St. Pauli beats Augsburg 2-1 to stay unbeaten in Bundesliga, Bremen routs Gladbach 4-0

BERLIN (AP) — Danel Sinani scored late for St. Pauli to beat Augsburg 2-1 and maintain the promoted team’s unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season on Sunday.

The club was already jubilant after beating city rival Hamburger SV 2-0 in a derby in its previous game – the players emerged to find one side of the stadium draped with a banner saying “Hamburg is brown-white” in reference to St. Pauli’s colors – and coach Alexander Blessin named an unchanged lineup.

But Fabian Rieder headed Augsburg into a 16th-minute lead thanks to a fine cross from Han-Noah Massengo.

St. Pauli struggled to respond until just before the break when Cedric Zesiger was penalized for handball in the area. Finn Dahmen saved Andreas Hountondji’s penalty only to see the Benin forward tuck away the rebound.

Augsburg had better chances after the break but Sinani scored in the 78th with the aid of a deflection from the unfortunate Zesiger.

Victor Boniface made his Werder Bremen debut but it was others who scored as Horst Steffen’s team recorded a 4-0 win at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Boniface, who joined Bremen from Bayer Leverkusen after a proposed move to AC Milan broke down, started on the substitutes’ bench and made his entry in the 75th minute with Bremen already three goals up.

The Nigeria forward set up fellow substitute Justin Njinmah for the visitors’ fourth goal six minutes later, prompting an exodus of disappointed Gladbach fans from the stadium.

Samuel Mbangula also scored – and set up another goal and won a penalty – in a man-of-the-match performance.

It’s Bremen’s first league win of the season and it left Gladbach with just one point from three games without scoring a goal.

Gio Reyna started for his Gladbach debut following the American’s transfer from Borussia Dortmund.

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

St. Pauli's head coach Alexander Blessin before the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC St. Pauli and FC Augsburg in Hamburg, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

St. Pauli's Andreas Hountondji, second left, scores his side's first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC St. Pauli and FC Augsburg in Hamburg, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

St. Pauli's head coach Alexander Blessin before the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC St. Pauli and FC Augsburg in Hamburg, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

St. Pauli's players celebrate their side's first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC St. Pauli and FC Augsburg in Hamburg, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

St. Pauli's Danel Sinani celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC St. Pauli and FC Augsburg in Hamburg, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan has resigned after six seasons, opting to step aside rather than work with a new front office, the team announced Tuesday.

President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf made it clear after firing executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley near the end of the season that he wanted Donovan to remain on the job. He said anyone who wanted to bring in a new coach was “probably not the right candidate for us.”

Now, it looks like whoever the Bulls hire to run their organization will get that opportunity.

“While we clearly wanted Billy to return as our head coach, we had open dialogue about the importance of respecting the process of bringing in new basketball operations leadership," Reinsdorf said in a news release. “Together, we mutually agreed that giving that person the freedom to shape the organization was the best approach for everyone involved.”

The 60-year-old Donovan consistently has said he still has a passion for coaching. The decision to leave the Bulls was made “after a series of thoughtful and extensive discussions with ownership regarding the future of the organization,” Donovan said in the team release announcing the move.

“I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls, to allow the new leader to build out the staff as they see fit,” he said.

Donovan was arguably the top candidate on the market when the Bulls hired him in September 2020, a few months after Karnisovas and Eversley got their jobs.

Chicago’s lone playoff appearance since all three were hired came during the 2021-22 season, when it finished sixth in the Eastern Conference at 46-36 and got knocked out by Milwaukee in the first round. The Bulls lost in the play-in tournament the next three years.

Donovan got a contract extension last offseason. Reinsdorf said after firing Karnisovas and Eversley that the problem was the roster construction — not the coach.

Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Michael's father, praised Donovan for the “class and genuine care” that he brought to the organization.

“We wanted Billy to continue as our head coach — that was never in question,” Jerry Reinsdorf said. “But through honest conversations, we all agreed that giving our new head of basketball operations the right to build out his staff was the most important thing for the future of this franchise. That is the kind of person Billy is — he put the Bulls first.”

Karnisovas’ inability to land a franchise cornerstone player and refusal to give the Bulls a better shot at the No. 1 pick by rebuilding were glaring. He finally changed course before this year’s trade deadline, dealing Nikola Vucevic to Boston, Kevin Huerter to Detroit, Coby White to Charlotte and Chicago product Ayo Dosunmu to Minnesota. The Bulls loaded up on second-round draft picks and did not get any first-rounders in return.

One of the players Chicago got in return was Jaden Ivey from Detroit. Chicago waived him following anti-LGBTQ+ comments about religion he made in videos posted on his Instagram account.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Chicago Bulls' Collin Sexton talks with Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan during a time out in an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Albert Pena)

Chicago Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan gives directions during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in Chicago, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, left, talks with guard Mac McClung (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in Chicago, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan shouts instructions during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)