Composed Bayern advance to second round

FC Bayern beat VfL Osnabrück 4-1 to advance to the DFB Cup second round on Wednesday night. Robin Meißner handed the home side an early lead, with Harry Kane levelling the scores before Tom Bischof put Bayern ahead midway through the first half. Michael Olise and Kane made it 4-1 in the second half.

Munich started with Jonas Urbig in goal and Josip Stanišić, Minjae Kim, Jonathan Tah and Nathaniel Brown in a back four. Joshua Kimmich, Bischof, Olise, Ismael Saibari and Luis Díaz featured in midfield, with Kane up front. Alphonso Davies, Lennart Karl, Aleksandar Pavlović, Konrad Laimer and Bara Ndiaye took over from Brown, Saibari, Bischof, Olise and Kane in the second half.

Bayern turn things around

Osnabrück took an early lead, a long ball finding Meißner, who let fly from distance and beat Urbig. Munich were dominant but struggled against the Bundesliga 2 promoted side’s solid defence. Bayern equalised when Osnabrück failed to clear a cross and Kane was on hand to smash home.

Shortly after, Díaz’s shot was parried but Bischof tucked in the rebound to turn the tide. Clear-cut chances were at a premium for a spell. Saibari and Olise saw efforts saved and it remained 2-1 to the Reds at the break.

Olise seals it

FCB remained in the driving seat after the restart, although there was little goalmouth action at first. Olise and Saibari saw shots saved before Kane miscued from a tight angle, with Osnabrück creating no attacks of note.

Vincent Kompany’s men all but settled the matter when Karl teed up Olise, who lifted the ball over VfL keeper Jonas Krumrey. Kane had an effort blocked moments later but the Englishman added to his tally in the closing stages after Pavlović was upended in the box, with Kane dispatching the ensuing penalty to round off his brace and give the scoreline a more realistic look in the closing stages. Substitute Laimer had a shot saved as Bayern eased to a deserved victory.

The Bavarians will be back in action on Saturday when they take travel to face Schalke in the Bundesliga. They will learn the identity of their next cup opponents on the same day.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen