Bayern Munich remained neck-and-neck with Bayer Leverkusen at the
top of the Bundesliga standings thanks to some help from an
unexpected source and will look to take matters into its own hands
when it plays Hamburger SV on Sunday.
Per Mertesacker's goal in stoppage time gave Werder Bremen a
2-2 draw against Leverkusen last Sunday. That result prevented
Bayern from falling two points behind after its own 1-1 draw at
next-to-last placed Nuremberg. Bayern and Leverkusen are equal on
points (49) though Leverkusen holds a single-goal edge on goal
difference.
At the same time, third-placed Schalke failed to take
advantage to close the gap when it lost at Wolfsburg and is now
four points behind.
Relying on outside help is probably not a viable long-term
option for Bayern.
"We have to win three points, no matter how," midfielder
Bastian Schweinsteiger said ahead of Sunday's home match against
fourth-placed Hamburger SV (40 points).
"We are still angry over the 1-1 in Nuremberg. We should have
won that game," Schweinsteiger said.
The draw ended Bayern's run of 13 consecutive wins, nine of
them in the Bundesliga.
"I knew that after 13 straight wins a draw or a defeat would
come. Bayern can't win all games," Bayern's director of sports
Christian Nerlinger said. "But Leverkusen did not use the chance.
That last-gasp draw must feel like a defeat to them. They could
have taken a great step (toward the championship).
"One goal behind is not something to make us nervous. At the
end (of the season) we'll be in front. It doesn't matter when we
take over the top, what matters is that we are there after 34
matches."
"It will be interesting to see how Leverkusen will handle to
growing pressure until the end of the season," Nerlinger added.
Bayern midfielder Thomas Mueller said his team was stronger
than Leverkusen.
"We have to concentrate on ourselves," he said.
Leverkusen is undefeated in 23 games and one more game
without defeat will set a Bundesliga record.
"It's a strange feeling," said Leverkusen striker Eren
Derdiyok, who still hasn't lost in the Bundesliga since moving to
the team from Basel.
"If we remain right there at the top until the game against
Bayern (in the 30th round), it will be in our hands," Derdiyok said
of Leverkusen's chances of lifting its first championship.
"But we have to focus on the next game because if we starting
thinking far ahead we could jeopardize our chances," said Derdiyok,
who has six goals in the last seven games.
Leverkusen on Saturday hosts lowly Cologne, which is coming
off a 5-1 defeat at home against Stuttgart.
"We have to score an early goal and not allow the match to
get out of hand," Leverkusen's defender Gonzalo Castro said.
The matches between the two neighboring clubs can become
hotheaded affairs.
Another bitter local rivalry will take place Friday when
Schalke plays fifth-place Borussia Dortmund.
Also on Saturday, it's Hertha Berlin vs. Hoffenheim; Mainz
vs. Werder Bremen; Stuttgart vs. Eintracht Frankfurt; Borussia
Moenchengladbach vs. Freiburg and Bochum vs. Nuremberg.
On Sunday, Hannover hosts Wolfsburg.
