Thomas Müller screamed in relief. The 30-year-old had just scored FC Bayern's crucial second goal in the 89th minute. Bayern turned the tide, winning 2-1 away to VfL Bochum and advancing to the DFB Cup last sixteen. "It's always nice to score the winning goal in a knockout match in this atmosphere. I think you could see the winning goal took a huge weight off our shoulders ," the forward said after the final whistle.
The Bavarians had to work hard against the Ruhr valley outfit on Tuesday evening. The second division side made life difficult for Bayern for a long time. The German record champions went one down when Alphonso Davies put through his own goal after the half-hour, but FCB took the second hurdle on the road to Berlin thanks to a strong display in the closing stages. Serge Gnabry and Müller scored late goals to fire Bayern to their 32nd DFB Cup away victory in a row.
Bayern coach Niko Kovač analysed: "Many passes went astray and we casually gave away possession, so we didn't establish a flow, we couldn't put our opponents under pressure and weren't dominant." Bayern got a grip after Philippe Coutinho and Müller came on in the second half. "We had more control and exploited the space better. And we were more resilient. Ultimately we're through to the next round, and that's what counts in the cup."
The men from Munich quickly turned their focus to the upcoming task. "We fully concentrate on Saturday now," said Müller, referring to the difficult Bundesliga match away to Eintracht Frankfurt. "It'll be a tough fight. Eintracht will hit the gas from the first minute, we must take it on and act accordingly."
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