29th Bundesliga matchday
Berlin (dpa) – Bayern Munich can hardly wait to make amends in the second leg after the defeat in the quarter-finals of the Champions League at Villarreal.
But first of all, the German record champions will be called by duty on the 29th match day of the Bundesliga. FC Augsburg is a guest on Saturday. It will be particularly exciting in Berlin when city rivals Hertha BSC and 1. FC Union meet on Saturday. For Hertha it’s not just about prestige, but also about very important points against relegation. Union, meanwhile, wants to go back to Europe.
Erling Haaland:
Four missions, no goal. Since his comeback on March 13 against Bielefeld after a week-long break, the Dortmund goalkeeper has not hit the mark. If the Norwegian is also unsuccessful against Stuttgart on Friday, he would surpass his previous BVB negative mark of 323 minutes without a goal from January and February 2021. The allegations that the 21-year-old superstar’s long search for a new club is having a performance-reducing effect are therefore becoming ever louder. Not only the club management, but also the fans long for a decision. That would make personnel planning for the coming season much easier.
Bayern’s interlude:
Actually, the Bayern pros only have FC Villarreal on their minds. Everything at the record champions is geared towards the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League on Tuesday. A 0:1 has to be caught up. In between, however, the duty in the Bundesliga is announced. Gaining self-confidence is the plan for Saturday’s home game against FC Augsburg. “We’ll pull ourselves together now and see that we win against Augsburg. We know what has to be done,” announced Thomas Müller: “We have to prepare for the second leg and fight back.”
Berlin Derby:
Blue vs Red. West vs East. The Berlin derby between Hertha BSC and 1. FC Union offers all the ingredients for a gripping local duel and that in the Olympic Stadium, which is probably sold out for the first time since the outbreak of the corona pandemic with a good 74,000 spectators. The special touch: The supposedly small guest from Köpenick has long since outstripped the venerable old lady from Charlottenburg and is looking towards Europe again in the upper half of the table. With rescuer Felix Magath, Hertha needs every point to avoid falling into the 2nd division. Union coach Urs Fischer would find Hertha relegation a pity: “Derbies are part of it,” he said.
Freiburg after the protest:
SC Freiburg’s objection after FC Bayern Munich’s mistake in substitution had understanding among the fans, but also aroused criticism. According to their own statements, the people of Breisgau are “in a dilemma through no fault of their own”. For the team and coach Christian Streich, who had hoped that the rules would apply even without an objection from the sports club, it is now a matter of putting the focus back on the fight for a place in the European Cup. Two days before the duel on Sunday at Eintracht Frankfurt, Streich explains how he would like to survive against a direct competitor – despite all the background noise.
The Europa League clubs:
Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig each drew 1-1 in their quarter-final first legs. Despite the same result, Hesse’s mood after the strong draw against FC Barcelona was better than that of Saxons after the draw against Atalanta Bergamo. And yet RB is more likely to reach the semi-finals than the Frankfurters with the seemingly overpowering Catalans. Before the second leg, however, everyday Bundesliga life is the order of the day: Leipzig want to collect important points for a place in the Champions League against TSG Hoffenheim on Sunday, Eintracht welcomes SC Freiburg. Next Thursday, the quarter-final party part II will take place abroad for the two clubs.