The second meeting between Augsburg and Bayern in little over a week ended the same way as the first, as Jupp Heynckes’ men sealed victory despite an energetic display by the home side, but Tuesday’s 2-0 DFB Cup success was a much tighter affair than the league win by the same score ten days ago, as ten-man FCB had to dig very deep indeed before sealing a place in the DFB Cup quarter-finals.
The 30,660 capacity crowd at the SGL Arena saw a lively first half with chances at both ends, but the men from the state capital played the better football and took a 26th-minute lead through Mario Gomez, although FCB were denied a perfectly good second when the match officials failed to spot Anatoliy Tymoshchuk’s 41st minute shot crossing the line after crashing against the bar.
There was a dramatic twist two minutes after the restart when Franck Ribery was dismissed for retaliation, turning the second half into a typical end-to-end cup fight. But amidst the furious and frantic action, the ten men in red never lost their composure and Xherdan Shaqiri netted the decisive second with five minutes remaining.
The draw for the last eight in the cup will be made on Wednesday night after the remaining Round of 16 matches, with the quarter-finals to be played on 26 and 27 February next year. The Bundesliga clubs now go into the customary mid-season break, before FCB contest their first competitive fixture of 2013 on Saturday 19 January in another all-Bavaria clash, the home league fixture against bottom club Greuther Fürth.
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