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| August 18, 2002 | Sunday | Jamadi-us-Saani 8, 1423 |
Four-goal Elber lifts Bayern Munich
BERLIN, Aug 17: Bayern Munich, bidding for their fourth Bundesliga title in five seasons, raced to their first win of the new campaign in style Saturday, four goals from Brazilian Giovane Elber helping them to a 6-2 win over Arminia Bileefeld.
Unheralded Bielefeld had roared to the summit on the opening day last weekend with a 3-0 win over Werder Bremen while Bayern laboured to a goalless draw at Borussia Monchengladbach.
But Bayern made amends as Elber, Claudio Pizarro and summer signing from Leverkusen Michael Ballack put Bielefeld to the sword before a 50,000 crowd.
Elber was full of tricks as he netted two headers, a goal with his left foot and another with his right as Ballack ran the show from offensive midfield.
Elber headed the first on 18 minutes before Ballack’s drive ten minutes later gave him his first league goal in a Bayern shirt.
Elber nodded in from close range after visiting keeper Mathias Hain saved an effort from Pizarro before Ballack drove home a right-foot drive and when Elber poached his second the contest was over four minutes before the interval.
Polish striker Artur Wichniarek pulled one back seven minutes after the restart but Elber was on the end of a Jens Jeremies pass for Bayern’s fourth after 66 minutes, having fed off the same colleague for his previous effort.
Despite completing his hattrick the Brazilian’s appetite was not sated and after Pizarro has arrowed home his side’s fifth on 81 minutes Elber leapt high to head home from a Mehmet Scholl corner flicked on by Ballack.
Mamadou-Lamine Diabang scored in the dying seconds as Bielefeld pulled things back to 6-2.
Elsewhere, last season’s runners-up Bayer Leverkusen held last season’s champions Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw, Diego Placente giving Leverkusen the lead midway through the first period but giant striker Jan Koller llevelling on the hour.
Schalke scored a useful 3-1 success at fellow Europrean aspirants Kaiserslautern after coming back from a goal down while Bochum’s Spanish international Thomas Christiansen smashed a hattrick in a 5-0 win over Energie Cottbus.
Christiansen has made an incredible start having scored twice on the opening day at Nuremberg.
The win moved promoted Bochum provisionally to the top of the heap with eight goals scored and just one conceded in two sparkling wins.
Results
Hertha Berlin 1 VfB Stuttgart 1
Bayern Munich 6 Arminia Bielefeld 2
Hanover 96 1 TSV 1860 Munich 3
Hansa Rostock 2 Nuremberg 0
VfL Bochum 5 Energie Cottbus 0
Leverkusen 1 Borussia Dortmund 1 Kaiserslautern 1 Schalke 04 3.
Premier League results
LONDON: Results of English league soccer matches played Saturday:
Premier league
Blackburn Rovers 0 Sunderland 0
Charlton Athletic 2 Chelsea 3
Everton 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2
Fulham 4 Bolton Wanderers 1
Leeds United 3 Manchester City 0
Man United 1 West Bromwich Albion 0
Southampton 0 Middlesbrough 0.
—Reuters/AFP
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