Favre turns focus to cup semi-final

Borussia Monchengladbach coach Lucien Favre turned his attention to knocking Bayern Munich out of the DFB-Pokal after his side's 2-1 Bundesliga win at Bayer Leverkusen. The win strengthened Gladbach's hold on third place in the table, keeping them on course for UEFA Champions League qualification. However, Favre wants his side to move closer to winning some silverware and sealing a place in Europe by beating Bayern to reach the final of the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday. "I hope that this win against Leverkusen gives us more self-confidence," he said. "Certainly when your head is free, you have a different approach. We are now concentrating fully on the cup game against Bayern." The Swiss coach sprinted 50 metres to celebrate with his players after Igor de Camargo's late winning goal, as his side ended a run of three games without a win. "This win was above all important mentally," he said. "When you don't win for three games, then you naturally start to think what is wrong, but now our heads are free again. "I was delighted with the fantastic reaction from my side to their equaliser. I also wanted to check how fit I am still and everybody has seen that I am still fit - I could still play." Leverkusen could find themselves ten points behind the top four with eight games to go, but they have not fully given up on qualifying for the Champions League. "Of course it is not looking good, but while there is still hope, we will cling to it," captain Simon Rolfes told ZDF.