BERLIN, Nov. 4 -- Front runners Borussia Dortmund extended their lead in the standings after beating Wolfsburg on Marco Reus' sole goal meanwhile Bayern Munich were held to a late 1-1 draw by Freiburg at the 10th round in Bundesliga on Saturday.

The "BVB" started with a much-changed team into the encounter and had almost opened the scoring with 3 minutes into the game as Wolfsburg's Anthony Brooks tested his own goalkeeper Koen Casteels with a clearance. Both sides staged an evenly balanced encounter with chances at both ends of the pitch. Dortmund eventually broke the deadlock in the 27th minute when Marco Reus headed home from very close range into the near post corner.

Josip Brekalo unleashed a long-range effort but missed the target before the interval. After the restart, both squads continued on the front foot. Wolfsburg were the more active team and pressed for the leveller as Maximilian Arnold came close with a splendid shot before Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki had to deny Renato Steffen. However, Dortmund's youngster Bruun Larsen should have sealed the deal in the closing period but the attacking midfielder missed the far post with a curl shot.
With the 7th win of the season, Dortmund established a four-point advantage atop the standings meanwhile Wolfsburg slipped to the 11th place. Second-placer Bayern Munich missed the chance to hold the pace ahead of the top clash against Dortmund next week, as the "Bavarians" wasted a narrow lead to Freiburg in the dying minutes of the game.

Bayern needed some time to gain a foothold into the encounter whereas Freiburg defended deep and let the hosts do the work. Hence, the hosts came to their first chance with 16 minutes played when Robert Lewandowski failed to overcome Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow from very close range. Arjen Robben ensured Bayern's second chance of the first half after testing Schwolow with a volley from inside the box in the 34th minutes. After the restart, Freiburg thought they had marked the opener but the video assistant referee ruled Tim Kleindienst's header offside in the 54th minute. The fielding of Serge Gnabry proved to be successful substitution for Bayern, as the German international had a dangerous effort on target in the 77th minute before he broke the deadlock three minutes later after finishing off a solo run with a goal. It was a short lived joy for the German record champions as Freiburg had the last laugh in the 89th minute when Lucas Hoeler restored parity by header out of the blue to shock the hosts on home soil.
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With the draw, Bayern Munich stay on the 2nd place of the table for now whereas Freiburg jumped on the 10th position. Elsewhere, Schalke returned to winning ways after overcoming Hannover 3-1. Joelinton's brace helped Hoffenheim to down in-form Bayer Leverkusen 4-1. Newly promoted Nuremberg and Augsburg played out a 2-2 draw and Leipzig see off Hertha Berlin 3-0 on the road. The following encounters conclude the 10th round on Sunday: Borussia Monchengladbach host Fortuna Dusseldorf and Mainz face Werder Bremen.

BERN, November 4 -- Some media outlets are trying to undermine the credibility of the new FIFA leadership, in particular, its President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Fatma Samoura, the world governing football body said in a statement posted on its website.

On Friday, some media outlets published reports based on the information provided by the Football Leaks online platform. Germany’s Der Spiegel claimed that during his tenure as UEFA General Secretary, Infantino, together with ex-UEFA President Michel Platini, "went out of his way to ensure that Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain avoided harsh punishment" for Financial Fair Play violations. According to FIFA, four weeks ago, a group of journalists sent several hundred questions to it, "based on private and internal e-mails and other information which had been accessed (illegally) by third parties". It stressed that that some media outlets ignored most of the answers trying to discredit FIFA. "It seems obvious from the 'reporting' carried out in some media outlets that there is only one particular aim: an attempt to undermine the new leadership of FIFA and, in particular, the President, Gianni Infantino, and the Secretary General, Fatma Samoura," the statement runs.

The governing football body pointed to the changes that have taken place since the new FIFA leadership had assumed office. "As is widely known, FIFA was in a desperate situation in 2015, as it sought to recover from decades of neglect and mismanagement," it stressed. It noted that many former FIFA officials were facing criminal proceedings in Switzerland and abroad, while many others who had discredited the organization for many years were no longer at FIFA.

"It comes as no surprise that some of those who have been removed, replaced, or who are unhappy, continue to spread false rumors and innuendo about the new leadership. We are aware that there are people who, out of frustration, would like to undermine FIFA, for their own self-interested reasons," the statement reads. "It is always a challenge to change things, to move forward, and to bring people together in order to do things better," Infantino said. "And, as we are resolutely implementing the reforms at FIFA, it was always clear to me that I would face strong opposition, especially from those who cannot anymore shamelessly profit from the system they were part of. But this is why I was elected and for me there will be one focus and one focus only: to improve and develop football, worldwide. And today I am more committed and decided than ever to continue fulfilling this task."

"It also deserves to be pointed out that NONE of the ‘reports’ contains anything which would even remotely amount to a violation of any law, statute or regulation," FIFA stressed in its statement.

ROTTERDAM, September 28 -- Dutch-born Ghanaian attacker Elvis Manu was at his best as he brilliantly assisted three goals for Feyenoord in their 4-0 trouncing of Go Ahead Eagles in the Dutch Eredivisie on Saturday.

The 21-year-old forced Giliano Wijnaldum to score an own-goal before successively setting up the rest of Feyenoord’s three goals at the De Adelaarshorst.

Manu, who is regarded as Feyenoord’s best player forced the opening goal for Feyenoord in the 28th minute before turning the architect to set up Jens Toornstra, Colin Kazim-Richards and Mitchell te Vrede for the rest of the goals.

Though he is yet to score a league goal for Feyenoord, he has been overly impressive in their story in the season so far and has assisted as many as six goals since the start the league season.

Manu has declared his intentions to play for Ghana though he is representing the Dutch at U21 levels.


Source: De Peet Journal

MANCHESTER, September 27 -- Louis van Gaal agrees with referee Lee Mason after Wayne Rooney saw red for his professional foul on Stewart Downing.

Rooney, who was dismissed after he kicked Downing, recieved his first straight red in his Premier League career for the challenge.

"It was a break-out of a set-play of ours and he makes a professional foul I think you can call it like that," said Van Gaal. "I don't think Wayne wanted to do it that way but he did it and you can give a red card."

The Manchester United boss, despite agreeing with the match officials for the red, praised his young debutantes Luke Shaw and Paddy McNair for their performances against the Hammers

"Luke Shaw was always injured but now I could play with him for 90 minutes. He had a little cramp and it was amazing he lasted 90 minutes. "Also, Paddy McNair played a very good match and I'm very pleased for him that we won. "The rhythm of the game is very high. You cannot compare it with Germany and Spain. "There is always pressure on the ball. Most of the English teams play physically. We have to keep the ball more easily and then we can improve our play," said Van Gaal.


Source: Agencies

PRAQUE, September 10 -- Guus Hiddink suffered his second straight defeat since taking charge of the Netherlands as Vaclav Pilar hit an injury-time winner for Czech Republic.

Borek Dockal had given the hosts the lead in the Euro 2016 qualifier in Prague before Stefan de Vrij equalised. But Daryl Janmaat's mistake allowed Pilar to seal the points as Hiddink, 67, became the first Dutch national manager to lose his first two games since his previous reign in 1995.