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Bayern Munich wants 3 titles this season

FRANKFURT - Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal’s goal is to win three titles this season, including the Champions League.

Bayern’s 2-1 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt snapped the 19-game undefeated run for the German powerhouse, which remained at the top of the Bundesliga because its rivals also failed to win.

Van Gaal said the championship remains Bayern’s biggest goal but that the team also wants the German Cup and the Champions League. Bayern plays at Schalke in the German Cup semifinals on Wednesday. Werder Bremen will face second-division club Augsburg in the other semifinal match on Tuesday.

Bayern has failed to win in its last three Bundesliga games away from home, but Van Gaal remained confident ahead of the trip.

“We are on top of the Bundesliga, we are in the semifinals of the German Cup, we are in the quarterfinals of the Champions League — which club in Europe can boast such a record,” Van Gaal said Monday.

Inter Milan and Bordeaux are in the same position.

Bayern’s Champions League quarterfinal opponent is Manchester United, with the first leg scheduled for March 30 in Munich.

Van Gaal’s team was badly outplayed in Frankfurt but neither of its title rivals took advantage.

Schalke, which could have knocked Bayern off the top of the standings, had to settle for a 2-2 draw in Hamburg and remained one point behind. Bayer Leverkusen lost at Borussia Dortmund 3-0 and stayed third, three points adrift.

“We are still atop the Bundesliga. Felix Magath and his players wasted their chance,” Van Gaal said of Schalke’s coach. “We’ve seen how difficult it is to be the leader. We could handle the defeat because the others can’t deal with pressure.”

Magath, who is hoping to lead Schalke to its first championship in 52 years, said winning the German Cup was his “clear goal.”

“We are going to do everything to win this game,” said Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi said, who scored his 15^th Bundesliga goal of the season against Hamburg.

Magath won the German double twice with Bayern before getting fired. He also won the championship last season with Wolfsburg.

Although Schalke failed to dislodge Bayern from the lead, Magath said he was pleased with the point in Hamburg.

“We didn’t play against any old team,” he said.

With Bayern playing Schalke twice before Easter, Van Gaal said the “weeks of truth” were coming up at the end of which “we’ll either get the gladiolas or we’ll be dead.”

Bayern’s game at Schalke on April 3 could be decisive for the Bundesliga title.

“I think the championship is Bayern’s biggest goal. But the players also want to win the German Cup and the Champions League and I also want all three titles,” Van Gaal said.

The Dutch coach said his team will be more focused against Schalke than it was against Eintracht.

“We were not concentrated,” Van Gaal said.

Van Gaal left it open if 17-year-old defender David Alaba will be in the team again against Schalke. Alaba’s two errors led to Eintracht’s goals.

“I have to see how he reacts,” Van Gaal said.

Central defender Daniel van Buyten will be back despite a cheek bone bruise and striker Ivica Olic is also available after a calf injury. Star winger Franck Ribery is not expected to start although he’s back after an ankle injury.

“He hasn’t practiced for two weeks,” Van Gaal said.