Bayern rout Leverkusen to cruise into final
BERLIN: Thomas Mueller shone as Bayern Munich romped to a 6-2 semi-final win at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday to reach the German Cup final and keep their treble dreams alive.
Leverkusen are up to third in the Bundesliga, but trail champions Bayern by a massive 24 points and the gulf in the league table showed up clearly in this semi-final.
“We were very effective and the team worked really well together,” beamed Mueller after Bayern’s masterclass in attacking football.
“We really deserved it, the team performance was great.
“Of course we want more [titles], we can feel that something is possible this season,” he added as Bayern eye winning the Cup for the 19th time in the club’s history.
Mueller, the man of the match, scored twice and helped set up the visitors’ first goal for Javi Martinez after only three minutes.
Robert Lewandowski added a second, his 36th goal in 40 games this season, as Munich raced into a 2-0 lead after just nine minutes.
Having already wrapped up a sixth straight Bundesliga title, Bayern will now face either Schalke or Eintracht Frankfurt in the cup final in Berlin on May 19.
Bayern host Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final next Wednesday before the return leg in Madrid on May 1.
LES HERBIERS IN TITLE MATCH
Les Herbiers beat fellow third division outfit Chambly 2-0 in the French Cup semifinal on Tuesday to book a place in next month’s final.
Goals in either half from Florian David and substitute Ambroise Gboho secured Les Herbiers a David and Goliath matchup against either French champions PSG or their Ligue 1 rivals Caen.