FC Bayern have had six meetings with Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB Cup. In five cases, the Munich side advanced to the next round, and the Werkself have won once. This is the first time they've met in the final, though. To get in the mood for the big match, fcbayern.com looks back at every cup tie against the Rhinelanders.
17 April 2018, semi-finals: An advert for football
In the most recent clash, FC Bayern secured a place in the cup final with an impressive 6-2 away win. "It was an advert for German football," enthused Thomas Müller, who scored a hat-trick that day. Coach Jupp Heynckes agreed: "It was an exhibition of football. We gave a top performance against a good opponent." Despite Bayern's attacking power, it was the rock between the posts who was singled out by the coach: "We were the dominant team, but there were situations where Sven Ulreich saved us from conceding a goal." Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring with a brace in the first 10 minutes of play, while Thiago (60) also got on the scoresheet and provided two assists.
8 April 2015, quarter-finals: Settled on penalties
Pure excitement until the last second! This was also the view of coach Pep Guardiola, who had got himself a folding chair for the penalty shootout. Neither team managed to exert the decisive blow for more than 120 minutes, so the decision had to be made from the penalty spot. After Leverkusen's first taker, Josip Drmić, failed to beat Manuel Neuer, the five Munich shooters were calm under pressure and converted all their attempts. Afterwards, the main topic was Guardiola's folding chair, which was actually intended for the security staff in the BayArena. But for the decisive minutes of the game, the FCB head coach had grabbed it – for a very simple reason: "I was just tired, my back hurt."
4 March 2009, quarter-finals: The only defeat
On the way to their last cup final, Leverkusen prevailed against Bayern in the quarter-finals. The game seemed to be decided after Patrick Helmes made it 3-0 in the 70th minute, but Bayern didn't give up. The Munich side cranked things up a notch and four minutes later they were just one behind after headed goals from Lúcio and Miroslav Klose. In a frantic final phase, the record champions gave everything and pushed for the equaliser. However, they were unsuccessful and in stoppage time Stefan Kießling scored for the 4-2 final score.
5 March 2003, semi-finals: Ballack and Élber the decisive figures
In his first season at Bayern, Michael Ballack faced his ex-club in the cup semi-final. When he signed, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge dubbed him "the most dangerous midfielder in the world" – and Ballack would live up to his reputation that day. In the 30th minute of the game, the then 26-year-old ran free at a corner kick and headed the ball in for 1-0. The Werkself equalised in the second half, but shortly afterwards Giovane Élber took control. Ballack played the ball into the middle, where the Brazilian striker jumped up and then artistically buried it into the net. The next Élber strike followed just a minute later. In the 58th minute, Willy Sagnol played a perfect long ball from defence into the forward's run, and he coolly converted to complete a 3-1 victory.
17 December 1997, quarter-finals: Successful revenge
After a bitter 4-2 loss in the league a few weeks earlier, Bayern had a grudge with Leverkusen. In the cup clash, the eventual title winners showed a completely different side compared with a few weeks earlier and had goalscoring opportunities right from the start. Christian Nerlinger scored for FCB shortly before the break (42) and further reinforced the dominance of Bayern. In the winter cold of the Olympic Stadium, Bayern created a number of openings but the final ball was often lacking. As the visitors tried to increase the pressure, Lothar Matthäus took the game by the scruff of the neck and played the ball to new signing Élber, and it finished 2-0.
26 March 1985, quarter-finals: Wohlfarth the big match winner
In March 1985, the defending champions travelled from Munich to Leverkusen for the first cup clash against the Werkself. FC Bayern exerted pressure from the start and were rewarded with a goal from Roland Wohlfarth in the 4th minute, increasing to 2-0 just before half-time (40). Udo Lattek's team presented their travelling fans with a dominant display of football. Even when Leverkusen reduced the deficit shortly after half-time (53), the Bavarians remained undeterred. Reinhold Mathy (71) wrapped things up with his goal to lead 3-1.
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