Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich were eliminated 2-1 in the German Cup quarter-finals by Freiburg, fourth in the Bundesliga, on Tuesday at the Allianz Arena. For the third season in a row, 20-time winners Bayern do not reach the semi-finals of the German Cup, after two eliminations in the 2nd round in autumn 2020 and autumn 2021.
Tuesday evening, in an Allianz Arena again plunged into winter temperatures and a thermometer well below zero degrees, the Munich residents thought they had done the hardest part by finding the fault in the Friborg wall by Dayot Upamecano, higher than Maximilian Eggestein at the 20th minute of play. But on a badly negotiated recovery by the Munich defensive block, Lucas Höler managed the perfect sequence, controlling then striking from the left unstoppable for Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
End of triplet dreams
In additional time, on a shot from Lucas Höler, Jamal Musiala pushed back with his hand and the referee logically designated the penalty spot. Höler took responsibility to qualify his team for the semi-finals. Until this last occasion, the Munich residents besieged the goal of Freiburg, without succeeding in taking the advantage. Benjamin Pavard, on a free kick taken by Kimmich, found the crossbar in the 62nd minute.
Arrived on the Munich bench only ten days ago, Thomas Tuchel had a promising start by winning 4-2 against Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga to regain the chair of leader, but sees his hopes of a hat-trick fly away prematurely against to a well-grouped Friborg team in front of goalkeeper Mark Flekken. The former coach of Dortmund, Paris SG and Chelsea had however shown a measured enthusiasm, underlining the limits in the game of his team, faulty for too many ball losses for his taste.
Championship reunion
Munich and Friborg will meet on Saturday afternoon, this time in Freiburg for the 27th day of the Bundesliga, while Bayern are only two points ahead of Borussia Dortmund. After this league match, the Munich residents will travel to Manchester City for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final. Here is Bayern still far from being out of its crisis, created by the Munich leaders themselves, who decided to part with their coach Julian Nagelsmann on March 24, to everyone’s surprise.
At the start of the evening, Eintracht Frankfurt got the better of Union Berlin, 3rd in the Bundesliga, 2-0, thanks to an express double from Randal Kolo Muani. In the space of 103 seconds, the French international scored his fourth and fifth Cup goal, each time served by Mario Götze, for the 18th and 19th goals in all competitions, to which must be added twelve assists, all in 37 matches played.
The quarter-finals end on Wednesday with lone Second Division residents Nuremberg taking on bottom Bundesliga side Stuttgart and their new manager Sebastian Hoeness, as Dortmund try to get the ball rolling immediately against RB Leipzig (8:45 p.m.) . The semi-finals, whose draw is scheduled for late Sunday afternoon, will be played on May 2 and 3, while the final is scheduled for Berlin on Saturday June 3.