Overview
- Bayern edged Union Berlin 3–2 to reach the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals, with Vincent Kompany shown a yellow card for protesting a second penalty.
- Kompany says he prefers attractive football but embraces gritty wins when circumstances demand it.
- Joshua Kimmich described the Union tie as mostly a fight rather than free-flowing play, and Harry Kane called the battling display a new evolutionary step.
- Recent analysis credits Kompany with dialing back early-season dogmatism by trading some attacking freedom for defensive stability in tight games such as Paris and Union.
- Kreiszeitung characterizes Bayern as the cup favorite after the eliminations of Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach.