Off-colour Reds seize victory at the death

FC Bayern beat second division VfL Bochum 2-1 on Tuesday evening, advancing to DFB Cup last sixteen. Bochum took the lead when Munich's Alphonso Davies put through his own goal after the half-hour. Serge Gnabry levelled the scores with ten minutes to go. Bochum were reduced to ten men in the closing stages, and sub Thomas Müller scored the winner shortly before the final whistle.

The record cup winners started with Manuel Neuer in goal and Joshua Kimmich, Benjamin Pavard, Jérôme Boateng and Davies in a back four. Thiago filled the holding role behind Corentin Tolisso and Leon Goretzka, with Ivan Perišić and Kingsley Coman out wide, looking to serve Serge Gnabry, who acted as lone striker this time. Robert Lewandowski took over from Perišić at half-time, Philippe Coutinho and Müller coming on for Goretzka and Tolisso around the hour mark.

First-half setback

The 27,599 full house in Bochum saw Bayern dominate possession, but the first two chances fell to the bold hosts. Simon Zoller fired wide from 12 yards before Danny Blum drew a comfortable save from Neuer. Bayern asserted their authority now, Coman wriggling his way through the box before curling over the bar. Tolisso drew a save from netminder Manuel Riemann, Gnabry miscuing a header.

Riemann proved equal to a Davies effort before Bayern peppered the goal with shots during a mix-up in Bochum's box, but all their efforts were blocked. The Ruhr valley outfit took the lead against the run of play when Davies unluckily put through his own goal following a low cross. Gnabry soon curled just wide, but the linesman had raised his flag for offside anyway, and match official Robert Schröder blew for half-time.

Late twist

Proceedings were similar after the restart. Bayern enjoyed more of the ball but were uninspired in attack, with stray passing spoiling promising moves. Lewandowski miscued two headers, Bochum's Silvere Ganvoula missing a chance at the other end when his first touch let him down.

Bayern upped the pace in the closing stages, Gnabry rewarding their dominance when he netted a yearned-for equaliser from a Kimmich cross. Bayern were buoyed by the goal and kept going, Riemann tipping a Gnabry effort over the bar before Coutinho saw a curler go wide. Bochum's Bella-Kotchap earned his marching orders for handling the ball to spoil a chance, and Müller soon tapped in a Coman centre to seal a narrow victory with the final whistle imminent.

The Bavarians will be back in action on Saturday, when they travel to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. They will learn the identity of their next cup opponents on Sunday evening.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen