Put on the long face after his collision with Jeremie Frimpong: Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer.
IMAGO/Sven Simon

It was only in September that Bayern and Bayer had seen each other – and from the Werkself’s point of view, they had a very happy 1-1 draw. The record champions had completely dominated here, but didn’t capitalize enough on it. It goes without saying that Bayern coach Vincent Kompany, who last recorded a 1-1 draw in Dortmund and had to do without goalkeeper Kane (small muscle tear), wanted to see a different result this time. Especially since the DFB round of 16 is against elimination.

And lo and behold: the FCB team, which came along offensively with Musiala, Coman (for Tel), Sané and Olise (for Kane), left their mark on the game from the start. Bayer coach Xabi Alonso, who made four changes after the 2-1 away win at Union Berlin (goalkeeper Kovar, Mukiele, Palacios and Wirtz for Hradecky, Arthur, Aleix Garcia and the in-form Schick), saw his team under pressure.

Particularly through the left lane and the fast Davies in conjunction with Coman, the latter also tested keeper Kovar (7th minute).

New one comes out, rams and flies

Four minutes later, however, the 1-0 was suddenly in the air, and it was for Leverkusen: Wirtz was able to fire from a central position after mistakes by Kim and Upamecano – just past the left.

Something unprecedented followed: Neuer saw his first red card of his long career after around 512 Bundesliga games, 145 appearances in the Champions League, 124 international matches or 60 appearances in the DFB Cup. The 38-year-old 2014 world champion ran out after a long hit from Tah into the path of Frimpong, missed the ball and rammed the opponent to the ground via a body check. Harm Osmers drew red, which was the right decision – forcing FCB coach Kompany to sacrifice Sané for substitute goalkeeper Peretz (19th).

As a result, the Bayer professionals initially had the upper hand, while the Bayern team first had to collect themselves. Mukiele (29′) and Frimpong, who failed to score in front of Peretz after Wirtz’s pass (32′), missed the 1-0 goal. Just like Coman with a difficult header from close range (34th). At this point, the ten-man Bayern had regained control and were still creating chances in this intense top game until the break – through Musiala (38th), Goretzka (43rd, save by Kovar) and Laimer, who just barely Xhaka was blocked (45th + 2).

Chic comes and goes – Tella heads in

In the second section, the first dangerous shot went to Wirtz, who was also seen in a tricky way shortly before half-time (45′). Now he fired a low shot from what was actually a very good position just past the left post (51′). However, the Munich team still performed better in terms of play, as they hardly missed the lack of personnel. However, there was also a lack of creative ideas in the constant battle against the stable Bayer defense.

Celebrated match winner: Bayer joker Nathan Tella headed in in Munich.
IMAGO/Ulmer/Team photo

And suddenly Leverkusen also scored 1-0 – with a strange story: Schick, who had recently been in good form, was initially rested that evening, then came at halftime and got injured pretty quickly. So Xabi Alonso had to react again and brought on Tella (61′). It should be worth it: When Grimaldo crosses a great cross, the Joker got into position behind Kim and headed into the goal (69′). Peretz had no chance.

Speaking of chances: In the entire second 45 minutes, the FCB players couldn’t think of much to attack Kovar’s goal. Only Gnabry (82nd), Upamecano (90th), Joker Tel (90th + 2) and Olise with a curling shot that just missed the box (90th + 5) were able to register and were able to avoid elimination from the DFB Cup. But the round of 16 can no longer be prevented. For the fifth year in a row, the record cup winner missed the big goal of the final in Berlin.

It continues like this: In the Bundesliga, FC Bayern hosts 1. FC Heidenheim on Saturday (3:30 p.m.). Leverkusen will face FC St. Pauli in the BayArena at the same time – and are certainly waiting for their draw in next year’s new DFB Cup quarter-finals.