Kagawa laments forward troubles

11 March 2012 13:02

Shinji Kagawa was disappointed with Borussia Dortmund's lack of firepower in their 0-0 Bundesliga draw with Augsburg on Saturday.

League leaders Dortmund failed to win for the first time in nine matches after failing to find the back of the net at the SGL Arena, and Kagawa was disappointed with his side's efforts going forward.

"I wasn't able to shoot and to create chances, so offensively it was a very disappointing match," he said.

"Normally I would create some space, and when the timing was right someone would slip in and create a chance where Hajime-kun (Hosogai) plays, but today we weren't able to create a single chance like that."

The former Cerezo Osaka man also added his side must be more prepared for next Bundesliga's away games, which are always a threat.

"At away games we have to concentrate and work hard on entering the match in good form as a team," he said.

"At home it's naturally a good atmosphere, but away matches can be difficult. All we can do is prepare."

Bayern Munich's 7-1 win over Hoffenheim sees them close the gap at the top to five points.

Bundesliga wrap: Bayern pummel Hoffenheim as Dortmund held

10 March 2012 21:38

Bayern Munich made up ground on Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund with a thumping 7-1 win at home to Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Mario Gomez opened the scoring for Bayern just four minutes into the match at the Allianz Arena, with Arjen Robben adding a second from the penalty spot eight minutes later.

Toni Kroos made it 3-0 in the 17th minute when he found the net with a low drive from outside the box.

Robben bagged his second and Bayern's fourth on 29 minutes, rounding Hoffenheim goalkeeper Tom Starke to slot home.

And Gomez also doubled his tally five minutes later, heading home a Franck Ribery cross to make it 5-0 by the half-time break.

Gomez was back on target to complete his hat-trick three minutes into the second half, before Ribery got in on the act with a goal of his own two minutes before the hour mark.

Hoffenheim did claim a consolation strike courtesy of an own-goal from former player Luis Gustavo with six minutes remaining.

It was not all good news for Bayern, who lost Gomez and defender Jerome Boateng to injury during the match, while Robben appeared to roll his ankle late on.

Nevertheless, the crushing win saw Jupp Heynckes' team close the gap on Dortmund to five points after the reigning champions could only draw 0-0 away to Augsburg.

The third-placed team, Borussia Moenchengladbach, also dropped points in a 0-0 stalemate at home to struggling Freiburg.

Cologne held on for a 1-0 win at home to Hertha Berlin despite finishing the match with nine men.

Christian Clemens gave hosts Cologne the lead 35 minutes in at the RheinEnergieStadion.

They lost Mato Jajalo to a straight red card for a 66th-minute tackle on Levan Kobiashvili, just eight minutes after the Croatian had been introduced as a substitute.

Kobiashvili was sent off himself 10 minutes later, receiving two yellow cards in quick succession.

Cologne striker Lukas Podolski, reportedly close to sealing a move to English Premier League club Arsenal, saw red for his part in the same incident.

Elsewhere, first-half goals from Nicolai Mueller and Mohamed Zidan helped 10-man Mainz see off Nuremburg 2-1 at home.

And Wolfsburg came from a goal down to beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 at home, thanks to strikes from Patrick Helmes and Ashkan Dejagah, together with Michal Kadlec's own-goal.

Bundesliga preview: Dortmund chase club record

8 March 2012 13:17

Borussia Dortmund are hoping to extend their winning streak to a club-record nine matches when they travel to Augsburg in the Bundesliga.

Juergen Klopp's make the journey south on Saturday aiming for their ninth successive win in the league and they will fancy their chances against the third-last Augsburg.

Dortmund have not tasted defeat in the Bundesliga since they were beaten 2-1 at Hannover on September 18.

The likes of Polish forward Robert Lewandowski (16 goals), Japanese attacker Shinji Kagawa (eight goals) and Kevin Grosskreutz (seven goals) have all been scoring regularly over the past month and Augsburg's defence will need to be at the top of their game to deny the reigning German champions.

The newly promoted side have only lost one of their last six matches and have not lost a home fixture since Bayern Munich defeated them 2-1 in November.

In Friday's only fixture, Stuttgart host bottom-placed Kaiserslautern.

Stuttgart, eighth on the table, come into the fixture on the back of 4-1 and 4-0 wins over Freiburg and Hamburg respectively.

They have scored 15 goals in their last four matches, with Austrian Martin Harnik responsible for seven of them.

And Harnik will fancy his chances of adding to his account against a Kaiserslautern side without a win in 15 competitive matches.

On Saturday, Bayern Munich, who sit seven points behind table-toppers Dortmund in second, host Hoffenheim, while third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach welcome Freiburg.

Other matches on Saturday see Cologne host Hertha Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen travel to Wolfsburg, and Mainz take on Nuerenburg.

On Sunday, Werder Bremen will look to bounce back from successive losses with a home win against Hannover while fourth-placed Schalke are at home against Hamburg.