DFB-Pokal
0: 5 bankruptcy – Bayern go under in Gladbach
Unusual situation: The Bayern professionals stand together like doused poodles and don’t really know what is happening to them
© Ina Fassbender / AFP
Bayern are out: Munich lost 5-0 in the DFB Cup against Borussia Mönchengladbach and received the highest cup bankruptcy in their history. Playful and combative, Bayern were a total failure.
Historic cup fiasco for FC Bayern, magical night for Gladbach: In the midst of a heated corona discussion, the absent Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann has to remove at least one title early on. The record cup winner was humiliated at 0: 5 (0: 3) on Wednesday evening by an unleashed Borussia like never before in the DFB Cup and even treated graciously. Bayern’s highest cup defeat could or should have been even higher.
“That’s shocking. We weren’t there, didn’t win a duel in the first half. We let the guts buy off. It was a collective blackout. For me that’s inexplicable,” said Bayern’s sports director Hasan Salihamidzic on ARD.
Manu Koné (2nd minute), Ramy Bensebaini (15th and 21st / foul penalty) and Breel Embolo (51st and 57th), who was involved in all five goals, ensured Mönchengladbach’s first ever cup win against the old rival. For Borussia, the memorable evening should go down in the club’s chronicle. After a few setbacks, the team of coach Adi Hütter enraptured the appendix when the fan masses returned in front of 48,500 spectators. “Oh, how beautiful it is,” it rang through Borussia-Park.
You can find the other results of the DFB Cup here.
“We pushed Bayern a little way against the wall,” said Gladbach’s sports director Max Eberl, adding: “The evening will definitely go down in the history of Borussia Mönchengladbach.” Such a game must now also be the benchmark. “FC Bayern are perhaps the best team in the world, that’s an incentive for us. We’re enjoying the evening,” added Embolo. ARD expert Bastian Schweinsteiger could hardly understand the appearance of his ex-team: “That must not happen to Bayern Munich.”
Bayern were inferior from the start
Bayern, on the other hand, were completely inferior from the start without Nagelsmann. National player Joshua Kimmich, who has been the focus of a national debate for days because of his non-vaccination against the coronavirus, and world champion Lucas Hernández also went down with the Bundesliga leaders. The French defender only found out on Wednesday that he would not have to serve a prison sentence for domestic violence. The evening must have seemed like a horror trip to the 25-year-old.
Bringing the stadium to the shake was what Gladbach’s sports director Max Eberl had given as the target for the classic in view of the atmospheric backdrop of 48,500 fans – as many as the last time before the corona pandemic. Eberl had hardly dreamed that Borussia-Park would be shaken to its foundations in rows. Because the Gladbachers played themselves into a frenzy, while the Bavarians were completely off the track. With the 0: 3 at the break, the guests were even well served.
No game control, no bite, no ideas – plus many wobbles and hair-raising mistakes, especially the completely indisposed newcomer Dayot Upamecano. There was nothing to be seen of the otherwise overwhelming dominance. Rather, it was a humiliation that the club has not experienced too often in its glorious club history. Coach Nagelsmann, who tested positive for Corona, should have been downright shocked at home in his kitchen at the appearance.
Gladbach cheered for the first time after 76 seconds
It was an evening to forget for the successful star ensemble from Munich, also for Kimmich. The national player has been the focus of a heated debate in Germany for days because he has so far refused a corona vaccination. “Joshua knows the attitude of FC Bayern. We can only recommend our players to get vaccinated,” said CEO Oliver Kahn again on ARD, but at the same time warned: “This is a health issue that affects every player in his own Privacy.” In terms of sport, Kimmich did not appear in Gladbach and joined a weak Bayern team.
It took just 76 seconds when Borussia cheered for the first time. Koné conquered the ball against Alphonso Davies and, in conjunction with Breel Embolo, shot himself in for the lead. It was an effective hit from which the Munich did not recover. Jonas Hofmann escaped Upamecano and released the ball in front of Manuel Neuer next to the goal (9th). Then Embolo forced the German national goalkeeper to parry (11th), before Zakaria just missed the goal (12th).
So the second goal fell almost logically. After a dream pass from Hofmann, Bensebaini struck cold. And it was the Algerian, who has just recovered from a long injury break, who showed no nerves at the penalty kick. Bensebaini is practically a Bayern expert, in December 2019 he shot down Munich with two goals in a 2-1 win. Lucas Hernandez had previously brought down the Gladbach Embolo with a tackle in the penalty area. The question ‘foul or not?’ did not turn up because there was no video referee in the second round of the cup.
Upamecano ruined everything with another faux pas
Hernandez had received good news from Spain that morning. The world champion does not have to go to jail, the Spanish judiciary granted an appeal by the 25-year-old. The six-month prison sentence for domestic violence had already been imposed by a criminal court in Madrid in 2019.
Perhaps there were too many topics that Bayern had dealt with in the last few days. In any case, the master was unrecognizable. A shot from Serge Gnabry (35th) and a dangerous action by Leroy Sané (43rd) – that was it in the first round.
After the Munich team came out of the dressing room with renewed courage in the second round, Upamecano ruined everything with another faux pas. Embolo thanked him with a brilliant shot. After that it was over for Upamecano, but the mistakes did not end. Denis Zakaria failed free in front of Neuer (54th). But only three minutes later the doorbell rang again with a shot from Embolo, who had a similarly terrible evening as in the 6-0 draw against Spain almost a year ago in the Nations League. At Bayern-Bank, the mines got longer and longer, after that it was only about damage limitation.
