Skip to main content

Bayern goalkeeper Urbig returns amid injury crisis to see his team past Atalanta in Champions League

MUNICH (AP) — A week after sustaining a concussion, Jonas Urbig was back in goal to guide Bayern Munich past Atalanta and into the Champions League quarterfinals Wednesday.

Urbig returned amid an injury crisis that nearly meant a chance for 16-year-old goalkeeper Leonard Prescott in the Champions League round-of-16 second-leg game.

Urbig faced eight shots on target as Bayern won 4-1 to wrap up a 10-2 aggregate win. He kicked the post in frustration after Lazar Samardzic managed to head in a consolation goal for Atalanta in the 85th.

Bayern striker Harry Kane joked he was relieved not to be called upon to repeat his feat from 2014, when he had to step in as goalkeeper for Tottenham in a Europa League game when Hugo Lloris was sent off.

“I had my time in goal and I’m one and done, to be honest,” Kane told broadcaster DAZN. “Obviously, Jonas was looking good and it was great for him to be able to play for us today.”

Urbig, normally Bayern’s second choice in goal, sustained a concussion after colliding with an opponent when Bayern won the first leg 6-1 last week. Fellow goalkeepers Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich have injuries too and weren’t in the squad.

Urbig was named in the starting lineup just over an hour before kickoff. Prescott and the 19-year-old Jannis Bärtl were on the bench.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said Tuesday that Urbig’s return would be a “purely medical decision” and he’d been training as normal.

New York-born Prescott was on the bench for the team’s Bundesliga game Saturday when third-choice Ulreich tore an adductor muscle. Kompany had said Prescott would be the preferred option if Urbig couldn’t play.

Another 16-year-old did get a debut as defender Filip Pavic came off the bench at right back, becoming Bayern’s youngest-ever Champions League player.

Bayern has also been dealing with injuries to left back Alphonso Davies and forward Jamal Musiala after last week’s win at Atalanta.

Harry Kane was back in Bayern’s starting lineup for the first time since Feb. 28 after a calf issue, and scored twice.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The arrival of AJ Dybantsa gives Wizards hope

For the first time in almost a half-century, the Washington Wizards could be closer to contending for an NBA title with the arrival of AJ Dybantsa. The team drafted the 6-foot-9 forward with the first pick of the 2026 NBA draft after finishing as one of the worst teams in the league in the past three years. They got the No. 1 overall pick after winning the draft lottery in May for the first time since 2010 -- when they drafted John Wall. The Wizards hope, with the arrival of Dybantsa, that they can start winning games and competing for the playoffs with a chance to win their first championship since 1978. In the past three seasons, they finished with a combined record of 50-196. “We’re definitely getting a difference maker on the basketball court. There’s no doubt about that,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said. “What I would want our fans to know night one is that he is a worker. He is a passionate person who loves basketball and will continue to work and get better.”
Read Next Story