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February 5, 2015

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Bayern eyes 1st 2015 win at Stuttgart

BAYERN Munich’s stand-in captain Bastian Schweinsteiger says the Bundesliga leader must raise its game at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday to secure its first league win of 2015.

After last Friday’s shock 1-4 defeat at second-placed VfL Wolfsburg, Bayern took a point despite playing for over 70 minutes with ten men in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at home to Schalke, which is fourth.

Arjen Robben’s second-half header for the hosts was cancelled out by Benedikt Hoewedes at Bayern’s Allianz Arena after Germany defender Jerome Boateng was sent off with just 17 minutes gone.

Bayern holds an eight-point lead at the top of the table, but having taken just a single point from a possible six, Schweinsteiger wants both a win and convincing display at second-from-bottom Stuttgart.

“We need a win as well as a good performance in Stuttgart,” said Schweinsteiger, Bayern’s skipper in the absence of the injured Philipp Lahm.

“We played better than we did against Wolfsburg, we controlled the game more and didn’t allow them to counter-attack, but we’re not happy with the Schalke draw.

“Even with ten men, we still had chances to win the game.”

Goal-scorer Robben says Bayern must improve if it wants to challenge for this season’s Champions League title as it prepares to face Shakhtar Donetsk away in a fortnight in their last 16, first-leg tie.

“We controlled the game with a man down, but the Schalke result is annoying,” said the 31-year-old Robben. “Of course, we played with ten men for most of the match, but when you go 1-0 up and then let them equalize, conceding a goal like that can be deadly in the Champions League.”

Schalke faces holder Real Madrid at home in their Champions League last-16, first-leg clash in a fortnight.


 

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