BERLIN: Sadio Mane opened his competitive goal-scoring account for Bayern Munich as the Bundesliga champions defeated Leipzig 5-3 to capture the German Super Cup for a 10th time on Saturday.

The African Player of the Year, who ended a six-year stint at Liverpool to move to Bavaria in the summer, also had two goals ruled out for offside in the game played at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena.

“I’m really happy to win my first game and first trophy. You can’t complain. I’m really happy to be part of this great club,” said Mane.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann insisted his team deserved the victory.

“We did very well in the first half but from the 60th minute you could see that we were running out of steam,” he said.

“We’ve only been in training for 19 days, you shouldn’t forget that. We deserved to win, there’s no question about that.”

Senegalese star Mane was on target on the half-hour mark for his team’s second goal in the German season curtain-raiser.

Jamal Musiala played a perfect pass to unlock the Leipzig offside trap and release Serge Gnabry whose pass across the front of goal was tapped home by Mane.

Bayern, beginning a new era after the departure of star striker Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, had taken the lead after 14 minutes thanks to Musiala getting the better of Leipzig’s Hungarian goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.

The impressive Musiala was at the heart of Bayern’s third goal on the stroke of halftime when the teenager’s astute pass was drilled home by French international Benjamin Pavard.

Marcel Halstenberg headed in on the hour as Leipzig cut the deficit but it only took Bayern five minutes to restore their three-goal advantage.

Thomas Mueller had a shot only half saved by Gulacsi and Gnabry was quickest to react to the loose ball to make the score 4-1.

Another new signing Ryan Gravenberch, who arrived from Ajax, came on to replace Mueller for Bayern before Mane had a goal ruled out by VAR for offside.

In an end-to-end second half, Leipzig grabbed their second goal of the evening courtesy of a Christopher Nkunku penalty after Dani Olmo had been brought down in the area.

As the clock ticked down, Bayern brought on another new signing in Dutch centerback Matthijs de Ligt who joined from Juventus for €67 million ($68.2 million).

With six minutes left, Mane had a second goal ruled out, again for offside, before Spanish international Olmo pulled another goal back for Leipzig in the 89th minute after a quick breakaway.

Bayern then had to survive a few nervy moments as Leipzig pushed for a fourth but Leroy Sane wrapped up the game with his team’s fifth goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Bayern Munich begin the defense of their Bundesliga title away to Eintracht Frankfurt next Friday.

ABHA, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia defeated Yemen on penalties at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium to reach the semi-finals of the 2022 Arab cup U-20.

They face Palestine at the same venue on Wednesday.

Ninety minutes and extra time saw no goals between the two nations, before the home team advanced thanks to successful spot-kicks from Mohammed Al-Marri, Musab Al-Juwair, and the tournament’s outstanding player Abdullah Radif, with Yemen’s solitary successful effort coming from Mohammed Mahdi.

Goalkeeper Osama Al-Marmish saved three penalties to emerge as the hero for Saudi Arabia, who will contest their fifth semi-final in the competition’s history. They previously reached the last four in 1985, 1989, 2012, and 2021.

Earlier in the day, Palestine beat Jordan 5-4 on penalties after extra time finished 1-1.

Palestine took the lead after eight minutes through Mohammed Sandouqa, before Jordan squared the match through Alaa Day through a 41st-minute penalty.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia have been crowned winners of the 2022 West Asian Junior Volleyball Championship after they defeated Bahrain at the Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Sports City Hall in Qatif on Sunday.

The young Falcons displayed their superiority throughout to win the match in straight sets (27-25, 25-17, 25-22) and claim the title.

Earlier on Sunday, the losing semi-finalists met in the third-place playoff, with Iraq beating Lebanon by three sets to two (25-20, 25-12, 26-28, 20-25, 15-12 ) to take the bronze medal.

Saudi Arabia progressed to the final with a 3-2 win over Iraq on Saturday, while Bahrain beat Lebanon 3-1 in the other semi on the same day.

WEMBLEY: England won a major women’s tournament for the first time as Chloe Kelly’s extra-time goal secured a 2-1 victory over Germany at a sold-out Wembley on Sunday. In front of a record crowd of 87,192 for any match in the history of the European Championships, Kelly prodded home a loose ball from close range to end English football’s 56-year wait for a World Cup or Euro victory. Kelly fought back from an anterior cruciate ligament tear to be fit in time for the tournament and made herself a national hero by being in the right place to pounce when Germany failed to clear a corner in the 110th minute. The Manchester City winger tore off her shirt in celebration in scenes reminiscent of Brandi Chastain’s famous reaction to scoring the winning penalty at the 1999 World Cup for the USA. “This is what dreams are made of, as a young girl watching women’s football,” said Kelly, who broke off a post-match interview to join in a chorus of “Sweet Caroline” with the crowd and her teammates. “Thank you for everyone who played a part in my rehab. I always believed I’d be here, but to be here and score the winner, wow. These girls are amazing.” England looked set for victory in the 90 minutes when substitute Ella Toone’s sublime chip over Merle Frohms put the hosts in front. Germany showed remarkable resilience to bounce back as Lina Magull levelled 11 minutes from time. But for once, England were not to be denied a major tournament success. Fortune did not favor Germany, who lost captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp to a muscle injury in the warm-up. But England will feel their time for some luck was due as 12 months on from the Three Lions’ defeat on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 men’s final, the nation’s women went one better. England manager Sarina Wiegman has now led the home nation to the title in back-to-back women’s Euros after leading the Netherlands to victory five years ago. “The game was so tight, there was a little bit of fight in there, but who cares, we won 2-1,” said Wiegman. “We are European champions.” Under Wiegman, England are unbeaten in 20 games but were pushed to the limit by the eight-time winners despite missing the massive presence of Popp. The Wolfsburg striker, who missed the entirety of Euro 2013 and 2017 through injury, had scored six goals in five games en route to the final. Despite losing their major goal threat and facing the intimidating atmosphere of a full Wembley waiting to party, Germany still posed a threat and came close to opening the scoring early in the second half when Magull prodded just wide.

Strength in depth has been one of the key features of England’s success under Wiegman and the Dutch coach turned to Alessia Russo and Toone to turn the tide as they did in the quarter-final win over Spain. The changes worked to perfection once more as Toone timed her run through the heart of the German defense to latch onto Keira Walsh’s through ball, showing great composure to coolly lift the ball over Frohms. Lesser sides than the eight-time champions would have been broken, but Germany immediately pushed forward in search of an equalizer. The excellent Magull smashed a shot off the post and Popp’s replacement Lea Schueller should have converted the rebound rather than rolling the ball into the arms of the grateful Mary Earps. Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side were not to be denied, though, and fittingly it was Magull who sent the game to extra-time as the Bayern Munich midfielder slotted Tabea Wassmuth’s cross into the roof of the net. The German attack was further blunted by Magull’s withdrawal at the end of 90 minutes due to a knock, and both sides felt the pace of a physical encounter in the extra 30 minutes. England just had enough left in the tank to finally get the job done as Germany failed to deal with the second ball from a corner and Kelly’s telescopic right leg flicked the ball home. After decades of disappointment, a major tournament trophy has come home for England fans.

BUDAPEST: Max Verstappen produced a calculated and blemish-free performance to win the Hungarian Grand Prix from 10th on the grid on Sunday and tighten his grip on the Formula One world championship. The Red Bull world champion registered his eighth win of the season and 28th of his career ahead of Mercedes duo, Lewis Hamilton and pole-sitter George Russell. With Charles Leclerc hampered by another bout of questionable pit lane strategy to come in sixth, Verstappen extended his lead over the Ferrari driver to 80 points going into the summer break. “What a race. I think we stayed calm and we won it,” said the elated Dutchman. While Russell will have been disappointed not to notch up his first win from pole it was still another good result for Mercedes, who after their early season struggles had their second successive double podium finish. “Great work guys, what a result for the team. So happy for you all, so grateful for you all. This is super positive” said Hamilton. For Ferrari it was another case of what might have been, starting second and third on the grid but only finishing fourth for Carlos Sainz and with Leclerc in sixth. The season returns for the Belgian Grand Prix on August 28 with Verstappen in pole position to win back to back world titles.

LONDON/RIYADH: British driver Jake Dennis of Avalanche Andretti delivered a commanding lights-to-flag performance to win the first race in the 2022 SABIC London E-Prix doubleheader on Saturday, repeating his exploits of last season on the outdoor/indoor street circuit at ExCeL London.

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returned to ExCeL London following last season’s debut but was open to full capacity after last year’s COVID-19 restrictions limited access. Thousands of fans at the east London venue gave victorious Dennis a standing ovation after he repelled the early advances of Drivers’ World Championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne to win the race and delight the cheering home crowd.

Mercedes-EQ’s Vandoorne was content to play it cool to come home second for a 17th Formula E podium, with his closest championship rivals marooned down the pack.

In fact, by the end of the first lap, both drivers trailing Vandoorne in the drivers’ standings — Edoardo Mortara of ROKiT Venturi Racing in second and Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing in third — had been in the wars, with Mortara forced to retreat into the pit, which put him entirely out of the fight.

Reigning champion Nyck de Vries played rear gunner for teammate Vandoorne to occupy Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) who was chasing hard toward the end of the race.

It was mission accomplished for Dutchman de Vries who held on to claim third place. Cassidy would settle for fourth after clambering through the pack with relative ease, heading home ahead of Oliver Askew who made it two Avalanche Andrettis in the top five.

Mitch Evans was able to pick up valuable championship points in sixth, which was the best of the other top-four title contenders heading into the weekend, with Vergne unable to free himself from the midfield mire in 13th and Mortara squarely last after Lap 1 contact.

That left the advantage firmly with Vandoorne in the Drivers’ World Championship as an 11-point margin became a 26-point lead with Evans moving to second ahead of Mortara.

In the teams race, Mercedes-EQ stretched to a 37-point lead on DS TECHEETAH.

It is back to ExCeL London on Sunday for round 14 in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and the last stop before Season 8 concludes with rounds 15 and 16 in Seoul, the first time the all-electric series has visited South Korea.

“Honestly it was one of the hardest races I’ve ever done, just physically. As the rubber gets down on the surface, it’s an indoor surface, it’s so hard to turn the steering wheel. But we managed 45 minutes, and honestly the car was amazing,” Dennis said.

“So it was a technical race trying to manage Stoffel and Nyck, obviously two teammates working together. So I had to manage that and the team did a great job, the car was incredible, and the strategy was strong. And then it was just a case of bringing it home in the last 15 laps and being careful of Stoffel’s Fanboost,” he said. 

“But yeah, insane race, and honestly when I crossed the checkered flag hearing the fans was one of the best experiences of my life — so, so cool. So big thank you to all the fans out here and the British support.”

“I’ve never experienced anything like it. And obviously being in the indoor and the lights and seeing everyone stand up — it was just a lifetime memory. We’ve got to do a job tomorrow and obviously we’ve got to try to repeat this.”

Vandoorne said: “It was a good day today finishing second. Well done to Jake — I think he had an incredible day. Already in the practice sessions he was very fast and managed to get pole position, and then he drove a very intelligent race. For us, there was really no answer to him. I tried to stay as close as possible for as long as I could, but on this circuit it wasn’t enough to get him. But great team results, second and third. So yeah, let’s keep pushing — three to go, and tomorrow is another opportunity.”