Bayern's DFB Pokal nightmare continues, Leverkusen knocks them out from the Round of 16

New manager Vincent Kompany has also failed to overturn Bayern Munich's terrible series of results in the DFB Pokal in recent years. Bayern have been eliminated from the 2024-25 DFB Pokal Round of 16 last night, losing by 0-1 to defending champions Bayer Leverkusen. 

Manuel Neuer faced an early red card which gave Bayern a tough blow in this crucial knock-out game. Bayern played over 70 minutes with 10 men but could not break the deadlock as Nathan Tella's only goal secured the victory for the defending champions. 

Bayern Munich have now gone five seasons in the DFB Pokal without making the final ❌🏆 pic.twitter.com/G13I8D0AJR

— LiveScore (@livescore) December 3, 2024

Bayern is eliminated from the 2024-25 DFB Pokal 

Vincent Kompany had to field Bayern's starting eleven without the most important piece of his puzzle – Harry Kane who had already scored 20 goals in 19 games this season across all competitions. Kane suffered a hamstring injury blow and he is expected to return by the end of the year. 

However, the woes continued for Bayern, as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer charged at a running Jeremie Frimpong in the 17th minute of the game. He nearly got past Neuer as the Bayern keeper came far off the line but he took Frimpong down. The referee did not take time to send Neuer off, which is remarkably the very first red card of the legendary keeper's career. 

However, the game showcased a neck-to-neck fight but the reigning title holders emerged victorious at the end. Nathan Tella came on the pitch as a substitute in the 61st minute, and he scored an emphatic header in the 69th minute to draw the first blood. Bayern kept pushing and they came close to finding the equalizer but failed to produce any. 

Bayern Leverkusen progressed to the Quarter-Finals and they will fiercely continue their journey to defend the coveted title. 

Bayern Munich: DFB Pokal results in recent years

Bayern have faced worrying results in the DFB Pokal in recent years, with their last title coming in the 2019-20 season under manager Hansi Flick. Since Flick left Bayern, three managers have taken up the hot-seat of Bayern's head coach – Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel, and now Vincent Kompany. But all of them failed to enter the semi-finals of DFB Pokal. 

The best result for the Bavaraians came in the 2022-23 season when they reached the Quarter-Finals under Thomas Tuchel, but faced a 1-2 defeat against SC Freiburg.

There have been two instances where Bayern faced some unbelievable defeats. Bundesliga 2 side Holstein Kiel knocked Bayern out of the tournament after beating them 6-5 on penalties in the second-round match-up of the 2020-21 DFB Pokal. In the 2023-24 season, Bayern faced a shock defeat in the second round of the 2023-24 DFB Pokal as FC Saarbrücken, a third-tier German league side knocked Bayern out by beating them 2-1.