Bayern ease past 05ers in the DFB-Pokal

The record DFB-Pokal winners got the better of 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Wednesday night in the second round. A sold-out MEWA ARENA saw FC Bayern win 4-0 thanks to a dominant first-half display. Jamal Musiala scored a hat-trick and Leroy Sané got their other goal, all before the break. The visitors took their foot off the gas in the second half and were happy to see the game out without any drama.

Mainz head coach Bo Henriksen made two changes to the team that drew against Gladbach last time out. Bayern loanees Gabriel Vidovic (making his first start for the club) and Armino Sieb were selected in attack, replacing Jonathan Burkardt (injured) and Jae-sung Lee (on the bench).

Clinical Bayern four up at the break

“We want to be brave. If you just sit back and defend against Bayern, you’re going to lose,” said Bo Henriksen at Tuesday’s press conference. However, the 05ers struggled to press their opponents high up the pitch early on and were left chasing shadows as the Bavarians started extremely brightly. Their first attack saw Serge Gnabry’s shot blocked, but the second resulted in the opening goal (2’). Musiala rounded off a fine move involving Alphonso Davies and Harry Kane, leaving Robin Zentner with no chance. Going behind so early on was the exact situation that Mainz had wanted to avoid. Henriksen’s men were then concerned about their goalkeeper with 15 minutes played. Kane accidentally caught him in the face with his studs, but Zentner could continue after some treatment. He was involved in the thick of the action too, parrying Leroy Sane’s shot in the 26th minute. Gnabry then hit the post with the rebound.

FCB were completely on top and the 05ers struggled to create anything from the counter-attacks they put together. It took until the 29th minute for Mainz to have a shot, and Sieb’s strike was easily saved by Manuel Neuer. At the other end, Zentner was quick off his line to block Sane’s shot with his legs (30’). Mainz’s first bright moments in the Bayern half came in the second half of the first period. Kohr took too long to shoot in the box (32’), before Anthony Caci hit the side-netting at the back post following a lovely cross by Phillipp Mwene (33’). Just as the 05ers started to finally find their feet, Vincent Kompany’s team stamped their authority on the game. Zentner initially kept out Kane’s header, but Musiala – in an offside position – converted the rebound (37’). With no VAR available in the second round of the competition, Musiala’s goal stood. To make matters worse, Bayern scored two more goals in first-half injury time. Sane (45+1’) and Musiala (45+4’) effectively killed the game off with only half of it played. FSV made life too easy for FCB and simply couldn’t handle the tempo that the visitors were operating at.

No more goals in the second half

FSV brought on Stefan Bell for Moritz Jenz and Karim Onisiwo for Vidovic for the second half, with the 05ers ultimately just looking to limit the potential damage. Henriksen, who before the game had said that he would make changes earlier than usual, handed Daniel Gleiber a professional debut in the 56th minute. The 19-year-old academy product came on for Nadiem Amiri in central midfield.

The second half featured few moments of note. While Bayern sat back and took their foot off the gas, Mainz once again rarely posed an attacking threat. Aside from Onisiwo’s central shot (59’), Leon Goretzka’s header (74’) and Silvan Widmer’s effort (84’), neither goalkeeper was called into action. Mainz couldn’t find a consolation goal and it therefore ended 4-0.