Dogged Wolves devour Foxes

Daniel Podence helped Wolverhampton’s push for European qualification by clinching a 2-1 win over Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday.

Podence received the ball 20 yards out and, as Leicester’s defense backed off, he struck into the bottom corner in the 66th minute.

It was Leicester’s failure to clear a cross from Podence that led to the opener in the ninth minute with Raul Jimenez laying the ball back to Ruben Neves who shot through the hands of goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Podence’s winner, after Ademola Lookman poked in the equalizer in the 41st, ensured Wolves remained six points behind fourth-place Manchester United with two games in hand.

It’s two years since Wolves reached the quarterfi nals of the Europa League in its fi rst European campaign in almost four decades. With six wins from eight games, Wolves is now a contender to qualify for the Champions League in a thrilling tussle for the top four alongside United, West Ham, Arsenal and Tottenham.

Leicester was in that race in the last two seasons but has struggled this year. After going a fifth league game without a win, Leicester is 11th in the standings.

Bayern survive Fuerth scare thanks to Lewandowski brace

A fired-up Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Bayern Munich came from behind to beat lastplace Greuther Furth 4-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

The Poland star took his league-leading tally to 28 goals in 23 games and helped Bayern stretch its lead to nine points before second-place Borussia Dortmund hosted Borussia Mönchengladbach later.

If Bayern fans had been expecting a reaction after two games without a win — Bayern lost 4-2 at promoted Bochum before drawing 1-1 in Salzburg in the Champions League — they had to wait till the second half to get it. Furth captain Branimir Hrgota fi red the competitive underdogs ahead in the 42nd minute when his free kick took a decisive defl ection off Bayern’s Marcel Sabitzer.