Three Observations from Bayern Munich’s 3-0 DFB-Pokal win over Stuttgart – Bavarian Football Works

Bayern Munich earned the domestic double in a 3-0 win over Stuttgart in Berlin. It was scoreless at halftime, but Bayern’s quality eventually prevailed in the form of another hat-trick from Harry Kane, his fifth of the season. Bayern’s postgame celebration was full of smiles, hugs, and dancing before most of the squad heads to North America to play in the 2026 World Cup for their respective countries.

Six of the previous eight DFB-Pokal finals featured a final margin of multiple goals and never felt particularly close. Tonight’s ending result was similar, but proved to be a grinding affair where neither team felt inclined to yield an inch of free space to the opponent. Bayern’s first real chance became the opening goal and Harry Kane’s next goal was the byproduct of a lengthy stretch where Stuttgart finally gassed out. Angelo Stiller conceded a penalty kick in stoppage time purely because he was mentally and physically exhausted.

Stuttgart brought a relentless physicality to Berlin. Referee Sven Jablonski consistently allowed high challenges from both teams and did not reward players who went down easily. There were a number of fouls in the first half that should have drawn yellow cards, but Jablonski held the line, and allowed the players to duel it out. The first yellow card did not appear until the 54th minute on the 13th foul of the match, a tactical jersey pull by Chris Führich to slow down Michael Olise.

On the ensuing free kick, Joshua Kimmich played quickly to put Olise in a 1v1 situation where he easily beat Ramon Hendriks to the endline and Harry Kane caught Chema Andrés napping for an easy header. After Kane’s goal, Bayern settled into possession and forced Stuttgart into chasing ghosts for the rest of the night.

Manuel Neuer tweaked his calf in the Bundesliga finale last weekend, paving the way for Urbig to start the first final of his career. Bayern struggled early in the match to build out of the back, forcing Urbig into three first half saves.

Vincent Kompany shifted the strategy by drawing in Stuttgart’s high press to play into the strengths of Urbig’s long ball accuracy. Urbig began pinpointing holdup players who could link up with Konrad Laimer and Josip Stanišić making diagonal runs underneath the holdup player. This maneuver provided relief and opened up the wings for Michael Olise and Luis Díaz to finally generate an offensive threat in the final third.

Urbig finished the season with seven clean sheets in 17 starts. That ratio should hold or increase next year due to the extra minutes allotted to Urbig from Neuer’s extension.

In Kompany’s first cup final as a manager, he did not tweak his preferred starting XI. He trusted the squad to weather the storm and allow Harry Kane to deliver another clutch performance to be the leading force behind Kane’s first cup title as a professional.

Lennart Karl replaced Jamal Musiala in the 76th minute. Leon Goretzka earned a late substitution. Hiroki Itō, Tom Bischof, and Raphaël Guerreiro received honorary substitutions in the final minutes as a reward for their dutiful service this season.

For the first time since 2020, this is a well-constructed roster that plays as a singular unit. There will be additions over the summer but no major structural changes. Kompany will be the first Bayern manager to last 24 months in the job since his mentor Pep Guardiola.

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