BERLIN, Dec 3 : Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich benefitted from two own goals by hosts Union Berlin and survived intense second half pressure before earning a 3-2 victory on Wednesday to reach the German Cup quarter-finals.
With all five goals coming from set pieces, the Bavarians exacted revenge for their 2-2 draw at Union in the Bundesliga in November that ended their 16-game winning start to the season across all competitions.
“I was satisfied with our first half and we did a lot of things right. But the second half was a fight,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
“I hope we can keep going and one day reach Berlin (for the final). Now we want to play the last game until Christmas with a lot of energy to be in a good position.”
The Bavarians top the Bundesliga and are also on track to qualify for the Champions League knockout stage.
The hosts found themselves a goal down after 12 minutes when Joshua Kimmich floated a corner to the far post and the ball bounced off Union’s Ilyas Ansah for an own goal.
It was another Kimmich corner 12 minutes later that led to their second goal with Bundesliga leading scorer Harry Kane heading it in.
Union pulled a goal back with Leopold Querfeld beating Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer with a 40th-minute penalty but teammate Diogo Leite headed in their second own goal of the evening from Michael Olise’s free kick deep in first half stoppage time.
The Portuguese made amends eight minutes after the restart, earning another spot kick after he was elbowed by Kane in the Bayern box. With Kane booked, Querfeld sent Neuer the wrong way again to make it 3-2.
Querfeld became the first player to score two penalties in the same match against the 39-year-old Neuer in the keeper’s 906th professional match for club and country.
But despite pressure for much of the second half and a string of Union chances, Bayern managed to hold on for the win.
