Ivan7637
04-02-2005, 11:35 PM
Bayern Munich will be without Peru striker Claudio Pizarro for their Champions League quarter-final first leg showdown with Chelsea after he was injured in Saturday's 3-0 win at VfL Wolfsburg.
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The victory, Bayern's fifth in their last six league matches, kept them top of the German Bundesliga but it came at a price with Pizarro suffering a thigh injury in the sixth minute.
Pizarro, who scored twice to help Bayern eliminate Arsenal last month, is expected to be out for 10 to 12 days, ruling him out of Wednesday's first leg against the English league leaders in London and probably the return leg in Munich on April 12.
Schalke 04, who trail Bayern on goal difference, also won easily, beating FC Nuremberg 4-1. Bayern, chasing their 19th Bundesliga title, and Schalke, who have not won it since 1958, both have 56 points with seven matches left.
Schalke went top three weeks ago after beating Bayern but lost the leadership a week later after losing to Mainz.
"We had a more or less quiet afternoon," said Bayern coach Felix Magath. "We controlled the match defensively and did what we had to do up front. It was enough to win."
Wolfsburg were stronger at the start on Saturday and Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn made a spectacular save to keep out a 30-metre free kick by Martin Petrov in the 14th minute.
Bastian Schweinsteiger knocked in a Torsten Frings cross to open the scoring for Bayern after 29 minutes. An own goal by Wolfsburg's Kevin Hofland on the stroke of halftime doubled their lead.
WINNING STREAK
Frings headed in a Schweinsteiger cross 10 minutes after the break to complete the scoring.
"It was important that we won here in Wolfsburg because they've been strong at home," said Schweinsteiger. "We've got to keep the winning streak going."
It was the seventh defeat in 10 matches since the winter break for Wolfsburg, who had led the table for several weeks in the first half of the season.
"You need a good day to have a chance against Bayern," said Wolfsburg coach Erik Gerets. "We showed we could stay with them in the first half.
"I even had the feeling we could pull off an upset. But unfortunately in the second half they showed they're a class better than we are."
In Gelsenkirchen, Germany under-21 striker Mike Hanke came on in the fourth minute for Ebbe Sand, who suffered a broken nose, and scored twice for Schalke. Brazilians Ailton and Lincoln were also on target for the home side.
"It was an important victory in a must-win match," said Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick. "We struggled a bit early on and didn't play well until we were ahead 2-0. I wish we had kept trying to score after we went ahead 4-1."
Bayern's goal difference is plus-27 while Schalke's is plus-15.
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The victory, Bayern's fifth in their last six league matches, kept them top of the German Bundesliga but it came at a price with Pizarro suffering a thigh injury in the sixth minute.
Pizarro, who scored twice to help Bayern eliminate Arsenal last month, is expected to be out for 10 to 12 days, ruling him out of Wednesday's first leg against the English league leaders in London and probably the return leg in Munich on April 12.
Schalke 04, who trail Bayern on goal difference, also won easily, beating FC Nuremberg 4-1. Bayern, chasing their 19th Bundesliga title, and Schalke, who have not won it since 1958, both have 56 points with seven matches left.
Schalke went top three weeks ago after beating Bayern but lost the leadership a week later after losing to Mainz.
"We had a more or less quiet afternoon," said Bayern coach Felix Magath. "We controlled the match defensively and did what we had to do up front. It was enough to win."
Wolfsburg were stronger at the start on Saturday and Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn made a spectacular save to keep out a 30-metre free kick by Martin Petrov in the 14th minute.
Bastian Schweinsteiger knocked in a Torsten Frings cross to open the scoring for Bayern after 29 minutes. An own goal by Wolfsburg's Kevin Hofland on the stroke of halftime doubled their lead.
WINNING STREAK
Frings headed in a Schweinsteiger cross 10 minutes after the break to complete the scoring.
"It was important that we won here in Wolfsburg because they've been strong at home," said Schweinsteiger. "We've got to keep the winning streak going."
It was the seventh defeat in 10 matches since the winter break for Wolfsburg, who had led the table for several weeks in the first half of the season.
"You need a good day to have a chance against Bayern," said Wolfsburg coach Erik Gerets. "We showed we could stay with them in the first half.
"I even had the feeling we could pull off an upset. But unfortunately in the second half they showed they're a class better than we are."
In Gelsenkirchen, Germany under-21 striker Mike Hanke came on in the fourth minute for Ebbe Sand, who suffered a broken nose, and scored twice for Schalke. Brazilians Ailton and Lincoln were also on target for the home side.
"It was an important victory in a must-win match," said Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick. "We struggled a bit early on and didn't play well until we were ahead 2-0. I wish we had kept trying to score after we went ahead 4-1."
Bayern's goal difference is plus-27 while Schalke's is plus-15.