Saturday, March 30, 2013

Bayern hammers Hamburger SV 9-2 but no title as Borussia Dortmund wins 2-1 ... - Victoria Times Colonist

FRANKFURT - Bayern Munich's latest Bundesliga championship was delayed for another week but it did celebrate hammering Hamburger SV 9-2 on Saturday, with Claudio Pizarro scoring four goals.

Because Borussia Dortmund also won, 2-1 in Stuttgart, Bayern remained 20 points ahead with seven games to play and mathematically can still lose the title.

With a Champions League quarterfinal against Juventus looming on Tuesday, Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes rested several players. But his team quickly seized control against a hapless Hamburg on a damp and cool evening.

"Juventus is going to be a very different story, they are a different calibre," Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger said.

It was the biggest win in the Bundesliga in 13 years and Bayern's biggest since 8-1 against Schalke in the 1987-88 season. Hamburg had lost its last two games in Munich by 5-0 and 6-0, respectively, and the latest trip quickly turned into another nightmare.

Shaqiri provided the cross for Bastian Schweinsteiger's goal in the 19th, Pizarro pounced on a corner from Arjen Robben in the 30th and then set up Robben in the 33rd, before scoring again in the 45th.

In the 53rd, Robben set up Pizarro, who slotted home with his heel. One minute later, Pizarro returned the favour, robbing Jeffrey Bruma and setting up Robben for an easy goal.

Pizarro notched his fourth in the 68th. Normally Bayern's third-choice striker after Mario Mandzukic and Mario Gomez, Pizarro had not scored this season until Saturday.

Robert Lewandowski scored in his ninth consecutive game to seal Dortmund's victory after the home side lost Gregor Niedermeier to a red card in an ill-tempered match. Lewandowski's streak is third on the league's all-time list. Gerd Mueller scored in 16 straight games and Klaus Allofs in 10. Mueller also had a nine-game scoring streak.

Dortmund's victory strengthened its hold on second place. Bayer Leverkusen stayed third, four points behind, by beating Fortuna Duesseldorf 4-1 away.

Hannover won 2-0 in Augsburg, Schalke beat Hoffenheim 3-0, Freiburg defeated Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0 and Werder Bremen drew 1-1 in Mainz after conceding the fastest goal of the season 12 seconds into the match.

In Stuttgart, the home side had the first chance but Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller stopped Ibrahima Traore's effort, while on the other side Marco Reus chipped over Sven Ulreich but narrowly missed the target.

Dortmund defender Marcel Schmelzer had to leave the game when he was kicked in the face accidentally by Martin Harnik in the 24th and was replaced by Lukasz Piszczek.

While Schmelzer was on the way to a hospital with a suspected broken nose, Piszczek scored five minutes after going on. He found the net with a glancing header off a free kick by Reus.

Stuttgart nearly equalized in the 59th. Christian Gentner hit the post, then Mario Goetze cleared on the line from Antonio Ruediger's follow-through.

The home team got its goal in the 63rd when Alexandru Maxim beat Goetze to a loose ball and slotted inside the far post.

Piszczek sent a perfectly timed pass behind Stuttgart's defence and Lewandowski tapped the ball in for his league-high 20th goal of the season.

"It was too hard, there was too much aggression. We got manhandled, at times I was worried about the health of my players," said Klopp, whose team travels to Malaga next week for the Champions League quarterfinal.

In Mainz, Bremen kicked off the match but Assani Lukimya immediately lost the ball to Andreas Ivanschitz, who sent the ball into the penalty area where Adam Szalai slid to prod it home after 12 seconds. It was the fourth-fastest goal in Bundesliga history, the other three coming after 11 seconds.

More Info: [Live Football] TSV Hartberg - SV Horn - Austrian Erste Liga

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