Shakhter Karagandy face sanctions over sheep slaughter

Uefa have warned the Kazakhstan outfit over possible sanctions if they persist with their tradition of slaughtering a sheep around matches

Shakhter Karagandy have been warned by Uefa that if they continue to slaughter sheep before a game they will face possible sanctions.
The Kazakh champions courted controversy ahead of the first leg of their Champions League play-off against Celtic last week when they performed a ritual killing of a sheep the day before the clash.
Ahead of the second leg of the tie against Neil Lennon's men on Wednesday, which Shakhter lead 2-0, a letter written by Uefa competitions director Giorgio Marchetti to the club's executive director Yerden Khalilin was released.
"We were informed that an animal slaughter took place at some point prior to the Champions League fixture involving Shakhter Karagandy and Celtic at the Astana Arena on Tuesday 20 August 2013," wrote Marchetti.
"Although certain practices may be culturally rooted, they have no place in or around a sporting arena or event.
"In this context, I would like to make you aware that animal slaughter on a football pitch or in a stadium before, during or after a Uefa competition match - or with reference to a Uefa competition - is totally improper, and will not be tolerated.
"In case of re-occurrence, it will inevitably lead to a full investigation by our disciplinary bodies."
The practice led to outrage from leading animal rights groups, with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) writing an open letter to Uefa president Michel Platini demanding action.
European football's governing body has now responded to those concerns, threatening disciplinary proceedings should the practice be repeated.

Villas-Boas: Bale could complete Real Madrid move 'very soon'

The Spurs boss has indicated the Welsh star may be confirmed as a signing at the Bernabeu in the next two days, but would not be surprised if there continues to be delays

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed that Gareth Bale is close to sealing a world record move to Real Madrid.

Bale, 24, has been linked with a switch to Madrid throughout the transfer window after a spectacular season in the Premier League, which saw the winger net 26 goals in all competitions. 

And the Wales international now finally appears set to secure his long-awaited switch to the Bernabeu, after Villas-Boas confirmed that the two clubs are in advanced talks over a transfer that will break the world record.

"At the moment the two clubs are speaking," Villas-Boas told reporters. I'm not sure how much time it is going to take. It can can happen very soon, it might not happen so soon.

"I suppose it could go to the last day or it could happen in next two days. But you wouldn't expect the biggest transfer in world football to happen easily."

The transfer fee is anticipated to smash the existing world record, set by Real Madrid in 2009 when they paid Manchester United €92million for the services of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bale's form in 2012-13 saw him complete a clean sweep of the PFA awards, with the Welshman winning the Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year.

Bale joined Tottenham in 2007 from Southampton for a reported fee of £7million.

Xavi hungry for more Barcelona success

The 33-year-old is widely regarded as one of the Blaugrana's greatest ever players, and he says the desire to succeed is as great as it was when he started out 15 years ago
Barcelona midfielder Xavi says he has more desire than ever to win more trophies as it becomes harder each year.

Wednesday's Supercopa de Espana second leg clash with Atletico Madrid will signal 15 years in the first team for the 33-year-old.

But, in a career which has seen him win seven Ligas, three Champions League and numerous other accolades, Xavi says the hunger is still there to add further titles to his CV.
"You don’t lose that feeling, no," Xavi told the club's official website.
"I think if anything I am more excited now than when I started out, because there are more demands and it’s harder with each year.
"There’s a lot of competition and everyone has to show they are worth a place in the team.
"I am very happy and proud of all the years I’ve been here at Barca, the club of my life and the best in the world. I’ve had a lot of success here, particularly over recent years.
"I’ve been very happy here and I still am, with three more years on my contract ahead of me. I hope I can stay at the high level such a demanding club requires."
The Spain international also discussed the game with Atletico at Camp Nou after a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Vicente Calderon last week courtesy of a Neymar equaliser following David Villa's opener.
And, despite the away goal, Xavi says it will be an extremely hard game for him to record his 22nd title with Barca.
"Atletico Madrid are very strong, especially in defence," he continued.
"They have a coach [Diego Simeone] who works hard on defence and, with two lines of four, they hardly allow any space. Their forwards also chip in and help. They are a good side and showed us why they have achieved so much.
"It won’t be easy, but we had a good result in the first leg and an away goal is always important. We have to try and move the ball quickly, we’ll be on a pitch we like and that’s a point in our favour."

Manchester City captain Kompany targets quick return to first-team action

The centre-back injured his groin against Newcastle on the opening weekend of the season, and is hoping for a speedy recovery after seeing his team lose 3-2 to Cardiff City

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is targeting a speedy recovery from the groin strain suffered against Newcastle United nine days ago.

The centre-back will miss Belgium's World Cup qualifier against Scotland on September 6 having sat out City's 3-2 defeat at Cardiff City on Sunday.

Kompany is not downbeat over the injury but admits that he faces a race against time to be fit for the crucial derby clash with Manchester United on September 22.
"I'll be out for a little while but not too long," Kompany told the club's official website. "I may miss the internationals but I hope to be back after that.

"I've been here before and I’m going to work hard to get back as quickly as possible. There are worse things that can happen but the only disappointment is that the season began so positively for me and everything went really well during pre-season.
 
"There is a protocol to follow with any injury and there is a time scale that goes with that. If I follow that schedule, I know when I’ll be back in a certain amount of weeks and possibly sooner.
 
"It is a freak injury that has nothing to do with the previous problems – it can happen - but I know when I return I’ll be absolutely fine.”
 
Goal revealed on Tuesday that City had agreed a €4.6 million deal with Atletico Madrid for defender Martin Demichelis, and Kompany is pleased the club are continuing to strengthen in light of rival clubs undergoing similar makeovers this summer.
 
"I haven’t kept in touch with any speculation so I'm not sure but with a few days to go I’m sure it is a possibility as it is at any club of this size," he continued.
 
"It is going to be an interesting season because Jose Mourinho is back at Chelsea, Sir Alex Ferguson has retired and we also have a new manager.
 
"People will wonder how we will all perform in what is a new era for all three clubs and the pressure is on all of us to do well, but at the same time, everything has changed and it will be interesting for the fans and for us as well."

Real Sociedad-Lyon Betting Preview

Our Spanish expert believes that there is money to be made with predicting the goal count in Wednesday's Champions League group stage playoff
Last week's first leg saw Real Sociedad record a result that made many people in the rest of Europe take notice, as the Basques returned from their short trip to France having not only secured a 2-0 victory against Olympique Lyonnais but having also utterly dominated an experienced Champions League side. 

La Real are looking good now to make it into the group stages of the competition, but they will have to guard against the complacency that the first-leg result could bring and BetVictor price them at evens (2.00)to record another win tonight. 

Lyon, for their part, surely cannot be any more insipid than they were last week are offered at 29/10 (3.90)to win this evening, while optimistic punters can back them at 8/1 (9.00) to qualify.
Yet it would take quite an implosion by Real for them to fail to make it through and while Lyon must surely give a better account of themselves, the side from San Sebastian remain ruthless on the counterattack. 

This match is a little tricky to call given that Lyon will have to come out attacking and the home side can afford to sit back despite that not really being in their nature. 

Both teams to score is offered at 8/11 (1.73) and while it still should have an excellent chance of paying out, we are a little wary of getting our fingers burnt again having tipped this in the first leg. 

Instead, backing two to three goals in the game at 20/23 (1.87) looks to be a more attractive option at a better price. 

This gives us more realistic options for making some profit, paying out at 1-1 and at 2-0, 2-1 or 3-0 for either side. A decent case could be made for any of those results and backing this bet gives us a spread of options which should put us in a healthy position to make some profit. 

Bale included in Wales squad for World Cup qualifiers

The Real Madrid target, who is yet to see any action this season for Tottenham, has been named by Chris Coleman in the national set-up for games against Macedonia and Serbia

Gareth Bale has been included in the Wales squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and Serbia, despite Tottenham's insistence that the winger is currently injured.

Bale is yet to play for Spurs this season as he waits to complete a world record €100 million move to Real Madrid.

The winger has not turned up to training this week as it is believed he wants a move to the Bernabeu to happen as quickly as possible.

The Welsh squad is a strong one that includes 11 players who play in the Premier League.

The full list is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey, Glyn Myhill, Owain Fon Williams.

Defenders: Ben Davies, Neal Eardley, Danny Gabbidon, Chris Gunter, Adam Matthews, Sam Ricketts, Neil Taylor, Ashley Williams.

Midfielders: Joe Allen, Jack Collison, Andrew Crofts, Andy King, Joe Ledley, Aaron Ramsey, Jonathan Williams, Gareth Bale.

Attackers: Craig Bellamy, Simon Church, Hal Robson-Kanu, Sam Vokes.

Tevez: AC Milan could not afford me

The attacker has hinted he could have joined the Rossoneri this summer and admits Juventus could be found wanting in the Champions League this term

Carlos Tevez has suggested that he would have been opening to joining AC Milan this summer, but the San Siro were unable to meet Manchester City's asking price prior to his move to Juventus.

Milan CEO Adriano Galliani stated earlier this summer that Tevez "would not betray him" when the attacker was first linked with a move to Juventus, thus suggesting that the 29-year-old was on his way to theRossoneri instead.

However, a move to Milan never materialised and Tevez eventually joined Juventus for a fee in the region of €10 million - a figure which the Argentine claims the Massimiliano Allegri's side were unwilling to meet.

"Milan? Galliani really wanted me, but he told me that Milan did not have the money to meet City's demands," Tevez told La Stampa.

The attacker then went on to discuss Juventus' chances in the Champions League and admitted they are likely to fall just short of going all the way in this season's competition.

"To win the Champions League you have to be better than all the other teams. We are perhaps missing something to be the best, but we will sure give it a try to go all the way," he added.

Barcelona-Atletico Madrid Betting Preview: Back at least two goals in the first half

Our Spanish expert believes a high-scoring opening is likely at Camp Nou and the price of evens for over 1.5 strikes is well worthy of investment
The Spanish Supercup is intriguingly poised after last week's first leg at the Vicente Calderon which saw Atletico Madrid take the lead through David Villa only for the former Barcelona striker's goal to be cancelled out by new superstar Neymar. 

Indeed, a number of questions for Barca coach Gerardo Martino in yesterday's pre-match press conference centred on the Brazilian forward and on whether he will be paired with Lionel Messi, who looks to have recovered from the thigh injury he picked up last week. 
With or without that particular duo, Barca remain huge favourites, with Paddy Power pricing them at 1/3 (1.33) to claim the victory while Atletico Madrid are offered at 8/1 (9.00) to win at Camp Nou for the first time since 2006.

Last week's first leg was a strange one for a myriad of reasons, the first being that the 1-1 scoreline meant it was the first time in 18 meetings and six years that a game between these two sides did not see over 2.5 goals.

Clearly this anomaly should be rectified this evening, but at 2/7 (1.29) backing at least three goals does not appeal.Another reason why last week's first leg went against type was that Barca failed to score in the first half, meaning that over 1.5 goals in the opening 45 minutes did not pay out. 

This bet had paid out in 10 of the previous 11 meetings and when Villa gave Atleti an early lead it looked certain to do so again. 

Barca rarely fail to score in the first half, particularly at home, so backing over 1.5 goals in the opening half at evens (2.00) looks like a great bet despite its failure to produce any profit last week. 

This selection is backed up by the statistics but also by the tremendous attacking talent on display and atevens (2.00) offers punters a fantastic chance to double their money.

Vidic and Welbeck looking forward to 'intense' Liverpool clash

The pair admit they were happy with a point against Chelsea on Monday and insist they will be ready for another huge occasion against their bitter rivals at Anfield

Nemanja Vidic and Danny Welbeck insist everyone at Manchester United is ready for what will be an "intense" clash with Liverpool on Sunday.

United have four points from their first two Premier League matches under new boss David Moyes, after beating Swansea at the Liberty Stadium and drawing at home to Chelsea.

Next up for the Red Devils is a trip to Anfield to take on bitter rivals Liverpool, and Welbeck says everyone at the club will relish the challenge.
"I was with Sturridge at a Nike event and we were speaking about our goals, so I’m looking forward to playing against him at Anfield," he told the club's official website.
 
"I can’t wait for the game. Ever since I’ve been at the club, coming through the under-9s to 15s, 16s, youth team and reserves; no matter what the situation is, it’s massive.
 
"Obviously we’ll want to go there and win but it’s going to be another intense game and I think the whole club is really looking forward to it."

Vidic, meanwhile, knows United can expect a very difficult game at Anfield.

"It is always tough to go to Anfield," he added.

"It is going to be no different this year. They have started well with two wins. They have some confidence. But we go there pleased with our form, too. We have six days until that game. We will be ready."

Despite their disappointment at not claiming three points against Chelsea, both Welbeck and Vidic are prepared to see the positives in the draw.

"There was a bit of disappointment because we were at Old Trafford and we really want to be winning our home games," Welbeck admitted.
 
"But in this league every point is hard to get. Their aim was to keep the goals out and they did that. It was a really tough match and both sides did well.
 
"It was just a shame that it came two games in – you’d rather it was played further into the season, when it would have been a bigger occasion."

Vidic added: "We had more possession around their box than they had ours. The final pass was not great but I think we also might have scored.

"It was a tactical game which is why you could argue it was not great to watch. But we have some positives to take. I believe we are pleased with our form.
 
“I don't look at it that Chelsea have more to take from the game. We played a good game and didn't allow them chances. We had a few situations where we could have scored.

"It was a positive game for us. We played really solid and I believe we are going to be even better in the future games."

Mata is not for sale, insists Mourinho

The Chelsea playmaker was left on the bench for the 0-0 draw against Manchester United but the manager says the Spaniard was rested due to a pre-season knock

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has reiterated that Juan Mata is not for sale after Arsene Wengeradmitted he is a fan of the Spaniard.

Mata was benched for the draw against Manchester United, once again sparking intense speculation that he could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge this summer.
Arsenal boss Wenger revealed he rates the former Valencia man highly after his side's 2-0 Champions League qualifying victory over Fenerbahce on Tuesday.

But Mourinho insists he has no intention of parting with the man voted Chelsea's Player of the Year last season.

"There is no chance Juan goes," he told reporters.
 
"He had a very small pre-season after the Confederations Cup. And during that pre-season he was injured.
 
"He started training two days before we played the first league match.
 
"He played against Aston Villa and I decided to put him on the bench against United."

Mata was in stunning form last season, scoring 18 goals and notching up 34 assists in all competitions. 

Liverpool 4-2 Notts County

Injury-hit Reds sneak past League One outfit in extra time

Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson saved the day after a second-half revival from the visitors but the withdrawals of Aly Cissokho, Kolo Toure and Joe Allen worried the Reds

Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson spared Liverpool's blushes with extra-time goals in a Capital One Cup second-round win over Notts County on Tuesday.


In-form striker Sturridge netted his second of the game in the 105th minute before his midfield team-mate sealed the Premier League outfit's progress to round three five minutes later by making it 4-2 with a cool finish. 

Those goals came after second-half strikes from Yoann Arquin and Adam Coombes had brought their spirited League One visitors level, following Raheem Sterling's early opener and Sturridge's first before the break. 
Brendan Rodgers named a strong team despite the prospect of a Premier League fixture against Manchester United on Sunday, with captain Steven Gerrard and Sturridge both starting along with the likes of Glen Johnson and Kolo Toure. 

Meanwhile, Notts County boss Chris Kiwomya made two changes to the team that lost to Stevenage on Saturday, with Jamal Campbell-Ryce and Aston Villa loanee Enda Stevens coming into the side.

Liverpool unsurprisingly dominated the early stages and were ahead after just four minutes throughSterling. The 18-year-old winger collected a pass from Johnson 30 yards from goal and jinked past two defenders before firing low past Bartosz Bialkowski.

Rodgers's men continued to control proceedings and substitute Daniel Agger - who had replaced the injured Aly Cissokho early on - hit the inside of the post after glancing Gerrard's set-piece delivery goalwards on 19 minutes.

Sturridge's movement was causing all sorts of problems for the Notts County back line and the 23-year-old was rewarded with his third goal of the season and his ninth in his last eight appearances after 29 minutes with a clinical finish. Gerrard was again the architect as he guided a perfect pass to the striker, who took one touch before firing past the helpless Bialkowski into the top corner.

The Liverpool skipper himself then almost added a third four minutes before the interval, lashing a left-footed shot off the post after Sterling had found him with a well-weighted pass.
However, Kiwomya's side responded admirably after the interval and their spell of pressure paid dividends around the hour mark when Arquin pulled one back. Manny Smith rose unmarked to head a free kick back across goal and the Martinique international beat Toure and Andre Wisdom to power a header home.

Liverpool then hit the woodwork for a third time as Toure met another Gerrard delivery but he could only strike the post when it looked easier to score and the home side were made to pay for their profligacy when Coombes equalised - netting his first senior goal - after good work from Arquin to force extra time. 

County began the additional 30 minutes the brighter of the two sides and their chances were boosted further when Toure was carried off with a groin injury, leaving Liverpool with 10 men as Rodgers had already made all three substitutions.

Nevertheless, Sturridge then found the net against the run of play, latching on to substitute Philippe Coutinho's pass as a poor effort from Bialkowski failed to prevent his shot from dribbling over the line.

Shortly after half-time in extra time, Henderson - who had come on for the injured Joe Allen - burst through from midfield before nutmegging Gary Liddle and side-footing home to round the scoring out.

Basel, Austria Vienna and Steaua Bucharest qualify for Champions League group stages

Teams across Europe were in action on Tuesday night as they tried to book their place in the main draw for Europe's elite competition
Austria Vienna beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-2 to seal a 5-2 aggregate win over the Croatian side and book their place in the group stages of the Champions League.

Dinamo, who went into the game 2-0 down following the first leg, were given a seemingly insurmountable task in their quest to reach the Champions League proper after Florian Mader fired the hosts in front after only four minutes.

However, goals from Marcelo Brozovic and Junior Fernandez made it 2-1 to the visitors, only for Fatos Beqiraj struck and Kineast to score late on for Vienna and secure a 3-2 win.

Elsewhere in Europe, Steaua Bucharest have also put their names in the pot for Thursday's draw in Monaco courtesy of an away-goals victory over Legia Warsaw.

Last week's 1-1 draw set up an intriguing second leg, but two quick-fire goals from Nicolae Stanciu and Federico Piovaccari put Bucharest in the driving seat.

Miroslav Radovic halved the deficit soon after, before Rzezniczak levelled in stoppage-time for the Polish side, but it was not enough to earn their place in the Champions League proper for the first time since 1995/96, as Bucharest went through on away goals.

Meanwhile, Basel coasted into the group stages following a 6-2 aggregate victory over PFC Ludogorets Razgrad, with Fabian Frei and Philipp Degen netting either side of half-time to ensure a 2-0 win and their progress to the main draw.

Vidic unsurprised by Rooney backing from Manchester United fans

Despite a summer in which the forward has constantly agitated for a move, the Red Devils skipper feels that his success at the club in the past assured a warm reception

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic says he was unsurprised by the positive reaction of supporters towards Wayne Rooney during the 0-0 draw with Chelsea on Monday.
The England striker has been at the centre of one of the most high-profile transfer sagas of the close-season but, after the Blues target received a warm reception from the Old Trafford crowd on Monday, Jose Mourinho conceded that he did not expect to get his man.

Rooney was cheered throughout the goalless draw butGoal understands that his future remains in question as Arsenal are preparing, with some encouragement, to make an audacious late bid.

"The supporters have always supported the players," Vidic enthused to the press. "Wayne is no different.

"He has been supported throughout the years and I don't think there was a question he would have been supported against Chelsea.

"He has scored so many goals and won so many trophies. I expected him to receive a good reception."

Messi fit for Atleti Super Cup clash

The 26-year-old has been given the nod by the club's medical staff to face los Rojiblancos, but Adriano drops out in favour of Martin Montoya

Lionel Messi has been named in the Barcelona squad ahead of Wednesday's Spanish Super Cup second leg with Atletico Madrid after shrugging off a thigh problem.

The Argentine did not reappear for the second half in last week's first-leg clash with los Rojiblancos - which ended 1-1 - and was subsequently omitted by coach Gerardo Martino for the visit to Malaga at the weekend.

However, the 26-year-old was rumoured to have made a rapid recovery after being photographed participating in training alongside his Blaugrana team-mates, and Martino has confirmed the speculation by naming him in his 19-man squad.

Neymar, who netted the equaliser against the capital club last week, is set to face Atleti once again, while Martin Montoya comes into the squad in place of Adriano, who netted the winning goal against the Andalusians on Sunday.

PAOK 2-3 Schalke (3-4 on aggregate)

Szalai fires 10-man S04 into group stages

The striker struck twice - his second in the dying minutes - to break the hearts of the home side and kick start his side's poor start to the season


A late strike from Adam Szalai saw 10-man Schalke beat PAOK 3-2 on Tuesday night and record a 4-3 aggregate victory to book their place in the group stages of the Champions League.
The striker got the first goal of two goals on 43 minutes when he prodded home left-footed from inside the area, only for Stefanos Athanasiadis to equalise in the second period before Jermaine Jones was sent off for the visitors.
Julian Draxler then restored Schalke's lead, but PAOK drew level for a second thime through Konstantinos Katsouranis. However, Szalai had the final say to deny the home side their first appearance in the Champions League group stages.
Schalke brought in Atsuto Uchida and Felipe Santana at the back following their 2-1 Bundesliga defeat to Hannover at the weekend, while Jefferson Farfan, their goalscorer in the first leg, returned on the right.
PAOK coach Huub Stevens, going up against his former club, recalled Dimitris Salpingidis and Stefanos Athanasiadis to his forward line after the pair started on the bench in their side's 2-0 defeat to Panaitolikos on Saturday.
Schalke are yet to win a game in the Bundesliga game this season but started well and were the first to threaten. Just two minutes in, Jones headed down at goal from a corner only for Jacobo to save well with his feet.
However, the home side regrouped and applied pressure of their own, despite not having any fans to cheer them on at the Toumba Stadium, as their supporters served the first of a three-game ban following crowd trouble during a Europa League tie with Rapid Vienna last year.
The lively Miroslav Stoch was next to threaten for the home side, with the winger beating two Schalke defenders before shooting straight at Timo Hildebrand.
But just as it looked as though neither side would find a breakthrough before the half-time whistle, Szalai found the back of the net for the visitors.
Uchida poked a ball into the Hungarian's path and he nudged the ball past Jacobo with his left foot to give the German side the lead. 
PAOK almost hit back five minutes after the break as Stoch turned well in the box, but nobody could get on the end of his teasing cross.
However,  PAOK were level just three minutes later as Athanasiadis was played in by Stelios Kitsiou and slipped the ball past Hildebrand.
Schalke's cause was hindered by Jones's dismissal on 64 minutes after he received a second yellow card for a foul on Salpingidis, but Draxler's tidy finish three minutes later put Schalke ahead once again.
The 19-year-old was slipped in by Meyer, with the Germany international rounding Jacobo before slotting home to make it 2-1.
PAOK were not finished though, and equalised again through Katsouranis, as the centre-back got his head to a Stoch free-kick and looped his effort over Hildebrand and into the net.
But in the last minute, the home side's hearts were broken as Draxler cut in from the right and put it on a plate for Szalai to sidefoot home and conclude a thrilling encounter.

Freiburg 1-1 Bayern Munich

Hofler ends Guardiola's 100% record

Xherdan Shaqiri looked to have given the treble-winners a narrow victory but a late strike from Nicolas Hofler meant the Bavarians had to settle for a point

An under-strength Bayern Munich drew 1-1 with Freiburg on Tuesday night as Pep Guardiola's 100% start to the Bundesliga season came to an end.

Xherdan Shaqiri put the visitors ahead after 32 minutes when he fired past Oliver Baumann in the Freiburg goal.
But Bayern were pegged back five minutes from time when they conceded only their second goal of the season, as substitute Nicolas Hofler volleyed home from close range. 
Guardiola made six changes to his side from the 2-0 win over Nurnberg ahead of Friday's Uefa Super Cup clash with Chelsea on Friday, with the likes of Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Mario Mandzukic all dropping to the bench.
The hosts were without the suspended Francis Coquelin, while Christian Gunter replaced Mensur Mudzja.
It was Freiburg who had the first goalscoring chance of the match when Julian Schuster's powerful strike forced a good save from Manuel Neuer after 11 minutes.
Soon after, Bayern’s Toni Kroos and Xherdan Shaqiri both stung the palms of Baumann during what was an entertaining opening period.
Guardiola’s much-changed side then began to control proceedings and were rewarded just after the half-hour mark when Shaqiri gave them the lead.
The Switzerland international controlled a Thomas Muller cross from the right, which evaded Oliver Sorg, and drove home past Baumann.
Despite dominating possession for the remainder of the half, the champions could not add to their slender lead before the break.
Shaqiri then almost doubled his tally for the game 10 minutes into the second period, forcing Baumann into a save with his feet, before Charles Laprevotte cut in from the left and hit the post with a curling effort for the home side.
With the game finely poised, Bayern should have doubled their lead when Kroos found himself clean through. However, the Germany international was thwarted one-on-one before the goalkeeper reacted well to deny Muller's follow up.
But, with just five minutes to go, the home side drew level, with substitute Hofler firing a left-foot volley past Neuer from close range. 
Dante almost restored Bayern's lead three minutes later when he poked over from inside the six-yard box, but Guardiola was forced to settle for a share of the spoils for the first time this season.

Hodgson: Rooney can handle media scrutiny

The Manchester United striker has been the subject of two rejected bids from Chelsea, with a third expected, and the England coach praised his ability to perform under pressure

England manager Roy Hodgson is confident Wayne Rooney can handle the media scrutiny surrounding a possible Manchester United exit.

Chelsea have had two bids for the striker rejected, and Jose Mourinho has called on Rooney to make his feelings clear regarding a move to Stamford Bridge.
But Hodgson, after including Rooney in his latest England squad, feels the high level of attention the 27-year-old has attracted during his career stands him in good stead ahead of the climax of the transfer window.

"I'm relieved for him most of all," he told reporters. "He's an important player, he's been a fantastic servant for a good number of years now to England.

"He's still got the burning ambition to do well for England in the future, so a fully fit and a match fit Wayne Rooney is important to the country, but it's also important to his club and it's important to Wayne himself because he's a man who loves to play football and he's the first on to the pitch and the last off it.
"I think Wayne Rooney has been under a lot of scrutiny since he was about 17 years of age, so if anyone is probably equipped to deal with scrutiny it is Wayne Rooney."

Rooney was the stand out performer as United drew 0-0 with Chelsea at Old Trafford on Monday, and Hodgson praised the striker for maintaining his drive to perform in light of continued uncertainty.

He continued: "I'm sure David Moyes had no worries or concerns that he would do anything other than give his best and play to the very best of his ability [against Chelsea] just as I had no concerns he would do the same for us, because that is the nature of the man, that is the nature of the player and it's great when it comes off.

"I thought it came off for us during his 60 minutes and I thought it came off in spades [on Monday night] for Manchester United, so I was delighted for him and delighted for his club."