Klopp admits Hummels risk backfired

12 March 2013 16:27

Juergen Klopp has admitted he made a mistake in playing centre-back Mats Hummels in Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 defeat to Schalke.

The Germany international had just spent 10 days on the sidelines with the flu, and was partly responsible for their fiercest rivals' first goal before being sacrificed at half-time.

However, Hummels also suffered torn ankle ligaments in the clash which could keep him out until mid-May, meaning he would miss the Champions League quarter-finals which will be drawn this Friday.

"Ideally Hummels would have been sat at home or with a doctor. It is true that Schalke got the chance because Mats could not walk properly," Klopp said.

The Dortmund coach was also criticised for leaving Marco Reus out of the starting XI with Kevin Grosskreutz taking his place.

He added: "I had to make a decision and I would make it again. You take risks and are not always lucky. Our problems were in defence; Marco would not have helped us there."

Draxler delight at slick Schalke

10 March 2013 15:08

Julian Draxler has hailed Schalke's defeat of Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and said his side did not allow their fierce rivals to breathe.

The 19-year-old opened the scoring on 12 minutes before Klaas-Jan Huntelaar doubled the home side's advantage towards the end of the opening period.

Robert Lewandowski pulled a goal back in the second half but the damage had already been done, with Schalke moving into the top four to leave Draxler overwhelmed with emotion.

"The adrenalin was really flowing. I didn't know how to handle my emotions - I think you could see that," he told Bundesliga.com.

"I think we were really, really good in the first 45 minutes. We didn't give Dortmund room to breathe.

"Everything really came together: my 100th appearance, my first derby win and a derby goal to boot. It doesn't get much better for a Schalke player than that."

The midfielder now has seven league goals to his name this season, including three in his past two games and the teenager admitted he was glad to be adding an end product to his game.

He added: "I want to score goals. I said that a few weeks ago. I could still do with another 15, but I'm really pleased to have scored three in the last two games.

"Now I've got seven this season and would really like to make it into double figures. I've always said I carry more of a goal threat playing as a number 10 rather than on the left, but I don't just measure myself by goals.

"At the end of the day, it's about Schalke finishing the season in the European places."

The Gelsenkirchen club will turn their attentions to the Champions League where they face Galatasaray in the second leg of their last-16 clash on Tuesday, after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.

Bundesliga wrap: Schalke win Ruhr derby, Boateng saves Bayern

9 March 2013 17:57

Schalke have completed a clean-sweep over local rivals Borussia Dortmund with a 2-1 victory, while Bayern Munich came from behind twice to win.

A stunning first-half performance on their home turf set up Schalke's triumph on Saturday as they held on to claim the Revierderby for the second time this season.

Julian Draxler and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the goals for Schalke, and although Robert Lewandowski pulled one back for the visitors, the hosts held on to claim the three points.

In the 12th minute, Marco Hoger's well-placed pass opened up the game for Atsuto Uchida on the right flank.

The Japanese full-back's low cross into the box found Draxler, who produced a fine first-time finish to give Schalke the advantage.

The home side almost doubled their lead immediately but Roman Weidenfeller denied Huntelaar from close range, although Dortmund's defence was breached again in the 35th minute.

Uchida again created the goal, his cross finding Huntelaar unmarked and the Dutch striker headed the ball into the back of the net.

After an impressive first half, Schalke showed some nerves after the break and with just over 30 minutes to play, Dortmund were given a lifeline.

Lewandowski burst onto Jakub Blaszczykowski's pass and beat Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand one-on-one.

The goal was the cue for Dortmund to throw everything into attack but Schalke stayed strong at the back to pick up their 11th win of the season and move into fourth spot in the Bundesliga.

In Munich, Bayern needed an 86th-minute header from Jerome Boateng to complete a 3-2 comeback win over Fortuna Dusseldorf.

The visitors took the lead in the 16th minute when Norwegian midfielder Mathis Bolly scored his maiden Bundesliga goal but Bayern responded just before half-time when Thomas Mueller scored after being teed up by his captain Philipp Lahm.

In the 71st minute, Fortuna were ahead again thanks to a goal on the counter-attack from skipper Andreas Lambertz but two minutes later Bayern equalised through Franck Ribery.

The Bundesliga leaders completed their stunning comeback with four minutes remaining when Boateng scored his maiden goal in the German top tier, heading home Lahm's cross.

The win is Bayern's 10th in a row in all competitions and takes them 20 points clear of Dortmund on the league table.

On a day full of goals, Wolfsburg thrashed Freiburg 5-2, Hoffenheim won 3-0 away to Greuther Furth and Mainz triumphed 1-0 over Bayern Leverkusen.

Borussia Moenchengladbach and Werder Bremen played out a 1-1 draw in their clash.

Holtby harbours derby hope

9 March 2013 12:55

Lewis Holtby hopes Schalke can beat Borussia Dortmund in Saturday's Ruhr derby as they look to secure Champions League qualification.

The midfielder, who left Gelsenkirchen for Tottenham in January, played a key role in the their 2-1 away win against their rivals earlier this season, and he wants his former team to complete a Bundesliga double over the champions.

"It will be a thrilling encounter and I will keep my fingers crossed that Schalke emerge victorious," Holtby told Goal.com.

"I want my former team-mates and friends to bag the full three points and climb to fourth place in the Bundesliga table.

"It will be a very tough game, though, because Dortmund have a very strong team. A win in the derby will silence Schalke's critics."

Bundesliga preview: Can Fortuna stop runaway leaders Bayern?

7 March 2013 12:46

Leaders Bayern Munich host Fortuna Dusseldorf while Borussia Dortmund visit Schalke in this weekend's Bundesliga action.

Bayern are beginning to resemble a runaway freight train this season, 17 points ahead of Dortmund in the league and already having one foot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after their 3-1 round-of-16 first-leg victory over Arsenal in London.

Their 1-0 win over Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the DFB Pokal means Jupp Heynckes' men are in with a realistic chance of claiming a historic treble - setting some bar for incoming coach Pep Guardiola to try and emulate.

Bayern could only manage a 1-0 win over Hoffenheim in their last match, and they could have one eye on next Wednesday's second-leg encounter with Arsenal in the Champions League during Saturday's meeting with Fortuna.

But Bayern have won 15 successive matches in all competitions, and it seems nothing will stop them from marching to their 23rd German top-flight title.

Dortmund, meanwhile, journey to Schalke, who are continuing to claw their way up the table under new boss Jens Keller.

Keller took over from the sacked Huub Stevens in December and although he found the going tough at first, the club - who are still in the Champions League and took a 1-1 draw at Galatasaray in the first leg of their round-of-16 clash - are unbeaten in their past three Bundesliga matches.

Dortmund are also still campaigning in Europe's elite competition, and they cruised to a 3-0 second-leg win over win Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday to book their place in the last eight.

Third-placed Bayer Leverkusen, one point behind Dortmund, travel to eighth-placed Mainz on Saturday, while Freiburg host Wolfsburg.

Other Saturday matches see Werder Bremen journey to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Greuther Fuerth welcome Hoffenheim in a battle of the bottom two sides, while the round of matches begins on Friday night when 16th-placed Augsburg host Nuremberg, who are 13th.

On Sunday, Hannover entertain Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg journey to Stuttgart.

Blaszczykowski details Schalke rivalry

6 March 2013 21:23

Jakub Blaszczykowski believes that Borussia Dortmund's derby clashes with Schalke are the most important fixtures of the season.

The reigning Bundesliga champions head into the crunch match on Saturday on the back of a 3-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, which secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Juergen Klopp's men lost 2-1 to Schalke earlier this season, and Blaszczykowski is refusing to let the 10-point gap between Dortmund in second place in the Bundesliga and their rivals in sixth give the team a false sense of security.

"The derby games are always a bit special. It’s an important game for us here, the most important of the season," the attacking midfielder told Bundesliga.com.

"In the week leading up to the derby, you are absolutely focused. You can actually feel it.

"When you’re up against a top team, it doesn’t matter where you are in relative to the standings. Every game starts as a level playing field.

"When you lose a derby, you lose a measure of self-confidence as well. When we travel to Gelsenkirchen, nothing is on our mind but the game."

Dortmund have enjoyed success at the Veltins Arena in recent years, and Blaszczykowski reflected nostalgically on the aftermath of the derby clash in 2010 in which two goals from Shinji Kagawa saw them win 3-1.

"After the match, we game back to Dortmund, and so many fans turned up then at our old training ground, it was really fantastic. It’s the kind of thing you’re never going to forget," the Poland international added.

"It’s a brilliant feeling to win at their stadium. The game before last, we won that one 2-1. That was a great match, and hopefully we can put in a repeat performance there this time.

"What we’ve achieved so far has been incredible. And I hope we can add a few extras to that and get the chance to celebrate with the fans again. Moments like that stay with you through to the end."

Draxler talks up Schalke´s derby chances

5 March 2013 17:36

Schalke forward Julian Draxler says his side have plenty to prove ahead of Saturday's Bundesliga clash with rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Since fellow German international Lewis Holtby's moved to Tottenham Hotspur in January, 19-year-old Draxler has come into his own with some fine performances in the league.

Scoring two goals in last weekend's 4-1 win at Wolfsburg, the teenager is beginning to play a pivotal role in Schalke's attacking line-up.

The Gelsenkirchen outfit are in sixth place on the table, nine points off the automatic UEFA Champions League qualification spots.

"After last week's result it was obvious that we were relieved after this great result," he said.

"The manager kindly gave us two days off and that cleared our minds.

"It's obviously a very important result. We gained a lot of self-confidence after the Wolfsburg match, in the table everything is all right and now we want to use our momentum for the game against Dortmund.

"We are excited about the derby, we wanted to get on a better track against Wolfsburg, but now all my family talks about is the game against Dortmund.

"We are very motivated, we know it won't be an easy game, but we have to transfer the positive feeling and then I am convinced that we will put in a good performance.

"Before the game you can predict anything. Dortmund has a lot of quality so there won't be a 5-0 or a similar result. As I told before, we are competitive right now and we've overcome our loss of form. But we need to prove it."