Bayern Munich have been hailed ”invincible” after churning out a record 15 consecutive league wins but SV Hamburg’s 2-0 win last Saturday has disproved that theory and injected some much-needed excitement into the Bundesliga.
Hamburg now find themselves a point behind Bayern after seven matches and travel to Kaiserslautern on Saturday hoping to live up their new status of title contenders.
”Beating Bayern gives us confidence for the upcoming weeks,” said Hamburg midfielder Piotr Trochowski. ”But we need to keep playing at this level.”
Trochowski and his Hamburg team-mates participated in wild celebrations after the 2-0 triumph and Bayern captain Oliver Kahn claimed that was the only celebrating they would be doing this season.
”Hamburg celebrated like they had already won the championship,” explained Kahn. ”But we are still top and let’s see who is celebrating in May.”
Bayern host VfL Wolfsburg at the Allianz Arena defending a 100% record at their new home although performances have been effective rather than eye-catching.
”At the start of the season it is important that we win games,” said Bayern’s German international Bastian Schweinsteiger.
”Hopefully then we can start to turn on the style. You cannot expect us to beat every team in the Bundesliga by two or three goals.”
Bayern have won their last four matches 1-0 – with Club Bruges downed by that scoreline in the midweek Champions League match — and a Bayern goal should be enough to clinch the points with no opponent yet to score at the Allianz Arena.
”There are no beauty prizes here. Successful football is what we want,” said Munich general manager Uli Hoeness. ”I bet Werder Bremen wish they had won 1-0 in Europe.”
Bremen lost 2-1 at Panathinaikos on Tuesday but have the chance to crank up the pressure on Bayern with victory over Hertha Berlin.
Bremen are two points off tabletoppers Munich but face an in-form Hertha just one place below them in fourth.
”We need to protect our goal much better,” said Bremen handler Thomas Schaaf.
”We need to be compact and then hope to score at the other end.”
Bremen have scored 19 goals in the Bundesliga, more than any other team, but have conceded nine goals in seven games.
After twice coming from behind to secure a 2-2 draw against AC Milan in midweek Schalke 04 should be full of confidence ahead of Saturday’s trip to Eintracht Frankfurt.
”We have finally realised that it is not just about the players but also that you need to be aggressive in games,” declared Schalke manager Ralf Rangnick.
Last season’s runners-up, Schalke are five points behind Bayern after a shaky start but are the only unbeaten team in the league along with Hamburg. – Sapa-AFP