After a six-year wait, Bayern Munich have stamped their return to the Olympiastadion in Berlin for next month’s DFB-Pokal final after securing a 2-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen. Goals from Harry Kane and Luis Díaz sealed the deal for the German Rekordmeister, though Vincent Kompany’s side should have scored more than just twice with the total of 10 shots on target compared to only one from Leverkusen.
Manuel Neuer was hardly called into action for Bayern, but he made a very strong save to deny Nathan
Tella in the 52nd minute when Leverkusen were growing in confidence in their search for an equalizer. He also came well off of his line to head clear a quickly-taken Mark Flekken goal kick to quell what would’ve been a dangerous counter from Die Werkself.
Most of Bayern’s credible chances came in the first half, as was reflected in Kompany’s second half changes in bringing on Leon Goretzka, Kim Min-jae, and Alphonso Davies to keep things shored up as Leverkusen became more expansive. After the final whistle, Kane said he felt his side really put in a top performance and were perhaps regretting the fact they didn’t score more.
“It was a top performance from start to finish. We pressed them and won the ball high. We should’ve scored more goals and decided the game earlier. Overall they didn’t create many chances and we deserved the win,” the Englishman explained another goal-scoring performance (via @iMiaSanMia).
The last time Bayern appeared in a DFB-Pokal final was in the summer of 2020 when they beat Leverkusen in Berlin in the sextuple-winning season under Hansi Flick. From Bayern’s standpoint, it had been far too long since the club reached the competition’s final, which was considered to be unacceptable. As such, Kane stressed how much it’s been a goal of the squad’s this season to get back to the final for the first time in six years. “We said at the start of the season that the DFB Pokal was a goal. The guys said it was an amazing experience in Berlin. I’m really happy we made it there,” he said.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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