From the dream of a treble: An erratic FC Bayern failed in the DFB Cup at the last minute against a strong SC Freiburg.
With a deserved 2:1 (1:1) and their first ever win in Munich, the Breisgau team missed Thomas Tuchel in his second game as coach of the German record champion and cup winner. There was no sign of an upswing for the hosts three days after taking the lead in the Bundesliga after beating Borussia Dortmund 4-2.
A week before the quarter-final first leg in the Champions League at Manchester City, Lucas Höler ended the Munich dance at three weddings with a converted hand penalty (90 + 5). Before that, Nicolas Höfler (27′) had equalized the Bayern lead through Dayot Upamecano (19′) with a Sunday shot on Tuesday evening.
“I’m super disappointed, but why should I be angry?” said Tuchel after the final whistle. “We conceded two goals with two long-range shots, otherwise I can’t remember any chances. In the end it’s our own fault, we know that too. We win together and we lose together.”
Speaking to Christian Streich, he said: “Of course I’m happy that we were able to win the game. We defended passionately and we also defended well. We kept getting liberations down the right flank. It was a nice evening, but you need it don’t overrate it either.”
Müller angry after Bayern-Aus
“It’s unbelievable. Not many have won a quarter-final in Munich. You can’t do anything nicer,” said Freiburg’s Maximilian Eggestein on “ARD”. Instead of the Bayern fans, the Freiburg supporters sang “We’ll win the DFB Cup – and we’ll be German champions”.
“A shot like that in Munich, in a game like that – that was the goal of my career,” said Höfler. Meanwhile, Bayern’s Thomas Müller was pissed off: “It’s very bitter, we’re eliminated from a home game in the quarter-finals. When we talk about the result, anger comes up. That certain something was missing.”
In the second game after joining Munich, Tuchel relied on winter signing Joao Cancelo for the first time. Compared to the game against BVB, Alphonso Davies initially took a seat on the bench, which was again well occupied by Sadio Mane, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala. “We want to have everything!” was Tuchel’s announcement with a view to three possible titles – but his team started rather cautiously.
The deep-lying Freiburg were the opponents who were “difficult to play on” as announced by Tuchel, the Munich team didn’t really know what to do with their possession of the ball in the early stages. Leroy Sane (12th) posed the most danger with his shot from the edge of the penalty area, but aimed too far to the left.
Upamecano supports himself and scores
A little later, Bayern still took the lead. Joshua Kimmich hit the back post from a corner from the left, where Upamecano spiraled up and headed in with plenty of support from Maximilian Eggestein. Freiburg protested vehemently, but referee Harm Osmers stuck to his decision.
From now on, Freiburg had to venture out – and promptly didn’t have to wait long for success. Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer had an easy time with Michael Gregoritsch’s header (25′), but only two minutes later the Swiss flew in vain. After an unsuccessful clarification by Kingsley Coman, Höfler took a shot from 23 meters in front of the goal and hit the corner like a dream.
The game now started again. Bayern remained dangerous, especially from set pieces, and Thomas Müller (45+2) had a great chance to take the lead again shortly before the break, but Matthias Ginter saved from the line in dire need. The draw at half-time was still deserved.
Tuchel’s joker becomes unlucky
In the second half, too, Freiburg regularly dared to move forward despite increasing pressure from Munich. The guests remained solid on the defensive, even if Bayern rarely presented them with difficult challenges, with the exception of Benjamin Pavard’s crossbar hit (62′).
Tuchel reacted and after a little over an hour brought Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry into the game. However, they were no longer able to provide the necessary impetus – quite the opposite. A handball in injury time by Musiala initiated the defeat.