"Don't let Bayern get away!" – Cologne boss pins hopes on Dortmund | OneFootball

On Wednesday, FC Bayern has to face 1. FC Köln in the DFB-Pokal. The coach of the cathedral city team allows himself a little jab beforehand.

Köln coach Lukas Kwasniok took a little jab at Munich ahead of the cup clash against FC Bayern. After his team’s unfortunate 1-0 defeat in Dortmund, the 44-year-old sent an unusual greeting to BVB coach Niko Kovac: “I wish all the best to BVB and to you, Niko. Don’t let Bayern get away!” Kwasniok said at the press conference.

A statement that surprised many. After all, his 1. FC Köln will be hosting none other than Bayern on Wednesday evening (8:45 p.m.) in the DFB-Pokal.

While FC Bayern continues to pull away with an impressive winning streak, concerns are growing elsewhere about the title race being decided too early.

Kwasniok hopes for Köln fans against Bayern

Kwasniok is well aware of the difficulty of the upcoming cup challenge: “Bayern are so good that they make you feel like you’re always a man down on the pitch. We only have the fans behind us, who can somewhat make up for that,” he said.

Vincent Kompany’s team, however, will not take the cup match in Cologne lightly. Bayern’s officials have repeatedly emphasized how important the DFB-Pokal is for the club. The record cup winners are eager to finally reach the final in Berlin again.

Photo: IMAGO

The last time Munich managed this was in 2020, when they won the final 4-2 against Bayer Leverkusen. After that, Bayern got no further than the quarterfinals. That was in the 2022/23 season, when FCB lost 2-1 to SC Freiburg.

In the other seasons since 2021, the record winners were eliminated from the cup even earlier. In the 2020/21 season, FC Bayern sensationally failed in the second round, losing on penalties to second-division side Holstein Kiel. A season later, 2021/22, they suffered a historic 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Borussia Mönchengladbach, also in the second round.

After the quarterfinal exit against Freiburg, the next embarrassment followed in the 2023/24 season, when they were knocked out in the second round with a 2-1 defeat to third-division side 1. FC Saarbrücken. The cup dream ended early again in the 2024/25 season, when FC Bayern lost 1-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.