01/10/26 01:53:00
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01/10 13:52 CST Stuttgart sweeps aside Leverkusen as snow hampers the Bundesliga
Stuttgart sweeps aside Leverkusen as snow hampers the Bundesliga
By JAMES ELLINGWORTH
AP Sports Writer
Stuttgart surged into contention for the Bundesliga's Champions League places
after Jamie Leweling scored twice in a 4-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen on
Saturday.
On a day when snow cut the Bundesliga schedule from six games to four,
Stuttgart made light of below-freezing temperatures.
Stuttgart led 4-0 by halftime against a Leverkusen team missing injured striker
Patrik Schick and key players at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Both of Leweling's goals came as Stuttgart turned over the ball and surged
through the Leverkusen half, either side of a Maximilian Mittelstdt penalty
awarded when Leverkusen's Jeanuel Belocian brought down Josha Vagnoman. Deniz
Undav made it 4-0 just before halftime.
An Alex Grimaldo penalty midway through the second half was the only
consolation for Leverkusen, which has lost three of its last five Bundesliga
games.
Following reports in Britain linking Leweling with Bournemouth as a potential
replacement for Antoine Semenyo, Stuttgart sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth
told broadcaster Sky, "We don't plan to sell Jamie Leweling. We're happy that
we have him."
Leverkusen and Stuttgart are fourth, both 12 points off league leader Bayern
Munich, which plays Wolfsburg on Sunday.
Union digs in
Union Berlin fans spent the week clearing snow around their stadium so their
game against Mainz could go ahead. They were rewarded with a late recovery to
salvage a 2-2 draw.
Union's game was in doubt, prompting fans to gather with shovels to clear snow
from access routes at the stadium on Thursday. Those efforts and
lower-than-expected snowfall on Friday allowed the game to proceed, though the
damp field soon churned up.
On his return to a club he led into the Champions League before his 2023
departure, Mainz coach Urs Fischer nearly left with a win.
Nadiem Amiri's volley gave Mainz the lead and ex-Union player Benedict
Hollerbach refused to celebrate after scoring Mainz's second goal. Union
responded with goals from Jeong Woo-yeong in the 77th and a close-range finish
from Marin Ljubicic in the 86th to take a point.
Costly tackle
A poor tackle cost Hamburger SV dearly in a 2-1 loss at Freiburg which finished
amid steady snowfall.
Hamburg had just taken the lead when defender Daniel Edfadli's clumsy challenge
gave away a penalty and earned him a second yellow card. Freiburg's Vincenzo
Grifo converted the spot kick before Igor Matanovic scored the winning goal.
Heidenheim drew with Cologne 2-2. Marvin Pieringer's audacious overhead kick
gave Heidenheim the lead early before Cologne twice leveled the score.
St. Pauli's game with Leipzig and Werder Bremen's against Hoffenheim were
postponed because of snow and ice.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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