, Germany, Monday, May 2, 2022. (AP)

With little excitement at the top of the Bundesliga, it’s the clubs just below Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund that are providing the entertainment at the end of the season.

Bayer Leverkusen, Freiburg, Leipzig, Cologne and Union Berlin are all scrapping for European places with two matches to go, with two of those teams joining Bayern and Dortmund in the Champions League, while another two will qualify for the Europa League

Third-place Leverkusen next visits Hoffenheim before ending the season with a potentially decisive game against Freiburg, which currently holds the last Champions League qualification place one point ahead of Leipzig.

Freiburg, which also plays Leipzig in the German Cup final on May 21, hosts Union on Saturday, a game the team will feel it has to win to maintain the all-important fourth spot. Seventh-place Union will be looking for a victory after drawing with relegated Greuther Fürth last weekend.

Union ends the season at home against Bochum, which clinched survival last weekend.

Leipzig, which has lost its last two games after a 15-match unbeaten run in all competitions, next plays Augsburg at home before its final game at Arminia Bielefeld, which could be relegated by then.

Sixth-place Cologne is also eyeing Europe’s premier competition. The team would secure Europa Conference League qualification if it beats Wolfsburg on Saturday and Union fails to beat Freiburg at the same time.

But Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart said he wouldn’t celebrate yet.

"I’m not counting (points) at all," Baumgart said. "I’m counting on the fact that we want to win the next game. And that’s difficult enough. And then we’ll look at the next week. We know where we are. We know how many points we have and we still want to see whether we can go on another step or the other."

Cologne will play relegation-threatened Stuttgart in the final round for what is likely to be another high-stakes clash.

Stuttgart, Bielefeld and Hertha Berlin are providing the excitement at the other end of the standings. Bielefeld is in second-to-last place - and the most likely to join Fürth in the second division - ahead of its games at Bochum on Friday and Leipzig next weekend.

Stuttgart is only two points ahead of Bielefeld after failing to win any of its last five games, and it looks set for a relegation-promotion playoff against the third-place finisher in the second division to see which club plays in the Bundesliga next season.

Stuttgart on Sunday visits champion Bayern - which was criticized for allowing its players take a trip to Ibiza after losing 3-1 in Mainz last weekend - before hosting Cologne in the final round.

Hertha is four points ahead of Stuttgart and can clinch survival with a win against Mainz on Saturday. Failing that, it will have a second chance at Dortmund in the final round.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Tennis Player Taylor Fritz is Donating Australian Open Prize Money to LA Wildfire Relief Funds

Taylor Fritz of the US plays a forehand return to Cristian Garin of Chile during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Taylor Fritz of the US plays a forehand return to Cristian Garin of Chile during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
TT
TT

Tennis Player Taylor Fritz is Donating Australian Open Prize Money to LA Wildfire Relief Funds

Taylor Fritz of the US plays a forehand return to Cristian Garin of Chile during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Taylor Fritz of the US plays a forehand return to Cristian Garin of Chile during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

American tennis player Taylor Fritz said Thursday he is donating the prize money he earned for his first-round victory at the Australian Open — about $82,000 — to relief funds to help people affected by the wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area.

“I mean, I feel like it’s really the least I can do,” said US Open finalist Fritz, who was born in Rancho Santa Fe, California, and still is based in the state.

“Obviously ‘SoCal’ has been my home forever. I still spend a lot of time in LA, but I lived in LA for quite a while. I have friends impacted; family not so much. I had some family have to evacuate. The house that my brothers grew up in burnt down. Obviously, they’re not living there anymore,” Fritz said after reaching the third round at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 victory over qualifier Cristian Garín of Chile.

“A lot of people are affected by it,” added Fritz, the runner-up to Jannik Sinner at the US Open in September and seeded No. 4 in Australia. “I feel like if you’re in a place to help, then you should.”

Authorities have not determined a cause for the major blazes in what is on track to become the nation’s costliest fire disaster, with at least 25 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed, according to The AP.

Several athletes with connections to the LA area have been competing at the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.

Naomi Osaka, a four-time major champion, said she sent someone to retrieve her 1 1/2-year-old daughter’s birth certificate from their California home in case it got caught up in the fires. Tristan Boyer, a 23-year-old from California who had a first-round win but lost Thursday, said his father had to evacuate their house in Altadena.

“We have friends and family who are homeless now. It’s really, really devastating to see,” Boyer said. “Obviously trying to do what I need to do to prep and play tennis, but control what I can control in this moment. But it’s hard for sure.”

Fritz will play French veteran Gael Monfils on Saturday for a berth in the fourth round in Australia. Also on Fritz’s mind is what is happening back home.

“I just want everyone to obviously stay safe,” Fritz said. “It’s just insane what happened.”