It is not yet this year that Bayern Munich will return to the DFB Pokal coronation. The Bavarian giant had to lower its flag in the round of 16 against its great rival Leverkusen (0-1).
The Munich residents fell at home. A misstep that, however, they could hardly have avoided as they played the match outnumbered. At the 17e
minute, Manuel Neuer saw red for a foul on his opponent.
Bayern declined too quickly
With a man down, Bayern held on until midway through the second half. The locals did even more than that by continuing to be offensive. But the spaces left behind ended up costing them dearly. Nigerian Nathan Tella opened the scoring for Leverkusen with a nice header from Alex Grimaldo’s cross.
Holders of this DFB Pokal, Leverkusen then turned their backs to preserve their lead. The mission has been accomplished. Bayern, despite the presence in particular of its two French wingers Olise and Coman, was not able to get back on track.
With this defeat, Kompany’s Bayern let their first goal of the season slip away. The dream of a hat-trick, the first since 2020, prematurely vanished for Leroy Sané and his teammates.
