The week
after the Champions League quarterfinals was meant to be an easy walk for the 4
teams remaining in the tournament. Bayern, Borussia, Barcelona and Real scored
22 goals in 5 matches altogether, conceding only twice.
The German
champions 2012-13 tried their closest reserve and the reservers didn’t
disappoint. The team scored four times, without conceding any. Boateng, Gomez,
Rafinha and Shaqiri got their names on the scoresheet. Four days later the team
had to play in the German Cup semifinal, which ended even worse for the
opponents. Jupp Heynckes’s main heroes were on the pitch. Mandzukic, Robben and
Shaqiri scored a goal each before Mario Gomez completed a phenomenal six-minute
hat-trick 9 minutes after he had substituted Mandzukic. A truly magnificent
result for the German international! Bayern is now in the final of the Cup
competition, where the team will meet Stuttgart in the last match of the
season. The three silver medals of the last season are getting closer and
closer to changing their color into gold this season.
Borussia
Dortmund, in comparison to Bayern, introduced its strongest lineup last
Saturday, which totally destrpyed Greuther Furth, scoring five times already in
the first half. Goetze and Gundogan scored twice, while Blaszczykowski and Lewandowski
did it once to set the final score of 1-6. The team is 8 points above Bayer, so
the second place looks pretty secure.
The two
Spanish teams had to play their matches away at home. Both of them gave a rest
to a couple of important players. In Barcelona’s case Alcantara and Tello
shined, scoring all three goals of their team in the match against Zaragoza.
Real won by the same 3-0. Crisitano Ronaldo did a brace to get a bit closer to
Messi while the Argentine is out of game.
Because the
domestic league intrigue is almost dead for the teams concerned, the teams
might not be fully concentrated on their domestic matches. Bayern will play
against Hannover in a match which doesn’t decide anything for the Munich-club.
Jupp Heynckes might give a chance to younger players, not forgetting that the
main stars will also need some practice before the important Champions League
match against Barcelona. Borussia will host Mainz.
Real will
host Betis before they travel to Dortmund. This is the most interesting match
of the weekend. Betis is fighting for a place in Europe next season. Three
points would be very important for them to enter the desired Europa League-zone.
Three points wouldn’t harm Real either, as Atletico is only three points behind
in the fight for the second place.
Barcelona
will host Levante before traveling to Munich.
| Club | Last Matches | Next match | Position in the domestic league |
| FC Barcelona (Spain) | 14.04 Zaragoza (A) 3-0 | 20.04 Levante (H) | 1 |
| Real Madrid (Spain) | 14.04 Athletic (A) 3-0 | 20.04 Betis (H) | 2 |
| Bayern (Germany) | 13.04 Nurnberg (H) 4-0 17.04 Wolfsburg (Cup) 6-1 | 20.04 Hannover (A) | 1 |
| Borussia D. (Germany) | 13.04 Gr. Furth (A) 6-1 | 20.04 Mainz (H) | 2 |
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