Union Berlin appoint Bjelica as head coach
Union Berlin have appointed Nenad Bjelica as their new coach, the Bundesliga club said on Sunday.
County Union Sport News
Max Verstappen completes majestic season with record-breaking triumph
ABU DHABI: Max Verstappen completed a majestic and record-breaking season in familiar style on Sunday when he cruised to a record-increasing 19th win of the year for Red Bull at an action-packed Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The three-time world champion came home 17.993 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc whose bold drive was not enough for the Italian team to claim the runners-up place in the constructors’ championship. That went, finally, to Mercedes by just three points as although Sergio Perez came home second behind Verstappen on the road he was relegated to fourth with a five-second penalty, for a mid-race clash with McLaren’s Lando Norris, which promoted George Russell to third. Norris was fifth ahead of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda of Alpha Tauri and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes. Verstappen ended the season as the only driver to complete every lap of the season, more than 1000 laps led, and also broke Jim Clark’s 1963 record for the highest percentage of laps led in a season. “An incredible season,” said Verstappen, who also paid tribute to retirement-bound Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost who nurtured his early F1 career. “I felt quite emotional on the in-lap as it’s the last time in this car that has given me such a lot. Russell said: “It was really tense at the end as the tires were dropping off, but it’s a massive relief to bring the car home P3.
Liverpool hit back to hold Man City, end Etihad winning streak
MANCHESTER, UK: Liverpool snapped Manchester City’s 23-match winning run at the Etihad as a clash between the Premier League’s top two ended 1-1 on Saturday. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s fine strike 10 minutes from time salvaged a point for the visitors after Erling Haaland’s 50th Premier League goal put City in front. A share of the spoils means there remains just one point between the sides and that Arsenal can now take top spot from City if they win at Brentford later on Saturday. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp made his displeasure clear at the early kick-off time on the back of an international break where both sides had players in World Cup qualifying action in South America little over 72 hours ago. Fatigue appeared a factor as the expected fireworks failed to materialize. “Preparing for the most difficult game of the season with one (training) session is really a challenge,” said Klopp. “We’re still in a process. If we’d played really well today, we could have won — we didn’t.
Teams already eyeing 2024 Formula 1 calendar as season ends at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
ABU DHABI: After 22 races, the 10 teams who started in Bahrain have experienced mixed fortunes.
European round-up: Bayer Leverkusen top Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen returned to the Bundesliga summit with a 3-0 win at Werder Bremen to ensure boss Xabi Alonso enjoyed a memorable 42nd birthday.
Al-Hilal’s 9-0 thrashing of Al-Hazm sees Riyadh giants restore four-point lead atop SPL
RIYADH: Al-Hilal sent a message to the rest of Saudi Arabia with the biggest-ever win in the Roshn Saudi League, a 9-0 thrashing of Al-Hazm that restored their four-point lead over Al-Nassr in second. They meet next Friday, and mouths are already starting to water.
‘Adorable’ Havertz ends goal drought to fire Arsenal into top spot
LONDON: Mikel Arteta saluted “adorable” Kai Havertz after the German sent Arsenal to the top of the Premier League with the last-gasp goal that clinched a 1-0 win at Brentford on Saturday. Havertz was a Champions League final hero for Chelsea in 2021, but he has endured a torrid time since crossing London to join Arsenal in the close-season. The 24-year-old midfielder finally gave a glimpse of why Arteta splashed out £65 million ($80 million) to sign him when he headed home in the closing minutes. Havertz’s second goal for Arsenal was his first in his last 10 appearances, moving his team one point clear of second placed Manchester City, who were held to a 1-1 draw by third placed Liverpool earlier in the day. “That is the beautiful thing about life. When you have challenges and you have to overcome them, it makes these moments much better,” Arteta said. “That is the reason the people reacted to him like that today.
Union Berlin's Marie-Louise Eta makes history as first female assistant coach in Bundesliga
BERLIN: When Kevin Volland scored a late equalizer for Union Berlin, assistant coach Marie-Louise Eta pushed the team for more. Eta had already made history on Saturday by becoming the first female assistant coach in the 60-year history of the Bundesliga, as well as in the other top divisions of Europe’s “big five” soccer leagues. With Union bidding to end a nine-game run of German league defeats, Volland scored two minutes before the end of regulation time against Augsburg to set off celebrations of joy and relief around Union’s Stadion An der Alten Försterei. It was Union’s first goal in five games and the match ended 1-1. Eta didn’t celebrate the goal for long, but instead encouraged her players to go for the win.