Bayern go nine clear at summit

Ten-man Bayern Munich took a giant step towards the Bundesliga title on Sunday after coming from behind to beat Bochum 3-1 and open up a nine-point lead at the summit.

Mimoun Azaouagh put Bochum ahead in the fourth minute and Bayern’s Mark van Bommel was sent off just short of the half-hour mark.

But Lucio equalised three minutes later and the hosts sealed the win with Franck Ribery’s 73rd-minute penalty and Christian Lell’s goal two minutes from time.

Bayern are now nine points clear with seven games left.

In Sunday’s other game, Bayer Leverkusen failed to emerge from their slump as Borussia Dortmund scored two late goals for a 2-1 win.

Leverkusen came into the game on the back of two defeats and a nightmare 4-1 drubbing by Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Cup quarter-final first leg.

But Stefan Kiessling gave Leverkusen the lead in the 51st minute and Michael Skibbe’s men looked to have secured an away win until Alexander Frei levelled in the 87th minute and Dede snatched an injury-time winner.

The loss leaves Leverkusen on 44 points in sixth place.

source: sportinglife.com

Werder joy at ‚Boro’s‘ super-goal

He thoroughly enjoyed it, and who would hold that against him? It was just after 6pm as Tim Borowski finished his final warm-down round at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin in the drizzling rain and left the pitch as the last Werder player to hit the showers. The Hertha fans had sought a quick exit but several of the Green-White fateful hung on to cheer on the winning goal scorer: “I’d had a difficult phase during which I was unable to achieve the targets I’d set myself”, admitted a much relieved ‘Boro’ in an interview marathon: “That’s why I’m so happy about my goal. The fact that it was the winning goal makes it all the better.”

In the 73rd minute, the German international took on a ‘World-class pass” (in Boro’s own words) in the penalty area from Torsten Frings and slotted coolly past the advancing keeper to notch up his first goal of the season and score the 2:1 winning goal. “I let him know where my run was going and then got the ball – it was a similar situation then to in the game against Glasgow”, Borowski relived the scene. In the tie against Rangers, the midfielder had taken on a similar pass from Diego but skied the ball over the crossbar on the volley. “This time I decided to take the ball down first – absolutely correct!”

“I’m really delighted for Tim , he’s had to take a lot of flack recently”, remarked general manager Klaus Allofs: “The injury, which he then needed to find his way back from, and the transfer to Bayern Munich, which has been used as the basis for every problem, – that’s not an easy situation and because of those things he was unable to show just what makes him a strong player.” These strengths would appear to include getting forward and putting the ball in the net. Vice captain Torsten Frings had some special phrase for his team-mate: “He was really up for the game and he’d worked very hard. The fact that he won the fate of the coach and then repaid him for it really delights me.” At the end of the day, Borowski’s goal proved a relief for the whole team.

source: werder.de

“One step at a time back to effortlessness”

To be perfectly honest, it was hardly what the fans in Berlin could call compelling football over long periods. Following a pulsating opening, the game began to lose its way and the result was no more than a handful of half chances being created. But, in the end, after a four game run without a win, this mediocre match in the capital was to be one of great importance to the Green-Whites. Six major points were the focus of much discussion deep below the massive stands at the Olympia Stadium:

Success: “We had been hankering for success”, was the comment from one “very, very happy”, Per Mertesacker. Again and again, Werder coach Thomas Schaaf emphasised that it was just the result that his side had been seeking: “The only way is with these sort of achievements.”

Crisis: “Following the match against Duisburg ‘Crisis’ was no longer a taboo word in Bremen. The performance in Berlin could have been a lot better, and for that reason, the club can’t consider their sporting difficulties to be resolved, but, in spite of that, Thomas Schaaf remained pragmatic: “We are not so short sighted that we crack up when things are not going our way or that we become euphoric when we win a game.”

The team: The goals themselves were the perfect documentation of team-work: Co-production Fritz / Rosenberg – 1:0, co-production Frings / Borowski – 2:1. “We are happy to have players who are capable of solving such situations”, said Per Mertesacker, “the success of the team is more important than individual fortunes.”

The game: “We raised our game”, was the feeling of Tim Borowski. “It’s ill not quite what we expect though”, added Clemens Fritz with a comments that can stand as a genuine conclusion.

Training: The increasing of the pressure in training was a massive theme this week and Tim Borowski firmly believes that the fruits of their efforts were clear to see in Berlin: “I fear it will now continue to be so tough”, joked the midfielder.

Schalke: “This year there will be quite a battle for second place”, noted Petri Pasanen. With that in mind, the Werder players are taking the up-coming home clash with FC Schalke 04 next weekend very seriously: “It’s not a cup final”, assured Klaus Allofs but he added that it was a game which held the potential to “distinctly improve the initial situation.”

source: werder.de