With only three days to go until a mouth-watering clash with Barcelona, you might think those involved would be prone to distraction. But if Hannover 96 had been hoping Bayern thoughts would be elsewhere on Saturday afternoon, they were to be bitterly disappointed. The confirmed champions turned in the kind of display you might expect if every point was still vital. Jupp Heynckes’ side stormed to a 6-1 away win, prompting the coach to gush with praise afterwards: “Every man was totally motivated, we put together some very fluid moves, we showed great discipline, and we created outstanding goals.”
Heynckes’ counterpart Mirko Slomka was left with little option but to congratulate the visitors to the AWD Arena. “In every aspect of our defending, we never had a chance of standing up to Bayern," he acknowledged. The goals followed more or less inevitably, once Lars Stindl had deflected a David Alaba cutback over his own line on 16 minutes. Franck Ribéry (23), Mario Gomez (40, 62) and Claudio Pizarro (71, 86) ensured Munich's utter superiority was reflected in the final score. For the home team, Andre Hoffmann netted a consolation six minutes from the end.
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