Thomas Muller insists ‘sloppy’ Bayern Munich must improve pressing despite reaching cup final
Robert Lewandowski’s 45th goal of the season ensured the Bundesliga champions advanced against Eintracht Frankfurt
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Thomas Muller admits Bayern Munich were “sloppy” despite edging past Eintracht Frankfurt to reach the DFB-Pokal Cup final.
Robert Lewandowski struck his 45th goal of the season to hand Die Roten a 2-1 win to advance to the final in Berlin.
But Muller admitted he was concerned with his side’s performance despite a sixth successive win since German football resumed.
“Frankfurt showed a lot of fatigue in the first half. We were fresher, we should have taken a bigger lead,” Muller said. “But we too were tired and fatigued after the last few weeks, unfortunately it was similar in the second half.
“We were unusually sloppy. Our pressing wasn’t deserving of our name. Our defenders did a good job.
“They stifled a lot, but in terms of our play, the final ball, we can be anything but satisfied. We stepped on the gas after the equaliser.”
After Danny Da Costa cancelled out Ivan Perisic’s opener, Lewandowski responded as Bayern edged ahead once more.
And Hansi Flick opted to focus on his side’s good run and praised his players for extending their impressive run.
“It was a cup match, our opponents pressed very well, we were reeling at times,” said the Bayern boss. ”But at the end of the day it was a deserved victory.
“We should have taken our chances and scored one or two more goals, the second half would have been different then. But I still have to pay my team a huge compliment.
“We’re on a great run, the players are doing a very, very good job, so we can accept the second half. The main thing was to advance after such a cup fight. It’s the step we wanted to take: toward the final in Berlin.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments