Dortmund aims to bring some of its Champions League success to disastrous Bundesliga campaign

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — The two German teams in the Champions League quarterfinals are having very different Bundesliga seasons.

While Bayern Munich is eight points clear at the top and confirmed its domestic supremacy with a 5-0 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund is 10th and will likely need a big late-season surge to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Beating Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday eased some of the pressure on new coach Niko Kovac but Dortmund takes on Leipzig on Saturday with both teams desperate for a win.

— Dortmund's game against Leipzig on Saturday is a crucial test for Leipzig, too. Two wins from 10 Bundesliga games since the new year have seen Marco Rose's team slide to sixth.

— Bayern's Champions League exertions took their toll last week in a shock 3-2 home loss to Bochum. A trip to Union Berlin on Saturday is another tricky test, given Union surprised Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 last week.

— Leverkusen has lost three games in a row for the first time under coach Xabi Alonso. The injury-hit squad can turn things around with a win on Sunday over Stuttgart, itself on a four-game losing run.

— When Manuel Neuer hurt himself celebrating last week, it gave 21-year-old Jonas Urbig an opportunity as Bayern goalkeeper. The loss to Bochum last week was a rocky start but Urbig won praise for some solid saves against Leverkusen.

— Michy Batshuayi's first Bundesliga goal in seven years wasn't enough as Frankfurt lost to Union last week. Frankfurt could need more goals from the new signing to halt a slide since Omar Marmoush left for Manchester City. Frankfurt plays Bochum on Sunday.

— The pressure is on Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav after seven Bundesliga games without scoring. Undav was a star last season as Stuttgart finished second but now risks being dropped.

— Star attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz is a big absence for Leverkusen with an ankle ligament injury. Defender Mario Hermoso was sent for scans on his shoulder after the Bayern loss, while defender Edmond Tapsoba and midfielder Nathan Tella are doubtful to recover from injuries for Sunday.

— Joshua Kimmich looks set to extend his contract at Bayern after all after a contract offer was reportedly withdrawn last month in frustration at the long-running talks. Kimmich said on Tuesday he was looking forward to “getting the ball over the line.”

— Serbia defender Milos Veljkovic will leave Werder Bremen for Red Star Belgrade after nine years, Bremen said on Tuesday.

— Holstein Kiel captain Lewis Holtby is set to leave as a free agent.

“It's difficult and we aren't satisfied either. It's hard for us to get a result like this in the Bundesliga almost every week and play our best in the Champions League. We're trying everything to make it work in the Bundesliga too.” — Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi.

“I won't surf on a hype wave, no chance ... My focus is absolutely on the Union Berlin game on Saturday and nothing is won until it's won.” — Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Bayern's goalkeeper Jonas Urbig holds the ball during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Frankfurt's Michy Batshuayi, center, celebrates with teammates Far's Chaibi, right and Nathaniel Brown after scoring a goal, during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Union Berlin at Deutsche Bank Park, in Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

Leipzig's Xavi Simons, front, reacts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and FSV Mainz 05 in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)

Leverkusen's head coach Xabi Alonso reacts during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bayern's head coach Vincent Kompany greets fans prior the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Dortmund players celebrate after a goal during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Lille and Borussia Dortmund in Villeneuve-d'Ascq , Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

NEW YORK (AP) — R&B singer Cassie delved further into text messages with former boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs during her cross-examination in the music mogul's sex trafficking trial Friday, saying she told him “I'm not a rag doll. I'm somebody's child" after he beat her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

But just days later as they tried to recover from the episode, she and Combs were expressing love for each other again in messages read aloud in court during a second day of cross-examination in Manhattan, with Cassie saying in one text: “We need a different vibe from Friday.”

In the “rag doll” text, Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, complained to him that he was out of control from drugs and alcohol that day. After hotel security video of the assault was released last year, Combs apologized and said he was “disgusted” by his actions.

The defense on Friday also tried to discredit Cassie's claim that Combs raped her in 2018 after she ended their nearly 11-year relationship.

Federal prosecutors allege Combs exploited his status as a music executive and businessman to force women including Cassie into drug-fueled encounters with male sex workers that he called “freak-offs,” which Combs watched and directed. Several other accusers of Combs are expected to testify at the trial.

Cassie, the prosecution's star witness, has testified that she was ashamed and loathed taking part in “hundreds” of such encounters that sometimes went on for days. But she said she felt compelled because Combs threatened her with violence and warned he would publicly release videos of her in the freak-offs if she made him angry.

However, Combs’ lawyers want the jury to see Cassie as a willing and eager participant in his sexual lifestyle. He has pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. His defense says that, although he could be violent, nothing he did amounted to a criminal enterprise. And Combs insists all the sex at the freak-offs was consensual.

Cassie, who is pregnant and nearing her due date, was testifying for a fourth straight day at the trial, and her second day under cross-examination. On Thursday, the defense had her read aloud explicit and lurid messages she sent Combs during their relationship, including some in which she expressed enthusiasm for the freak-offs.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has.

Security video of the 2016 hotel beating is key evidence for the prosecution. It shows Combs hurling Cassie to the floor, kicking her and dragging her in a hotel hallway. Cassie testified that the assault took place as she was trying to leave a freak-off.

On Thursday, Estevao presented Cassie with sexual texts she sent Combs in the lead-up to the Los Angeles hotel encounter.

Estevao also raised questions on Friday about Cassie's rape claim against Combs, noting that Cassie gave differing descriptions of his demeanor and the timing of the alleged assault in interviews with investigators and in her trial testimony.

Cassie contends the rape happened at her Los Angeles home after she and Combs had dinner in Malibu, California, to discuss their breakup, either in August or September 2018.

While Cassie testified this week that Combs was “really nice” and “playful” at the dinner, Estevao pointed out that Cassie told investigators in 2023 that Combs had been “acting very strangely” that night. Cassie clarified, “Nice, but strangely."

Cassie also testified this week that Combs, during the dinner, was trying to get her to go to the Burning Man festival in Nevada, but previously told investigators that the dinner and rape happened after Combs returned from Burning Man.

Cassie acknowledged she stayed in touch with Combs and had consensual sex with him a few weeks after she says he raped her.

In text messages exchanged in the aftermath of their breakup, Cassie told Combs: “I do love you. I would just prefer not being one of your girlfriends anymore.”

Jurors on Friday also heard a 2013 recording of Cassie screaming at a friend who said he'd seen a video of her performing sex acts. In the recording, made by Cassie, the man claimed to have the video on his phone. Cassie is heard pleading to see the video and then threatening to kill him if it became public.

“I’ve never killed anyone in my life, but I will kill you,” Cassie told the man, punctuating her threats with profanity.

Cassie acknowledged in her testimony that Combs subsequently made efforts to keep the video private.

Estevao also questioned Cassie about her weeks-long stint in a treatment center for women in 2023. Estevao noted the center offered treatment for sex addiction, sexual compulsion and love addiction, and she asked Cassie if she was treated for any of those things.

Cassie replied that she was not, but rather was there for therapy to help her process trauma. She testified earlier that she experienced post-traumatic stress disorder before breaking up with Combs in 2018, and was blacking out and sleepwalking. She also said she broke down in 2023 and tried to walk into traffic outside her home, but her husband Alex Fine stopped her.

Cassie also testified Friday that she broke up with Combs for good in August 2018 after she saw a photo of him with another woman he’d been dating for the last few years. Soon after, Cassie said, she started dating Fine.

Much of the key testimony traced the history of the end of the relationship between Combs and Cassie and the role jealousy played in it. Estevao later said she expected the cross-examination to end Friday afternoon.

Before the trial resumed, prosecutors asked the judge to make sure Cassie’s testimony ends on Friday They said there’s a risk of a mistrial if Cassie was called back to the witness stand on Monday but went into labor over the weekend.

Combs, 55, has been jailed since September. He faces at least 15 years in prison if convicted.

Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

Cassie Ventura wipes tears from her eye while testifying in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

FILE - Cassie Ventura, left, and Sean "Diddy" Combs appear at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating "China: Through the Looking Glass" in New York on May 4, 2015. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Cassie Ventura, left, and Sean "Diddy" Combs, arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of "Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A Bad Boy Story" at the Writers Guild Theater, June 21, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP File)

Sean Diddy'Combs, far left, and attorney Marc Agnifilo, right, sit at the defense table during witness testimony in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Cassie Ventura takes an oath before testifying in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)