After coming from 1–0 down to win 4–1 away at FC Köln in the second round of the DFB-Pokal, Bayern Munich made it 14 wins from as many matches, setting a record for the most consecutive victories to start
a season in any of Europe’s top five leagues. Vincent Kompany’s side responded impressively to Ragnar Ache’s 31st-minute goal. After conceding, goals from Luis Díaz and Harry Kane came in quick succession within the span of just two minutes, putting Bayern back in the driver’s seat. Despite some second-half efforts on goal from Köln, another strike from Kane and a goal from Michael Olise sealed the win and sent the Bundesliga champions through to the round of 16 of the DFB-Pokal.
Before kickoff, Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl was speaking with ARD presenters when he became slightly annoyed by the timing of a question. ARD’s Alex Schlüter asked Eberl about discussions surrounding Kompany’s new contract extension: “Vincent Kompany has just extended his contract. What is written on paper remains below them in detail. But what did you discuss with him about what should happen with a view to the future? If I was looking for the precious metal there,” he said, while pointing to a mock DFB-Pokal trophy on the table they were standing at (via Tz).
So close to kickoff, Eberl didn’t exactly appreciate the question. “Alex, don’t be angry now, but, I don’t know, three minutes before kick-off this question now? Honestly. Now we want to play the cup game and not talk about the vision that Vini and I discussed,” Eberl replied. Before he responded, he hadn’t had much of a chance to speak, as Bastian Schweinsteiger was offering his own analysis on the matchup and Bayern’s form.
There was likely some added tension behind the exchange because it’s been far too long since Bayern have been in a DFB-Pokal final in Berlin at the Olympiastadion. The German Rekordmeister have not reached the final since the 2019/20 season, when they beat Bayer Leverkusen 4–2. Since then, they have suffered several shock early exits from the competition: eliminated in the round of 16 last season, the second round in both the 2021/22 and 2020/21 seasons, and the quarterfinals in 2022/23. Two of those defeats came against Holstein Kiel—before their promotion to the Bundesliga—and FC Saarbrücken.
Bayern Munich traveled to Cologne for a midweek DFB-Pokal tilt with FC Köln.
Heading into the match, the Bavarians were riding high, but the squad knew that FC Köln would not be an easy out in front of its home crowd. Ultimately, Bayern Munich pulled out a 4-1 victory doing exactly what they have done to every other opponent it has had of late — wear them down and pounce.
Let’s get into all of the details on this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. This is what we have on tap:
- A look at Bayern Munich’s starting XI selections…who stood out, who struggled, and more.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions as we walk through the flow of the match.
- Some final takeaways on the match.
Also, be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
