European round-up: Lazio held at home, Bayern Munich progress in cup
Lazio stretched their unbeaten run in Serie A to a club-record 17 games but missed out on second spot in a frustrating 0-0 home draw against Verona on Wednesday.
Lazio, who had won 12 of their last 13 matches to emerge as title contenders, are third with 50 points from 22 games, four behind leaders Juventus and two adrift of Inter Milan.
Lazio also stayed unbeaten for 17 successive Serie A matches under Sven Goran Eriksson in 1999.
Verona, who remained ninth on 31 points, had the first chance in the 16th minute when Thomas Strakosha saved midfielder Matteo Pessina’s attempt.
Lazio had an opportunity through Ciro Immobile, but the league’s top scorer was denied by Marco Silvestri who also tipped away Luis Alberto’s 25-metre drive early on the second half.
Strakosha salvaged a point for Lazio with a decisive save to deny Marco Borini five minutes from time.
DFB-Pokal: Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen through
Robert Lewandowski scored two goals to take his season tally to 35 as Bayern Munich came from behind to beat Hoffenheim 4-3 on Wednesday and reach the quarterfinals of the German Cup.
Bayern is back on target to win the German domestic double again this season after retaking the lead in the Bundesliga on Saturday. It is the favourite in the cup too. Bayern is the only team from the Bundesliga’s top four to reach the quarterfinals after Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund were both knocked out Tuesday.
However, the win over Hoffenheim was marred by defensive errors which could prove costly if repeated against Bayern’s title rival Leipzig in the league on Sunday.
Bayern went behind to an own goal for the second cup game in a row when Jerome Boateng turned the ball into his own net in the eighth minute while trying to block a shot with his shin.
Four minutes later, it was the turn of Hoffenheim’s Benjamin Hubner to score an own goal by deflecting a cross past the goalkeeper with his knee to make it 1-1.
Thomas Muller put Bayern into the lead in the 20th off a cross from David Alaba. Lewandowski scored in the 36th and 80th minutes to move to 35 goals in all competitions this season – that’s 22 in the Bundesliga, 10 in the Champions League and three in the cup.
Hoffenheim wasted a string of second-half chances, but Moanes Dabbur took advantage of mix-ups in Bayern’s defence to score two late goals which left Bayern under pressure. Dabbur’s second came from a rebound after Bayern’s Benjamin Pavard smashed the ball against his own post.
Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen needed a dose of luck to beat second-tier Stuttgart 2-1. Stuttgart’s goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow completely mistimed a punch at a corner and deflected the ball into his own net to give Leverkusen the lead in the 71st.
Bredlow was partly to blame for Leverkusen’s second 12 minutes later, fumbling a rebound into the path of Lucas Alario, who made it 2-0. Stuttgart hit back with a goal from Silas Wamangituka in the 85th but Leverkusen clung on to win.
Union Berlin narrowly avoided extra time against fourth-tier Verl, taking a 1-0 win when Robert Andrich scored in the 85th minute. It’s the first time Union have reached the quarterfinal stage since 2001, when they lost the final to Schalke.
Ligue 1: Marseille move clear in second
In Ligue 1, a superb solo effort from Dimitri Payet helped second-placed Marseille to a 2-0 win at St Etienne and moved them six points clear of Rennes in third.
Payet turned Yann M’Vila inside out before firing home at the near post from a tight angle to open the scoring in the seventh minute and Nemanja Radonjic sealed the points five minutes from time with his fifth goal of the season.
Montpellier moved three points behind fourth-placed Lille after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Metz.
Teji Savanier’s 13th-minute strike put the home side in front, but Metz were awarded a penalty seven minutes later when Geronimo Rulli brought down Ibrahima Niane.
The goalkeeper made amends with a smart save to deny Habib Diallo, but the visitors did grab an equaliser 10 minutes from time when substitute Farid Boulaya fired home shortly after coming on.
Lyon missed the chance to move fifth after playing out a goalless draw at home to Amiens, while Reims and Nice drew 1-1, with Yunis Abdelhamid cancelling out Pierre Lees Melou’s opener.
Brest missed a penalty and had Jean-Charles Castelletto sent off but still managed to take a point in a 1-1 draw at home to Bordeaux, Waris Majeed’s solitary strike earned Strasbourg victory at bottom club Toulouse and first-half goals from Yassine Benrahou and Nolan Roux secured Nimes a 2-0 win over Dijon.
Copa Del Rey: Villarreal shocked by second-tier Mirandes
Spanish second division side Mirandes pulled off their third consecutive upset in the Copa del Rey this season by beating La Liga club Villarreal 4-2 at home on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals.
Mirandes took an early lead through Brazilian forward Matheus before Javier Ontiveros levelled for the top-flight side, only for Martin Merquelanz to restore the home team’s advantage with a penalty at the end of the first half.
Santi Cazorla struck from the spot to level again for Villarreal but Mirandes, who also reached the semi-finals in 2012, soon went in front for a third time through Odei Onaindia.
A strike in added time from Antonio Sanchez sealed a place in the last four for Mirandes who knocked out Sevilla and Celta Vigo in the previous two rounds.
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