Title within Bayern’s grasp
BAYERN Munich can clinch an eighth consecutive Bundesliga title tomorrow with victory against Borussia Moenchengladbach, as long as they get some help from Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Bayern are seven points clear at the top and would be assured of the trophy with three games to spare if they win and third-last Dusseldorf beat second-ranked Borussia Dortmund.
The match in Dusseldorf will end an hour before Munich start theirs, and a Dortmund defeat could make them forget some fatigue they showed in mid-week and motivate them even more in their empty stadium.
However, Bayern will be without top marksman Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller who are both suspended after picking up a fifth yellow card in last week’s 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen.
“It is a little annoying but we have to accept it,” Munich coach Hansi Flick said. “We will see two other players against Moenchengladbach and that is also good.”
Both showed their importance in Wednesday’s 2-1 over Eintracht Frankfurt for a place in the cup final, with Mueller setting up Ivan Perisic’s first and Lewandowski scoring the winner.
But the game also revealed that fatigue is a factor in the hectic schedule after the coronavirus-related two-month break, with Mueller naming the second half “unusually sloppy” after they wasted a host of chances before the break.
Flick however remained upbeat as Bayern got a 12th straight victory in all competitions and stretched their unbeaten run to 21 games, still on course towards a title treble.
“We’re on a great run, the players are doing a very, very good job, so we can accept the second half,” he said.
Flick has additional concerns up front as Serge Gnabry had to sit out the Frankfurt game with a bruised back, which could help Gladbach get some much-needed points in their fight with RB Leipzig and Leverkusen for the two Champions League slots behind Bayern and Dortmund.
Gladbach are the last team to beat Bayern this season, 2-1 on December 7, before Munich won 20 of the next 21 games and drew the other. Gladbach also won their last match in Munich 3-0 in the past season.
“These results should give us courage. We have shown that we can annoy Bayern,” Gladbach vice-president Rainer Bonhof said.
“But in order to get a result in Munich we will need to be at 100 percent, and a little more.”
Dortmund meanwhile lost in Dusseldorf last time around in the league, and don’t want to suffer a similar fate again although their title chances are dim. The hosts have more to play for, still in the relegation play-off spot, largely because they have dropped more than 20 points all season after leading games.
A Dusseldorf win could not only decide the title race but would also assure Paderborn of relegation if they don’t win against second-bottom Werder Bremen.
The round opens today with Hoffenheim taking on Leipzig.