Rout ‘perfect’ warm-up for Barca, says Bayern’s Neuer

BERLIN. Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said Bayern Munich’s 6-1 Bundesliga rout of Hanover was the perfect preparation for Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal, first leg against Barcelona.

Monday, April 22, 2013

SaturdayHamburg SV     2-1     F DüsseldorfFrankfurt     1-0     Schalke 04Leverkusen     5-0     HoffenheimBremen     0-3     WolfsburgBERLIN. Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said Bayern Munich’s 6-1 Bundesliga rout of Hanover was the perfect preparation for Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal, first leg against Barcelona."We wanted to prepare well for the match against Barca, and we succeeded,” said Neuer, as only Andre Hoffmann’s late header for Hanover denied Bayern a Bundesliga record 20th clean sheet.Bayern are bidding to reach their third Champions League final in four years and for the second match running, they smashed six goals past hapless opponents.The rout at Hanover followed on the heels of last Wednesday’s 6-1 drubbing of Wolfsburg in the German Cup semifinal.Victory gave Bayern a Bundesliga-record 26th victory this season, a record ninth consecutive away win, while they also equalled Dortmund’s previous best of 81 points in a single season.For the first time since the Champions League began in 1992, there are two German teams in the semifinals with Borussia Dortmund hosting Real Madrid in Wednesday’s first-leg.Dortmund warmed up for Jose Mourinho’s Real with a 2-0 win at home to Mainz 05 at their Signal Iduna Park stadium.