Super Long Shot

On March 4, in the German Cup quarterfinal knockout round, Bayern Munich visited Leverkusen.

The match had barely begun when the Factory's strike duo of Kiesling and Helmes launched a fierce attack against Bayern Munich.

Rolfes sat deep in midfield, Barnetta and Augusto occupied the two wings, and Vidal pushed forward to support the two strikers while strangling Bayern's midfield. This allowed the Factory to suppress Bayern from the opening whistle.

The Bundesliga leaders found themselves on the back foot away from home. Especially in the seventeenth minute, when Vidal sent through a penetrating pass and Helmes fired a low shot from the edge of the six-yard box. Neuer, off balance, stuck out a leg and blocked the ball away.

Although it had not gone in, the chance had still given everyone a serious scare.

For the first twenty minutes, Bayern had not managed a single shot.

The Factory was taking advantage of Bayern's congested schedule and trying to pin them down from the very start.

Heynckes had been prepared for the unfavorable situation away from home. Bayern defended tenaciously, and the players were brimming with confidence.

In the history of the German Cup, Bayern had faced Leverkusen three times in the knockout rounds, and won all three. They had also won all of their last nine encounters with the club.

Whether it was overall team strength or their past record, Bayern had more reason to be confident.

That confidence allowed the Bundesliga leaders to withstand the Factory's opening wave of attacks, launched by Kiesling, Helmes, and Vidal.

But everyone could see that continuing to stalemate like this was no solution. Bayern had to strike back!

In the twenty-first minute, Su Dong dropped deep to receive the ball.

Leverkusen's midfield was extremely aggressive, especially Vidal, who was highly active.