DFB Cup review, Final: The captain makes it crystal clear

Final, 04.07.2020: Bayer 04 v Bayern Munich 2-4 (0-2)

He missed 13 games through injury. After a 45-minute appearance in the final Bundesliga match of the season against Mainz 05, Lars Bender returned at just the right time to take part in the 04th DFB Cup final involving the Black and Reds. Ahead of the clash with FC Bayern at the pre-match press conference at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the captain talked about the goose bumps he felt when leaving the BayArena a few hours earlier when over 1,000 Werkself fans gathered on Bismarckstraße. "It's an unusual situation. Normally you’re not only really up for the game but also the special atmosphere in Berlin – with all the fans. Unfortunately that's not happening this year. That's why our fans wanted to send us on our way and show their support for us. It was a great sign," said the 31-year-old.

After the press conference and the following pre-match training session, the Werkself group moved on to the team hotel for the last night before the final, and the obligatory communal walk was on the agenda in the morning. Two hours before kick-off, the two Bayer 04 buses finally headed off in the direction of the Olympic Stadium. The atmosphere at the massive 70,000-capacity stadium was unusual without spectators. The delegation from Leverkusen did make every effort to provide vocal support but the 100 voices could not compensate for the power that would have come from the fans at the Marathon Gate on a normal day. The 12,000 T-shirts in Black and Red did convey an impressive image but seats don't sing.

Events on the pitch went to form. FC Bayern were 2-0 up at half-time and Lars Bender did not mince his words after the final whistle in describing the performance of the Werkself in the first 45 minutes: "We weren't in the game at the start. We lacked courage, confidence, experience. Then you go behind and it becomes incredibly difficult. Perhaps you could see that it was the first final for one or two players."

The skipper and his teammates were more assertive and determined after the restart and Kevin Volland had a good chance to pull a goal back through just before the hour mark (58') and hope was revived when Sven Bender scored to make it 3-1 (64'). "Then we had the opportunity to make the game exciting. There were moments where we could have pulled a goal back," said Lars Bender. "But unfortunately we failed to take them," the final against the record cup winners from Munich ended with an impressive penalty taken by Kai Havertz with his shot into the corner of the net making it 4-2 (90+4').

Match stats:

Bayer 04: Hradecky – L. Bender (Weiser 81'), Tapsoba, S. Bender, Wendell – Aránguiz, Baumgartlinger (Demirbay 46’) – Bailey (Bellarabi 76’), Amiri (Volland 46’), Diaby – Havertz

Bayern Munich: Neuer – Pavard, Boateng (Hernandez 69’), Alaba, Davies – Kimmich, Goretzka – Gnabry (Coutinho 87’), Müller (Thiago 87’), Coman (Perisic 65’) – Lewandowski

Goals: 0-1 Alaba (16’), 0-2 Gnabry (24’), 0-3 Lewandowski (59’), 1-3 S. Bender (64’), 1-4 Lewandowski (89’), 2-4 Havertz (90+4’ pen.)

Referee: Tobias Welz (Wiesbaden)

Booked: Wendell – Lewandowski

Attendance: Played behind closed doors