The first “best” opportunity of the match came in the 20th minute, and it fell to Stuttgart. Martin Harnik missed a cross with his head, but the ball deflected off of Bastian Schweinsteiger forcing Manuel Neuer into a quick reaction save. The rebound slipped to the back post where George Niedermeier thought he was going to give Stuttgart the lead. However, Neuer was quick to regroup and slapped the ball away before it crossed the line to keep the match scoreless.
Bayern Munich vs. VfB Stuttgart, 2013 DFB Pokal Final: Neuer, Ulreich with big saves and a missed penalty decision
On the other end, David Alaba was played through the back line by Thomas Müller. A more savvy goalscorer would have rounded the keeper, but Alaba put his shot right into the chest of Sven Ulreich. Thirty minutes into the contest and Ulreich has matched Neuer save for save.
A few minutes later, Arjen Robben was tackled in the penalty area by Serder Tasci, but the referee waved for play to continue. Replays showed that Robben was fouled in the area.
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