News (engl.)

17 Bundesliga sides had already reached the second round of the DFB-Pokal, with defending champions FC Bayern now making it 18. The record Pokal winners defeated newly-promoted second-tier side VfL Osnabrück 4-1 in the final game of the first round despite conceding early on. Their victory means that for the first time in 18 years and only the third time this century, all 18 Bundesliga sides triumphed in their opening Pokal fixture.

However, for the overwhelming favourites, who had beaten VfB Stuttgart 5-1 in their opening Bundesliga match, it wasn’t as straightforward as people had expected it would be. A stunning strike from distance by Robin Meißner put the hosts in front early on (5’), but the growing pressure from Bayern became too much for Osnabrück midway through the first half. Harry Kane (18’) and Tom Bischof (24’) turned the game around within six minutes. Last season’s third-tier champions battled hard against the Bavarians and only conceded a third goal, scored by Michael Olise, in the 73rd minute. Kane then scored a penalty (86’) to bring the final score to 4-1.

Meißner’s stunner from distance

Bayern left nothing to chance and opted against a complete squad rotation in front of the sold-out crowd of 15,741 fans at the Bremer Brücke, including Germany’s Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius. This didn’t stop them unexpectedly conceding early on after Meißner got the better of Min-Jae Kim in the air and then spectacularly fired the ball over Bayern keeper Jonas Urbig into the top corner from around 30 yards out (5’).   

The atmosphere in Osnabrück was as lively as ever and Meißner’s goal certainly added to it. The team in purple and white, who had once before knocked Bayern out of the Pokal in the 1978/79 season, were playing in a deep defensive formation and kept trying their luck with shots from distance.  

Despite the early shock, Bayern had the lion’s share of possession and had more drive towards goal as the game went on. It was only a matter of time before they would score an equaliser. After winning possession, Kane scored from close range (18’) after Joshua Kimmich chipped the ball in behind the opposition defence. And Bayern remained clinical: following a series of passes by the Munich side, VfL goalkeeper Jonas Krumrey initially managed to parry a shot from Luis Díaz, but Bischof slotted home the rebound into the far corner to score their second goal (24').

Anyone expecting a stroll in the park for Bayern was sorely mistaken, because even after their two goals, the game continued to be fast-paced. Only narrowly behind, the hosts passionately defended and caused the occasional problem for Bayern on the break. Bayern’s best chance for a third goal in the first half came when Michael Olise fired a low shot from just outside the box (45+2’).

Osnabrück keep themselves in the game until late on

Even at the beginning of the second half, Osnabrück coped well with their opponent’s dominance and managed to stay in the game. When his teammates were beaten, Krumrey showed his brilliance on several occasions, including against Ismael Saibari following a low shot (59') or against Kane (61'). Up front, though, the hosts hardly put Bayern under any pressure, despite a few promising counter-attacks.

Just as Osnabrück seemed to be threatening the Bayern goal more, the defending champions put the contest to bed. It was Olise who finally got their third of the evening, lobbing the ball past Krumrey into the far corner following a pass from Lennart Karl (73'). Referee Richard Hempel later pointed to the spot following a foul on Aleksandar Pavlovic by Jannik Müller (85’), with Kane finding the bottom-right corner (86’).