Union Berlin missed a chance at reinstating their four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga, going down 2-1 away at bottom side Bochum on Sunday.

Union came into the weekend with a four-point lead, but the gap was cut to just one after Bayern Munich defeated Hoffenheim 2-0 on Saturday.

Bochum took the lead in the final minute of the first half when Philipp Hofmann headed in a corner.

Looking to ignite a tired-looking side exhausted by frequent midweek matches as a result of their first Europa League campaign, coach Urs Fischer made three changes in the 63rd minute.

However it was the home side which continued to look fresher, scoring a second on the counter in the 71st minute when Christopher Antwi-Adjei crossed for Gerrit Holtmann to score.

Union had a chance to mount a comeback when awarded a penalty in the 77th minute, but Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Riemann saved Milos Pantovic’s tentative spot-kick.

Pantovic got on the board in the last minute of injury time, but it was not enough as Union failed to secure three points for just the fourth time this season.

The win was just Bochum’s second of the season, lifting them from last spot in the table ahead of Schalke.

Schalke have a chance lifting themselves off the foot of the ladder when they take on Hertha in Berlin in Sunday’s late game.

Source: AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo has been dropped from Manchester United’s squad for Saturday’s clash with Chelsea after his tantrum against Tottenham.

Ronaldo stormed down the Old Trafford tunnel with several minutes remaining in United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old star reportedly told United manager Erik ten Hag that he did not want to come on as a late substitute.

Ten Hag said after the Tottenham match that he would “deal with” the issue on Thursday.

It was not the first time Ronaldo had shown public dissent at his role in Ten Hag’s team’s and the United manager has finally responded by wielding the axe.

“Cristiano Ronaldo will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday’s Premier League game against Chelsea. The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that fixture,” a United statement said on Thursday.

It is believed Ten Hag’s decision to remove Ronaldo from the squad has the full backing of the United hierarchy.

United chiefs are said to be weighing up a decision on Ronaldo’s long-term future after the disciplinary issue. But whether there can be a way back for the unhappy Portugal striker remains to be seen.

United would have to wait until the transfer window reopens on January 1 before they could sell Ronaldo.

Disappointed by United’s failure to qualify for the Champions League, Ronaldo has been trying to engineer a move away from Old Trafford since the end of last season.

The former Real Madrid and Juventus star had hoped to join a club in the Champions League, but he found offers from Europe’s elite hard to come by.

Ronaldo missed United’s pre-season tour to Australia and Asia for “family reasons” before making another show of frustration in a friendly against Rayo Vallecano.

Playing under Ten Hag for the first time, Ronaldo was substituted at half-time and responded by leaving Old Trafford before the match had finished.

Source: AFP

Ukrainian football legend Andriy Shevchenko has admitted in an interview with AFP he cried when he “saw children running through a field strewn with missile craters” in Irpin, a commuter town outside Kyiv which was liberated from Russian control.

The 2004 Ballon D’Or winner said he was overwhelmed by the youngsters’ determination to play football despite the carnage around them.

Shevchenko, 46, the son of “a military man” who despite his upbringing “stood against wars all his life”, was so angry at the Russian invasion in February he “felt such excruciating pain I couldn’t even breathe.”

“I couldn’t comprehend the fact that bombs are falling and rockets are flying in the centre of democratic Europe now,” he said, speaking this week.

“They fly towards my home, towards everything I love. I had to decide on what I should do to help my country quickly.

“I thought about everything I’m capable of and where I can be most effective.

“And I realised that I have to use the power of my name, to fight for Ukraine publicly.”

Shevchenko, unlike some Ukrainian sports stars who took up arms, chose an ambassadorial role to showcase his country’s plight.

The 2003 Champions League winner with AC Milan and top tennis player Elina Svitolina “immediately” accepted an invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to become ambassadors for a charity called United24.

He met the president in Kyiv on May 18.

“It was the first time I came to Ukraine since February 24, the war had been going on for two and a half months already, and Russian troops had only just retreated from the city.

“I saw an empty, and yet indomitable, Kyiv. It was a very emotional moment for me, as well as my meeting with the president.”

The charity was launched by Zelensky to collect donations to cover Ukraine’s most pressing needs: Defence and de-mining, medical aid and to rebuild the country which has been devastated since Vladimir Putin launched the invasion.

Shevchenko has focused on raising funds for medical aid and reconstruction.

“We are about to announce the first project this week. In total, over $200 million were collected in five months, and people from 110 countries joined in.

“I think I made the right decision.”

‘Sympathy and admiration’

Shevchenko, whose mother and sister were able to leave Kyiv around six weeks after the invasion, said he never ceased to be amazed at the resilience of his compatriots on his visits back home.

“The people I met in Borodianka, in a temporary house built for 22 families, have already arranged the living space there and met us with smiles on their faces,” he said.

“Despite the fact that these people lost everything they had, they keep enjoying their lives.

“And this is such a typical trait for Ukrainians. To raise from the darkness, always looking for the best in everything and supporting each other.

“Ukrainians evoke not only sympathy, but also admiration from the whole world.”

He says he is indebted to his former club for their support.

“There are no words to describe how I felt when AC Milan announced they were releasing a special t-shirt with my number in support of Ukraine,” he said.

Sales of the t-shirt raised 200,000 euros ($196,000) which will help reconstruct a children’s football pitch in Irpin, destroyed by Russian missiles.

Shevchenko — who has also been touched by the “great, constant support” from Barcelona’s Polish forward Robert Lewandowski — said despite recent Ukrainian battlefield successes he was reminded only last week of Russia’s ability to strike.

“A week ago, I left Kyiv by train, on the day when the most devastating strikes since February 24 hit Ukraine,” he said.

“Today (he spoke to AFP on October 17), Russia attacked civilians again.

“A residential house is on fire in the very centre of Kyiv, a family expecting a child was killed.”

However, even amid the loss of innocent lives Shevchenko saw something to hearten him.

“Among all this horror and pain, I saw a photo of a rescuer taking a small kitten out of the rubble.”

Source: AFP