A six minute hat-trick from Mario Gomez was the icing on the cake for Bayern Munich as they destroyed Wolfsburg 6-1 in the Allianz Arena, which books Jupp Heynckes’ men’s place in the final of the DFB Pokal. Mario Mandzukic, Arjen Robben and Xerdan Shaqiri were also on target for Die Roten as they disposed of the visitors, who briefly threatened to get back into the contest thanks to a fantastic strike from Diego just before half time.
With the Bundesliga title secured and a massive Champions League semi-final with Barcelona on the horizon, Bayern hosted Wolfsburg on Tuesday evening still in the hunt for an historic treble. Despite resting the likes of Franck Ribery, there was no let-up from the Bavarians as they went straight on the offensive, hungry for victory in the semi-final.
With just a handful of minutes on the clock, Die Roten almost opened the scoring. An intelligent pass from Arjen Robben opened the right flank for Phillipp Lahm, and the Bayern captain fired low into the box. Bastian Schweinsteiger was on hand to meet the ball, and his first-time effort slipped agonisingly past the near post. It would not be long, however, before the hosts were on target.
Despite matching the champions across the field, Wolfsburg always looked vulnerable when their rivals countered; and it was a swift break that yielded the first goal. Xerdan Shaqiri held on to the ball just long enough to release Robben on the overlap, and the Dutchman’s pass was met by Mario Mandzukic who smashed into the roof of the net to give his side the perfect start. Shaqiri was on form; with 35 minutes gone, the Switzerland international capped another break to play in Robben, and the provider turned scorer as he deftly chipped past Diego Benaglio to double the lead.
Wolfsburg did not despair after falling two behind, and stepped up their efforts to come back into the game. Naldo saw a header fly just wide of the post, before Vierinha broke through and was only thwarted by a strong save from Manuel Neuer. On the stroke of half time, the visitors got what they were looking for. Taking the ball on the edge of the area, Diego chose to go alone and hit a wonderful strike that gave Neuer no chance, cutting Bayern’s advantage and giving Wolfsburg a lifeline for the second 45 minutes.
Buoyed by that strike, Wolfsburg came out after the interval in an aggressive, ebullient mood and looked to level the game. Bayern’s attack, however, should never be underestimated. A short corner from Thomas Muller went to Robbe, and the winger reacted well to open up the game for Shaqiri on the edge of the box with a raking pass. Xerdan had time to pick his spot, and smashed his effort along the floor to nestle in the corner of the net, adding Bayern’s third and putting one foot in the final.
The Bayern support had been in great voice all evening, but Shaqiri’s goal was the cue for a festive atmosphere in Allianz Arena as they sensed that the final was imminent. Wolfsburg never stopped trying to get back in the game, but could not find a way to go as time steadily ran out for the visitors. Bayern had few problems in seeing out what remained of the match, as they continued their march onwards to a domestic double. Mario Gomez capped a dominant display with a late double, netting a simple tap-in at the end and then converting a Schweinsteiger pass shortly afterwards to leave the home fans ecstatic as they saluted their heroes in full voice.
Gomez still wasn’t done, however, and sealed his hat-trick in just six minutes with another cool finish to complete Wolfsburg’s humiliation.
The Bundesliga champions therefore book their place in the final of the DFB Pokal, where they will face the winner of Stuttgart against Freiburg. The second semi-final will take place on Wednesday evening.