Bayern Munich set up a DFB-Pokal final with Borussia Dortmund by beating 2. Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern 5-1 at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday. They had goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Mario Mandžukić and Mario Götze to thank for their convincing win, with Simon Zoller's strike nothing more than a consolation for the visitors.
Bayern Munich vs. Kaiserslautern: Final score 5-1, Bayern set up BVB final with comfortable win
Bayern Munich will play Borussia Dortmund in the final of the DFB-Pokal after easing past Kaiserslautern in Wednesday’s semifinal.
Lennart Preiss
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The Bavarian hosts dominated the game from the first whistle, though initially lacked a cutting edge against their defensive visitors. The hosts’ best early chance to break the deadlock came courtesy of Kaiserslautern themselves, when the ball deflected off the shoulder of defender Dominique Heintz and against Tobias Sippel’s crossbar.
However, it was only a matter of time before Bayern converted their dominance into goals, and some poor corner marking midway through the first half allowed Schweinsteiger to glance Arjen Robben’s corner inside the far post for 1-0.
Any hope Kaiserslautern had of hanging on and nicking an equalizer on the counter was dashed within 10 minutes, as Robben skilfully created his second goal of the evening. He jinked past a couple of defenders before pulling the ball back to Kroos, who stroked the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.
The second half had only just kicked off when Robben was felled in the Kaiserslautern penalty area, with Müller stepping up to convert the ensuing spot-kick. It should’ve been four within minutes, though Franck Ribéry contrived to fire over the bar with an open goal gaping.
With their faint hopes of reaching the final in tatters, Kaiserslautern began to play with a little more attacking freedom. It paid dividends when Zoller leapt to nod Florian Dick's cross past Bayern keeper Lukas Raeder, though it was nothing more than a consolation goal for the second-tier team, who conceded a fourth with just over 10 minutes left. Götze threaded Mandžukić through on goal, with the Croatian striker smartly finishing just inside Sippel's far post.
Götze completed the rout himself in stoppage time, prodding home after an intricate interchange with Ribéry inside the Kaiserslautern box.
Bayern Munich: Raeder; Alaba (Rafinha 81’), Dante, Boateng, Lahm; Kroos, Schweinsteiger (Martínez 75’); Ribéry, Müller, Robben (Götze 61’); Mandžukić.
Goals: Schweinsteiger (23’), Kroos (32’), Müller (pen 50’), Mandžukić (78’), Götze (90+1’).
Kaiserslautern: Sippel; Löwe (Fortounis 69’), Heintz, Torrejón, Dick; Jenssen (Idrissou 77’), Orban, Ring; Zimmer, Zoller (Lakić 80’), Matmour.
Goals: Zoller (60’).
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