"We dozed off twice in the first ten minutes and conceded two goals. But we did well to come back after that and we had a number of chances to level at 2-2. We can say we tried to do everything we could. But Bayern caught us out at the back," said Jonathan Tah. Kevin Volland took a similar view: "The result is really hard to take. Bayern were ruthless and took almost every chance and that was the difference on the night. But we did play well in the first half ."
Jonathan Tah returned to the Bayer 04 central defence after recovering from a muscle problem. There was a surprise up front for the three behind Kevin Volland with Heiko Herrlich opting to start Karim Bellarabi in Leon Bailey's position. The Jamaican was on the bench alongside Lucas Alario who returned to the squad after serving a three-match ban. "Leon has played a lot recently and has looked a bit tired. But being able to bring him on feels good," said sporting director Rudi Völler. Panos Retsos played on the left side of the back four.
GREAT FAN CHOREOGRAPHY
There was a tremendous atmosphere throughout the stadium as excitement grew before the kick-off among the 30,210 crowd at the BayArena – including DFB president Reinhardt Grindel, NRW interior minister Herbert Reul and Bayer 04 honorary captains Ulf Kirsten, Calle Ramelow and Simon Rolfes. In addition to the full house at the BayArena, the match was watched by millions worldwide: 30 international TV stations broadcast the Cup clash between Bayer 04 and Bayern in 215 countries. They saw the North and East Stands bathed completely in black and red at kick-off – a highly atmospheric piece of fan choreography.
VOLLAND HAS CHANCE TO LEVEL
The match under floodlights got off to a flying start – and a shock for the Werkself. Just twelve minutes into the game, Javi Martinez hit a low drive into the net to give the visitors the lead after Bernd Leno had parried a header from Thomas Müller. Robert Lewandowski touched the ball with heel. Referee Daniel Siebert consulted his video assistants and awarded the goal. Bayer 04 refused to be daunted and hit straight back with Kevin Volland heading a cross from Bellarabi goalwards but Ulreich made a brilliant save on six minutes. However, Bayern then struck again: Ribery broke down the left and crossed for Lewandowski to volley the ball into the far corner across Leno to make it 2-0 for FC Bayern on nine minutes.
As in the quarter-final against Werder Bremen, Bayer 04 were 2-0 down. And the Werkself again found their way back into the game and produced a response. After a Julian Brandt free kick there was a scrum in the box , Jerome Boateng blocked the shot from Kai Havertz but Lars Bender was alert as he headed the rebound into the back of the net- 2-1 with only 16 minutes on the clock. The BayArena erupted for the first time. Bayer 04 looked to break quickly with Havertz failed to round off a counter-attack on 21 minutes. It was an incredibly intense and high tempo encounter with few chances to get a breather. DFB Cup at its best.
Ulreich denies Bellarabi
On the half-hour mark, Sven Bender tested Ulreich from a tight angle with a low shot to the far corner but the Bayern keeper saved with his foot. It was a closely fought encounter with Bayer 04 fighting their way back into the game and creating chances. Bellarabi fired in an excellent shot from outside the box on 37 minutes but Ulrich was able to keep it out of his net. There was a fright shortly after that when Lars Bender had to receive treatment on the pitch. The score remained 2-1 to Bayern at the break.
Bayern Keeper saves again
Bayer 04 brought on Leon Bailey for the second half in place of Panos Retsos who had been booked early on. That resulted a tactical switch to a 3-4-3 formation with Bailey and Brandt on the wings. And the Werkself went on the front foot again: Incredibly, Ulreich kept out two close-range shots from Volland and Bellarabi gwithin seconds on 50 minutes. However, the champions were clinical in their response: Müller left Leno helpless to round off a good move to make it 3-1 to Bayern on 51 minutes – Bayern were again two goals up.
The Werkself had to work hard to recover from that setback. A Volland shot on the hour mark ended in the back of the Bayern net but it was correctly ruled out for offside by Siebert. Bayern wrapped it up a minute later when Thiago scored the fourth for the visitors. Lucas Alario came on for Julian Baumgartlinger before Müller made it 5-1 for Bayern on 64 minutes – a real blow for Bayer 04 after a brave performance up to that point. Benny Henrichs came on for Bellarabi on 67 minutes and played at left back in a back four. The hosts refused to let their heads drop and Bailey pulled a goal back to make it 5-2 on 72 minutes.
ROUSING reception at final whistle
Bayern refused to relax their grip on the game and Müller scored a sixth on 79 minuttes. Leno did make two good saves after that to keep out Martinez and Robben. Then it was over. Leverkusen let their heads drop at full time but they had tried everything and were well received by the home support at the end. The opposition was too strong on the night and in Sven Ulreich they had a keeper who knew how to prevent Bayer 04 leveling at 2-2.
Bayer 04 are back in Bundesliga action on matchday 31 with the Werkself away to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday 21 April in the top game at 18.30 CET.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Leno – L. Bender, Tah, S. Bender, Retsos (Bailey 46') – Baumgartlinger (Alario 62'), Aránguiz – Bellarabi (Henrichs 67'), Havertz, Brandt – Volland
FC Bayern: Ulreich – Kimmich, Boateng, Hummels, Alaba (Rafinha 46') – Martinez – Robben, Müller (James 80'), Thiago (Süle 85'), Ribery – Lewandowski
Goals: 0-1 Martinez (3'), 0-2 Lewandowski (9'), 1-2 L. Bender (16'), 1-3 Müller (51'), 1-4 Thiago (61'), 1-5 Müller (64'), 2-5 Bailey (72'), 2-6 Müller (79')
Referee: Siebert (Berlin)
Booked: Retsos, Aránguiz – Boateng
Attendance: 30,210
