Raúl, Schalke Strike Early And Hold On In DFB Pokal Semifinal

Schalke 04 have their revenge for the semifinal of a year ago, and they are in the Final of the DFB Pokal for the first time since 2005. It is a fantastic victory for Felix Magath’s side, who will certainly be favourites against their 2. Bundesliga opponents in Berlin, MSV Duisburg.

For Bayern Munich, a second home defeat within a week to a hated rival will not be easily forgotten. The Bavarians had plenty of chances in the second half, but were foiled by their own profligacy and the brilliance of Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who has been heavily linked with a move to the Allianz Arena in the summer.

Despite their second-half improvement, Bayern Munich still trail Schalke 04 in the semifinals of the DFB Pokal. Both sides made changes in the middle period of the second half: for Bayern, Toni Kroos replaced Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, while Julian Draxler came on in place of José Jurado for Schalke. Luis Gustavo moved back to play centreback alongside Breno, with Kroos next to Bastian Schweinsteiger in midfield.

Bayern’s best chance of the game arrived just after the sixty-minute mark, as a free-kick whipped in from the hosts’ right wasn’t claimed by Neuer and narrowly evaded Mario Gómez and Gustavo, bouncing just wide of the post. Schalke’s right back Atusto Uchida has been tip-toeing on a very dangerous line -- already booked, he fouled Franck Ribéry on the left and was fortunate to remain on the pitch.

After a disappointing opening forty-five minutes, it has been almost all Bayern Munich since the second half began. The Bavarians’ dominance started when Daniel Pranjic whipped a very dangerous ball across the face of the box on forty-seven minutes, but neither Mario Gómez on the near post nor Arjen Robben on the far could provide the touch needed to pull the hosts level.

FCB had another chance about a minute later from a corner kick, as Bastian Schweinsteiger had a free header from the far corner of the six-yard box, but couldn’t get enough power on his effort, which went straight into the arms of Mauel Neuer. The home side had another chance to level the match off of a free-kick just outside the box; Jefferson Farfán had fouled Bastian Schweinsteiger and recieved a booking for his poor challenge, but Franck Ribéry wasted the set-piece opportunity. Atsuto Uchida has also been shown a yellow cared for a tackle on Philipp Lahm, while Bayern Munich fans will be pleased to see Toni Kroos warming up for the Bavarians, who did not make any halftime substitutions.

We’ve seen this story before, haven’t we? Bayern Munich dominant early on, controlling possesion in the first half, but slightly shaky at the back and punished for their defensive weaknesses. Yet again the Bavarians are behind despite having far more of the ball and starting a side with far more potency going forward.

Just as in the last update, FCB have looked in control of the game but haven’t managed to create any clear chances and find themselves behind to Felix Magath’s Schalke 04. The visitors from Westphalia have remained defensive, looking to protect their slender lead and pick Bayern off on the break -- unfortunately for them, there haven’t been too many chances of scoring on the counterattack.

There has been plenty of whistling around the Allianz Arena since Schalke 04 took an early lead, and little of it has come from the referee, Mr. Florian Meyer. Instead, it’s been Bayern Munich fans expressing their displeasure with the scoreline and their side’s performance in the first half. The Munich faithful can be quite fickle, but they have a bit more cause to complain in this match than they usually do: Bayern have not been playing well so far, and Schalke look prepared to pick their hosts off on the counterattack, just as Borussia Dortmund did this past weekend.

FCB have had plenty of possession, but Mario Gómez and Thomas Müller have both mistimed their runs, wasting chances to pull level. Bayern have found little success playing through the middle, and Arjen Robben has not been involved nearly as much as Louis van Gaal would hope. Schalke have been content to sit deep, waiting for another set-piece opportunity or a chance on the break. They’ve had both in the twenty minutes since taking the lead; Jefferson Farfán’s poor shot wasted a counter-attacking chance around the twenty-five minute mark, and Thomas Müller cleared a header from a corner kick off the line just after the half-hour mark.

Despite a slow start from Schalke 04, this match is looking a bit like the December fixture between Bayern Munich and the Königsblauen where, despite being outplayed, Schalke were able to take all three points. They have a 1-0 lead against the run of play after 15 minutes, with Raul scoring off of a corner kick. Though the goal happened a good two minutes after the error, Schalke’s opportunity can be traced back to Bastian Schweinsteiger. They were showing very little in the opening 13 minutes, but his giveaway led to Schalke creating a couple of set pieces, and eventually, a goal.

The marking on the corner kick was poor, but Schalke still had to do plenty of work to create their goal. Jefferson Farfan hit a quality out-swinging corner from the right side into the center of the box, which was flicked toward the back post by Benedict Höwedes. His flick found Raul, who was surprisingly open, and the Spaniard finished the chance, powering a header into the back of the net. Bayern Munich have started the match with nearly 70% possession, but that possession is translating to a losing position thanks to a giveaway by Schweinsteiger and poor marking on set pieces.

Just like last season, Bayern Munich and Schalke 04 meet late in the DFB Pokal with plenty at stake for both teams. Bayern look well out of the title race at this point after this weekend’s loss to Borussia Dortmund, while qualifying for Europe through league position hasn’t looked like a realistic prospect for Schalke for quite some time. Both teams are still involved in the UEFA Champions League, but neither team has a very realistic shot at winning the competition. As a result, for both teams, a German Cup win could make their season.

Schalke are without Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, but otherwise, both teams have full strength teams to field at the Allianz Arena. In a match between the two sides earlier this season, Schalke won 2-0, but were hardly the better side on the day. Felix Magath’s team defended deep while relying on counter-attacking, set pieces, and simple luck for their scoring opportunities. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him repeat this strategy on Wednesday. However, he faces a much fitter Bayern side who, despite their loss to Dortmund on the weekend, is in much better form than they were when that match took place.