Juergen Klopp is hopeful that Mario Goetze will be fit for Borussia Dortmund’s UEFA Champions League final clash with Bayern Munich.
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-GB
X-NONE
X-NONE
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
The 20-year-old midfielder, who will move to Bayern for the start of the next Bundesliga campaign, has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since Dortmund’s semi-final second-leg against Real Madrid.
After 14 minutes in the Santiago Bernabeu,he tore his hamstring and had to watch on as his team were beaten 2-0, but still progressed to the final at Wembley on 25 May thanks to their 4-1 victory a week earlier at Westfalenstadion.
The Germany international has been undergoing intensive treatment to get him back in time for their first UEFA Champions League final since 1997, and Klopp was optimistic he would be fit to make his 40th appearance for the club this season after resuming training.
“We will intensify training and the plan is that he will begin to train with the team next week,” he said. “Then I hope everything stays as it is, after that we will decide whether it works or not.”
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:”";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”,”serif”;}
Thu 1 January, 1970
Fulham boss Martin Jol has bemoaned the decisions that went against his side during Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool.
Daniel Sturridge netted a hat-trick as Brendan Rodgers’ men came from a goal down to earn a convincing win at Craven Cottage.
But Jol has cited a Lucas Leiva handball in the box and a poor Glen Johnson tackle on Eyong Enoh as moments which could have turned the match.
“The frustrating thing was that we should have had a couple of decisions for us and that didn’t happen,” he said.
“Just before they scored I think it was a penalty kick, we should have had a corner-kick, maybe a red card.
“First half, 1-0 up, we had a situation in their box five seconds later it was in our goal. So that was the frustrating thing today.”
Fulham have lost six of their last seven games in the Premier League but the Dutchman insists he is not concerned by that run of form due to the opposition his side have faced.
“Sometimes I feel we should count our blessings,” he added.
“We always knew the last seven or eight games – Everton away, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool – could have been a heavy schedule and it was.
“We were happy to be on 40 points the only disappointing thing is that we couldn’t get a result against them and be on 47 points.”
Thu 1 January, 1970
Tottenham midfielder Clint Dempsey admits the players are aware of the growing tension at White Hart Lane in the latter stages of the season.
Spurs beat Arsenal on March 3 to move into third place on the Premier League table and open up a seven-point gap between their rivals – but a return of four points from their following four games has handed the Gunners the chance to overtake Andre Villas-Boas’ side.
Such a slump in form has Tottenham fans fearful of a repeat of last season’s late collapse which saw Arsenal overturn an 11-point disadvantage before Chelsea pipped them to Champions League qualification.
When asked if the mood is affecting the players, Dempsey told reporters: “I don’t know. It’s something that’s been there. It’s been noticeable in the last three home games.
“It’s been tense. I’ve felt like that’s kind of what the atmosphere’s been. That’s the way it’s been the last few games.
“You’ve got to keep going. You’ve got to do everything you can to help the team win. You can only try your best. It’s going to be a fight all the way until the end.”
The United States international is unsure as to why Tottenham’s form has dipped in recent weeks but suggested it could be down to injuries and a congested fixture schedule.
Star man Gareth Bale missed the 2-2 draw with Everton through injury but the club are hopeful of a return against Manchester City on April 21 – although Spurs will also have to navigate their Europa League quarter-final second leg against Basel in the meantime.
“Who’s to say the reason why? Maybe a few injuries, maybe a lot of games. It makes it more interesting for people to watch. It’s a little bit more stressful but it’s a good stress. At least we’re
0000027D
pushing to try to get that (Champions League) spot. Hopefully we have enough character to get the job done,” he said.
“I thought the boys showed a lot of character to fight back and get a point against Everton. It’s an important point. You would have like to have got three but at least we fought back. We have the quality. It’s about being confident. It will be difficult all the way until the end of the season.”
Thu 1 January, 1970
Bayern Munich attacker Toni Kroos has admitted his team were not at their best in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Lille.
A Thomas Mueller penalty after 20 minutes helped Bayern to a 1-0 victory despite their below-par performance.
Kroos, 22, is determined for Bayern to record two home wins from their three remaining matches to secure progress.
“Lille played quite a good game, but I think we deserved to win. They put in a lot of tackles, but we managed to control them, scored a goal and deserved to win the game,” he told the UEFA website.
“Of course, we can play better football, but after our defeat against BATE (Borisov on matchday two) we needed to win our next game. On Tuesday evening, we battled.
“Of course, our goal now is to win the home game against LOSC. We won away and now we have two home games left – and we want to go clear in the table in those two home games, but it will be difficult in two weeks against Lille.”
Bayern have collected six points from three games to be level on points with Valencia and BATE in Group F.
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-AU
X-NONE
X-NONE
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true
Thu 1 January, 1970
