Bayern survives Union scare in five-goal DFB Cup thriller

BERLIN, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Bayern Munich battled into the DFB Cup quarterfinals with a dramatic 3-2 win at Union Berlin on Wednesday in a match shaped by two Union own goals, two penalties and fierce late pressure.

Union, backed by a raucous home crowd, started aggressively but was punished from the first corner when Ilyas Ansah shinned a Joshua Kimmich corner into his own net. Another Kimmich set piece brought the second, as Harry Kane stooped to head home from close range.

The hosts clawed their way back before the interval as a VAR check penalized Jonathan Tah for handball and Leopold Querfeld calmly sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way from the spot.

Deep into first-half stoppage time, Union's set-piece woes continued. Under pressure at the far post, Diogo Leite inadvertently looped an attempted clearance over goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow and into the top corner, restoring Bayern's two-goal advantage at the break.

The drama hardly eased after the restart. An early injury to Aleksandar Pavlovic forced Vincent Kompany into a reshuffle, and Union seized the moment when Kane was whistled for a foul on Leite in the box. Querfeld again converted confidently, sparking a furious final half-hour in which Union poured forward and Bayern retreated ever deeper.

Neuer was called into action several times, and Querfeld nearly completed an unlikely hat-trick with a late header that flashed just wide, but the record German champion held on to book its place in February's last eight.

"It's a tough and unlucky defeat. We earned real respect with our performance today, but that doesn't help us now because we're out of the competition," said Union Berlin captain Rani Khedira.

"I was pleased with our first half, we did many things right. The second half wasn't good from us, but in the end, I hope we come back to Berlin for the final," said Kompany.

Elsewhere in the round of 16, VfB Stuttgart booked its quarterfinal place with a 2-0 win in Bochum, as Philipp Strompf scored an own goal and was sent off before Deniz Undav finished the job after the break. SC Freiburg also reached the quarterfinals, beating Darmstadt 2-0 with Vincenzo Grifo involved in both goals despite missing a clear late chance. Hamburg was knocked out by Holstein Kiel, conceding a late equalizer in extra time before missing twice in a 4-2 penalty shootout defeat. ■