Bayern Munich dominate, escape against Drochtersen/Assel in DFB Pokal First Round

FINAL: DROCHTERSEN/ASSEL 0-1 BAYERN MUNICH

Well. Bayern dominated nearly every minute of this match and yet should feel lucky to have escaped with the 1-0 victory. This wasn’t one to remember. At all.

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85’- Kovac makes his third substitution bringing on World Champion Tolisso for World Champion Müller.

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82’- GOAL! BAYERN MUNICH 1-0! Minutes later, Bayern officially get their breakthrough goal. Lewandowski (kept onside by two Drochtersen players and the goalkeeper) knocks it into the back of the net to give Bayern the 1-0 lead. Phew.

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80’- Bayern finally get their goal. But! The goal is called back for offside. Müller slotted the shot past the Drochtersen goalkeeper, but the assistant referee (correctly, mind you) ruled Ribery offside. He was in front of the goalkeeper in an offside position.

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70’- I don’t ... know ... what’s happening? It’s still scoreless.

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60’- There was a five minute delay when the Bayern fans threw streamers and beach balls over the field with a giant banner that said “DFB/DFL You’ll be hearing from us!”. Apparently, they were also trying to tear down part of the stand as well.

Wagner went over to try and calm the fans down.

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54’- Thiago nearly opens the scoring when his shot rattles off the crossbar! Kimmich had his shot blocked, and Thiago smashed the rebound off the crossbar. The ball eventually went out for a goal kick.

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52’- Kovac is making some changes. Coman and Goretzka are coming on for Robben and Hummels. Maybe this will be the spark.

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50’- There’s still not a lot happening in this one to start the second half. Bayern are heaping immense pressure on Drochtersen, but they haven’t figured out a way to turn this pressure into goals.

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HALFTIME: Drochtersen/Assel 0-0 Bayern Munich

That certainly didn’t go to plan. Drochtersen played their Assels off, and the match is scoreless at the half. Niko Kovac won’t be too please with this side, and it’ll be interesting to see if he makes a change at the half.

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42’- Robben picks up a yellow card for his third foul of the match. It’s fair to say that Bayern aren’t really impressing anyone at the moment. They are however, likely wearing Drochtersen down physically. You can imagine the second half could turn in Bayern’s favor.

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34’- Whoa! Neuer just had to come up with a big foot save to prevent Nagel from giving Drochtersen the lead! Bayern’s defense fell asleep for a brief moment after a throw-in, and Drochtersen nearly capitalized!

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30’- Bayern are still doing whatever they want on offense, but haven’t been able to get very many good chances on goal. Drochtersen are currently in a “bend... and bend and bend but don’t break defense”.

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20’- Bayern are still in control, but Drochtersen has been putting Bayern under some pressure lately. They’ve been able to snuff out any chance the Regionalliga side has put together though, and Neuer hasn’t had anything to do.

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10’- Bayern have been dominating the early going in this one, as expected. They’re bossing Drochtersen all over the field, and it definitely looks like it’s just a matter of time until they hit the back of the net.

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1’- Kickoff in Drochtersen.

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One hour until kickoff: Lineups are out!

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Bayern Munich finally return to competitive football with its first DFB Pokal match of the season, against Drochtersen/Assel. Now I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time my team faced a club whose name had an actual “/” in its name, so it promises to be a blast.

When it comes to thee team, Kovac already confirmed that David Alaba and Serge Gnabry will miss the game with injuries, and James Rodriguez and Juan Bernat remain doubtful due to ankle problems. Corentin Tolisso could get a cameo, but is unlikely to start since he just returned to Munich less than a week ago. Sebastian Rudy is also a doubt, but for a different reason altogether — he is rumored to be on the verge of a transfer to either RB Leipzig or Schalke. Apart from that, coach Niko Kovac should have everyone available to him, and he has said he doesn’t intend to underestimate his lower league opponents.

It’s Bayern time.

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Match Info

Location: Kehdinger Stadion, Drochtersen, Germany

Time: 3:30 pm local time, 9:30 am EST

TV/streaming: Find Your Country

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