In everyday Germany, it pays to keep abreast of the news, especially if you frequently use public transport. Even if you can’t construct a sentence in German, you must become quickly familiar with the word “Warnstreik,” indicating industrial action by a major trade union, in this case Verdi.
When such action impacts a big matchday in Munich, knowing that almost half the attendees travel to the Allianz Arena by U-Bahn, you know Verkehrschaos (traffic chaos) is a prospective nightmare. There was even some thought given to postponing Wednesday’s DFB-Pokal quarterfinal against RB Leipzig, but Bayern Munich‘s power within the city allowed them and the MVG transport authority to come up with a compromise plan for a skeleton service around match time between the central stop at the Marienplatz and the stadium stop in Fröttmaning.
Whether it was the joy of being at a game that looked in jeopardy or — perhaps more likely — the sheer importance of this one-off occasion, there was an extra buzz about the atmosphere. The DFB-Pokal, after all, has been a bigger nemesis to Bayern these past few years than any club opponent. Despite being Rekordpokalsieger (record cup winners) with 20 trophy lifts, not since 2020 have Bayern actually claimed the Pott.
Against Leipzig, the prize was a semifinal place for the first time in six long years, so it was undoubtedly the club’s biggest game of 2026 so far against a team with the weapons to cause them problems, notwithstanding defeats of 6-0 and 5-1 at Bayern’s hands already this season. An indication of how seriously Vincent Kompany took it came through in his team selection, an unchanged side from one competitive match to the next, something that last occurred in September.
The first 10 minutes were worrisome for Bayern fans. Leipzig, through coordinated high pressing, made their hosts uncomfortable and had a fourth-minute Christoph Baumgartner goal disallowed due to a wafer-thin offside margin. Thereafter, though, Bayern took control and wore down the visitors from Sachsen with a display of competence.
There was a sense of inevitability about it when the two goals arrived three minutes apart after the interval. First a Harry Kane penalty and then a memorable Luis Díaz tally after a splendid pass from Michael Olise broke Leipzig’s doughty resistance.
It wasn’t absolutely perfect from Kompany’s team. Alphonso Davies continues to go through a rough patch since returning from long-term injury. Perhaps it’s understandable that he and Jamal Musiala — who came on as a second-half substitute — are going to require a bit of extra time to scale former heights.
But in his post-match interview with ESPN’s Archie Rhind-Tutt and Thomas Hitzlsperger, you could see what this triumph meant to the club’s Belgian coach. A likable figure but also shrewd in the ways of Bayern, Kompany understands what the Pokal (as well as recent failures in the competition) represents to the club bosses and the legions of fans.
Bayern won’t know who they’ll face in the semifinals until Feb. 22, when the draw is made live on ARD-Sportschau in front of a studio audience at the German Football Museum. The lineup is intriguing, with their three possible opponents all having fared well in the Pokal in the years of Bayern’s slumber: Bayer Leverkusen, winners in 2024; VfB Stuttgart, last season’s Pokalsieger; and SC Freiburg, who lost on penalties in the 2022 final before eliminating Bayern in Munich at the quarterfinal stage the following year.
Joshua Kimmich gave the correct answer when asked on Wednesday night who he might like to be drawn with. “I just would like a home draw.”
The semifinals are scheduled for April 21 and 22.
It’s Bayern’s Meisterschale to lose
Bayern’s quest for a treble of silverware continues in the Bundesliga on Saturday with a trip to one of their preferred venues in the past few years: Werder Bremen. Fifteen successive victories at the Weserstadion speaks for itself, and it’s where Kane got his first taste of the German Oberhaus in 2023, scoring the first of his 86-and-counting haul.
That Olise is suspended provides the answer to the question of when the France international will get a rest after an arduous spell of matches and should give 17-year-old prodigy Lennart Karl the chance to impress from the outset.
Bayern, enjoying a six-point lead at the top with a considerably superior goal difference, will know by the time of kickoff up north whether Borussia Dortmund — their only challengers — have eaten into the advantage on Friday night. BVB put in only an average performance last week at VfL Wolfsburg, yet found a way to win the game in the 87th minute thanks to Serhou Guirassy.
Nico Schlotterbeck is serving a suspension this week, Aaron Anselmino has left the club and Emre Can and Filippo Mané are out injured. Luckily, coach Niko Kovac can still field a Dreierkette (back three) of Ramy Bensebaini, Waldemar Anton and Niklas Süle.
It’s true that Dortmund have the best record of any side in the Rückrunde, but Kovac shouldn’t expect an easy game against the team immediately behind them on that particular table: Mainz. Urs Fischer’s appointment has seen the self-styled Karnevalsverein (carnival club) rocket up the table and out of the relegation mire.
Fischer, a hugely sympathetic figure personally, sets his teams up to be obdurate, frustrate and take advantage of individual moments in games. He has given inspirational 35-year-old keeper Daniel Batz a chance to blossom having previously been the club’s third string.
In terms of the title equation, BVB have it much harder than Bayern between now and the next Klassiker at the Signal Iduna Park on Feb. 28.
Until then, Die Schwarzgelben have games every three or four days. After Mainz, it’s Atalanta home and away in the UEFA Champions League with a difficult trip to Leipzig sandwiched in the middle. Bayern can enjoy full training weeks between their Bremen visit and the home game against Eintracht Frankfurt and then have seven days to ready themselves for Dortmund.
It remains Bayern’s Meisterschale to lose.
