Bayern Munich booked their spot in the DFB-Pokal round of 16 with a comprehensive 6-1 win over FC Magdeburg at the Allianz Arena, led by a brace and an assist from Michael Olise. Elsewhere on the scoresheet, Ismaël Saibari, Alphonso Davies, Nathaniel Brown, and youngster David Santos rounded out the scoring for the German Rekordmeister, leaving Mateus Żukowski’s 15th-minute goal for Magdeburg to be nothing more than a mere consolation.
Of course, the alarm bells were ringing after Żukowski had equalized for the 2. Bundesliga side, canceling out Olise’s 10th-minute goal, but Bayern found their way back in front via Saibari’s 21st-minute goal and really started to stamp their authority in the second half. As an added bonus, recent Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane was able to get a full rest on the night as an unused substitute ahead of this weekend’s der Klassiker against Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, alongside Dayot Upamecano and Minjae Kim.
A clean sheet would have been the preferred result for Aaron Danks and company, but the name of the game in the Pokal is getting through to the next round, and there was no stopping Żukowski’s effort that left Jonas Urbig rooted to his spot for Magdeburg’s goal. Ironically enough, it was another wonder strike in the fifth minute from the first-round win over VfL Osnabrück by Robin Meißner that prevented a clean sheet for Bayern, so they are making a habit of conceding absolute worldies in the competition.
After the win, Jonathan Tah spoke about how it has been a breath of fresh air to see how the Bayern squad has done so well on the pitch despite going through some rough times off the pitch. Vincent Kompany’s medical event that caused him to be rushed to the hospital last week came just days after Joshua Kimmich’s father passed away, on top of the mounting injuries the squad has faced.
“Well, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect us in some way, because we’re all human. Of course, you feel for those affected. But ultimately, I think it’s about being professional. When you consider what we can do right now to give those who aren’t here some positive energy, the answer is to go out on the pitch and show what we showed today. I’m pleased that we’ve managed to do that in each of our last two games,” Tah stressed on the pitch in a post-match interview (via @iMiaSanMia).
So many things are more important than football, as Bayern have experienced in the past two weeks, but it is the togetherness within the squad that has helped their football during exceedingly difficult times with everything that has gone on off the pitch.
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