Our journey back to Berlin: Bayern’s emotional cup night in Leverkusen

Lucky shot or a penalty call

“When you've had such a poor first half, you have to take the positives from the fact that it's only 1–0,” admitted Leverkusen captain Robert Andrich: “And if you then score, you’re back in the game.” The danger of conceding an equaliser – whether through a single defensive lapse, a lucky shot or even a penalty – was the only thing keeping alive even a glimmer of hope for the home fans of reaching the cup final. Head coach Vincent Kompany’s side had simply played with no drama, too much composure, too much determination and too little humour. None of the 30,210 spectators could seriously have had any hope of the tie becoming exciting again.

Yet that's exactly what happened. As the match wore on, Leverkusen dug deeper and deeper and fought tooth and nail in this semi-final – whilst Bayern were too lacklustre in attack, missing the chance to deliver the knockout blow and make it 2–0 on several occasions. At times the final pass didn’t find its target, at times the pitch was too slippery, and on other occasions Mark Flekken made outstanding saves in the home goal. But Bayer also pressed higher up the pitch, played with more courage, ran more and tackled far more aggressively than in the first half. The result: the momentum, which had previously clung to FC Bayern like a burr to a dog’s fur, threatened to weaken and gradually slip away.

Bayern overcome Leverkusen to reach final

“It was a more open game in the second half, yet we hardly allowed them any chances,” said a delighted Josip Stanišić. He was right: although the home side managed to gain a slight upper hand – as reflected in their 56:44 per cent possession advantage at one stage – they still created hardly any clear-cut chances. Nathan Tella had the best of them. But Manuel Neuer, making his 63rd appearance in the cup (only Oliver Kahn made more as a goalkeeper), somehow managed to get his fingertips to Tella's powerful, perfectly struck effort to make an incredible one-handed save!

“A final is always a gift”

“Leverkusen got off to a much better start, and we had to sit deep on a few occasions. But even during that phase, we did well overall. I think a final like this is always a gift – for the club, for the fans, for all the members and, of course, for the team,” summarised Kompany.

A beaming Max Eberl admitted: “We had a few nervous moments there – but in the end we fully deserved to reach the cup final,” said the board member for sport. For in the very last attack of the match, in the third minute of stoppage time, Luis Díaz finally managed to slot the ball past the excellent Flekken in the home goal: 2–0. Game over.

“We’re all delighted. Berlin has always been a dream for us,” revealed Herbert Hainer. The president was grinning from ear to ear: “The win was thoroughly deserved; we should have scored a second or third goal in the first half to make things a little more relaxed – as it was, we needed to hang in there a bit. Overall, it was a convincing and well-deserved win. Now we’re looking forward to Berlin.”

Back after six long years

For six long years, the cup final had always taken place there without the record cup winners. Five finals without FC Bayern – just how much that had hurt was evident after the final whistle in the Bayern supporters’ section and in front of it, where the players were dancing in T-shirts emblazoned with: “Guess who’s back?”. Vincent Kompany said: “Ever since my first day at Bayern, people have been talking about Berlin. It’s a massive gift for the club that we have the privilege of going back there.” On 23 May, that day will be here at last.

Reaction to the cup tie in Leverkusen:

Vincent Kompany: 'A massive gift for the club'