Mexico made a bright start to the game but were initially unable to create any clear-cut chances. In contrast, Portugal looked flat at first but it was the European Champions who had the first opportunity: A volley from Cristiano Ronaldo crashed against the bar on 21 minutes and Pepe was on hand to put the rebound in the net. The goal was ruled out following an intervention by the video referee. The Portuguese upped their game and their efforts were rewarded on 34 minutes when Quaresma opened the scoring. The Mexicans refused to give up and Chicharito levelled before the break with a wonderful flying header on 41 minutes.
The second half proved to be dour before coming to life again in the closing stages: Cedric made it 2-1 for Portugal on 86 minutes but the tireless Mexicans hit back as the European Champions appeared to be certain of winning the game. The central defender Moreno netted a deserved equaliser in added time. Chicharito played the full 90 minutes and he is set to play again on Wednesday at 20.00 CET when Mexico take on New Zealand.
Chile score late on against Cameroon
Charles Aránguiz, former Leverkusen player Arturo Vidal and La Roja started the game, as expected, with a dominant and aggressive approach. They succeeded in creating a number of chances in the opening minutes. There were plenty of goalscoring opportunities in the match as Cameroon showed their strength in counter-attacks and set pieces. However, the ball did not end up in the back of the net until added time in the first half. Vargas put away a diagonal ball from Vidal but the celebrations were cut short. Video evidence proved that Vargas was just offside.
The two sides competed on equal terms after the restart as Cameroon were significantly livelier. At the same time, neither side was able to finish. Chile only found their scoring boots in the closing stages of the match: Vidal scored with a header on 81 minutes and, in added time, Vargas doubled the lead after Sanchez failed to score. Aránguiz was substituted on 71 minutes and his next outing is a special match on Thursday at 20.00 CET against his team-mates Leno, Henrichs and Brandt.
Bernd Leno in goal against Australia
Germany play their first game in the tournament in Russia on Monday evening at 17.00 CET. At the press conference on Saturday, Joachim Löw confirmed Bernd Leno will be in goal against Australia for his fifth international cap. The Germany coach also has two other Bayer 04 players available in Benjamin Henrichs and Julian Brandt.
U21s beat Czech Republic in opener
The Germany U21 side started their European Championship finals on Sunday. Max Meyer scored the first goal against the Czech Republic on 44 minutes before Serge Gnabry made it 2-0 after the restart. Germany could have won by a bigger margin with Davie Selke missing a penalty. Dominik Kohr did not play. The next group match is against Denmark on Wednesday night at 20.45 CET.
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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