FC Bayern Munchen News

Mario Mandzukic scored the only goal in a hard-fought victory for Bayern Munich over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

The Croat netted with a superb first-half effort as the reigning champions made it two wins from two games.

Bayern boss Pep Guardiola left new signing Mario Gotze on the bench but made one change from their victory over Borussia Monchengladbach with Xherdan Shaqiri coming in, while Stefan Aigner, Takashi Inui and Anderson all started for Frankfurt.

In front of an electric atmosphere at the Commerzbank-Arena, the early exchanges saw both sides threaten as Bayern unsurprisingly controlled possession.

David Alaba impressed down the left-hand side for the visitors, providing a number of supporting runs, and a Franck Ribery cross from that area saw Toni Kroos hit the post with a header after nine minutes.

And after a period of sustained pressure, Mandzukic spectacularly opened the scoring for the visitors with an acrobatic volley into the top corner after an accurate cross from Thomas Muller.

Frankfurt then pressed for an equaliser, but Bayern continued to dominate the midfield battle with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos keeping possession ticking over. Alex Meier momentarily threatened for the hosts though, but his powerful header was directed safely into Manuel Neuer’s arms.

This followed a number of great chances for Guardiola’s men to double their lead, with Muller and Dante both having golden goal-scoring opportunities. Ribery orchestrated Muller’s chance – again down the left-hand side – but the Germany international was yards away from making firm contact in the penalty area.

A fine point-blank save from goalkeeper Kevin Trapp kept Frankfurt in the game after Dante hit an effort from close-range, as the visitors looked to increase their lead.

Frankfurt thought they had equalised from a corner on 41 minutes with a header from Johannes Flum, but the referee ruled the goal out as Meier was caught in an offside position.

Armin Veh’s men restarted proceedings with renewed vigour and optimism after the break as they battled to find an equaliser.

However, the home side struggled to create many clear-cut opportunities, and Guardiola introduced substitutes Thiago Alcantara and Arjen Robben as the away side looked to take the sting out of the game.

Bayern still looked dangerous and had chances to seal the win in the closing stages, but their one-goal lead ultimately proved enough to secure all three points and condemn Frankfurt to their second loss of the season.

Ahead of the Uefa Player of the Year award being handed out, the Bayern Munich winger has criticised Thomas Muller’s absence and talked up his own chances of winning

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has suggested that his treble success gives him the advantage over Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for Uefa’s Player of the Year award.

On August 29, during the Champions League group stage draw, one of the trio will be crowned the best player in Europe for the 2012-13 season.

Although Ronaldo impressed with his individual displays for Real Madrid and Messi broke numerous goal records en route to another Barcelona triumph in La Liga, the Frenchman believes his trophy haul last campaign boosts his chances of winning the award but criticised the absence of team-mate Thomas Muller as a frontrunner.

“My level was at the very top all season long, I’ve always been in shape and won everything that could be won,” the 30-year-old told Sport Bild. “There are compelling arguments [in my favour].

“There are other top Bayern players missing from the nominees. Thomas Muller would have deserved to be among the finalists. It’s a shame because he also had a great season.

“Messi and Cristiano have scored more goals than me, but I took the treble and, in these awards, titles are always important.”

Ribery also spoke about how he chose not to join Barcelona five years ago, which he claims made Pep Guardiola’s arrival at the Allianz Arena this summer all the more sweeter.

“In the 2008-09 season, I attempted to join [Eric] Abidal at Barca,” he added. “It crossed my mind, but I had a contract here.

“I was fascinated by Pep Guardiola because, not only is he a great coach, he’s a great person. So I was delighted when he signed for Bayern.”

The Germany international took to Facebook to explain that he had not been responsible for any of the strange messages that had come from page

Bayern Munich playmaker Mario Gotze has confirmed that his Twitter account was hacked, after a series of bizarre posts about Marouane Chamakh appeared on his profile.

The Germany international had seemingly expressed his support for the Crystal Palace striker as the winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or, claiming that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi “do not have a chance” of landing the prestigious award.

However, Gotze, who is set to make his Bayern debut against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, took to Facebook later in the day to explain the strange nature of some of ‘his’ posts.

“Hi guys, today my Twitter Account got hacked,” the 21-year-old wrote on the social media site. “All postings and Tweets have been completely nonsense!!! From now on it’s me personally who is active again.”

The post “full-time traitor” also appeared on Gotze’s account, which was an apparent reference to the 21-year-old’s controversial summer switch from Borussia Dortmund to Allianz Arena.

The Germany international made his return from a thigh injury in a friendly last weekend and could make his competitive debut for die Roten at the Commerzbank-Arena

Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has revealed that summer signing Mario Gotze will be included in the squad for Saturday’s Bundesliga clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.

The former Borussia Dortmund playmaker missed the Bavarians’ pre-season campaign on account of the thigh injury that ruled him out of last season’s Champions League final but he made his first appearance for die Roten last weekend, scoring twice in a 30-minute cameo in a friendly against Gyori.

Consequently, Guardiola has decided to call upon the €37 million man for the trip to the Commerzbank Arena.

“He made another step this week, and is getting better step by step,” the Catalan coach told reporters on Friday. “He’ll come to Frankfurt with us.

“He will be in the squad but I will not decide the line-up until the last moment.”

Bayern opened the defence of their Bundesliga title with a 3-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend, but Guardiola felt his side had been nowhere near their best.

“We played a good pre-season and I hope we can keep up to that level,” the ex-Barcelona trainer explained. “Right now, we couldn’t win the championship, but we will improve.”

The Bavarians’ clash with Frankfurt is scheduled to get under way at 15:30CET.

The former Germany Under-21 player wants regular first team action, but has stressed that he has no intentions of causing any controversy

Diego Contento has insisted that he will not cause any problems at Bayern Munich because of his substitute role.

The left-back has been struggling to secure regular first team action at the Bundesliga champions because of the presence of David Alaba and appeared to be on his way out earlier this summer.

However, a move to Werder Bremen has seemingly fallen through and Contento might have to settle for a spot on the bench again this season.

“I have been with Bayern ever since I was four years old. It would simply be wrong to kick up a fuss because I don’t get regular first team action,” Contento told Bild.

“Of course, I would like to play more often, but I have an ongoing contract and intend to respect it.

“Things can change pretty quickly in football, though. You never know what will happen tomorrow.”

The 23-year-old is a product of the Bayern youth academy and has made 39 Bundesliga appearances since making his official debut in 2009-10.