Cool, calm and Kane as Bayern progress in DFB Cup

You could see the slight sense of relief on the faces of Bayern’s players after the final whistle in their DFB Cup first-round tie at Wehen Wiesbaden on Wednesday. Yes, they had got past their 3. Liga opposition and joined the other 31 teams already in the draw for the second round, but it was a far more taxing evening than they would’ve liked. “It wasn’t luck,” said Joshua Kimmich, who also bemoaned the fact that he and his teammates hadn’t put the game to bed earlier. “We had a huge number of chances, but that’s what happens in football when you don’t put them away.”

Ultimately, Bayern had won 3-2 at their lower-league opponents. Given all the numbers surrounding the game, it was far closer than many would’ve expected. Vincent Kompany’s men had 78 percent possession, 22 shots to six – 15-2 on target – but pretty stats don’t mean putting the ball in the back of the net. “Not taking chances was to blame today that things ended up exciting,” Kimmich continued. Apart from that, the 30-year-old believed they had the game under control.

End of a great run

Bayern’s apparent issues at finishing moves meant that even a type of chance that had so far always brought them success ended up missing its target. Harry Kane won and then took a penalty with 15 minutes to go – his second attempt of the evening – but was denied by the diving Florian Stritzel in the Wehen goal. It ended a run of 31 consecutive penalties converted by the English striker for club and country – including the opener in the 16th minute after Sacha Boey had been fouled – stretching back to the 2022 World Cup.

The fact that this moment even mattered at all was down to Bayern and their handling of their scoring opportunities. Instead of wrapping things up after Michael Olise had somewhat belatedly made it 2-0 early in the second half, Wiesbaden were allowed to get back into the game. “We had enough chances for a third and a fourth, but a team sometimes only needs one moment,” explained Konrad Laimer. “It’s the first round of the cup. It’s never simple and things like this can happen.”

Harry has the last word

The home side took the few chances afforded them and were clinical. Fatih Kaya hit a five-minute brace shortly after the hour mark to reignite seemingly extinguished hopes around the Brita Arena of an upset. “The opposition always believed in their chances,” said Kompany. “Huge respect to the guys from Wiesbaden, the way they fought. It was a proper cup game.” But Kane wouldn’t be the top-class striker he is without being able to make up for his miss. He did just that deep into added time, rising highest to meet a cross and head Bayern into the second round.

“It was a crazy game. That can sometimes happen in the cup,” said the match-winner, who also explained that, despite Bayern’s apparent control of things, Wiesbaden managed to wrestle the momentum back their way, meaning his team had to show character. Kompany was in agreement, adding, “We remained calm and kept creating lots of chances. Harry then scored a very important goal. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but we’re through, and that’s the important thing.”

It also means that Bayern’s perfect start to the season continues with three wins across three of the four competitions they will feature in throughout 2025/26. Only the Champions League is still to come, with the draw for the league phase to come on Thursday. With their place in the DFB Cup second round secure, everyone will feel that bit more relaxed watching events in Monaco. “We know we have some things to improve, but the most important thing was we did our job and now look ahead,” Kane concluded.

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