Bundesliga
Neuer and Kimmich lay down the gauntlet
The gap at the top of the Bundesliga may have stayed at six points last week after both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich won, but Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich both still believe the record champions will catch up with the league leaders.
The two Germany internationals insist Bayern will not give up their crown without a fight, especially since Dortmund still have to come to Munich on 6 April, and because they have not been all that convinced by their rivals' performances anyway.
"We've started [2019] well and we also know that Dortmund are not unbeatable," Neuer said at a charity event in Munich. "I think they showed signs of weakness in the first half of the season. They may not have dropped many points, but it was pretty tight for them on a few occasions.
"But it's important that we think of ourselves. We can't influence what happens at other football grounds all over Germany."
Kimmich agrees that BVB's 14 wins this season were not always eye-catching, even though he acknowledges that is also the trait of a true champion; a trait Bayern have shown over the years and one the 23-year-old is keen for them to rediscover.
"We've got to win our games and then when we play Dortmund we've got to beat them," he said. "I don't think that Dortmund have really been beating all their opponents convincingly, but they have been winning their games and that's a quality and that's what we've got to find again.
"We can't afford to slip up again and we want to carry on against Stuttgart, winning our games and in a way that gets people talking about Bayern."