The Sunday Mail
Reigning and favourites to retain Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich players have accepted a salary cut which will last until the “end of the season” to help them through the coronavirus crisis, club president Herbert Hainer said yesterday.
In April, the Bayern squad took a 20-percent reduction in salary, but Hainer did not specify how large the cut was this time.
“It is very satisfying to see that our team understands the situation and will again give up part of their salary until the end of the season,” Hainer told German daily Bild.
Bayern – who sit seven points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga with six games remaining – were in action in last night late kick-off match against Fortuna Dusseldorf, as they looked set to win a record-extending eighth straight title. The German top-flight season is scheduled to end on June 27, although Bayern could potentially also be in the German Cup final on July 4.
Hansi Flick’s side are also still in the Champions League, after a 3-0 victory at Chelsea in their last 16 first leg before the coronavirus lockdown, but Uefa are yet to announce how it plans to end that competition.
In the other Bundesliga’s matchday action, former German champions Werder Bremen kept alive their hopes of avoiding relegation, when a spectacular goal from Leonardo Bittencourt gave them a lifeline 1-0 win at Schalke.
The result left Werder in 17th place on 25 points from 28 games, two points behind 16th-placed Fortuna Duesseldorf, who occupy the relegation play-off spot.
Bittencourt grabbed a potentially vital winner for Bremen in the 32nd minute when he unleashed a thunderbolt into the top corner from 25 metres.
The loss leaves Schalke 10th on 37 points and extends their winless league run to 11 games.
The home side missed two gilt-edged chances in the second half as Werder keeper Jiri Pavlenka denied Benito Raman with a superb reflex save before Michael Gregoritsch volleyed over the bar from 12 metres.
Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Daichi Kamada slotted in an 85th-minute winner to secure a 2-1 victory at VfL Wolfsburg, lifting them five points away from the relegation zone.
Frankfurt, without a win in their previous six games, having lost five of them, struck against the run of play when Portuguese Andre Silva was brought down in the box and converted the 27th-minute penalty himself.
Wolfsburg twice went close to an equaliser before the break but got their deserved goal in the 58th through Kevin Mbabu’s glancing header from Maxi Arnold’s eighth assist of the season.
Japan international Kamada scored the winner from a Bas Dost layoff for his second goal in two games. Frankfurt substitute Lucas Torro was then sent off for two yellow cards within three minutes in stoppage time. – Supersport/Reuters
Results and Fixtures
Hertha Berlin 2-0 Augsburg
Mainz 0-1 Hoffenheim
Schalke 0-1 Werder Bremen
Wolfsburg 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Bayern Munich v Dusseldorf (Played late)
Fixtures
Today
- Monchengladbach v Union Berlin 3:30pm
Paderborn v Dortmund 6:30pm
Tomorrow
FC Koln v RB Leipzig 8:30pm
