Bundesliga: Bayern wants to move on from Madrid heartache

Defender Mats Hummels says Bayern Munich cannot afford to dwell on its Champions League exit to Real Madrid in its quest for Bundesliga and German Cup silverware.

Published : Apr 21, 2017 22:00 IST , Berlin

"We still need to get the league title under lock and key, plus we have a real cracker in the cup. That will be a highlight," said Hummels, whose side dropped two points in last weekend's goalless draw in Leverkusen.
"We still need to get the league title under lock and key, plus we have a real cracker in the cup. That will be a highlight," said Hummels, whose side dropped two points in last weekend's goalless draw in Leverkusen.
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"We still need to get the league title under lock and key, plus we have a real cracker in the cup. That will be a highlight," said Hummels, whose side dropped two points in last weekend's goalless draw in Leverkusen.

Defender Mats Hummels says Bayern Munich cannot afford to dwell on its Champions League exit to Real Madrid in its quest for Bundesliga and German Cup silverware.

Bayern's controversial 4-2 second-leg defeat at Real Madrid on Tuesday, thanks largely to Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick, saw Bayern crash out of the quarterfinal 6-3 on aggregate, but it is still the hot favourite to seal a domestic double.

The Bavarian giants are eight points clear and three wins short of a fifth straight Bundesliga title to maintain their iron-grip on Germany's top tier.

German international Hummels says it needs to get over its Champions League disappointment before Saturday's league match home to struggling Mainz, which is desperate for points to battle relegation.

On Wednesday Bayern has a crunch German Cup semifinal home to Borussia Dortmund.

"We still need to get the league title under lock and key, plus we have a real cracker in the cup. That will be a highlight," said Hummels, whose side dropped two points in last weekend's goalless draw in Leverkusen.

Injury concerns

Hummels, Robert Lewandowski and Jerome Boateng were all carrying knocks in Madrid and coach Carlo Ancelotti is expected to rotate before facing Dortmund.

Bayern is already without Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer for the rest of the season with a fractured foot.

Sven Ulreich will deputise, while Bayern is without Spain defender Javi Martinez, who has a leg knock.

Mainz was the last Bundesliga club to beat Bayern at home when it poached a 2-1 win at the Allianz Arena in March 2016.

However, Martin Schmidt's side is 15th, only avoiding the relegation places on goal difference, although it broke a five-match losing streak with a 1-0 win home to Hertha Berlin last weekend.

Schmidt does not expect Bayern to suffer a Champions League hangover.

"They have a top-class team which will challenge us. It would be fatal to hope for a tired opponent," he said.

Dortmund heartache

Dortmund is also looking to heal its European heartache when it faces Borussia Moenchengladbach away on Saturday.

Thomas Tuchel's side also bowed out of the quarterfinal after losing 3-1 to Monaco in Wednesday's return leg, but is battling for an automatic place in next season's Champions League.

It has been a traumatic 10 days for Dortmund following last week's bomb attack on its team bus which left defender Marc Bartra with a fractured wrist and police still hunting the culprits.

The Bundesliga's top three finishers are all guaranteed places in the Champions League group stages and Dortmund is fourth, a point behind Hoffenheim, which carries a play-off for a Champions League berth.

Other fixtures

Tuchel is also likely to rotate with barely 65 hours between Dortmund's Monaco defeat and kick-off in Gladbach, which is missing playmaker Raffael with a knee injury.

Second-placed Leipzig is snapping at Bayern's heels with four straight wins before Sunday's away match at Schalke, while Hoffenheim is at Cologne on Friday.

Just one more win will guarantee Hoffenheim European football next season having narrowly avoided relegation last term.

In contrast, Cologne has dropped out of contention for a Champions League spot with two wins in its last 10 games.

Its striker Anthony Modeste is three behind joint top-scorers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Dortmund and Lewandowski, who each have 26 league goals, in the race to be top scorer.

Fixtures (all times 1330 GMT unless stated)

Friday: Cologne v Hoffenheim (1830 GMT)

Saturday: Bayern Munich v Mainz, Hertha Berlin v Wolfsburg, Hamburg v Darmstadt, Ingolstadt v Werder Bremen, Eintracht Frankfurt v Augsburg, Borussia Moenchengladbach v Borussia Dortmund (1630 GMT)

Sunday: Freiburg v Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke v RB Leipzig (1530 GMT)

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