Franck Ribery’s twice-taken penalty in the last minute of extra time saw Bayern through to the DFB Cup semi-finals and claim the bragging rights in the city of Munich after a knife-edge win over bitter rivals TSV 1860 in a match of high drama and three red cards.
The Allianz Arena was a cauldron of noise and colour as the 69,000 full house generated an electrifying atmosphere, although the red majority groaned in despair when young prodigy Toni Kroos spurned the best chance of an evenly-matched first half.
Spate of red cards
The men in blue stood firm for a long spell after the break but the Bundesliga leaders held sway in a rousing final quarter of the match, only for Luca Toni to be sent off for a second bookable offence with six minutes of normal time remaining. Referee Peter Gagelmann added insult to injury by waving aside Lucio’s strong penalty shout as normal time ended goalless.
The tension increased in extra-time when the Blues were also reduced to ten men after Benjamin Schwarz saw a second yellow for an off-the-ball shove on lively sub Franck Ribery, but Ze Roberto and Philipp Lahm were unable to break the deadlock with clear-cut late chances.
A shoot-out looked odds-on, but 1860’s Chhunly Pagenburg clumsily felled Miroslav Klose just inside the box as the clock ticked over to 120 minutes. Ribery kept his cool after being ordered to re-take the ensuing spot-kick for encroachment, nonchalantly flicking home the penalty to earn his side a memorable victory. In a last twist, the Blues finished one of the most dramatic derbies of recent years with nine men when Markus Thorandt received his marching orders on the final whistle.
Three changes for Reds
Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld made three changes to the side held by Hamburg on Sunday. Willy Sagnol came in for Christian Lell as expected, but there were minor surprises too as young Kroos deputised for the injured Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Lukas Podolski was preferred to Klose.
Lions boss Marco Kurz, struggling with the continuing absence of his three most experienced forwards, sent out a side including a trio of 18-year-olds still eligible to turn out for the youth team, but also featuring seasoned former Red Daniel Bierofka and USA international hard man Gregg Berhalter.
Few chances
Bierofka caught the eye as the second division side had the better of the cagey opening exchanges, himself firing off the first shot at Olli Kahn’s goal, and then setting up his captain Danny Schwarz for a 25-yard drive, resulting in a routine take for the Bayern skipper.
Podolski arrowed a shot wide of the far post and Kroos headed straight at 1860 keeper Michael Hofmann as the men in red upped the pace midway through the first period, but play was held up on the half hour after a shuddering collision between Hofmann and Luca Toni, bringing both sets of physios racing onto the field.
The Blues shot-stopper gamely tried to play on but was clearly struggling and soon gave way to former Lions number one Philipp Tschauner. The new man’s first touch should have been to pick the ball out of his net, but Kroos spoiled his nifty work in robbing last man Thorandt by blazing high and wide with the goal at his mercy.
Chances at both ends
Toni had the ball in the net either side of half-time but both efforts were disallowed, the first harshly for an alleged foul on full-back Torben Hoffmann, the second rightly for offside. Ribery had joined the fray for the second period in place of Hamit Altintop and at once injected more urgency into Bayern’s attacking efforts.
Podolski came within inches of connecting with Toni’s flick from Ribery’s corner, and van Bommel went even closer after Tschauner’s excellent reaction save from the Dutchman’s fierce drive, the Bayern men just unable to guide the rebound inside the upright.
The second division side fought back after the hour and Kahn made an excellent stop to deny young Lars Bender as the Blues swarmed forward, but 1860 were dealt a heavy blow when Bierofka crumpled to the turf in obvious distress after turning an ankle. The Munich native was stretchered off to sympathetic applause.
Toni off and no penalty
Klose now replaced Kroos as Hitzfeld opted for attack, but the next chance fell to the underdogs when much-travelled striker Mustafa Kucukovic misjudged a free header from sub José Holebas’ probing cross, prompting the Reds boss to send on Lell for the tiring Sagnol. Tschauner blocked a rare right-footed Ze Roberto effort, before Ribery skied his first-time shot after Lell’s darting run.
The Reds laid siege to the opposing goal in a bid to settle the issue in normal time, but Toni’s harsh dismissal with six minutes remaining added another twist to the tail of an increasingly dramatic contest. Bayern were furious when Lucio was denied a penalty after a blatant bodycheck by Benjamin Schwarz, and Klose was unable to force his header past Tschauner as the 90 minutes ended in stalemate.
Schwarz off and a penalty
The first chance of a cautious first period of extra-time came when Timo Gebhart flashed a drive past Kahn’s left-hand post, but Klose so nearly prodded home after Tschauner’s first minor handling error of the game. Lucio’s header brushed the crossbar as Bayern pressed in the final 15 minutes, and the tension only increased when Benni Schwarz became the second player to receive his marching orders for an off-the-ball shove against Ribery.
Ze Roberto and Philipp Lahm both saw shots beaten out by Tschauner in a frantic finish, before sub Pagenburg’s fateful trip on Klose and the pure drama of Ribery’s twice-taken penalty. There was still time for Thorandt to see the third red card of the game as an utterly memorable match closed amid scenes of pandemonium and uproar.
Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley
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