Berlin: Ten-man Bayern Munich suffered a morale-sapping fourth straight defeat by losing 1-0 to Augsburg on Saturday in the Bundesliga ahead of their mission-impossible Champions League semi-final, second-leg against Barcelona.
Augsburg’s Paraguay striker Raul Bobadilla followed on from Barcelona’s Lionel Messi by inflicting more misery on German league champions Bayern who are poised for a last four exit from the Champions League.
Bayern host Barca in Tuesday’s home semi-final facing an uphill task having been routed 3-0 in Spain last Wednesday, when Messi scored twice, which followed defeats to Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup semi-final and a league defeat at Bayer Leverkusen.
Coach Pep Guardiola named a near full-strength team against Augsburg, resting only Xabi Alonso and Neuer.
But the German giants played nearly 80 minutes with ten men in Munich after ex-Liverpool and Barcelona goalkeeper Pepe Reina was shown a straight red card.
Germany goalkeeper Neuer came on to face a penalty after his under-study Reina was sent off with just 13 minutes gone for fouling Bobadilla.
Dutch defender Paul Verhaegh hit the post with the spot-kick having beaten the diving Neuer as the visitors squandered their best chance of the game.
Mario Goetze hit the Augsburg post early on and striker Robert Lewandowski clattered the crossbar late in the first-half for Bayern. Augsburg grabbed the winner when Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hoejbjerg, on loan from Bayern, put in a cross which Bobadilla deftly back-heeled past Neuer on 71 minutes.
Goals by defenders Neven Subotic and Erik Durm lifted Dortmund to seventh and two points behind sixth-placed neighbours Schalke who are at Cologne on Sunday.
Eintracht Frankfurt enjoyed a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim while Hamburg stayed above the relegation places with a 1-1 draw at home to Freiburg. (AFP)
