Bayern rotate cautiously for away trip to Osnabrück

Bayern rotate cautiously for away trip to Osnabrück

On Wednesday, 2 September, FC Bayern Munich travelled to second-division side VfL Osnabrück for the first round of the German Cup (DFB-Pokal). The match was played at the Stadion an der Bremer Brücke in Osnabrück, with live coverage on German public broadcaster ARD from 20:15.

Bayern arrived as both the defending cup holders and German champions, on a run of five straight wins this season, including a 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup and a 5-1 rout of Stuttgart in their Bundesliga opener. According to Brazilian outlet Lance!, Bayern scored 16 goals and conceded only six across those five matches.

Coach Vincent Kompany used the Osnabrück tie to rotate his squad: Jonas Urbig started in goal instead of Manuel Neuer, who was on the bench, while Josip Stanisic, Jonathan Tah, Tom Bischof and Ismael Saibari came in for Dayot Upamecano, Konrad Laimer, Alphonso Davies and Aleksandar Pavlovic. The confirmed line-up was: Urbig — Brown, Min-jae, Tah, Stanisic — Bischof, Kimmich — Diaz, Saibari, Olise — Kane. Notably, Lance! had published a different predicted line-up before kickoff that had Neuer starting in goal — this does not match the actual line-up confirmed by Sportschau. Bayern were without the injured Serge Gnabry (thigh injury, expected back in one to two weeks) and Jamal Musiala, who has been out following a health issue.

Osnabrück, back in the 2. Bundesliga this season, went into the cup tie 14th in the table with three points from three games and a negative goal difference, but had just picked up their first win and first clean sheet of the season, beating Bochum 1-0. Coach Timo Schultz kept the same line-up that won that match: Krumrey — Wiemann, Müller, Fabinski — Badjie, Jacobsen, Wagner, Kammerbauer — Beck, Meißner, Münst. Midfielder Jonathan Wensing was the only doubt, dealing with a fitness issue.

The two clubs have met only three times, with Bayern winning twice, but the best-known encounter came in 1978 in Munich, when Osnabrück came back from 3-4 down to win 5-4.

Before kickoff, a large peace sign chalked into the center circle at the Bremer Brücke stood out — a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine that the club has repeated since 2022 and which fits the city's self-image as a "city of peace." Alongside the standard Sportschau commentary, ARD also offered an alternative, comedic commentary stream aimed at younger viewers under the "WUMMS" format, hosted by Sabri Cukadar (Splashbrudda) and Maximilian Kamp.