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Bayern throw down gauntlet to Wolfsburg

The mood among title rivals in the Bundesliga could not be different after the weekend, with a bullish FC Bayern München level with Hamburger SV and leading the chase of deliberately downbeat leaders VfL Wolfsburg.
Winning run
The self-imposed roles may end up being reversed, though, if champions Bayern fail to salvage their season and leaders Wolfsburg continue their remarkable run of form. Bayern are focused on the domestic title after being comprehensively knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by FC Barcelona while Felix Magath's men stretched an astonishing winning streak to ten Bundesliga matches with a 2-1 success against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in their search for a maiden championship.
Arminia success
Such is the stature of the four-time European champions, though, that nothing less than retention of Bayern's title will suffice for Jürgen Klinsmann, whose side lie second in the table and three points behind Wolfsburg. The coach made sure the magnitude of Wolfsburg's task in holding the Bavarian club at bay for the rest of the season was made abundantly clear to them following his team's 1-0 victory at DSC Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.
Confident Klinsmann
"Wolfsburg will drop points sooner or later – and that's when we'll overtake them," said the former German international. "We have two home games next and we can keep pushing on. We're looking for maximum points. Provided we keep doing what has to be done, we'll go top at some point." Klinsmann's bravado was echoed by general manager Uli Hoeness. "We have six games to play, four at home and two away," he added. "Wolfsburg have had one more home match, so our chances of taking the title have increased very slightly."
Contenders drifting
Magath described the Leverkusen result as a "lucky win" and is desperate to avoid proclaiming his side as title challengers, having already seen other clubs in a similar position fall by the wayside. Mid-season leaders TSG 1899 Hoffenheim have failed to win in ten matches, while Hertha BSC Berlin lost three times in a row before arresting their slump with a late victory at home to Werder Bremen on Sunday.
Players coy
Like their manager, Wolfsburg's players are also keen to dismiss any title talk. Grafite, whose two goals against Leverkusen took his tally to 22 from 19 matches, said: "Our aim from the start of the season was to be in the top five – nothing changes from that target despite our success." Zvjezdan Misimović added: "We are not talking about a title at this point. We can talk about that two or three games before the end but not before."