Kiessling revels in Leverkusen win

4 March 2012 17:52

Bayer Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling believes his side fully deserved their 2-0 win over Bayern Munich on Saturday.

The forward struck the opening goal of the game in the 79th minute before Karim Bellarabi put the result beyond doubt in stoppage time.

Leverkusen are now in fifth place, four points off the final Champions League spot which is currently occupied by Schalke.

Kiessling was pleased with how his team played against the Bavarians.

"There were a lot of chances on both sides but I think we deserved to win. We are pleased that we were able to penetrate a good side. Now we will rest but (beating Bayern) feels good," he told Goal.com after the game.

Fellow Leverkusen attacker Andre Schurrle also had a few words to say on the win after the game and praised the side's current form.

"We are relieved for the fans that we won against Bayern, which makes it a great day. We have to look back at our performances in the past few weeks where we have picked up three wins," he said.

Next up for the North Rhine-Westphalian outfit is a visit to Barcelona for their Champions League round-of-16 fixture on Wednesday where Robin Dutt's men trail 3-1 from the first leg.

Bundesliga wrap: Dortmund extend gap after Bayern loss

3 March 2012 21:17

Bayern Munich's hopes of winning the Bundesliga took a significant blow on Saturday after a 2-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayern now trail league leaders Borussia Dortmund by seven points after the champions' 2-1 win over Mainz at home.

Earlier, more than 30,000 fans crammed into the BayArena for the visit of Bayern as Leverkusen won their third match in a row to continue their good form.

Stefan Kiessling broke the drought with just 11 minutes to play.

The forward stabbed home from close range after a terrific assist from Eren Derdiyok and the result was sealed on the stroke of full-time.

Gonzalo Castro broke free down the right and hit a well-weighted pass across the face of goal where Karim Bellarabi side-footed past Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to give Leverkusen a well-deserved victory.

At Signal-Iduna-Park, Jakub Blaszczykowski opened the scoring in the first half for Dortmund, who dominated the match for large portions, but they were made to work for the win after a host of missed chances.

Their profligacy came back to haunt them when Mohamed Zidan netted in the second period, but Shinji Kagawa struck the winner with 13 minutes remaining to put Dortmund in the box seat for back-to-back titles.

Schalke, who sit fourth, were upset 2-1 at lowly Freiburg.

Sebastian Freis and Daniel Caligiuri scored for the winners and despite Teemu Pukki's late strike for Schalke, it was not enough for them to get a point.

Zdravko Kuzmanovic scored a pair of penalties in Stuttgart's thumping 4-0 win at Hamburg while Jan Callsen-Bracker's 89th-minute equaliser saw Augsburg draw 2-2 at Hannover.

Australian Nikita Rukavytsya scored Hertha Berlin's first goal in six matches as they beat Werder Bremen 1-0 while Kaiserslautern and Wolfsburg played out a goalless draw in the day's other match.

Bundesliga preview: Bayern to test Leverkusen mettle

2 March 2012 02:42

Bayer Leverkusen's Bundesliga resurgence will be tested when they tackle Bayern Munich on Saturday, while Borussia Dortmund host Mainz.

Leverkusen exceeded all expectations to finish second last season, securing qualification for the UEFA Champions League.

They have thus far failed to replicate that success this term, and sit fifth on the table, seven points outside the qualification places for Europe's elite club competition.

Part of Leverkusen's struggles can be attributed to the loss of coach Jupp Heynckes, who was lured away to Bayern, and will be on the away team's bench when he returns to the BayArena this weekend.

Under his replacement Robin Dutt, Leverkusen have managed two successive victories in their last two outings, beating Augsburg 2-1 at home and winning 2-0 away to Cologne.

Striker Stefan Keissling claims those positive results were nothing special, and the real examination of their credentials will arrive with the visit of Bayern.

"The wins against Augsburg and Cologne were pretty much obligatory given the standards expected of Bayer Leverkusen," Kiessling said.

"Now we're facing the make-or-break games and we aim to come out of them on a positive note. We all have to pull together to keep this mini-run going."

Bayern are second in the standings, four points behind leaders Dortmund.

They suffered a shock 1-0 loss away to Basel in the Champions League round-of-16 last week, and also failed to beat struggling Freiburg on February 18, before dispatching Schalke 2-0 last time out.

"I don't think the fact that they (Bayern) maybe haven't being playing so well lately will be important," Keissling said.

"They're always dangerous, and they will be on Saturday. We need to be on our game, and if we are, there could be something in it for us."

If Leverkusen can prevent Bayern from collecting all three points, Dortmund will have an opportunity to extend their advantage further when they host mid-table Mainz, unbeaten in five, at the Westfalenstadion.

In other matches on Saturday, bottom side Freiburg face a difficult assignment at home to fourth-placed Schalke.

Augsburg, precariously placed one point outside the relegation zone, could well struggle away to seventh-placed Hannover.

Hertha Berlin, who are third from bottom, will look for their first win under new coach Otto Rehhagel away to sixth-placed Werder Bremen.

Also, second-to-last Kaiserslautern play host to Wolfsburg, while Hamburg await the visit Stuttgart.

On Sunday, third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach go to Nuremburg, who are 10th on the table following victories in their past two outings.

Later in the day, Hoffenheim are at home to Cologne in the final match of the round.

Heynckes: Bayern coping well with pressure

1 March 2012 22:39

Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes has praised his players' capacity to overcome external pressure ahead of their clash with Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayern received plenty of criticism in the German media after their 1-0 first-leg loss to Swiss club Basel in the Champions League last week but bounced back to beat Schalke 2-0 on Sunday.

Heynckes was impressed with how his team dealt with the scrutiny.

"Every player who plays at Bayern Munich knows that Bayern Munich is a particularly special club," Heynckes said.

"Whenever we lose then it is latched onto almost immediately by the media to the world, regardless of whether it's a friendly or losing the away game of a Champions League tie 1-0."

"Whenever that happens people are jumping over another to report on the latest 'crisis' at Bayern."

"It's something though that the players have to deal with here, but I think they cope with it well."

The 66-year-old will lead Bayern against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, the club he managed prior to taking over at the Bavarian giants.

Leverkusen, who are fifth in the Bundesliga, need a victory to keep the pressure on fourth-placed Schalke in the race for a Champions League qualifying spot.

Leverkusen's head coach Robin Dutt has been impressed by his side's form in their current five-game unbeaten streak and believes they need to focus on their own game rather than worry about Bayern on Saturday.

"A win against Bayern at home would be something very special, but we need to concentrate on what can happen rather than just the principle, we need to make it possible for ourselves," Dutt said.

"I look around the team and I'm very happy with its development."

"The team are growing together in stature and are showing a very positive attitude."

"It's great to see the players once again becoming more creative and innovative in their approach."