Bayern Munich Advances with 4-1 Win Against Osnabrück
OSNABRÜCK, Germany — Bayern Munich kept their cup defence on track with a 4-1 win at Osnabrück on Wednesday night, but the loudest question around the club still hangs over a player who never set foot on the pitch.
Kompany cautious over Musiala return
Vincent Kompany revealed after the game that Jamal Musiala could be back in the squad “soon,” and even “might” be an option for Saturday’s Bundesliga trip to promoted Schalke. But the Bayern coach drew a clear line.
“I don’t want to put any more pressure on the guy,” Kompany said.
Musiala has not played under Kompany since collapsing twice in four days during preseason because of a neurological issue. The Germany international later shared that he is experiencing treatable absence seizures, after going down during a friendly on Aug. 18, just three days after a similar incident in a preseason match against RB Leipzig.
With that context, Bayern chose caution. Musiala stayed out of the squad, his recovery handled step by step, while his teammates took care of business on a raucous night in Lower Saxony.
Osnabrück strike first with a stunner
If Bayern expected a gentle introduction to their German Cup campaign, Osnabrück ripped up the script within minutes.
Robin Meissner collected the ball around 30 meters from goal and unleashed a thunderous strike into the top right corner. It was the sort of goal that silences even the favourites for a moment. Bayern players could only watch it fly; Harry Kane and goalkeeper Jonas Urbig both made a point of congratulating Meissner for the outrageous hit.
Osnabrück, compact and well-drilled, had the lead and the stadium behind them. For a spell, Bayern had a fight on their hands.
Kane settles, Bayern respond
The response came quickly. Kane, as so often already in his Bayern career, dragged his side back into control.
He struck the equaliser soon after Meissner’s opener, snuffing out any early sense of panic. From there, Bayern began to pick the locks. Tom Bischof completed the turnaround in the 24th minute, making it 2-1 and tilting the tie decisively.
“I think it was a good performance. Games like this are never easy,” Kane said afterward. “We played away from home against a good side and the atmosphere the fans created was really impressive. In games like this you have to be disciplined and mentally switched on — especially when the opponents start with such an outrageous goal.”
Kompany had not treated this as a night for experiments. Against a lower-division opponent, he still went strong: Kane, Luis Díaz and Michael Olise all started, while new signing Ismael Saibari made his first start since joining from PSV Eindhoven.
Bayern’s quality began to tell. They probed, recycled the ball, and dragged Osnabrück’s back line from side to side.
“We kept finding the spaces and the chances eventually became bigger as well,” Kompany said. “We were battling their compactness in the first half; in the second they tried to press us, which also gave us opportunities.”
Olise and Kane finish the job
Osnabrück clung on, and for a long stretch after the break the scoreline stayed tight. Bayern controlled, but the third goal refused to arrive.
The pressure finally told in the 73rd minute. Olise struck to make it 3-1, effectively killing the contest and draining the belief from the home side. Kane then completed the scoring from the penalty spot, his second of the night and Bayern’s fourth.
“At the end of the day, it’s a 4-1 win away in the cup,” Kompany said. “You can’t get much better than that against a compact, defensively strong team, who have built their success on just that. To win a match like this 4-1 away from home is not easy.”
Bayern march into the second round with momentum building: a 2-1 Super Cup win over Dortmund, a 5-1 Bundesliga opening victory against Stuttgart, and now a comfortable cup success on the road.
The performances are stacking up. The goals are flowing. Now the focus, and perhaps the biggest emotional lift of all, would be seeing Musiala back in that Bayern shirt — but only when he, and his coach, are certain the time is right.
