Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Jerome Boateng: Everyone wants Bayern Munich to lose to Dortmund

Jerome Boateng has claimed everyone in Germany wants Bayern Munich to lose Sunday's game against Borussia Dortmund amid fears it will end the title race.

BVB had made a remarkable start under new coach Thomas Tuchel, winning their first 11 games in all competitions, but back-to-back draws in the Bundesliga have seen them drop to second, four points behind Bayern.

Pep Guardiola's men have won all seven of their league games to date and are widely expected to become the first side to secure a fourth consecutive Bundesliga title, with football magazine kicker summing up the mood on Thursday by asking: "Will Bayern win the league on Sunday?"

Dortmund are the only other club to have won the title since 2009, and even legendary Bayern keeper Oliver Kahn said in kicker: "It would be best for the league if Bayern lost."

Boateng accepts that the nation will be behind BVB when the teams meet at the Allianz Arena, telling kicker: "Sure, I understand that everyone wants to see us get beaten. That's just normal."

Former Bayern and Dortmund coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, though, said he would be happy to see the reigning champions win Sunday's game.

Speaking on Sky on Wednesday night, Hitzfeld said: "Bayern are favourites. I'd like to think they'll win it."

Hitzfeld has been critical of Guardiola in recent months, saying the former Barcelona boss still had to learn the "German mentality," and speaking out against the decision to sell Germany internationals Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

However, Bayern -- whose 100 percent record extends across all competitions -- have hit top form in recent games and Hitzeld said the Catalan was the "architect" of that success, adding: "Guardiola has done a great job.

"He has equipped the squad with a concept. That Bayern are currently so dominant has nothing do with transfers, otherwise English clubs would perform better in the Champions League.

"It's got a lot to do with Guardiola and how he thinks about dominance, the style of play and speed of action. It's his meticulous work."

Meanwhile, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has said refereeing decisions have hindered his side's title bid this season.

BVB were held to draws by Hoffenheim and Darmstadt, and in both games saw penalty appeals controversially turned down.

Bayern, meanwhile, were incorrectly awarded a last-minute penalty in their 2-1 win over Augsburg earlier this season. 

"We could trail the leaders by a smaller margin and, even though I don't like to address such things, we have massively been disadvantaged by referee decisions in recent weeks," Zorc said in kicker.

"To make it clear: We are at fault for the draw against Darmstadt because of bad defending. And I fundamentally don't believe in conspiracy theories, but looking at the results we have been disadvantaged in recent weeks.

"You can register that, because it's objectively comprehensible."

Despite Zorc's comment, Dortmund have benefited from some high-profile mistakes in recent weeks, with Marcel Schmelzer fortunate to escape a red card in the win against Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim denied a clear opportunity to double their lead over BVB by a poor offside call.

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