2 Israeli Clubs Return to Action in UEFA Competitions

Denys Antyukh (L) and Oleg Danchenko (R) of Zorya Luhansk in action against Gavriel Kanichowsky (C) of Maccabi Tel Aviv during the UEFA Europa Conference Leauge group stage soccer match between Zorya Luhansk and Maccabi Tel Aviv, in Lublin, Poland, 09 November 2023.  EPA/Wojtek Jargilo
Denys Antyukh (L) and Oleg Danchenko (R) of Zorya Luhansk in action against Gavriel Kanichowsky (C) of Maccabi Tel Aviv during the UEFA Europa Conference Leauge group stage soccer match between Zorya Luhansk and Maccabi Tel Aviv, in Lublin, Poland, 09 November 2023. EPA/Wojtek Jargilo
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2 Israeli Clubs Return to Action in UEFA Competitions

Denys Antyukh (L) and Oleg Danchenko (R) of Zorya Luhansk in action against Gavriel Kanichowsky (C) of Maccabi Tel Aviv during the UEFA Europa Conference Leauge group stage soccer match between Zorya Luhansk and Maccabi Tel Aviv, in Lublin, Poland, 09 November 2023.  EPA/Wojtek Jargilo
Denys Antyukh (L) and Oleg Danchenko (R) of Zorya Luhansk in action against Gavriel Kanichowsky (C) of Maccabi Tel Aviv during the UEFA Europa Conference Leauge group stage soccer match between Zorya Luhansk and Maccabi Tel Aviv, in Lublin, Poland, 09 November 2023. EPA/Wojtek Jargilo

Two Israeli clubs have returned to action in UEFA competitions after being unable to play two weeks ago because of the country’s war with Hamas.
Villarreal rallied in the second half to defeat Maccabi Haifa 2-1 in a Europa League game played in Cyprus.
The teams could not play in Spain on Oct. 26 and that game has been rescheduled for Dec. 6.
Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine 3-1 in a Europa Conference League game staged in the Polish city if Lublin between two teams displaced by war.
Ukrainian teams have played international games in other countries since the Russian military invasion started in February 2022.



Bayern Rivals Leverkusen and Dortmund Drop Points in Bundesliga

Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck gestures after losing the German Bundesliga soccer match between Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, in Berlin, Germany, 05 October 2024. (EPA)
Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck gestures after losing the German Bundesliga soccer match between Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, in Berlin, Germany, 05 October 2024. (EPA)
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Bayern Rivals Leverkusen and Dortmund Drop Points in Bundesliga

Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck gestures after losing the German Bundesliga soccer match between Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, in Berlin, Germany, 05 October 2024. (EPA)
Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck gestures after losing the German Bundesliga soccer match between Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, in Berlin, Germany, 05 October 2024. (EPA)

Bayern Munich won without playing on Saturday as Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund dropped points to modest opponents.

Dortmund slumped at Union Berlin to a 2-1 defeat without injured forward Karim Adeyemi, who starred in the team’s 7-1 rout of Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Defending champion Leverkusen squandered an early two-goal lead over promoted Holstein Kiel and drew 2-2. It was only Kiel’s second point in its debut top-flight season.

Leverkusen played in a special black jersey with red trim to commemorate the club’s 120th anniversary, and for Xabi Alonso it was also a special occasion – the Spanish coach took over exactly two years before.

Leverkusen fans didn’t have to wait long to celebrate after Victor Boniface opened the scoring in the fourth minute and Jonas Hofmann made it 2-0 four minutes after that. Leverkusen looked set for a rout.

But the home team failed to make more of its dominance — Boniface had another goal ruled out for offside — and Kiel secured a lifeline before the break when Max Geschwil scored after a corner. Fiete Arp scored an unlikely equalizer from the penalty spot in the 69th.

Also, Freiburg won at Werder Bremen 1-0, and Wolfsburg enjoyed a 3-1 win in Wolfsburg.

St. Pauli was playing Mainz later.

League leader Bayern visits second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.