DFB POKAL
Disaster for Bayern Munich as third tier Saarbrücken dump Tuchel’s side out of German Cup
The Bavarian side were expected to brush aside Saarbrücken, a team who languish in 15th place currently in the third Bundesliga.
Disaster struck for German giants Bayern Munich in the final minute of added time in their German Cup second round game away to lowly Saarbrücken who are struggling at the wrong end of the third tier.
The cup tie, which many Bayern fans expected to be a routine midweek stroll turned into a nightmare, culminating in a 96th-minute goal by Gaus with the late strike dumping Tuchel’s men out of the DFB Pokal with the 34-year-old immediately sealing his status as a Saarbrücken hero.
The game had started as expected with Bayern making five changes to the line-up from the team who put eight goals past Darmstad at the weekend with 20-year-old Kratzig starting alongside Müller. It was the new striking pair who played a key role in the opening goal, with the youngster linking up with the veteran striker to make it 1-0. Müller’s strike from outside the area put Bayern ahead, and at this stage of the game, with barely 15 minutes gone, the Bavarian giants had no idea of the string of misfortunes that awaited them.
Things then slowly started to go wrong for the visitors as De Ligt was forced to leave the game with what appeared to be a serious injury. Tuchel’s solution was to bring on Laimer in midfield and reinstate Kimmich in defence to partner Kim, the only pure centre-back available.
David vs Goliath
Saarbrücken equalised on the stroke of half-time with the South Korean at fault for the goal as he attempted a risky through ball to the young Kratzig, who was under pressure with Sontheimer making it 1-1 on the night.
Shortly after the restart, Tuchel made three changes at once, a declaration of intent as Musiala, Gnabry and Coman came on. Plan B worked to a point as Bayern laid siege to the Saarbrücken goal with keeper Schreiber saving the home side on a series of occasions.
Just when it seemed that extra time would be needed to decide the tie, a counter down the right flank saw Civeja cross the ball from deep into the path of the onrushing Gaus who slotted home to become the hero of a night that will long be remembered in the Saarbrücken stadium.