German Cup: Shootout joy for Bayern against 10-man Leipzig
October 25, 2017
RB Leipzig 1-1 Bayern Munich (Bayern won 5-4 on penalties)
(Forsberg pen 68' – Thiago 73')
Timo Werner missed the crucial penalty as Bayern Munich beat RB Leipzig on penalties on a thrilling night in the second round of the German Cup.
Leipzig's rise to prominence has turned this clash into one of the most eagerly anticipated on the German football calendar, and they served up another absorbing contest at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday night.
An open but attritional first half saw plenty of tasty tackles, including one by Arturo Vidal on the very boundary of the penalty area on Leipzig's Emil Forsberg. The referee initially pointed to the spot but after some deliberation – and the protests of the Bayern players – only a free kick was awarded.
The combative nature of the game spilled over nine minutes into the second half when Leipzig's Naby Keita dragged back Robert Lewandowski to pick up a second yellow card, and leave his side with 10 men for the rest of the game.
However, the hosts made the breakthrough in the 68th minute and it came courtesy of a Forsberg penalty, but the argument of whether the foul was in or outside the box was again the talking point. Jerome Boateng had wafted a leg out tripping Yussuf Poulsen, but this time the decision to award a spot-kick was met with fewer Bayern protests.
Leipzig were only ahead for five minutes though. Boateng made amends for his error with an inviting cross that Thiago Alcantara met with a perfect header that flew past Peter Gulacsi.
The home side played their part as an attacking force throughout, but Bayern started to make their extra man count as the game edged towards full time. The biggest chance within the 90 minutes fell to Mats Hummels in stoppage time, but the Germany defender couldn’t convert with his header and the game spilled into extra time.
Bayern continued to dominate in an open and exhilarating extra period and seemed certain to take the lead in the 100th minute, but heroics from Leipzig keeper Gulacsi kept Lewandowski and then Joshua Kimmich at bay. Lewandowski somehow missed another chance, with Gulacsi atoning for a previous error with a key save from the Pole.
With nothing to choose between the sides, the game went to penalties and Bayern prevailed, with Sven Ulreich saving the crucial spot kick from Werner and sending Bayern into the last 16. The good news for the neutral is that these sides go at it again this Saturday in the Bundesliga - in Munich.
Cologne win big, Hoffenheim crash out
Cologne were liberated from their Bundesliga troubles with a big win in the German capital, beating Hertha Berlin 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium. Goals from Simon Zoller, Dominic Maroh and Christian Clemens proved the difference as Cologne scored more than one goal in a game for the first time this campaign.
Hoffenheim were sent packing in a close game in Bremen. A first-half goal by Werder's Ishak Belfodil – a scrappy goal from close range - proved the winner as Hoffenheim struggled to penetrate a disciplined defence. The closest the visitors came was a second-half strike by Andrej Kramaric, which hit the bar.
The draw for the last 16 is to be held on Sunday with the matches taking place on December 19 and 20.
Wednesday's German Cup results:
Leipzig 1-1 Bayern Munich
Bremen 1-0 Hoffenheim
Freiburg 3-1 Dresden
Regensburg 2-5 Heidenheim
Hertha Berlin 1-3 Cologne
Wolfsburg 1-0 Hanover
Osnabruck 2-3 Nuremberg
Kaiserslautern 1-3 Stuttgart
As it happened:
So the pair meet again in Munich on Saturday in the Bundesliga. What psychological advantage will this win give the champions? Heynckes remains unbeaten and if you count the encounter as a whole, he has won all his four games back in charge so far
PENALTIES: Werner misses! Bayern win 5-4 on pens. Ulreich saved weak effort.
Robben. Bayern 5-4
Orban scores. 4-4.
Rudy scores. Bayern 4-3
Halstenberg scores. 3-3
Hummels scores. Bayern 3-2
Kampl scores 2-2
Alaba scores. Bayern 2-1
Bernardo scores. 1-1
Lewandowski scores. Bayern 1-0
EXTRA TIME OVER: 1-1, WE GO TO PENALTIES
117' Werner fires just wide from distance. Thrilling
114' For once this is a really interesting extra time. Neither side wants penalties
113' Werner puts the ball in the net but was long flagged offside
112' Alaba slips when in a great position for Bayern
106' Back underway
105' Half time in extra time. Bayern so close to scoring there
105' Lewandowski blasts over when easier to score! Gulacsi mistake initially but he maybe got a touch as it went over. Youth team striker Wriedt hit the bar moments earlier. All Bayern
104' Bayern with the man advantage piling on the pressure.
101' Subs for both sides. Sabitzer off and Laimer on for Leipzig. Thiago off and Wriedt on for Bayern
100' Brilliant double save from Gulacsi! Lewandowski and Kimmich denied
95' Thiago booked after kicking Demme in the face. Accident but still
91' Under way in extra time in the big one
An important win for Bremen coach Alexander Nouri, eases the pressure somewhat. Hoffenheim have been stuttering ever since Nagelsmann was linked with Bayern long-term...
FULLTIME: LEIPZIG 1-1 BAYERN: EXTRA TIME AWAITS
90+2' Hummels with a chance to win it for Bayern but his header is straight at the keeper
85' Timo Werner is off the bench and has already stuck the ball in the net... but he was offide.
80' Bayern come closest to going in front but Gulasci saves well
79' GOAL! Freiburg wrap up their passage, 3-1. Haberer the scorer with a tap-in
73' GOAL! Bayern level! Thiago heads in a beautiful ball over the top from Boateng
69' Fantastic penalty. Right in the corner. Unstoppable.
68' GOAL FORSBERG SCORES FOR LEIPZIG. 1-0
67' This time Leipzig do have a penalty! Boateng on Poulsen. This time I think it is just in the box
66' Lewandowski just pulls the ball wide for Bayern after powering forward
61' GOAL! Schuster with a great free kick to put Freiburg 2-1 up
58' Rudy on for Vidal for Bayern. Heynckes saving Vidal from his own red card
54' KEITA SENT OFF FOR LEIPZIG. Second yellow for a foul on Lewandowski. The Liverpool-bound midfielder has been tenacious all night but it has gone too far
55' Cracker of a game in the non-Bundesliga encounter. Heidenheim heading for round three
52' Kramaric smashes the crossbar for losing Hoffenheim from a free kick
50' But Freiburg hit back straight away through Petersen
48' GOAL! Dresden winning in Freiburg, potential shock on the cards. Dreadful defensive mix up allowing Benatelli to chip in
We still can't decide at DW Towers whether that was a Leipzig penalty or not. So VAR might have been no use anyway. Remember it isn't used in the Cup before the last-eight stage
Fighting talk from Leipzig there...
HT: Leipzig 0-0 Bayern. The visitors started the better but the hosts ended the half well
45' Leipzig's Keita in the book for a robust tackle let's say...
36' Forsberg just fires over with the dead ball. Whether that was a penalty will be debated all night. I can't call it. 50-50.
34' Penalty for RB Leipzig was initially awarded but after consulting with the linesman, it is now a freekick. Vidal with a silly foul. Hard to say if it was in or out of the box.
33' Augustin tests Ulreich but it is a simple save. Final pass missing for the bright hosts at the moment
31' GOAL! Bremen take the lead through Belfodil from close range. Some respite for Nouri
25' Forsberg with Leipzig's best chance so far, weaving inside the box but his shot was blocked by Ulreich
22' Yellow card for Bayern's Boateng
20' Bayern have 62 percent possession so far, 87 passes after just a quarter of the game
16' Very quiet in the other late kickoffs. The early matches had a bit more zip
8' Chance for Bayern as Lewandowski drills a low ball across the face of the Leipzig goal and Bernardo almost turns into his own net.
3' Decent sides put out by the two big guns. It might be the Cup but they are both taking it seriously. With two teams on a roll, there is no reason to change XIs much.
Kickoff in Leipzig!
- Cologne win only their second game of the season, with both victories so far coming in the German Cup. They dominated Hertha from the start in Berlin.