Berlin: Robert Lewandowski scored his 45th goal in his 38th competitive game of the season to help Bayern Munich reach the DFB-Pokal final for a third successive year following a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in their semi-final clash.
Bayern were clearly in the mood right from kick-off Wednesday and Thomas Muller had a header cleared off the line as early as the sixth minute. Muller was involved again moments later when he drilled a ball across the six-yard box for Lewandowski, only for the Polish forward to see the ball squirm through his legs with the goal at his mercy, as per the official Bundesliga website.
The home team looked particularly dangerous down the left wing as Ivan Perisic tormented Almamy Toure with his pace and trickery, so it was no surprise when the Croatia international opened the scoring, heading in from Muller’s clipped cross in the 14th minute of the game.
Kingsley Coman had the best of a number of opportunities to add to the scoreline, but he fired wide when it seemed easier to score from a devilish Alphonso Davies cross.
Manuel Neuer was largely untroubled at the other end of the pitch, and a long-range shot from former teammate Sebastian Rode that whizzed narrowly wide was the only moment in the first half that will have caused his pulse to quicken.
Frankfurt were much improved after the interval though, with Dominik Kohr snapping in midfield and Andre Silva and Martin Hinteregger having sights of goal, however brief.
Still, those openings encouraged the Eagles to continue to get forward and they were rewarded in the 69th minute when substitutes Daichi Kamada and Danny Da Costa combined, with the former wriggling past Joshua Kimmich and Thiago to tee up Da Costa to fire in the equaliser from 10 yards.
Their joy did not last long though, as Bayern switched gears and immediately looked dangerous.
The winner came just five minutes later from the most predictable of boots – that of Lewandowski – who slid in at the back post following neat build-up between Davies and Kimmich to seal Bayern’s place in the final against Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin July 5.
IANS
