Bayern Munich switches focus to Leverkusen

Soccer Betting Lines

04/08/2010 - Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich lost to Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday, but former legend Franz Beckenbauer said it was "one of the nicest defeats in the history of Bayern."

Bayern lost to United 3-2 in the second leg of their Champions League match at Old Trafford, but scored the final two goals to level the series on aggregate 4-4 and advanced on away goals.

The German club is in the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2001, sits atop the Bundesliga with five matches remaining and advanced to the Pokal Cup final, but "we've won nothing yet," captain Mark van Bommel said.

Bayern visits Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday for the third game of a crucial run on the road. Bayern won at Schalke last weekend, 2-1, to snap a two-game skid, then earned the result it needed in England.

A win at BayArena this weekend would send Leverkusen nine points off the pace, and leave Bayern ahead of Schalke regardless of its result against Hannover.

"All we're thinking about now is Leverkusen, we have to focus completely on them. It'll be an even more difficult game than the visit to Schalke, and we can't afford any more slip-ups in the league," Van Bommel said.

Bayern dropped back-to-back Bundesliga games after leading, losing 2-1 to both Eintracht and Stuttgart, to allow Schalke to move into the top spot before the match last week in Gelsenkirchen.

Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller scored just one minute apart midway through the first half, and Bayern held on after Hamit Altintop was sent off late in the opening half as the Munich side regained the league lead.

"It's our own fault that we're only a point clear at the top, and not a couple more. We want to win the league, which means we have to win in Leverkusen to keep Schalke behind us," said Van Bommel, who will miss the first leg of the Champions League semifinals against Lyon through suspension.

Bayern has featured a balanced offense, with Arjen Robben - who scored a great volley for the series-winning goal against United - and Mario Gomez both on 10 goals. Muller and Olic each have eight, while Ribery has four in five starts.

Leverkusen features one of the top scorers in the league in Stefan Kiessling, who is tied with Schalke's Kevin Kuranyi for second place with 18 goals. Eren Derdiyok is second on the club with 12 goals.

Leverkusen, which enters the week six points back of Bayern, opened the season on a 24-game unbeaten streak but has slipped from the top spot since losing to Nurnberg in early March.

Bayer has dropped four of its last five and now holds just a one-point lead on Borussia Dortmund for third place and the last Champions League berth.

Jupp Heynckes, who led Bayern over the final five games of last season, needs to get his new club back on track over the final five weeks of this season to secure a spot in Europe's top club event.

On Friday, Monchengladbach hosts Eintracht to open the weekend's matches. Also Saturday, Hannover hosts Schalke, Hoffenheim hosts Koln, Mainz hosts Borussia Dortmund, Hertha Berlin hosts Stuttgart, and Werder Bremen hosts Freiburg. On Sunday, Bochum hosts Hamburg and Nurnberg hosts Wolfsburg.

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