(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency) Freshly crowned Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich lost 2-0 at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, their second defeat in a row ahead of a difficult Champions League semi-final at Barcelona.
Injury-ridden Munich had to bow to Hakan Calhanoglu's curling free-kick in the 55th minute and Julian Brandt in the 81st as coach Pep Guardiola fielded a makeshift team including top flight debutant Rico Strieder and Javi Martinez in his first match coming off a
severe knee injury.
Bayer, who as holders also lost a German cup semi-final on penalties against Borussia Dortmund in mid-week, visit the Nou Camp on Wednesday before hosting Barca, who thrashed Cordoba 8-0 Saturday, in the return leg on May 12.
Munich clinched a third straight Bundesliga title last weekend with four games to spare but the race for European berths and against relegation remains tight.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar ended a long scoring drought dating back to November 29 as fifth-placed Schalke edged fighting bottom club VfB
Stuttgart 3-2.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.