Chapter 607: Chapter 607 Late Minute Drama
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[04/07/2020 | Time: 21:32 PM | DFB-Pokal Final Leverkusen 1 : 2 Bayern| Location: Olympiastadion Berlin]
[82]
The Leverkusen players were already celebrating, arms raised, but the referee’s whistle cut through the noise and stopped them in their tracks. Tobias Welz pointed clearly toward the downed Perisic, signalling for a Bayern free kick. "Oh, that’s a gut punch for Leverkusen," Derek Rae said, his voice carrying disbelief as he looked at the replay. "The referee has called a foul in the build-up—he judged that Aránguiz’s charge to the ball was too reckless, breaking the rules."
The Bayern players swarmed the referee, backing the decision, while the Leverkusen bench erupted in fury. Bosz had his arms in the air, demanding an explanation. Stewart Robson added, "I can see why that’s been given, Derek. But the Leverkusen side will claim he went down too easily, especially since he was holding onto the Chilean. It’s harsh, but the referee’s interpretation is final. That’s the risk when you go in with so much force."
[85]
The controversy only seemed to fuel Leverkusen’s determination. From the free kick, Bayern tried to play out from the back, but the pressing was relentless. Bailey and Bellarabi, fresh off the bench, were hunting in pairs, forcing Bayern into hurried clearances. The pace of the substitutes was causing real problems for Bayern’s ageing centre-backs.
In the 85th minute, Demirbay won possession in midfield with a crunching tackle on Coutinho. The Brazilians’ protests were ignored as the ball broke loose to Bailey on the left flank, and the Jamaican immediately set off. His blistering pace down the touchline allowed him to fly past two Bayern defenders with only Pavard to beat.
He may not have the same flair as some of his country’s compatriots, but he had enough to sell a cut inward with a feint. Before the French defender could say, "Danm, he is fast," the winger blew past him. He sent a low driven cross hard across the six-yard box, where Volland had ghosted in behind Alaba.
The striker met it first time with his right foot, but his shot cannoned off Neuer’s outstretched leg. The rebound spun high into the air, sailing past the penalty spot as both sets of nearby players converged. Havertz reacted quickest, rising above the crowd to meet the dropping ball with a downward header.
The connection was clean, sending the ball bouncing toward goal, but Boateng threw himself across, hooking it clear with his right boot as he fell to the ground. "How close can you get?" Derek Rae cried. "Havertz thought he’d scored, but Boateng’s heroics keep Bayern level!"
[87]
[Bayern substitutions: Müller (out), Thiago (in)]
Flick made his final change, bringing on Thiago for the tiring Müller. The Spanish midfielder’s introduction saw Coutinho being pushed out to the right midfield position. The introduction was meant to help Bayern retain possession and see out the match, but Leverkusen were having none of it.
With three minutes of normal time remaining, they launched one final assault. Rakim collected possession on the right wing and immediately turned inside, skipping past Perisic as he laid the ball off to Havertz. The CAM held off Kimmich as he spun forward, slipping the ball back to Rakim.
Davis was on him right away, but he didn’t hold onto the ball for long as he lopped it over Boateng onto the run of Volland. The striker timed his run perfectly, by a fine margin, fighting off Boateng as they raced onto the pass. Faced with Neuer at the front, the striker kept his composure, holding off Boateng, opening his body to slot the ball into the bottom right corner.
But the Bayern captain spread himself wide, making his body as big as possible, and managed to get a touch with his left foot, diverting the ball just wide of the post. "Neuer again!" Stewart Robson exclaimed. "That’s why he’s considered the best in the world. When Bayern needed him most, he produced another world-class save!"
[89]
At the corner flag, Rakim stood over the ball once again, his jersey soaked with sweat, chest heaving. The player pushed and tussled within the box, all battling for favourable positions. His delivery was inch-perfect, curling toward the back post where Tapsoba had made his move.
The towering defender climbed above Thiago, meeting the ball with a thunderous header that crashed against the crossbar. The rebound dropped perfectly for Bailey, who had continued his run into the box. The Jamaican winger reacted fast, striking the ball on the half-volley with his left foot.
The shot was destined for the bottom corner, but Neuer somehow managed to get across, diving full stretch to push it wide. "Neuer again with the save of his life!" Derek Rae screamed.
But the ball wasn’t cleared. It spun loose to the edge of the box, where Demirbay was waiting. The midfielder took one touch to steady himself before unleashing a fierce drive toward goal. Boateng threw himself into the path, the ball cannoning off his shin and spinning high into the air.
As bodies converged under the dropping ball, Havertz positioned himself perfectly. With Alaba and Kimmich bearing down on him, he cushioned the ball on his chest before swivelling and striking it cleanly with his right foot. The ball flew low and hard, but took a slight deflection off Davies’ outstretched leg.
The deflection was enough to wrong-foot Neuer, who was trying to get back up completely. The Bayern keeper tried to dive to his right, but the ball spun away, rattling the back of the net. "GOAL! Kai Havertz has done it!" Derek Rae’s voice cracked with emotion. "With just minutes left on the clock, Leverkusen have their equaliser! The deflection off Davies made all the difference!"
Stewart Robson was breathless: "What drama, Derek! That’s why they call it the beautiful game. Just when Bayern thought they had it wrapped up, Leverkusen refused to die. Havertz with the composure in the biggest moment of his young career!"
[Bayern Munich 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen (Havertz 89’)]
[90+1]
The Leverkusen players erupted in joy, rushing to the corner flag to embrace Havertz in celebration. Bosz was punching the air on the touchline while Flick stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the sky in disbelief. The fourth official raised his board showing three minutes of added time, and both teams knew that anything could happen in those crucial moments.
Bayern tried to respond immediately from the restart. Thiago sprayed the ball wide to Perisic, who skipped past Diaby. Cutting inside, he laid it off to Lewandowski, the striker tapped it back to Goretzka. The midfielder tried to send it wide to Coutinho, but Wendell read the pass and intercepted it cleanly.
Not wasting time, he sent it up the flank to Bailey, who was already sprinting toward the halfway line. The Jamaican winger collected the ball in stride, his fresh legs allowing him to glide past Thiago’s desperate tackle attempt. With Pavard backpedalling frantically, and Kimmich closing in, Bailey cut inside, trying to squeeze in between the two.
Bailey squeezed through the narrowest of gaps, brushing past Kimmich before offloading the ball quickly to Volland, who had checked into space on the left side of the box. Volland didn’t hesitate; he turned past Alaba and whipped a low shot across the goal with his right foot. Neuer, already braced, dropped low to his right, palming the ball away with both hands.
Rakim and Davis raced to the rebound, but the Canadian won the chase and cleanly cleared the ball away. "So, so close!" Derek Rae bellowed. "Volland nearly won the cup for Leverkusen right at the death!"
Robson quickly added: "He struck it clean as you like, Derek, Neuer was just better, but the margins are razor thin at this level. Flick’s men are holding on by a thread."
The Bayern players regrouped quickly, Thiago slowing the tempo with short passes in midfield, clearly trying to run out the remaining seconds. The referee glanced at his watch, and as Lewandowski tried to lay off a final ball to Perisic, Sven Bender intercepted and launched it clear. A moment later, Tobias Welz blew the whistle for full-time. The Olympiastadion roared as the tie went into extra time.
[Full-Time: Bayern Munich 2–2 Bayer Leverkusen]
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To Be Continued...