Robert Lewandowski scored a stunning goal and Serge Gnabry also got on the scoresheet against his former club as Bayern Munich beat Hoffenheim 4-0 on Sunday.
Julian Nagelsmann's side were threatening from the off and Gnabry lashed in from an acute angle after making a good run into space in the box, but free-scoring striker Lewandowski stole the show, bending a powerful effort high into the net from long range to leave Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann with no chance.
Substitutes Eric Choupo-Moting and Kingsley Coman made the scoreline comfortable late on as the visitors succumbed to Bayern's relentless pressure.
The result keeps Bayern top of the Bundesliga, one point ahead of title rivals Borussia Dortmund with nine games played.
Lewandowski and Gnabry both came close to opening the scoring inside the first eight minutes, with the former dinking just wide from seven yards and the latter finding the net but seeing it disallowed following a VAR check due to a foul from Jamal Musiala in the build-up.
Not to be denied, Gnabry rifled a low shot into the bottom-left corner from a tight angle on the right in the 16th minute after being found by Musiala and Lewandowski unleashed a ferocious strike into the top-right corner from outside the box on the half-hour mark after good work from Thomas Muller.
Bayern had several more good chances at 2-0 up, but did not find the net again until Andrej Kramaric's poor clearance ricocheted off the back of Dayot Upamecano and into the path of substitute Choupo-Moting, who slotted home in the 82nd minute.
Fellow Bayern substitute Coman added further gloss to the scoreline five minutes later, racing onto a long ball in behind and lashing emphatically past Baumann to make it 4-0.
Busby Jr. reappointed as Reggae Girlz head coach; eighteen members of historic World Cup squad return for Brazil friendlies
Hubert Busby Junior has been reappointed as Head Coach of the Jamaica Senior National Women’s Team, the Jamaica Football Federation announced in a statement on Friday.
This is Busby's second stint with the team, having held the position from 2020 to 2021.
He was removed from the position when the JFF requested FIFA to investigate unsavory media reports originating in Europe. FIFA subsequently cleared Busby.
“The Jamaica Football Federation is pleased to announce that after careful consideration and due process, our technical committee has recommended the immediate reappointment of Hubert Busby as head coach of the Senior Women's National Team,” the JFF said in Friday’s release.
“Based on his vast experience and knowledge of the squad, we think he is the perfect individual to take the team through the next stage of its development,” it continued.
Xavier Gilbert, who was acting in the role of Head Coach since October 2023, will revert to his previous role as assistant coach.
Busby first task will be to take charge of the 23-Woman squad which will play two international friendlies against Brazil on June 1 and June 4 in Brazil.
Eighteen members of the group for the two games were members of Jamaica’s history-making 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad. The squad is set to depart for Brazil on May 26 and return home on June 5.
The full squad is as follows:
Stuttgart set club record with victory over Augsburg
Serhou Guirassy scored a second-half goal for Stuttgart to secure a 1-0 victory away to Augsburg, setting a new club record in the process.
Stuttgart have won their 22nd match this term, an incredible feat as they have never secured this number of victories in a single season. What makes this even more remarkable is, this time last year they were playing in a relegation play-off.
Guirassy scored the opening goal of a game for the 11th time this season. He is the only non-German player to do so more often in a season since Bremen's Ailton in 2003-04 (12 times). The forward increased his tally to 26 for the season with his strike just three minutes into the second half.
Seb Hoeness' side have scored in 30 of their 33 games - only Bayer Leverkusen (31) have scored goals in more matches in the German league this season. As they dominated the tie, Chris Fuehrich went close to adding a second, only to be denied by Augsburg keeper Tomas Koubek.
This win lifts Stuttgart to second in the table above Bayern Munich, with the Bavarian side welcoming Wolfsburg to the Allianz Arena on Sunday.
Hoeness' team have already secured Champions League football for next season and, with one game left, this season has been a turnaround fans could only have dreamed of at the beginning of the season.
Data Debrief:
Stuttgart are undefeated in their last three games in the German Bundesliga - their last longer unbeaten streak since a run of 11 between January and April 2024.
Stuttgart have kept a clean sheet in 11 of their 33 games, only Bayer Leverkusen (15) have done this more often in the German Bundesliga this season.
Augsburg have lost their last four games in the German Bundesliga. Their last joint-longest losing streak was from February to May 2020.
Alaves 2-2 Girona: Wasteful Blanquivermells held to dramatic 2-2 draw
Girona let an away win slip as Jon Guridi's last-gasp effort snatched a 2-2 draw for Alaves on Friday to leave the visitors' hold on second place in the LaLiga in jeopardy.
The visitors grabbed an early lead through defender Eric Garcia's towering header off a corner only four minutes into the game before Guridi equalised in the 12th with a close-range finish.
Despite Alaves looking more dangerous, Girona restored their lead just before half-time thanks to Yangel Herrera's superb strike into the top-right corner.
Michel's side had chances to extend their advantage after the break, but Guridi scored his second deep into stoppage time after capitalising on a loose ball in the box to seal the draw.
Girona have 75 points, only two clear of Catalan rivals Barcelona, who host Real Sociedad on Monday. Real Madrid have secured the league title, sitting on 87 points with four games left.
Alaves remain 11th with 42 points.
Data Debrief:
Guridi, who scored the first LaLiga brace of his career (63 appearances) against Girona, scored Alaves' latest goal in the competition in the 21st century at 98:37.
Girona are unbeaten in their last four LaLiga matches but missed the chance to make it four wins on the bounce in the league for the first time since a run of five in November 2023.
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