Bayern Munich vs. Werder Bremen: Score, Reaction from 2016 DFB Pokal Semi-Final
Bayern Munich have booked their spot in the final of the 2016 DFB Pokal, beating Werder Bremen, 2-0, at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday thanks to two goals from Thomas Muller.
Muller opened the score with a powerful header in the first half, but Bayern failed to build on their momentum, and the official saved them when he controversially disallowed an own goal by David Alaba after half-time.
The hosts doubled their lead from the penalty spot after Arturo Vidal was awarded a spot-kick for a blatant dive, which all but ended the contest. Bayern easily held on to their lead and booked a meeting against Borussia Dortmund or Hertha BSC (playing Wednesday) in the final in Berlin.
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As shared by Bayern’s official Twitter account, Kingsley Coman had the start against Werder, while Douglas Costa rested:
The visitors entered the contest without form on their side, but they had no intention of digging in and inviting pressure. Instead, they tried to gain hold of the midfield battle early and get forward Claudio Pizarro involved.
He raced against Philipp Lahm after an early ball over the top of the Bayern defence but lost out against the veteran defender, who safely played the ball back to Manuel Neuer. Moments later, Lahm was again called upon, this time to stop Fin Bartels from breaking into the Bayern box.
Sambou Yatabare fired a low shot just wide of Neuer’s post, and while the Bayern stopper had it covered, it was clear Bayern struggled to contain Bremen’s attack early. Their own Twitter account was proud of the team:
Juan Bernat fired the Bavarians’ first shot wide of the goal via a deflection, and Franck Ribery nearly picked out a cross from a promising position. Bayern started seeing more of the ball as time wore on, but good chances were rare.
Robert Lewandowski tried to poke home after a lovely cross from Coman but sent his effort wide before a scuffle saw Yatabare and Bernat nearly come to blows.
DW Sports’ Stefan Bienkowski was impressed with what he saw from the visitors:
But as the half wore on, the pace of Bayern’s passing increased, and Werder struggled. Jannik Vestergaard made several key interceptions to keep out Mario Gotze and Coman, but it seemed like a matter of time before Die Roten found the opening.
Lahm nearly picked out Lewandowski with another dangerous cross, and Vestergaard again positioned himself to block Gotze’s path on goal. On the other side of the pitch, the official flagged down Pizarro for offside just as the 37-year-old sent a header toward Neuer’s goal.
The opening goal came from a set piece, as Muller powered a header into the ground that bounced back off the turf and into the top of the goal, leaving goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald to make a save.
International Business Times' Jason Le Miere noted Werder gave the Bayern man an awful lot of space:
Here's a look at the goal, via ALXrecords2:
Unsurprisingly, the lead boosted Bayern, which pushed for a second goal, with Coman in particular looking lively out wide. Muller nearly added to his tally after he again found a pocket of space on the edge of the box, but his shot flew just wide.
Ribery was flagged down for offside after a swift counter-attack, and replays showed that was the wrong decision, robbing the Frenchman of the opportunity to go one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
A poor clearance from Neuer nearly gave the visitors a lifeline, but Yatabare’s lob was a poor one despite Neuer standing miles off his line. A few minutes later, Pizarro again found himself in an offside position, prompting this tweet from DW Sports:
At half-time, the score was 1-0 Bayern, and while Werder put together a fine showing in the first half, the lead was undoubtedly deserved.
The Bavarians came out of the dressing room intent on pressing Bremen off the pitch, but the visitors looked more comfortable on the ball than they did before the break and put together a handful of chances.
Pizarro was given far too much space to pull the trigger and flashed his shot just wide of the post, and Zlatko Junuzovic sent another shot toward Neuer, aiming a little high.
Per Bienkowski, Bayern looked far from their best:
Pizarro again went close, narrowly missing the ball with a slide after a great cross from Gebre Selassie, as Werder pushed forward in search for an equaliser.
Florian Grillitsch missed the target with an ambitious volley before Bremen finally found the net, as Alaba lofted the ball over Neuer. The Austrian was grabbed just before he tried to clear the ball, however, and the official blew a late whistle and chalked the goal off.
DW Sports thought it was a dreadful decision:
Bayern manager Pep Guardiola introduced Vidal in an attempt to turn the tide, and the Chilean made an impact almost immediately. The former Juventus man blatantly dived during a duel with Janek Sternberg and was awarded a penalty, which Muller buried for his second goal of the night.
ESPN FC's Janusz Michallik weighed in on the referee's performance:
The second goal took away all of the momentum Bremen had built, and the best chances of the final minutes fell to Bayern. Xabi Alonso and Muller both had good looks on goal, while Wiedwald produced a fine save to deny Ribery.
Bayern's quest to win the treble is still alive, but they'll have to put together a far better performance in their UEFA Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid on April 27 to have any chance of winning that tournament.
Hertha BSC and Borussia Dortmund will meet in the other semi-final on Wednesday, with the winner taking on Bayern in the final in Berlin on May 21.
Post-Match Reaction
As shared by DW Sports, Guardiola offered the visitors praise for how they played on Tuesday:
Ribery thought his team didn't play nearly up to its potential, per the Bundesliga's official Twitter account:
Bremen are still battling relegation, and if they can match the intensity they showed on Tuesday during the final weeks of the season, the club should be fine. With six matches left to play, Werder trail Augsburg and VfB Stuttgart by two points in the Bundesliga standings.
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