Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski lifts the trophy in celebration with his team-mates after the German Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen at Olympiastadion in Berlin on 4 July 2020.
Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
Robert Lewandowski passed the 50-goal mark this season as Bayern Munich completed the double with a 4-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen to win a 20th German Cup on Saturday.
Bundesliga
champions Bayern dominated at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium as David Alaba
smashed home an early free-kick before Serge Gnabry added the second
goal in the first-half.
Lewandowski has 51 goals in total this
season after scoring twice in the second-half either side of a Sven
Bender header for Leverkusen.
Kai Havertz converted a penalty deep into added time for Leverkusen.
“In the second half we showed that we are the better team and wanted to be cup winners,” said man-of-the-match Lewandowski.
Bayern,
crowned Bundesliga champions for the eighth straight year last
Saturday, have won all of their 11 games since the season resumed in
mid-May after a two-months hiatus due to the coronavirus.
They
could finish the season winning the treble as they are among the
favourites for the Champions League finals in Lisbon next month.
This was the 13th time in the club’s history they have won the double.
Lewandowski,
crowned Bundesliga top-scorer for the fifth time last weekend, netted
six times in the cup, has 34 league goals and 11 more in the Champions
League this season.
Leverkusen completed a hat-trick of defeats after also losing the 2002 and 2009 cup finals in Berlin.
When
Lewandowski was clattered by defender Edmond Tapsoba on 16 minutes, it
was Alaba who swung the resulting free kick inside the post to give
Bayern the opening goal.
They doubled their lead after Joshua Kimmich won the ball in midfield eight minutes later.
His
pass split the defence, Gnabry sprinted onto the ball and fired past
Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky to make it 2-0 at the break.
“We are so happy that we got the double. In the first half we had the game completely under control,” said Gnabry.
With
players’ calls echoing around the near-empty terraces of the cavernous
stadium, where Germany head coach Joachim Loew was one of a handful of
guests, the game was played in an eerie atmosphere.
“It’s a bit of
a sad moment,” admitted Bayern forward Thomas Mueller, who lamented the
lack of fans, after winning the German Cup for the sixth time in his
career.
“If the fans are missing at such a cup final, it’s not the same.
“We’ve done well this season over long stretches, but it also hurts a bit.”
Having
skied a shot at goal moments earlier, Lewandowski made it 3-0 when he
controlled a clearance kick by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and tried a
long-range speculative shot at Hradecky.
The Leverkusen keeper parried the shot, but watched in horror as it rolled behind him and over the goal line on 59 minutes.
“I noticed that the goalkeeper was a bit off his line, so I thought I’d just give it a try,” revealed Lewandowski.
“It was a little surprise it went in, but you always have to try.”
It fired life into Leverkusen, whose centre-back Sven Bender slipped his marker Leon Goretzka and headed home on 64 minutes.
Leverkusen nearly got a second moments later when Kevin Volland and Havertz both failed to connect with a cross.
Lewandowski claimed his second when he fired home Ivan Perisic’s pass on 89 minutes.
Bayern
defender Alphonso Davies conceded the penalty in the fourth minute of
added time which Havertz converted just before the whistle.
