Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Jornada 29

Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Bayern Munich warned up for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid by cruising to 2-0 Bundesliga win at bottom club Eintracht Braunschweig.

The visitors held out until the 75th minute when Claudio Pizarro put Pep Guardiola's men in front before Mario Mandzukic sealed the points five minutes from time.

Bayern's win ended an unlikely run of three Bundesliga games without a win, while it left their opponents at the foot of table with just three games of the season remaining.

Borussia Dortmund guaranteed their place in next season's Champions League with a 4-2 win over Mainz at the Westfalenstadion.

Milos Jojic gave the hosts an early lead, which was soon cancelled out by Shinji Okazaki. Robert Lewandowski then put Dortmund ahead once again, only for that too to be pegged back as Okazaki levelled for a second time.

Lukasz Piszczek added a third for Dortmund and this time there was no way back for the visitors as a Marco Reus penalty completed the win after Niko Bungert had been shown a red card.

Hamburg remain in danger of the first relegation in their history after a 3-1 home defeat to Champions League-chasing Wolfsburg.

Ivan Perisic, Kevin De Bruyne and Ivica Olic scored for Wolfsburg, who had Luiz Gustavo sent off late on.

Ivo Ilicevic scored a late consolation for Hamburg, who could drift four points from guaranteed safety if relegation rivals Stuttgart beat Schalke on Sunday.

Freiburg struck four times in the second half to all but secure top-flight survival with a 4-2 win over Borussia Monchengladbach, whose top-four aspirations took a hit.

The hosts trailed to a Patrick Herrmann goal, but a double from Admir Mehmedi, a goal of the season contender from Oliver Sorg and one courtesy of record signing Vladimir Darida put some gloss on an incredible performance from the hosts.

Gladbach cut the arrears in the 89th minute when Havard Nordtveit netted.

Werder Bremen also extinguished lingering relegation fears with a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim.

Kevin Volland had stuck Markus Gisdol's men ahead within three minutes, but a rallying response from Werder, through goals from Philipp Bargfrede, Santiago Garcia and Nils Petersen, won the points.

Hoffenheim's Sejad Salihovic also missed a penalty on 86 minutes which would have levelled the game at 2-2.

Mid-table pair Hertha Berlin and Augsburg played out a goalless stalemate at Berlin's Olympiastadion.

Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Jornada 31

Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Arsenal's Lukas Podolski refuses to rule out return to former club Cologne

Lukas Podolski: Arsenal forward admits he would be open to a move back to Cologne

Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski has admitted he could be interested in a move back to former club Cologne in the future.

Podolski joined up with his old side earlier this week to celebrate their promotion back to the Bundesliga.

The 28-year-old, who joined Arsenal from Cologne in 2012, says he plans to see out his contract at the Emirates, but has refused to rule out a return to his homeland later in his career.

"The Bundesliga is one of the best leagues in the world and therefore, in principle, is always interesting," Podolski told Transfermarkt.

"In the Bundesliga, my thoughts naturally turn first to [Cologne]. That is much more than a club for me, this is my home.

"Maybe I'll return one day; that is, for me, always an option and matter of the heart.

"I would also like to meet my Arsenal contract. But as I said, yes, you never know in football.

"Sometimes everything happens very quickly."

Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Bayern Munich warmed up for their Champions League semi-final second-leg clash with Real Madrid by trouncing struggling Werder Bremen 5-2.

The Bundesliga champions trail the Spanish giants 1-0 following their first meeting at the Bernabeu but they sent a warning to Carlo Ancelotti's men on Saturday.

Despite going behind twice to goals from Theodor Gebre Selassie and Aaron Hunt, cancelled out by Franck Ribery and Claudio Pizarro respectively, Bayern cruised to a comfortable victory.

Pizarro added Bayern's third before Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben completed the rout, with Bayern having put 12 goals past Bremen home and away this season.

Bayer Leverkusen failed to take full advantage of Wolfsburg's slip-up at home to Freiburg as they were held to a 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund which gives them only a slender advantage in the race for fourth.

All the goals came in the first half as Lars Bender gave the home team the lead, but Oliver Kirch levelled for second-place Dortmund.

Gonzalo Castro restored Leverkusen's advantage but a Marco Reus penalty denied them maximum points and kept the race for the Bundesliga's fourth Champions League berth wide open going into the final two weekends of the season.

It was the same score between Wolfsburg and Freiburg at the Volkswagen Arena, where Ivan Perisic twice put the hosts in front, only for Admir Mehmedi and substitute Marco Terrazzino to peg them back.

Eintracht Braunschweig's Bundesliga survival hopes were left hanging by a thread as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Hertha Berlin, who sealed victory thanks to second-half strikes from John Anthony Brooks and Sami Allagui.

That means the only way Torsten Lieberknecht's men can now survive is by finishing 16th and earning a play-off against the side who finish third in the 2. Bundesliga, and two wins out of two are likely to be required for that to be possible.

Shinji Okazaki and Christoph Moritz scored as Mainz closed in on Europa League qualification and pushed Nurnberg a step closer to relegation with a 2-0 win at the Coface Arena, while Hoffenheim, who had Anthony Modeste sent off, were held to a goalless draw by Eintracht Frankfurt.

Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has admitted the club will decide his future after insisting he will not change his style of play.

Guardiola's position at Bayern has come under scrutiny after their 4-0 humbling at the hands of Real Madrid in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final in midweek.

The Spaniard has also been criticised for his possession-based style of play with Real punishing Bayern by playing on the counter-attack at the Allianz Arena.

Guardiola has hit back at criticism and vowed not to change his approach on how to play the game.

He said: "I have my own philosophy and we will use my philosophy against Hamburg, against Stuttgart, in the DFB-Pokal final and next year.

"I cannot be Bayern coach if I have to say things I don't agree with. That would be bad for the club and for the players, who are intelligent. They wouldn't trust me if I wasn't true to myself.

"It's up to the club to decide whether I'm the right coach for this club. That's not up to me.

"The team must play according to the ideas of the coach. I am convinced that is the only solution for the club.

"I didn't come here to change German football culture any more than that of Bayern. But when I speak to my players on a daily basis I can't talk about ideas in which I don't believe."

Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has signed a three-year contract extension with the Bundesliga champions which will see him remain with the club until 2019.

The 28-year-old Germany international's previous deal was set to expire in 2016 but on Friday the club announced news of Neuer's extension on their official website.

Chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was delighted to share the news, saying Neuer's decision was "astonishing and top class", coming so quickly on the heels of the club's heavy Champions League loss to Real Madrid in midweek.

Rummenigge added: "It's also a mark of his wonderful character, because he's said 'I want Bayern Munich forever'. I'd like to thank Manuel Neuer very warmly for this."

Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Mario Gotze scored twice as 10-man Bayern Munich won at Hamburg to leave the hosts facing the prospect of relegation from the Bundesliga for the first time in their history.

Gotze tapped home the opener before Thomas Muller turned in a second.

Muller set-up Gotze to slot in Bayern's third and, though Hakan Calhanoglu pulled one back for Hamburg, Claudio Pizarro's overhead kick made it 4-1.

Bayern's Jerome Boateng was sent off late on for striking Kerem Demirbay.

Pep Guardiola's Bayern had long since wrapped up the Bundesliga title but it was a welcome result for the former Barcelona boss, following the heavy 4-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final in midweek.

Defeat for Hamburg leaves them in danger of losing their Bundesliga status for the first time in their history.

They are two places and two points above bottom of the table in 16th - the relegation play-off place - and cannot finish any higher with 15th-place Stuttgart five points ahead of Hamburg with one game remaining.

That means next weekend will determine who out of Hamburg, Nuremberg and Eintracht Braunschweig finish in the bottom two and who gets the chance to retain their Bundesliga status.

The side that finishes third from bottom will play a two-legged play-off against the third-placed side in the second division, currently Greuther Fuerth.

Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Jornada 34

Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Pues se esta jugando ahora un playoff por el descenso/ascenso y el hamburgo se esta jugando dejar de ser el unico equipo aleman que nunca ha bajado....

0-0 en el minuto 55

Re: BUNDESLiGA 2013/2014

Bayern Munich completed a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double to clinch their fourth trophy of the season with a 2-0 extra-time victory over Borussia Dortmund.

After the first 0-0 draw in a DFB-Pokal final since 1992, Germany's top two teams were ultimately separated by goals from Arjen Robben and, right at the death, Thomas Muller in Berlin's Olympiastadion.

Having already clinched the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Bundesliga, it was a fourth trophy for Bayern coach Pep Guardiola to crown his first season in charge of the Bavarians.

Roman Weidenfeller knew he was in a cup final in the fifth minute when he blocked Thomas Muller's shot with his face as Bayern quickly got into their habitual possession game.

Dortmund were pegged back in their own half, but Bayern were not able to create enough danger and were almost caught out when a rare misplaced pass, from Dante, nearly put Dortmund in, but Robert Lewandowski's pass towards the unmarked Marco Reus was intercepted by Javi Martinez.

Bayern suffered a setback midway through the first half when Philipp Lahm picked up an injury. After several minutes of treatment and an attempted return to the field, the Bayern and Germany man had to hoist the white flag with Franck Ribery replacing him.

Guardiola's men had a good chance early in the second half with Muller meeting Ribery's cross, but Weidenfeller made a good reflex save with his foot to deny him.

Ten minutes later, Dortmund thought they had taken the lead, and they probably should have.

Lewandowski flicked a header on towards Mats Hummels, whose header appeared to have crossed the line, but Dante's clearance was deemed by referee Florian Meyer to have been on the line and the goal was not given.

It was a blow Dortmund failed to recover from as Bayern regained the upper hand with Robben and Ribery both going close before the game entered extra-time.

The first half of extra-time suggested penalties would be needed to decide this game, but then a mistake let Bayern in to take the lead.

Weidenfeller's bid to launch a quick counter-attack backfired as his thrown ball out to his left was picked up by Jerome Boateng, whose cross was met by the hungriest player inside the penalty area - Robben - whose shot may not have been irresistible, but it was still enough to beat Weidenfeller's clumsy attempt to save on the line.

The game suddenly opened up with Dortmund forced to attack.

Robben, the man whose goal beat Dortmund a year ago in the final of the Champions League, wasted the chance to seal victory in a one-on-one with Weidenfeller.

Marco Reus' deflected effort in stoppage time was the closest Dortmund came to forcing a penalty shoot-out before Muller raced through, took the ball past Weidenfeller and sealed Bayern's double.