FC Bayern Women’s road to the 2024/25 DFB Cup final

FC Bayern Women’s road to the 2024/25 DFB Cup final has seen superb wins, classic cup encounters and some remarkable comebacks. It’s the second year in a row the Munich Frauen have made it to the showpiece in Cologne. Now Alexander Straus’s side face Werder Bremen, who saw off rivals Hamburg in the semis, as Bayern seek their first domestic double in women’s football. fcbayern.com takes you back down the road to the final.

First hurdle at Sand

After being given a bye in the first round, Bayern kicked off their cup campaign at Sand in September. Straus’s side made clear their ambitions for the season with a commanding 6-0 win at the Bundesliga 2 club.

Jovana Damnjanović put the Bundesliga champions ahead before Georgia Stanway got the second from range before half-time. Linda Dallmann, Giulia Gwinn, Julia Zigiotti and Lea Schüller rounded off the half-dozen to progress to the last 16.

A fight in Freiburg

Bayern then faced fellow Bundesliga side Freiburg in the round of 16, returning to the Dreisamstadion just two weeks after their 2-2 draw in the league. But this time Straus’s team came out on top with a 2-1 win.

An own goal from Meret Felde put Bayern in front after 27 minutes, with Schüller doubling the advantage before half-time. The hosts hit back through Cora Zicai, but the Munich Frauen saw things out to progress to their second quarter-final in just four days, having also just advanced in the UEFA Women’s Champions League during the week.

Drama against Frankfurt

Meetings with Eintracht Frankfurt have been some of the toughest in recent years for Bayern. That was no different in this quarter-final encounter – a repeat of the previous season’s semi-final, when Bayern advance on penalties. And again, there was no shortage of drama.

After a goalless first half, the visitors went ahead at the FC Bayern Campus through Carolin Simon’s own goal with 10 minutes to go. FCB had to battle back quickly and levelled in the dying moments of regulation time through Damnjanović. Bayern then came out on top in extra-time as further goals from captain Glódis Viggósdóttir, Mokoko Tanikawa and Damnjanović again earned a 4-1 win and further progress in the cup.

Harder sparks comeback

Harder has proven a number of times that she’s among the best players of her generation. Yet another of those examples came in the semi-final against Hoffenheim, who made the better start and went 2-0 up in the first 25 minutes through Erëleta Memeti and Féli Delacauw. Then up stepped Bayern’s great Dane, who hit back twice to level inside the first half. First she flicked in a Damnjanović cross before dispatching a penalty. The two-time UEFA Women’s Player of the Year then completed the one-woman comeback with her third in the second half.

It means Bayern will contest the DFB Cup final for the sixth time, after 1988, 1990, 2012, 2018 and 2024. The only previous triumph was in 2012. They can now do so for the second time as part of a historic double against first-time finalists Bremen.