Showing posts with label Bundesliga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bundesliga. Show all posts

Guerrero apologises for fan incident

Hamburger SV striker Paolo Guerrero has admitted throwing a bottle at a fan who was shouting abuse at him was the biggest mistake of his career.

The Peruvian threw a plastic bottle in the face of a fan as he left the pitch following his side’s 0-0 draw with Hannover 10 days ago.

His actions saw him fined heavily by his club and banned for five matches by the German Football Association.

“That was the biggest mistake of my career,” Guerrero said in Sport Bild magazine.

“I am still horrified when I see the pictures. I still can’t understand my reaction.

“Something like that has never happened to me. I am normally not an impulsive person.”

Guerrero’s contract at the HSV Arena runs out at the end of the season, but, despite the incident, he is confident they will offer him a new deal.

“I am certain that the club will do something so I stay,” he added.

Bayern on the mend with four-goal show

Defending German champions Bayern Munich scored a morale-boosting 4-2 win over Freiburg on Friday night after a sizzling second half brought three goals to move the Bavarians up to seventh spot.

Though foing well in the Champions League, Bayern have had a poor time of it in the league so far this term – but the three points lifted them provisionally level with sixth-placed Hamburg with 15 points after only their fourth win in 10 games.

Martin Demichelis scored the only goal of the first half to bolster Bayern’s confidence before Mario Gomez on the hour, Anatoliy Timoshchuk and then Toni Kroos completed the rout – Stefan Reisinger briefly putting Freiburg back in it at 2-1.

A late own goal from Bayern defender Edson Braafheid was scant consolation for the visitors, who started off the match three points clear of their southern rivals.

On Sunday, both Bundesliga leaders Mainz – nine points clear of Bayern with a match in hand – and closest rivals Borussia Dortmund will be looking to get over German Cup disappointments when they clash with top spot up for grabs.

Mainz suffered only their second defeat of the season on Wednesday when they were shocked 2-1 at second division Alemannia Aachen in the German Cup second round, while Dortmund lost 4-2 on penalties at third-tier Kickers Offenbach.

With a two-point lead, Mainz can open up a five-point gap at the top of the table if they can beat Juergen Klopp’s young guns.

Raul to the rescue as Schalke end home win drought

Former Spanish international great Raul scored a brace as Bundesliga strugglers Schalke 04 finally ended their jinx at the Veltins-Arena with a 3-0 home defeat of St. Pauli on Friday.

Schalke finished runners-up last season but have made a disastrous start to the 2011 campaign with one win in their first 10 games, prior to this victory, leaving them hovering precariously around the relegation zone.

Raul moved to the German side in July on a two-year deal after making over 500 appearances for Real Madrid, and has come in for criticism in recent weeks despite scoring a brace in the Champions league against Hapoel Tel Aviv last month.

Felix Magath’s side went into this match with plenty of pressure — it is Schalke’s worst ever start to the season — but showed enough composure and determination to keep their first clean sheet since February 2010.

Raul opened the scoring on 14 minutes, with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, a former teammate of Raul’s at Real Madrid, doubling the lead in the 53rd minute.

Raul put the match well beyond reach of St. Pauli with his second goal of the game nine minutes from regulation time.

“It’s a relief to win at home and I’m very happy for Raul, who as well as scoring two goals showed he can play alongside Huntelaar,” said Magath.

Central defender Christoph Metzelder, who has been a target for some Schalke fans in recent weeks, was more than happy at having conceded no goals.

“I hope this will be the start of better things for us. In any case, it has given us a confidence boost and showed that our defence is becoming a bit more solid,” said Metzelder.

Schalke were second from bottom and moved up two places to 15th on nine points, 16 adrift of league leaders Borussia Dortmund. St. Pauli remain in 13th on 13 points.

German champions Bayern Munich are seventh, 10 points off the pace, ahead of their away match Saturday to Borussia Moenchengladbach. BERLIN (AFP)

Dortmund extend lead after seeing off Hamburg

Bundesliga leaders Dortmund underlined their credentials at the top of the table on Friday with a 2-0 home win over Hamburg in the rain to open a seven-point lead at the top of the table.

On a filthy night in Dortmund at a packed Signal Iduna Park in front of a sell-out 80,720 crowd, the home side picked up three more points to open the seven-point lead over second-place Mainz ahead of this weekend’s matches.

Dortmund are flying high at the moment this was their tenth league win of the season. Their defeat to Leverkusen back in August on the first day of the season is the only blot on their copybook this term.

“It was very difficult for us against an oppoent who played so defensively,” said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.

“It took us a while to get into the game, but things worked better for us after the break.

“Hamburg came back into the game late on, which made life hard for us.

“But we are very happy with the win.”

Superb second-half goals by Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa, his sixth of the season, and Lucas Barrios, his seventh, sealed the win.

The hosts had plenty to celebrate in midweek when uncapped defender Marcel Schmelzer, 22, and 18-year-old midfielder Mario Goetze were called into the German squad along with striker Kevin Grosskreutz and defender Mats Hummels.

Goetze wasted the best chance of the first half when Schmelzer fired in a cross, but the teenager could not connect cleanly with the chance and the opportunity went begging.

With his side top of the league, coach Jurgen Klopp seems to be feeling the pressure when he clashed angrily with the fourth official when a decision went against his side in the first-half.

Dortmund took the lead when Kagawa rifled in a shot from the edge of the penalty area which took a deflection off Hamburg’s Germany defender Heiko Westermann and flew into the net on 49 minutes.

Barrios compounded Hamburg’s misery when he tapped home a cross from Grosskreutz on 70 minutes after Dortmund had ripped apart the Hamburg defence.

The defeat leaves Hamburg seventh in the table. (Afp)

Guerrero double keeps Hamburg in title race

BERLIN (AFP) – Peru striker Jose Guerrero netted both goals on Sunday to seal Hamburg’s 2-1 win at Schalke 04 which keeps Martin Jol’s side in the heart of the title race and just a point behind leaders Hertha Berlin.

The three points in Gelsenkirchen leaves Hamburg fourth in the league, but level on 48 points with Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg with the three clubs all just a point behind Hertha who were humbled 2-0 in Stuttgart on Saturday.

The game was heading for a goalless draw until Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer went to head away a dangerous ball in the area, but only managed to nod his clearance into Guerrero’s path who fired the gift home on 70 minutes.

And the Peruvian striker made it 2-0 just five minutes later when Germany midfielder Marcell Jansen fired at goal to give Guerrero a simple tap in at the far post.

Schalke’s Dutch striker Jefferson Farfan scored a consolation goal with ten minutes left, but the defeat leaves Schalke eighth and just one point separates the top four sides in the Bundesliga.

On Saturday, defending champions Bayern Munich beat Karlsruhe 1-0 without injured striker Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose to close the gap behind Hertha.

Bayern welcomed back Franck Ribery, who had been suffering with a shin injury, and the French midfield maestro made his mark in the 34th minute when he split the Karlsruhe defence to set up Argentina striker Jose Ernesto Sosa.

Bayern had Brazilian midfielder Ze Roberto to thank for the three points in the dying seconds as he deflected an effort from Karlsruhe’s Michael Mutzel over the bar.

Karlsruhe stay bottom while the win keeps Bayern second, but just one point behind Hertha who were brought crashing down to earth after hosts Stuttgart scored two goals in four minutes to continue their rise up the table to sixth.

Brazilian striker Cacau scored just two minutes after the break to put the hosts ahead before a header from Germany Under-21 midfielder Sami Khedira to double the lead on 51 minutes.

Wolfsburg are joint second with Bayern and just a point behind Hertha after they won 3-0 at Arminia Bielefeld.

Brazil striker Grafite netted in the 58th minute to become the league’s joint top-scorer with 18 goals in 16 games to go level with Hoffenheim’s injured striker Vedad Ibisevic.

Hoffenheim dropped further back in the title race as their 2-2 draw at Hanover left them five points off the leaders in fifth and they are now four points off the title race.

Bayer Leverkusen are seventh after their 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Although they hammered Stuttgart 4-0 the week before, Werder Bremen continue their erratic season as Borussia Dortmund captain Alexander Frei slotted home a 61st minute penalty to take the three points as his side are ninth, with Bremen tenth in the table.

Cologne remain in mid-table after their 2-0 win at second-from-bottom Energie Cottbus, while on Friday night Borussia Moenchengladbach remain in the bottom three as they lost 1-0 at home to fellow strugglers VfL Bochum.
Written by: AFP

Klinsmann sacking has helped Bayern: Podolski

MUNICH (AFP) – Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski admits confidence is returning to the defending Bundesliga champions after coach Jurgen Klinsmann was sacked last month.

Ex-Germany boss Klinsmann was axed on April 27 with five games remaining after his side were beaten 1-0 by Schalke 04 to leave them third in the league table while Jupp Heynckes took over as caretaker coach.

While a replacement is sought for Klinsmann, Bayern have moved up to second in the table and level with leaders Wolfsburg with two games remaining as Podolski, 23, has scored two goals in his last two games.

Bayern picked up their 19th league win of the season on Tuesday night in the 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen and Munich are on course to retain their crown if they can win their last two games as Podolski says the improvement is obvious.

“We?ve come on well as a team in the last few games,” said Podolski, who will leave Bayern at the end of the season to play for Cologne having spent most of the last two seasons on the bench.

“We?re well-organised, training is good, and you can see the results out on the park.

“Jupp Heynckes has restored my belief, I?m confident about starting matches, and I think I?ve repaid his faith when I?ve played,” added Podolski voted the best young player at the last World Cup.

And having taken over from Michael Rensing between the posts, Bayern’s former Leverkusen goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt says his experience in Munich has been an eye-opener where success is both expected and demanded.

“There?s a completely different mindset here at Bayern,” said the former Leverkusen goalkeeper who has three caps for Germany.

“The entire club is geared towards success, trophies are all that count here.

“You?re expected to win the league and every match, you?re not allowed slip-ups.

“In Leverkusen we often looked good and played brilliantly against big-name opponents, but we ran into trouble and lost to the smaller clubs.”

With two games left, Bayern have a tough run in with a trip to Hoffenheim on Saturday before the final game of the season on May 23 against title rivals at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

Wolfsburg are at mid-table sides Hanover and Werder Bremen for their remaining games and remain top by virtue of a two-point goal difference, while third-placed Hertha are at home to Schalke 04 and bottom side Karlsruhe.

Wolfsburg baying for revenge against Dortmund

BERLIN (AFP) – Wolfsburg midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic says the Bundesliga leaders must avenge their shock defeat in Stuttgart to get their title push back on track when they welcome Borussia Dortmund.

Wolfsburg went into last weekend three points clear at the top of the German league, but after Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez hit all four goals in Saturday’s 4-1 rout, Wolfsburg only lead now by virtue of goal difference.

Only two points separate leaders Wolfsburg and fourth-placed Stuttgart with Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin also within touching distance of the lead.

Wolfsburg take on Borussia Dortmund who have made a late bid for the title and a place in Europe next season with seven consecutive wins to go fifth in the table.

“We played poorly right from the outset against Stuttgart and you could even see that from our body language,” said Wolfsburg playmaker Misimovic who has helped strikers Grafite and Edin Dzeko score 43 goals between them this season.

“On Tuesday against Dortmund, we?ll have the opportunity to put this bitter defeat behind us.”

Defending champions Bayern Munich are now level on points with Wolfsburg and only stay second by virtue of an inferior goal difference with three games remaining.

Having won 3-1 at Energie Cottbus last Saturday, Bayern’s caretaker coach Jupp Heynckes wants three more points at Munich’s Allianz Arena on Tuesday against Bayer Leverkusen to keep the pressure on Wolfsburg.

“We need to think about Leverkusen now and not about anything else,” said Heynckes who is in charge only until the end of the season while a replacement is sought for sacked coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

“We played well against Cottbus, but in my opinion, if we?d been on really top form, we?d have won 6-1. We should have scored more goals.

“It?s very important not just to play convincingly, but also to put away the chances we create, and there were plenty.”

Third-placed Hertha Berlin are just a point behind leaders Wolfsburg and they want three more points to stake their claim for the title when they travel to strugglers Cologne.

“Now we have to remain focused for our trip to Cologne,” said Hertha coach Lucien Favre after strikers Marko Pantelic and Raffael sealed a 2-0 win over Bochum last Saturday at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

“It was a very difficult game, Bochum worked with five defenders at times, and we failed to find a way through at first.

“We created more chances in the second half and we have to keep up the momentum against Cologne.”

With Germany striker Mario Gomez having scored nine goals in his last five games, fourth-placed Stuttgart are at Schalke 04 on Wednesday eager to keep up their impressive run having won six of their last seven games.

Tuesday
Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen
Karlsruhe v Hanover 96
Cologne v Hertha Berlin
VfL Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund
Wednesday
Eintracht Frankfurt v Werder Bremen
Schalke 04 v VfB Stuttgart
Hamburg v VfL Bochum
Energie Cottbus v Borussia M’gladbach
Arminia Bielefeld v Hoffenheim

Kaiserslauters scrape past Osnabrueck in German Cup

Berlin - Bundesliga newcomers Kaiserslautern scored twice in extra time to win 3-2 and edge past second division VfL Osnabrueck in their German Cup first round tie on Friday.

Hosts Osnabrueck, who last season advanced as a third division team to the quarter-finals after eliminating Hamburg SV and Borussia Dortmund, took a 20th minute lead through Sebastian Tyrala`s thundering 25-metre drive.

Kaiserslautern were gifted an equaliser deep in stoppage time when Osnabrueck failed to clear the ball allowing Srdjan Lakic to volley home.

The visitors added two more through Austrian Erwin Hoffer in extra time before Bjoern Lindemann, who had missed a good chance in the 85th minute to seal Osnabrueck`s win, pulled one back five minutes before the end of the extra period.

The only other Bundesliga club in action on Friday, Eintracht Frankfurt, eased past SV Wilhelmshaven 4-0 while title holders Bayern Munich are in action on Monday taking on fifth division team Germania Windeck. (Uu.A008/F005/P003)

Hot-shot Dzeko and Grafite keep Wolfsburg on top

Berlin - Wolfsburg’s strikers Edin Dzeko and Grafite both netted in the German league leader’s 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday while title rivals Hertha Berlin and Bayern Munich also picked up wins.

With Hertha winning 2-0 at Cologne and Bayern enjoying a 3-0 victory over Bavaria neighbours Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg stay top of the Bundesliga only by virtue of a better goal difference.

Bayern’s win also puts them on 63 points and they are two behind Wolfsburg on goal difference, while Hertha are third on 62 points with two games left.

Fourth-placed Stuttgart now need to win at Schalke on Wednesday if they want to stay in the title race.

Wolfsburg’s Dzeko hit his 21st goal of the season when he latched onto a through ball in Dortmund’s penalty area after only 14 minutes.

And Grafite moved one clear of Stuttgart’s Mario Gomez as the league’s top scorer with his 24th goal in 23 league games when he accepted Dzeko’s simple tap in on 47 minutes.

To add insult to injury, Dortmund had Kevin-Prince Boateng sent off for a dangerous tackle before Dzeko added his second with five minutes remaining as Dortmund finally had their seven-game winning streak broken.

Defending champions Bayern Munich ran riot against Leverkusen as Luca Toni opened the scoring just after the half-time break.

Then French midfielder Franck Ribery added a second on 59 minutes with a clever flick over Bayer goalkeeper Rene Adler.

And Bayern striker Lukas Podolski – who is heading back to his former club Cologen at the end of the season – was set up by his Germany team-mate Bastian Schweinsteiger to hit Munich’s third on 71 minutes.

Hertha Berlin are still in the title race after their 2-1 win at Cologne thanks to Brazilian Cicero and midfielder Patrick Ebert while the home side pulled back a late consolation goal.

Bottom side Karlsruhe look almost certain to be relegated as they squandered a 2-0 lead to slump to a 3-2 defeat at home to Hanover and the league’s last team are four points from safety with two games left.

On Wednesday night, UEFA Cup finalists Werder Bremen are at Eintracht Frankfurt, while Stuttgart must win at Schalke to keep their title dreams alive.

Hamburg are at home to Bochum while relegation candidates Energie Cottbus are at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach and Arminia Bielefeld are at home to Hoffenheim.

Source: http://www.footballcupleague.com

Goal-scorer Gomez pulls out of training

Berlin - Striker Mario Gomez pulled out of training with a knee injury on Sunday having scored the first goal in Germany’s 2-0 win over South Africa in a friendly on Saturday.

With Germany facing minnows Azerbaijan on Wednesday in Hanover with World Cup qualifier points at stake, Bayern Munich’s Gomez pulled out of training in Cologne on Sunday complaining of pain in his right knee and received treatment.

The rest of the squad trained without problems and Germany coach Joachim Loew said he was happy with Saturday night’s performance, having played a 4-3-3 system rather than the traditional 4-4-2 formation.

Loew used the speed of 20-year-old wingers Mesut Oezil and Marko Marin to exploit space down the flanks for lone striker Gomez, while Werder Bremen’s Oezil scored Germany’s second goal.

“My team did well both in terms of result and performance,” said Loew who criticised his team last month when they struggled to a 2-0 win over Azerbaijan in Baku in a World Cup qualifier.

“That was a clear improvement in relation to our last few games, we were more fluid on the ball.

“We have been together for a week now and you could see the benefits of the extra training.

“There are still a few things which don’t fit into the way we play.

“There is still some room for improvement in defence, Arne Friedrich and Heiko Westermann put in good claims for their centre-back places.

“Our structure has improved greatly.”

Oezil put in the most eye-catching performance of the night having been handed his first start for Germany and Loew singled him out.

“Mesut Oezil brought a lot of creativity and was technically excellent, he has a good eye and can produce some dangerous situations for us.

“He played very well in attack, but he still has things to learn on tracking back, but I am very happy with his performance.”

In front of his home crowd, Leverkusen goalkeeper Rene Adler gave a good account of himself, but his rival Robert Enke will be in Germany’s Number One shirt for Wednesday’s qualifier.

Loew kept his cards close to his chest when asked if he will use the 4-3-3 formation again on Wednesday.

Germany lead Group Four by a single point and face their most important game of the qualification campaign so far when they take on Russia in Moscow on October 10. (AFP)

Source: http://www.footballcupleague.com

Loew recalls Enke and Gomez back for Germany

Berlin - Germany coach Joachim Loew said Thursday he is set to recall goalkeeper Robert Enke and striker Mario Gomez for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein in Leipzig.

Germany top Group 4 with nearest rivals Russia four points behind, but Loew knows his side can ill-afford to drop points either on Saturday or on April 1 against Wales in Cardiff before they travel to Moscow in October.

Back-to-back home defeats at the hands of England and Norway recently mean Germany need a convincing win at Leipzig’s Zentralstadion to stay on course for South Africa next year.

Having recovered from a broken hand, Hanover’s Robert, 31, is back in goal while an ankle injury to Bayern Munich’s Miroslav Klose means Stuttgart’s Mario Gomez will partner Bayern’s Lukas Podolski up front.

"Robert has showed good form in recent weeks and we trust him," said Loew in Wednesday’s press conference.

With Leverkusen goalkeeper Rene Adler nursing an elbow injury, Enke will keep his place to face the Welsh in Cardiff four days later unless he picks up an injury.

And Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling passed a fitness test on Thursday and looks set to be included on the bench.

Hamburg winger Piotr Trochowski is out with a knee injury, so Gomez is expected to start having scored seven goals in his last eight league games, despite a poor performance at Euro 2008 last June.

"Independent of our personnel problems, we want to pick up six points," said Loew on Wednesday.

And with the friendly 2-1 defeat against England last November and the 1-0 reversal to Norway in February still fresh in the memory here, captain Michael Ballack is urging an immediate response from Germany.

"We are determined to compensate for those defeats and we want two unconditional victories," said Ballack.

Written by: AFP

Source: http://www.footballcupleague.com

Ballack´s charm offensive on Germany team-mates

Berlin - Germany captain Michael Ballack has been working hard to build bridges with his team-mates following last autumn’s spat with national coach Joachim Loew, senior players have revealed.

Chelsea midfielder Ballack caused a storm here last autumn when he accused Loew of failing to show senior players enough respect and loyalty after veteran midfielder Torsten Frings was kept on the bench for two World Cup qualifiers.

Ballack was later forced to issue an apology and backed down, but it became clear things were not entirely harmonious in the Germany camp.

And senior players defender Philipp Lahm and striker Miroslav Klose have revealed Ballack is now working hard to improve his image within the national team.

"He approaches players far more now than he used to," Bayern Munich’s Lahm told Stern magazine.

And Klose, who misses both Germany’s qualifiers against Leichtenstein, in Leipzig on March 28, and Wales, on April 1 in Cardiff, with an ankle injury, says Ballack must lead by example on and off the field.

"You notice that Michael tries to integrate himself more," said Klose, who has captained Germany in Ballack’s absence.

"But he must also do that on the field, that will not happen today or tomorrow, but is something he must learn and create for himself."

After Germany lost the Euro 2008 final 1-0 to Spain in Vienna last June, several senior players criticised Ballack for using strong language, especially in his on-field row with team manager Oliver Bierhoff.

Ballack later justified his words by saying when he started his career, a football dressing room was the place where problems within the team were thrashed out.

"Things are different to how they were," said Ballack, who made his debut in 1999.

"My challenge is to conduct myself as the captain of the national team and to be approachable for the younger players."

And Loew himself says he has seen a change in attitude from his captain, who has won 90 caps.

"During the last game, I had the feeling that Michael was communicating more and that is good," said the national coach.

Germany have lost their last two games at home – the first time that has happened since 1956 – when they went down 2-1 to England at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium last November and were then humbled 1-0 by Norway in February.

Minnows Leichtenstein – ranked 151 in the world – take on Germany on March 28 in a World Cup qualifier and Germany need a convincing win to underline their place as group leaders ahead of Russia.

Written by: AFP

Source: http://www.footballcupleague.com

Bayern edges Lyon 1-0 in Champions League semis

Arjen Robben scored a second half winner as Bayern Munich beat Lyon 1-0 in the first leg of a Champions League semifinal on Wednesday which both sides finished with 10 men.

Robben found the net in the 69th minute with a shot that took a slight deflection off his teammate Thomas Mueller.

Earlier, Bayern's star winger Franck Ribery was sent off in the 37th minute for a challenge on Lisandro and Lyon defender Jeremy Toulalan went off with his second booking in the 54th.

"We still have a tough evening in Lyon, nothing is decided yet," Robben said. "We only have a small advantage.

"We have a strong character. We just keep going. Tonight we fought for 90 minutes, even though it was tough for a while playing 10 against 11. 0-0 was not a good result so we all said we had to give another 10-20 percent. And we did that. In the second half we played better and were the better team."

Bayern had more chances throughout the match, while Lyon relied on rare counterattacks and created few threats. However, Lyon traveled to the match by road over two days because of the suspension in air traffic across Europe following the eruption of a vulcano in Iceland.

"I am not looking for excuses," Lyon coach Claude Puel said. "They put us under a lot of pressure from the start and we lost possession too quickly. Had we kept our man advantage, it may have been a different game.

"I could live with a loss, but I wish we'd scored."

The result was one of the outcomes Bayern had been wishing for, with Lyon failing to score an important away goal. In the other semifinal, Inter Milan beat defending champion Barcelona 3-1 on Tuesday.

"I am very pleased," Bayern coach Louis van Gaal said. "We created a lot of chances but we scored only once. I think we've shown the whole of Europe how strong we are, even with 10 against 11 we were the stronger team.

"We did not concede and we normally score away so Lyon will have to score three to advance and we don't concede three goals that often."

Robben, who has scored several decisive goals for Bayern this season, cut inside from the right flank and sent a shot that took a slight deflection off Mueller and slipped under goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Mueller ducked in an attempt to stay out of the way but the slight deflection was enough to catch Lloris on the wrong foot.

Ribery was sent off for a challenge on Lisandro after losing the ball. Ribery stepped on Lisandro's ankle with his right foot, leaving the Argentine to be carried off the pitch. Lisandro returned a couple of minutes later to a barrage of boos from the partisan crowd.

Last week, Ribery provided testimony for investigators probing a suspected prostitution ring believed to have operated out of a Paris nightclub. Sophie Bottai, Ribery's lawyer, says no charges were filed against him and that he was not held in police custody.

Ribery will now automatically miss next week's second leg in Lyon. He still has not committed himself to a contract extension with Bayern.

"After his red card, I didn't think we would win 1-0," Van Gaal said. "I didn't think it was a red card but he stood on Lisandro's foot a bit too long."

Robben thought the red card for Ribery may have been justified.

"You can live with it," the Dutch winger said. "Of course, he's not the kind of guy who does those kinds of fouls. But he went over the ball and it looked a bit dangerous. Also, because Franck and I get fouled a lot, it's good to see that the referee is there and protects players."

Lyon lost the man advantage when Toulalan received his second booking of the match from referee Roberto Rosetti of Italy for a foul on Bastian Schweinsteiger. Toulalan's first booking was only three minutes earlier.

"I wish we'd scored another goal," Schweinsteiger said.

Bayern defender Philipp Lahm was on the same wavelength, saying that his team did not get the best result.

"But the main thing is that we did not concede a goal," Lahm said. "We can always score at least one goal on the road so it's very important that we kept a clean sheet."

Lahm felt the red card for Ribery was a harsh decision.

"He went after the ball but did not get to it," he said. "I hope that he's only suspended for one game. Not only for us, but also for football because he's a great footballer. And he would fit very well in a Champions League final."

Overall though, the Germany defender was well satisfied with his team's performance.

"I think we did a very, very good job," he said. "You cannot forget that this is a really dangerous opponent with strong individual players. But we did a good job keeping them under pressure."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com

Ribery banned from Champions League final

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery will miss the Champions League final after being banned for three games by UEFA.

The French international was sent off for serious foul play in the first leg of Bayern's semifinal triumph over Lyon, and UEFA announced the ban Wednesday.

He already sat out Tuesday's 3-0 victory in Lyon, and the second game he will miss is the May 22 final in Madrid against either Barcelona or Inter Milan, who play later Wednesday.

Bayern has three days to appeal.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com

Stuttgart stay in German title race with win at Schalke

BERLIN (AFP) – Stuttgart remained in the Bundesliga title race on Wednesday after Romanian striker Ciprian Marica scored the winner in a 2-1 win at Schalke to stay two points behind leaders Wolfsburg with two games left.

Stuttgart are fourth in the table, but only two points separate the top four teams with Wolfburg, Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin – who all won on Tuesday – still in contention to be crowned champions when the season ends on May 23.

“That was a very important win for us,” said Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel, whose side now face Energie Cottbus and Bayern in their last two games and need to finish in the top three to qualify for the Champions League.

“Now we have to be just as focused against Cottbus and then set ourselves up for the last day of the season clash with Bayern Munich. It is important to keep winning and try to get the European place.”

Stuttgart’s Brazil striker Cacau put his side ahead on 15 minutes with a good strike from 20 metres, but Schalke came back when Croatia midfield Ivan Rakitic curled in a free-kick on 39 minutes to make it 1-1.

In the second-half, Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger drove a shot at Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer who could only parry his shot and Marica stabbed home the ball on 56 minutes to give his side three points.

Hamburg are fifth, but stay five points behind the leaders and effectively out of the title race, after Croatia striker Ivica Olic netted twice as they hammered Bochum 3-0.

Germany midfielder Torsten Frings scored twice, including a penalty, as Werder Bremen routed Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 as the UEFA Cup finalists stay 10th in the league.

In the relegation battle, Borussia Moenchengladbach took a huge step towards safety with their second consecutive win when Brazilian Dante scored in injury time to seal a 1-0 win over Energie Cottbus.

The result leaves ‘Gladbach 14th, but only three points separate the bottom four places while Hoffenheim are seventh after their 2-0 win at Arminia Bielefeld.

On Tuesday, Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko scored twice along with Grafite in the German league leader’s 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.

With Hertha winning 2-0 at Cologne and Bayern Munich enjoying a 3-0 victory over Bavaria neighbours Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg stay top only by virtue of a better goal difference.

Bayern also have 63 points, but are two goals worse off. Hertha are third on 62 points.

Defending champions Bayern, who on Wednesday named Louis van Gaal as their new coach, scored all their goals after the half-time break with Luca Toni, Franck Ribery and Lukas Podolski all on target.

Hertha Berlin are in touch with the leaders after their 2-1 win at Cologne thanks to Brazilian Cicero and midfielder Patrick Ebert while the home side pulled back a late consolation goal.

Bottom side Karlsruhe look almost certain to be relegated as they squandered a 2-0 lead to slump to a 3-2 defeat at home to Hanover and the league’s last team are four points from safety with two games left.

Source: http://www.footballcupleague.com

Bayern target leaders Wolfsburg

BERLIN (AFP) – Bayern Munich welcome back Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger for Saturday’s Bundesliga clash at Bielefeld as they look to put their Champions League heartbreak behind them and chase league leaders Wolfsburg.

Schweinsteiger scored in last Saturday’s 4-0 league win over Frankfurt, but a knee injury kept him out of Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Barcelona which knocked Bayern out of the Champions League.

“We hope that the problem will be healed by the weekend,” said Bayern boss Jurgen Klinsmann with his side second in the table.

Schweinsteiger’s Germany team-mate Lukas Podolski is still out with a calf problem and the striker has not trained with the team this week.

As Bayern focus their thoughts on retaining their Bundesliga title, Klinsmann says it is all about points now and the ex-Germany boss was booed by his own fans at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

“We have to concentrate purely on the Bundesliga and win points, points, points,” said Klinsmann, with Italians Carlo Ancelotti and Robert Mancini both being linked to his job by the Italian media.

Bayern are three points behind leaders Wolfsburg, who are at home to Bayer Leverkusen.

Wolfsburg have few injury worries as they prepare to host Leverkusen. Strikers Edin Dzeko and Brazilian Grafite have scored 36 league goals between them, but coach Felix Magath is keeping his feet on the ground.

“Look at Hertha Berlin: three rounds ago, they were four points ahead of us. Now, they are five points behind. It can happen so fast,” said Magath, with Hertha now fourth in the league.

Hamburg, who qualified for the UEFA Cup semi-finals on Thursday, are at home to strugglers Hanover, who shocked Hertha Berlin 2-0 last weekend.

Hamburg are level on points with Bayern and can still win the treble of the Bundesliga, German Cup and UEFA Cup this season.

Hertha Berlin are in danger of dropping out of the title race and another defeat at home to Werder Bremen on Sunday will seriously damage their hopes.

Hot-shot striker Andrei Voronin has been banned for three games after being sent off last weekend, while fellow forward Marko Pantelic is out with a groin strain.

Having climbed up to fifth in the league thanks to Germany striker Mario Gomez scoring an injury-time goal last week, Stuttgart have a good chance to take three more goals at strugglers Cologne.

Gomez has now hit 15 goals in 26 league games this season.

In the weekend’s other games, Schalke 04 are at home to strugglers Energie Cottbus on Friday while bottom club Karlsruhe are home to Hoffenheim who are now 10 points off Wolfsburg and effectively out of the title race.

Mid-table sides Bochum and Dortmund will slug it out Saturday and Eintracht Frankfurt, who were humbled 4-0 at Bayern on Saturday, are up against Borussia Moenchengladbach who are third from bottom and in the relegation zone.

Friday

Schalke 04 v Energie Cottbus

Saturday

Arminia Bielefeld v Bayern Munich, Cologne v VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen, VfL Bochum v Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia M’gladbach, Karlsruhe v Hoffenheim

Sunday

Hertha Berlin v Werder Bremen, Hamburg v Hanover 96

Source: http://www.footballcupleague.com

Robben wonder goal sends Bayern top

Dutch star Arjen Robben hit a second-half wonder goal on Saturday as Bayern Munich came from behind to win 3-2 at Werder Bremen as the German giants went top of the league.

Robben’s stunning direct free-kick gave Louis van Gaal-coached Bayern their sixth straight league win while the Holland star hit his fifth league goal of the season.

The flying Dutch winger, who signed for 24 million euros (33.9 million US dollars) from Real Madrid last summer, hit a curling free-kick which gave Bremen’s Germany goalkeeper Tim Wiese no chance of saving on 78 minutes.

It was a bitter blow for the home side who had opened the scoring after midfielder Aaron Hunt slotted home from close range after 10 minutes.

Bayern hit back when rising star Thomas Mueller scored after good work by Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger on 25 minutes before Croatia striker Ivica Olic netted from a Philipp Lahm cross ten minutes later.

It left Bayern 2-1 up at the break as they welcomed back French midfielder Franck Ribery, who came on for Olic in the second-half to make his first appearance for Munich since suffering a knee injury on October 3.

Bremen equalised when Portugal striker Hugo Almeida slotted home a top-class goal on 75 minutes before Robben’s stunning winner.

An injury time goal from Bochum’s Slovakia striker Stanislav Sestak robbed Schalke of the chance to go top as the Royal Blues were held 2-2.

Schalke took the lead when Uruguay striker Vicente Sanchez converted a pass from Jefferson Farfan in the fifth minute before ex-Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi made it 2-0 to the hosts just before the half-time whistle.

The result left Felix Magath-coached Schalke third in the table, but second-placed Leverkusen have the chance to regain the lead on Sunday providing they win at Hoffenheim.

And defending champions Wolfsburg host struggling Cologne also on Sunday while fourth-placed Hamburg have the opportunity to get back into the league race if they win at fifth-placed Dortmund on Saturday night.

Having picked up only their second win of the season last weekened, bottom side Hertha Berlin were held 0-0 at home by Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Hertha’s Czech Republic goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny kept his side in the game when he saved a first-half penalty from ‘Gladbach’s midfielder Juan Arango from Venezuala while Nuremberg drew 1-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Having taken over from Andreas Bergmann as coach last week, new Hanover boss Mirko Slomka got off to a losing start when his side were beaten 1-0 at mid-table Mainz – their eighth game without a win.

BERLIN (AFP)

Source: http://www.footballcupleague.com
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