Bayern One Win Away From 20th Bundesliga
May 3, 2006
If Bayern win their next game against Kaiserslautern on Saturday they will be crowned champions once again and become the first team to win the league and cup double in successive seasons.
Facing his former club, Bayern coach Felix Magath watched his team fall behind after just six minutes to a goal from Serbia and Montenegro international Danijel Ljoboja. But Paraguayan international Roque Santa Cruz, set to spearhead his country's attack at next month's World Cup, produced a brilliant equalizer five minutes after Ljoboja's strike.
Peruvian international Claudio Pizarro then put Bayern ahead in the 44th minute and German international Bastian Schweinsteiger scored straight after the restart to wrap up the game.
Bayern thus restored their five point cushion over SV Hamburg who defeated FC Cologne 1-0 on Tuesday.
If Hamburg win their next match they will secure second spot and direct entry to the Champions League. It would represent a remarkable achievement for Thomas Doll's team who finished eighth last season.
Bremen close to Champions League
Werder Bremen need just one point to secure Champions League football for next season after a 5-3 win over MSV Duisburg on Wednesday. The result meant that Duisburg, promoted last season, became the first team to be relegated from the top-flight.
Cologne are likely to join Duisburg back in the second division as they need to win both their final games as well as hoping VfL Wolfsburg fail to pick up a point.
German international Miroslav Klose scored twice against Duisburg to take his season's tally to 22 and extend his lead at the top of the scoring charts.
Klose is now four goals ahead of Kaiserslautern forward Halil Altintop and Bayer Leverkusen's Dimitar Berbatov. Bulgarian international Berbatov scored twice in Bayer's 5-1 demolition of Hertha Berlin on Tuesday and they need just one point to secure fifth place and the final UEFA Cup spot.
Fourth-placed Schalke 04 still have an outside shout of finishing third after a 3-1 victory over Arminia Bielefeld. The UEFA Cup semi-finalists need to win both their remaining fixtures and hope Bremen fail to net a point to have a chance of snatching the final Champions League berth.
At the lower ranks of the league table, Michael Thurk and Benjamin Auer brought life back into Mainz 05, spelling trouble for Wolfsburg with a 3-0 win. The Wolves, for their part couldn't shake off a losing streak at home. This was their fifth.
Four days after losing the German cup final, Eintracht Frankfurt practically managed to secure its place in the first division. Benjamin Köhler and Ioannis Amanatidis made the goals that ended in a well-earned 2-2 draw against Kaiserslautern. But Kaiserslautern can't rest easy -- they'll have to score against Bayern on Saturday to enjoy that luxury.