Chapter 602: Chapter 602 DFB-Pokal Final (2)
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[04/07/2020 | Time: 20:00 PM | DFB-Pokal Final | Location: Olympiastadion Berlin]
[1]
The whistle pierced through the Berlin evening air, and the DFB-Pokal Final was underway. Lewandowski rolled the ball back to Müller, who immediately played it wide to Gnabry. The Bayern winger took a touch, sending it back to Pavard before Rakim could close him down.
Passing it among the defenders, they looked to establish a patient build-up from the back. Alaba and Boateng started dictating the passes left and right as they weathered the initial Leverkusen press. Lewandowski jumped into the air trying to bring the ball down, but Tapsoba was having none of it.
The defender’s shoulder collided with the Polish striker’s shoulder in the air before heading the ball wide to Wendell. The Brazilian trapped the ball under his feet and immediately charged up the flank. Gnabry stepped up to press him, but he merely passed it inwards to Julian, who flicked it to the retreating Rakim at the sideline.
The winger did not try to take on Pavard but merely kicked the ball back down the line to Wendel past the turning Ganbry. The left back flicked it inward, chipping Muller, who tried to close him down. Aránguiz shed the ball down in the central area before dribbling up the field.
The Chilean midfielder used his body to step across Goretzka, who tried to intercept him just as he passed the halfway line. Feinting a cut to the right wing just as Kimich rushed to close him down, he lifted the ball forward. His chipped through ball sailed over the defensive line, heading down the right flank toward the side of the box.
[2]
His sudden through ball set off a foot race between Diaby and Davis, but the Leverkusen man had the advantage of not having to turn. The Frenchman created separation as his marker desperately tried to recover. He managed to do so by slowing down to bring the ball under control, which allowed his pursuer to step in front of him.
Not panicking, he feinted a breakthrough to the byline, getting the Canadian to bite slightly, allowing him to lay it off to Amiri at the edge of the box. Amiri’s first touch was silky, cushioning the ball with his right foot before he could be closed down, before curling a teasing cross into the box. It was aimed toward Havertz, who had peeled off Alaba’s shoulder with brilliant timing.
The delivery hung for a split second too long, and Neuer came roaring off his line with authority. Arms wide extended, the Bayern keeper punched clear just before Havertz could rise. The clearance, however, didn’t travel far—only as far as Rakim, who was lurking on the edge of the penalty arc. "This could be dangerous!" Rae warned as the youngster controlled the descending ball with one touch and lined up a strike with his right.
At this moment, Hansi, on the sideline, was asking his assistant why one of the most dangerous forwards was not marked by their opponent if they were unmarked with the ball. His answer would have to wait, though, as Rakim’s boot tore through the ball, sending it fiercely toward the bottom left corner.
But Boateng threw himself across with a slide, managing to deflect the ball with his shin and spinning wide as he slid into the net. "Well defended by Boateng!" Robson interjected. "That was hit sweetly by Rakim, Derek. Neuer was beaten, and that was destined for the back of the net"
[5]
Wendell swung in the resulting corner kick with venom, his left foot sending a dangerous inswinger toward the near post. Neuer, still commanding his area, came out to punch but misjudged the flight slightly. The ball skimmed the top of Goretzka’s head and dropped into the six-yard box like a live grenade.
What followed was pure chaos—boots flying, shirts tugged, and the ball ricocheting between ankles as both sets of players piled in. Tapsoba reacted first, swinging a boot through a forest of legs, the shot cannoning off Boateng’s thigh before bouncing awkwardly toward Sven Bender. The veteran centre-half lunged desperately, stabbing the ball goalward, but Neuer redeemed himself with a sprawling block, smothering it on the line.
"How did that stay out?!" Derek Rae shouted, his voice almost cracking. Stewart Robson was incredulous: "That’s old-fashioned cup final defending, Derek—absolute bedlam in the six-yard box, and somehow Bayern survived it!"
[8]
Bayern tried to respond immediately, looking to assert its authority and slow the tempo down to its preferred pace. They reentered their passing game, keeping the ball flowing in the backfield as they settled in. For a couple of minutes, they kept possession even under the strong pressure from their opponents.
The front quartet of Haertz, Rakim, Amiri, and Diaby were forced to calm down under their calm, structured passes. With Neuer also being active, they were more than outnumbered, forcing them to play zonal marking instead. Around the 9th, Kimmich lost his marker and dropped deep between the centre-backs, receiving possession from Alaba before spraying a long diagonal out to Coman on the left wing.
The Frenchman’s first touch was exquisite, killing the pace of the ball instantly before shifting it onto his right foot. Lars Bender closed him down quickly, but Coman did not shy away from the challenge. Feinting a cut inward, he knocked the ball behind the man before making use of his pace to explode past on the flank.
Racing toward the byline, Coman whipped in a dangerous low cross that fizzed across the face of the goal. Lewandowski made his run flawlessly to beat Tapsoba, timing his movement to perfection, but Hradecky was equal to it. The Finnish goalkeeper threw himself down low, getting a hand to the ball to deflect it just wide of the far post.
[12]
The corner that followed was cleared comfortably by Tapsoba’s towering header. The clearance sparked Leverkusen’s first real counter-attack of the evening. Rakim was alive to it instantly, darting infield to collect the loose ball before Bayern’s midfield could reset.
With one quick swivel of his hips, he spun away from Kimmich, the ball glued to his feet, and surged into the open grass. "Here he goes!" Derek Rae’s voice lifted with excitement. His long legs began eating up chunks of green as he veered to the flank to avoid the traffic.
Around the halfway line, Pavard stepped up to confront him, but he kept his distance, content with slowing him down. But Rakim feinted a stop before sliding the ball between the Frenchman’s legs, racing around the other side, before he could react. A lot of arm pulling and shirt tugging between the two players followed as they raced past the centre line.
Pushing Pavard off him, he slipped a pass backwards into the central channel onto the run of Amiri. He collected the ball in stride, off Goretzka, who tried to muscle him off the ball. With a deft shimmy of his hips, he bumped him off him, creating some separation, faked a turn left before unleashing a through ball up the right flank.
The through ball slid between Boateng and Davis, tearing open the defensive line. Diaby timed his run immaculately as the linesman’s flag stayed down, as Boateng tried to play him off to the corner flag. The French winger had had room to manoeuvre, and he used it to pick out a cross. Diaby’s cross was whipped in with pace and precision, curling toward the penalty spot where Havertz had slipped between the two centre-backs.
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To Be Continued...