At 10:38 p.m. it ended in Borussia-Park. Referee Tobias Stieler indicated it properly with a simple whistle, but actually he should have done a fanfare, because he had directed a game that – yes! – goes down in the history of the DFB Cup and German football.
It was probably thought possible that Borussia Mönchengladbach could defeat FC Bayern on a special evening, but certainly not that he would do it 5-0. But it was like that: Gladbach 5, Bayern 0, a sensation in XXL, and the quarantined head coach Julian Nagelsmann is likely to have smashed some china in his kitchen command center in view of the confused performance of his team. It was the highest defeat in the long history of the record cup winners and the highest loss since a 7-1 defeat against Fortuna Düsseldorf in December 1978.
“I’m absolutely shocked. We just weren’t there,” said sports director Hasan Salihamidzic after the game on ARD. “We let ourselves be bought off in every situation. A collective blackout,” said Salihamidzic.
Bayern have never lost so much in the cup
It wasn’t that Bayern weren’t awestruck when they presented themselves at Borussia-Park on Wednesday evening. When Niklas Süle volleyballed the ball into the corner from twenty meters, the murmur in the stands was considerable. But the problem was that this masterpiece took place during the import, and the perhaps even bigger problem for the Munich team was that Süle only appeared at the back of the list.
The national player, who recently shone reliably in the back team of FCB, was given a break on the reserve bench. Dayot Upamecano and Lucas Hernandez formed the pair in the central defense this time, and that they would have shone or at least stood out for their reliability, that cannot even be said when looking through the Uli-Hoeneß-Oberfan glasses.
One minute and nineteen seconds passed before Upamecano made an unfortunate figure for the first time, in the duel with Breel Embolo he was left behind, the Swiss striker left the shot to 1-0 to French colleague Emmanuel Koné.
That the overpowering Bavarians get caught off guard sometimes happens, but this time it was a shock with depth – and with method. The Gladbachers made no move to secure their quick prey, they surprised their opponent with aggressive continuous attacks, always looking at the Munich goal. To make it 2-0 a few minutes later, not much was missing: Jonas Hofmann had hurried Upamecano and ran towards Manuel Neuer alone. Whether Upamecano’s late intervention in Hofmann’s failed shot attempt was entirely legal remained debatable, the complaints of the Gladbach attacker remained unheard of.
Not satisfied: Joshua Kimmich.
(Photo: Ina Fassbender/AFP)
People were getting used to this completely wrong script, and it was going to last until the end. The 2-0 win by Rami Bensebaini (15th) was no longer an adventurous surprise after Neuer had just steered a shot from Embolo over the crossbar. The only thing that was sensational was the action of the goal, the combination of Joe Scally, Embolo and Hofmann. Bavaria’s defense looked on in disbelief.
Even world goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is loaded by the Gladbach team
The Munich frantic efforts to get back into the game, but instead they got more and more on the wrong track. The next fatal knock in the cover center was on the account of Hernandez, who played anything but free. Instead of the ball, he hit Embolo, referee Tobias Stieler did not hesitate with the penalty whistle and Bensebaini loaded the world goalkeeper Neuer with the nerve of an experienced tank cracker (21st).
Bayern tried to find an answer to this attack, but looked in vain, although Borussia withdrew a little. There was no serious chance of scoring until the break, and veteran Bayern employees searched their memories for similar experiences. They landed in the distant past of the noughties. Biggest defeat in the cup so far: a 1: 5 at 1. FC Köln in 1972.
The fear of the indestructible Munich machinery was still felt in the stadium. Could this luck be trusted? Long before the restart, the Reds stood on the lawn as if they couldn’t wait to catch up. The Gladbachers actually had to survive a few dicey minutes, Yann Sommer fished a Goretzka shot from the corner, Gnabry missed the shot on goal, but in the 51st minute it was all no longer an issue when Embolo, irresistible as perhaps never before, the 4th : 0 added.
Again, Hernandez and Upamecano had performed a comedy in a duet rather than seriously practicing their defense profession. For Upamecano it was logical that the work ended shortly thereafter. Too late. And the substitute Süle couldn’t prevent Embolo from scoring another goal after one of numerous playback errors in the Munich midfield (57th). It was 5-0 on the scoreboard and it wasn’t a mistake in direction.
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