Harry Kane Scores His 24th Bundesliga Goal as Bayern Munich Rallies to Beat Gladbach 3-1

Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates scoring the 2-1 goal with his team-mates during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Moenchengladbach in Munich on February 3, 2024. (AFP)
Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates scoring the 2-1 goal with his team-mates during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Moenchengladbach in Munich on February 3, 2024. (AFP)
TT

Harry Kane Scores His 24th Bundesliga Goal as Bayern Munich Rallies to Beat Gladbach 3-1

Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates scoring the 2-1 goal with his team-mates during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Moenchengladbach in Munich on February 3, 2024. (AFP)
Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates scoring the 2-1 goal with his team-mates during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Moenchengladbach in Munich on February 3, 2024. (AFP)

Harry Kane scored one of the easier goals of his career as Bayern Munich rallied from a goal down to beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Bayern stayed two points behind league leader Bayer Leverkusen, which beat Darmstadt 2-0. Bayern and Leverkusen play next week in a game which could play a crucial role in the title race.

Kane scored his 24th Bundesliga goal of the season to give Bayern the lead in the 70th minute. Thomas Müller challenged goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas for a high ball and it went loose, leaving Kane with plenty of space and time to nod it into the net.

Leroy Sané twice missed good chances for Bayern early on but Gladbach took full advantage when Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer played a poor pass, launching a quick attack which ended with Nico Elvedi scoring.

Nineteen-year-old Bayern midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic leveled the score just before halftime off a one-two with Müller. Pavlovic has started back-to-back Bundesliga games in place of the injured Joshua Kimmich and scored in both.

After Kane's goal, Matthijs de Ligt made sure of the win with a header in the 86th.

Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel expressed concerned about left back Alphonso Davies after the Canadian twisted his knee against Gladbach. Bayern later said Davies had “suffered a ligament strain in his left knee” and will “face a spell on the sidelines.”

Nathan Tella scored both of Leverkusen's goals against Darmstadt, the first with a header off Alejandro Grimaldo's cross and the second off Florian Wirtz's pass. Striker Borja Iglesias started his first game since signing on loan from Real Betis but had little impact.

Leverkusen and coach Xabi Alonso are heading into a busy week, with a German Cup quarterfinal game against Stuttgart on Tuesday before hosting Bayern four days later.

Third-place Stuttgart scored twice in the opening seven minutes on its way to a 3-1 win over 10-man Freiburg. With Stuttgart's top scorer Serhou Guirassy yet to return from the Africa Cup of Nations, on-loan Brighton forward Deniz Undav scored the opening goal to follow his hat trick last week against Leipzig.

New arrival Mahmoud Dahoud, also on loan from Brighton, came on for Stuttgart off the bench in the 76th.

Hugo Ekitike's first game for Eintracht Frankfurt on loan from Paris Saint-Germain saw nine-man Frankfurt lose 2-0 to struggling Cologne.

Faride Alidou and Jan Thielmann scored for Cologne, while Frankfurt had Niels Nkounkou and Tuta sent off, both for picking up two yellow cards. Frankfurt is sixth after a setback to its ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League and Cologne is 16th.

Werder Bremen held on for a 1-0 win against Mainz after Marvin Ducksch's second-minute goal, which came after a Mainz defender blasted a clearance into his own teammate.

Moritz Broschinski scored with a spectacular overhead kick but it wasn't enough for Bochum to take all three points in a 1-1 draw with Augsburg, which leveled with a stoppage-time penalty.



Romania Great Gheorghe Hagi Returns for Second Stint as National Team Coach After Lucescu’s Death

Gheorghe Hagi attends a press conference after being appointed as the new manager of the Romanian national team, in Bucharest, Romania, April 20, 2026. (EPA)
Gheorghe Hagi attends a press conference after being appointed as the new manager of the Romanian national team, in Bucharest, Romania, April 20, 2026. (EPA)
TT

Romania Great Gheorghe Hagi Returns for Second Stint as National Team Coach After Lucescu’s Death

Gheorghe Hagi attends a press conference after being appointed as the new manager of the Romanian national team, in Bucharest, Romania, April 20, 2026. (EPA)
Gheorghe Hagi attends a press conference after being appointed as the new manager of the Romanian national team, in Bucharest, Romania, April 20, 2026. (EPA)

Romania great Gheorghe Hagi has been hired as national team coach for the second time. He was appointed to replace Mircea Lucescu, who died two weeks ago.

The 61-year-old Hagi is widely regarded as Romania’s greatest ever football player, having led the country to the World Cup quarterfinals in 1994. He also played for Barcelona and Real Madrid as a creative attacking midfielder.

His first stint as Romania coach was in 2001 and lasted three months, ending after failing to get the team through the playoffs for the 2002 World Cup.

Hagi has since coached clubs in Romania and Türkiye, including Galatasaray and Steaua Bucharest, but is back in charge of the No. 56-ranked national team, which will not be at the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Romanians lost to Türkiye in the playoffs, after which Lucescu fell ill and stepped down as coach. He died April 7, at the age of 80.

“It is an honor and a great responsibility to represent Romania once again, as I did as a player,” Hagi said in a statement released by Romania’s football federation.

“I am convinced,” he added, “that we can achieve beautiful things. I hope that the performances I had as a player, I will also have as a coach. I am convinced that we can become the best.”

Romania last played at the World Cup in 1998. It reached the round of 16 at the European Championship in 2024, losing to the Netherlands.

Hagi’s first games in charge will be friendlies against Georgia and Wales in June. Romania is in a Nations League group with Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Poland starting in September.

He has signed a contract through to the 2030 World Cup, with the task of “bringing the national team back into the elite of world football,” the federation said.

Federation president Răzvan Burleanu said his organization has made “several attempts over time” to get Hagi to become coach again.


Di Matteo Says ‘Vital’ for Faltering Chelsea to Add Experience

Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Manchester United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - April 18, 2026 Chelsea's Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo react. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Manchester United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - April 18, 2026 Chelsea's Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo react. (Reuters)
TT

Di Matteo Says ‘Vital’ for Faltering Chelsea to Add Experience

Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Manchester United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - April 18, 2026 Chelsea's Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo react. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Manchester United - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - April 18, 2026 Chelsea's Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo react. (Reuters)

Chelsea great Roberto Di Matteo told AFP on Tuesday it was "vital" that the faltering Premier League side add experienced players and backed Liam Rosenior to still be in charge next season.

The London club are in the midst of an alarming slump, sixth in the table after four defeats in a row and in serious danger of missing out on Champions League football.

Boos greeted the full-time whistle following Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge after some supporters staged a street protest against owners BlueCo ahead of kick-off.

Former midfielder Di Matteo, who guided Chelsea to Champions League glory as manager in 2012, said "inconsistency" was understandable given the young age of the squad.

"I think the owner just said it last week. On the weekend he said that they're probably going to look at changing the transfer policy a little bit," Di Matteo said at the launch of the "Hong Kong Football Festival" featuring Manchester City, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus in August.

"I think it's vital. If you want to have a little bit more consistency, if you want to be able to challenge, maybe for the Premier League, you need to have a good balance.

"You need very good, young, talented players, but you also need a little bit of experience within the team."

The 55-year-old Italian, who was a mainstay of the Chelsea team from 1996 to 2002, said allowances needed to be made for under-pressure Rosenior given he only replaced Enzo Maresca in January.

"You take over a team that was built for a different coach, with a different system," he said.

"It's always hard to be able to put your print on the team during mid-season. Everybody expects you to get it going straight away.

He added: "I guess next season we'll be able to see his team make some adjustments to the way the team (plays) or (bring in) the players to play his system."

Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali last week said the club were still behind Rosenior and remained optimistic about long-term success under his management.


Alcaraz Awaiting Test Results with French Open Defense at Risk

 Laureus World Sports Awards - Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid, Spain - April 20, 2026 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz poses on the red carpet ahead of the awards ceremony (Reuters)
Laureus World Sports Awards - Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid, Spain - April 20, 2026 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz poses on the red carpet ahead of the awards ceremony (Reuters)
TT

Alcaraz Awaiting Test Results with French Open Defense at Risk

 Laureus World Sports Awards - Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid, Spain - April 20, 2026 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz poses on the red carpet ahead of the awards ceremony (Reuters)
Laureus World Sports Awards - Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid, Spain - April 20, 2026 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz poses on the red carpet ahead of the awards ceremony (Reuters)

Carlos Alcaraz ‌is awaiting the results of tests on his injured wrist before making a decision about defending his French Open title next month, the world number two said.

The seven-times Grand Slam champion picked up the injury in the first round of the Barcelona Open earlier this month ‌before withdrawing from ‌the tournament.

Scans showed the ‌issue ⁠was more serious ⁠than initially thought and he then skipped the Madrid Open.

"The next test will be crucial," Alcaraz told Spanish television channel TVE.

"We've been trying to do everything we can ⁠do to make sure that ‌this test ‌goes well. I'm trying to be very ‌patient. But we are good, we ‌are just waiting a little bit.

"We have a few tests in the next few days and then we will ‌see how the injury is, and what the next steps ⁠will ⁠be," the 22-year-old added.

Alcaraz, who was crowned Sportsman of the Year at the Laureus Awards on Monday, surrendered the world number one ranking to Jannik Sinner after losing to the Italian in the Monte Carlo Masters final days before his Barcelona opener.

The French Open will start from May 24 in Paris.