BERLIN (Dispatches) - Bayern Munich were knocked out of the second round of the German Cup for the second successive year, after a faultless Borussia Monchengladbach side whitewashed the German giants 5-0.
The Foals established a three-goal lead within 21 minutes before a quick fire second-half brace from Breel Embolo put the game to bed.
Borussia made a fairytale start in front of their home crowd as Kouadio Kone latched onto Embolo’s assist from close range to beat Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with less than two minutes played.
The hosts should have doubled their advantage in the ninth minute, but Jonas Hofmann missed the target with only Neuer to beat. Two minutes later, Neuer was called into action once again as he had to tip Embolo’s dangerous effort over the bar.
Bayern were visibly shocked and had to suffer another setback with 15 minutes gone as Ramy Bensebaini slotted home following a combination with Hofmann to make it 2-0.
To make things worse, Bayern conceded a penalty in the 21st minute when Lucas Hernandez fouled Embolo inside the box. Bensebaini stepped up and made no mistake to make it 3-0 from the spot.
Bayern first clear-cut chance came 35 minutes into the game as Leon Goretzka’s long-range attempt forced Yann Sommer into action for the first time.
After the restart, Bayern tried to take the upper hand, but things went from bad to worse in the 51st minute as Embolo had enough space to control a long ball between Bayern defenders Hernandez and Dayot Upamecano before nutmegging Neuer from the edge of the box.
Embolo remained in the thick of things and wasn’t done with the scoring after Luca Netz’s through-ball allowed the Swiss international to overcome Neuer for the second time in the 57th minute.
Bayern tried to respond but was never able to do any damage to Monchengladbach’s well-positioned defense. The Foals stood firm for the remainder of the game to inflict a heavy defeat.
With the result, Bayern Munich can now fully focus on the UEFA Champions League and the Bundesliga. Meanwhile, Borussia advance into the last 16.