Will meet Borussia Dotmund in the German cup final
Bayern Munich's Mario Mandzukic celebrates scoring during the German Cup semifinal against Kaiserslautern at the Allianz Arena in Munich
Berlin: Holders Bayern Munich will face Borussia Dortmund in next month’s German Cup final after cruising to a 5-1 win over second division Kaiserslautern in Wednesday’s semifinal. Bayern reached their third consecutive domestic cup final by bouncing back from successive Bundesliga defeats to see off Kaiserslautern, who had knocked out top tier sides Bayer Leverkusen and Hertha Berlin en route to the semis.
Goals by Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, Thomas Mueller, Mario Mandzukic and Mario Goetze saw Bayern go through to the May 17 final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
Bayern, who wrapped up this season’s title with a record seven games to spare, will face Dortmund, who shocked Bayern 3-0 in Munich in the league last Saturday, in a repeat of last season’s Champions League final.
Bayern needed just 24 minutes to take the lead when Germany midfielder Schweinsteiger headed home an Arjen Robben corner having earlier hit the crossbar.Kroos doubled the hosts’ lead at the Allianz Arena on 32 minutes to make it 2-0 at the break. Robben won a penalty five minutes into the second half when he was fouled by Kaiserslautern defender Chris Loewe and Mueller fired home the spot kick. Kaiserslautern striker Simon Zoller headed a goal on the hour mark, with his side surviving on less than 30 per cent possession, before Mandzukic netted the hosts’ fourth and Goetze scored the fifth.
( Source : AFP )
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