Our journey back to Berlin: Bayern’s emotional cup night in Leverkusen

Joshua Kimmich was the very first to realise their good fortune. The FC Bayern midfielder had 93 minutes of non-stop running under his belt, having played a hugely dominant first half with his team, followed by a second half in which Leverkusen grew stronger and stronger the closer the final whistle drew. But now the referee received word from the video assistant referee that Luis Díaz’s goal to make it 2-0, following a pass from Leon Goretzka, had not in fact been scored from an offside position. So Kimmich set off once more from the centre circle, turned briefly towards his team, beckoned them over with arms waving and a beaming smile – and then, in the final sprint of the day, they made their way together to the Bayern fans in the away end. There they stood for minutes on end in front of an exuberant crowd in red and white, the players savouring the delight, this immense relief and all the chants like a warm summer rain falling pleasantly cool upon their battle-weary bodies.

“I’ve missed Berlin“

“I’ve missed Berlin. We’ve always had outstanding matches there. It’s a historic day for the whole club,” said captain Manuel Neuer, summing it up later. “The cup is always something special – for the players, for the team, for the club. It just has a unique atmosphere. That’s where we wanted to get to, and fortunately we managed it. It’s never boring in Berlin.”

And this semi-final in Leverkusen was certainly no dull affair. After an overwhelmingly dominant first half, in which FC Bayern at times threatened to smother their hosts right on the edge of their own penalty area with their high-pressing game, it was nothing short of a minor footballing miracle that Bayer 04 went into the break trailing by just a goal to nil. Following some great work by Michael Olise, Harry Kane had blasted a superb assist fromJamal Musiala under the crossbar (22nd minute). “The only thing we could have done better was score more goals, obviously. That’s how we kept them in the game,” the scorer lamented, referring to his team’s poor finishing. The visitors racked up 10 shots on goal in the first 45 minutes and completed 110 more passes than Leverkusen, who hadn’t once come close to posing a threat in front of the Bayern goal. It was the first time since December 2016 that Bayer 04, the 2024 league and cup winners, had failed to register a single shot in the first half of a competitive home match.

Lucky shot or a penalty call

“When you've had such a poor first half, you have to take the positives from the fact that it's only 1–0,” admitted Leverkusen captain Robert Andrich: “And if you then score, you’re back in the game.” The danger of conceding an equaliser – whether through a single defensive lapse, a lucky shot or even a penalty – was the only thing keeping alive even a glimmer of hope for the home fans of reaching the cup final. Head coach Vincent Kompany’s side had simply played with no drama, too much composure, too much determination and too little humour. None of the 30,210 spectators could seriously have had any hope of the tie becoming exciting again.

Yet that's exactly what happened. As the match wore on, Leverkusen dug deeper and deeper and fought tooth and nail in this semi-final – whilst Bayern were too lacklustre in attack, missing the chance to deliver the knockout blow and make it 2–0 on several occasions. At times the final pass didn’t find its target, at times the pitch was too slippery, and on other occasions Mark Flekken made outstanding saves in the home goal. But Bayer also pressed higher up the pitch, played with more courage, ran more and tackled far more aggressively than in the first half. The result: the momentum, which had previously clung to FC Bayern like a burr to a dog’s fur, threatened to weaken and gradually slip away.

“It was a more open game in the second half, yet we hardly allowed them any chances,” said a delighted Josip Stanišić. He was right: although the home side managed to gain a slight upper hand – as reflected in their 56:44 per cent possession advantage at one stage – they still created hardly any clear-cut chances. Nathan Tella had the best of them. But Manuel Neuer, making his 63rd appearance in the cup (only Oliver Kahn made more as a goalkeeper), somehow managed to get his fingertips to Tella's powerful, perfectly struck effort to make an incredible one-handed save!

“A final is always a gift”

“Leverkusen got off to a much better start, and we had to sit deep on a few occasions. But even during that phase, we did well overall. I think a final like this is always a gift – for the club, for the fans, for all the members and, of course, for the team,” summarised Kompany.

A beaming Max Eberl admitted: “We had a few nervous moments there – but in the end we fully deserved to reach the cup final,” said the board member for sport. For in the very last attack of the match, in the third minute of stoppage time, Luis Díaz finally managed to slot the ball past the excellent Flekken in the home goal: 2–0. Game over.

“We’re all delighted. Berlin has always been a dream for us,” revealed Herbert Hainer. The president was grinning from ear to ear: “The win was thoroughly deserved; we should have scored a second or third goal in the first half to make things a little more relaxed – as it was, we needed to hang in there a bit. Overall, it was a convincing and well-deserved win. Now we’re looking forward to Berlin.”

Back after six long years

For six long years, the cup final had always taken place there without the record cup winners. Five finals without FC Bayern – just how much that had hurt was evident after the final whistle in the Bayern supporters’ section and in front of it, where the players were dancing in T-shirts emblazoned with: “Guess who’s back?”. Vincent Kompany said: “Ever since my first day at Bayern, people have been talking about Berlin. It’s a massive gift for the club that we have the privilege of going back there.” On 23 May, that day will be here at last. 

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