But the national team captain also reported great efforts with a view to the second half: “It was just a fight, just a lot of plowing and pounding. Unfortunately, a little too exciting.”
Kimmich continued: “I’m glad that we defended it well and that we were able to be so successful even from set pieces.”
In doing so, Bayern reversed two negative trends of the past few weeks. Most recently, the Munich team conceded five goals in a row after dead balls. And for the first time since four games in a row, they didn’t fall behind. Nevertheless, Bayern’s cup game was anything but exhilarating.
Sports director Max Eberl called “this defending, this manly persistence here at the Alte Försterei” as the decisive key to success. “There wasn’t a lot of sophistication, there wasn’t much elegance in what we played. But that wasn’t the order of the day today, it was just getting ahead. And we achieved that.”
When asked by t-online about the importance of this moment for the season, Eberl said: “We played very, very dominantly in the first third of the season. We then had games in which we fell behind and came back.” And further: “We had games like against PSG, where we played brilliantly and also had to defend. And that’s exactly what we did when we defended again today.” Eberl’s conclusion: “We’re further ahead and will win in all three competitions. That’s what we wanted.”
The dream of returning to the Berlin Olympic Stadium, almost 30 kilometers west of the Alte Försterei, where the cup final will be held again on May 23rd, is also alive.
The conditions for a successful second half of the season have at least been created. However, the negative development of the game in recent weeks should still give Bayern pause. They have increasingly lost their flow and ease over the past few weeks.
“The second half was certainly not the most beautiful football,” admitted Kane. “But we found a way to fight through. I’m proud of the boys.” Kompany also liked the fact that Kane emphasized this. “Harry knows that you need that if you want to be included in the prizes at the end,” said the Belgian.