FC Bayern Munchen News

A fan ran onto the pitch at the Imtech Arena and struck the Frenchman in the face with his scarf before making an offensive hand gesture towards the 31-year-old

Franck Ribery was attacked and insulted by a supporter during Bayern Munich ‘s DFB Pokal win at Hamburg on Wednesday night.

A fan ran onto pitch during the dying seconds of the Bavarians’ 3-1 victory at the Imtech Arena and struck the Frenchman in the face with his scarf.

The supporter then made an offensive hand gesture towards Ribery before eventually being apprehanded by stewards and escorted from the field of play.

Ribery had been making his first start of the season for Bayern after missing the start of the 2014-15 campaign through injury.

The 31-year-old marked his return with a deflected strike 10 minutes into the second half, after first-half efforts from Robert Lewandowski and David Alaba had put Pep Guardiola’s men in complete control of the tie.

Pierre-Michel Lasogga pulled a goal back for the hosts in the closing stages but Bayern held on comfortably to set themselves up nicely for Saturday’s Bundesliga clash with Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Arena.

The Frenchman netted after earlier strikes from Robert Lewandowski and David Alaba, thus rendering Pierre-Michel Lasogga’s late header purely academic

Franck Ribery marked his first start since recovering from a troublesome back problem with a goal as Bayern Munich kicked off the defence of their DFB-Pokal crown with a comfortable 3-1 win at Hamburg.

Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring just sevens minutes into the game at the Imtech Arena and David Alaba doubled the visitors’ advantage with stunning long-range strike just before the break.

Ribery then made it 3-0 with a deflected strike 10 minutes after half-time, rendering Pierre-Michel Lasogga’s late header purely academic.

However, the game ended on a sour note, with a supporter invading the pitch just before the full-time whistle and striking Ribery in the face with his scarf.

More to follow …

BVB are currently languishing down in 15th place in the German top flight but their former forward says Jurgen Klopp’s men are capable of beating anyone on their day

Robert Lewandowski has warned his Bayern Munich team-mates not to underestimate Borussia Dortmund ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga showdown at the Allianz Arena – despite his old club’s disastrous start to the new season.

BVB finished as runners-up last term but they have lost six of their opening nine games of the 2014-15 campaign, leaving them languishing in 15th place in the standings, just above the relegation zone.

However, Lewandowski, who left Dortmund for Bayern on a free transfer during the summer, is quick to point out that Jurgen Klopp’s side have been hit hard by injuries and thus believes that they cannot be written off ahead of this weekend’s game in Bavaria.

“This is an important game: Dortmund are always dangerous,” the striker told Sport Bild. “They can beat anyone in a one-off game.

“They have so many players injured and they have the whole season to turn things around.

“It has all gone wrong at the start but Dortmund are always difficult to play against.

“They still have great players, so the biggest mistake for us would be to underestimate them.”

Lewandowksi also insisted that he does not derive any satisfaction from the fact that Dortmund are struggling so badly without him, revealing that he still looks out for their results every weekend.

“As soon as our games are finished, the first thing I want to know is how Dortmund have fared,” the 26-year-old attacker confessed.

“It is not as if I am pleased by Dortmund defeats.”

However, Lewandowski admitted that he is loving life in Bavaria, despite the fact that he is struggling to be as prolific as he was in Dortmund.

The Poland international, who has hit five goals in 12 appearances in all competitions, insists that he is feeling more and more settled with each passing game, thanks in no small part to former BVB team-mate Mario Gotze.

“I’m feeling much better in Munich now,” he explained. “I guess you can say that I have arrived.

“But things will get even better. Mario and I already got along very well at Dortmund. Our rapport was good and in Bavaria it is getting better.

“Here, there is tremendous pressure before every game. And even after three or four goals, there is no let up. We always want to be at full throttle.

“We are never satisfied – even though many of our players have already won everything. This formula for success here is outstanding.”

Bayern are undefeated going into this weekend’s game against Dortmund and hold a four-point lead over Borussia Monchengladbach at the top of the Bundesliga.

The Germany international is eagerly anticipating this weekend’s clash against the Bundesliga champions and was pleased with the cup win over St. Pauli

Mats Hummels believes Saturday’s game against Bayern Munich is the perfect opportunity for Borussia Dortmund to gain confidence and get back on track after a difficult start to the 2014-15 campaign.

Jurgen Klopp’s men sit a disappointing 15th in the Bundesliga table  with just seven points from nine games, but Hummels does not fear this weekend’s clash with the reigning champions.

“We have a great game on Saturday. It’s a great challenge, but if there’s one game to gain confidence, it’s the one against Bayern,” Hummels told the official Dortmund website.

Dortmund beat St Pauli 3-0 on Tuesday evening in the DFB Pokal and Hummels was pleased with BVB’s performance.

“We’ve never had to go through anything like this, it dents your confidence. But we’ve taken a great step forward against St. Pauli.

“The second half wasn’t as good as the first one, but it was important to progress. All in all [it was] a commanding performance from us.”

The Bundesliga champions are putting their form on the pitch first before entering contract talks with their star man

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has admitted the club have put contract talks with Marco Reus on hold for the foreseeable future in order to focus on their performances on the pitch.

The Germany international has a contract with BVB until the summer of 2017, but he has a buyout clause in his existing deal that would allow him to leave the club for €25 million at the end of the season.

Dortmund are keen to offer Reus a new and improved deal without a buyout clause – with Bayern Munich closely monitoring the 25-year-old’s situation – but negotiations have been put on the back burner for now due to the club’s poor start to the 2014-15 campaign.

Jurgen Klopp’s men currently sit 15th in the Bundesliga table with just seven points from nine games.

“Nothing has changed about our intentions to continue our collaboration with Marco,” Zorc told Sport Bild.

“But the current situation demands full focus from everybody at the club. Our biggest priority at the moment is to get out of this difficult situation. Everything else comes after that for now.”

Reus recently returned to match action after shaking of an ankle injury. He has scored three goals in seven appearances for Dortmund so far this campaign