Bayern's Cup surge

Bayern Munich is back in the German Cup final after a 2-0 semifinal win at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday. (fcbayern.com) Harry Kane put Bayern ahead in the first half at the BayArena, and Luis Díaz sealed the result in stoppage time. The win sends Bayern to Berlin’s Olympiastadion on May 23. (abcnews.com) Kane’s goal was his 52nd of the season in all competitions for Bayern. Díaz’s was his 25th. (abcnews.com) The result ends Bayern’s wait for a DFB-Pokal final since the 2019-20 season, when the club completed a domestic double under Hansi Flick. Bundesliga’s official live ticker also described it as Bayern’s first Cup final since 2019-20. (bundesliga.com) That gap matters in Munich because Bayern has kept winning league titles while the domestic cup kept slipping away. Wednesday’s semifinal put Vincent Kompany one match from adding the DFB-Pokal to Bayern’s 2025-26 Bundesliga title. (fcbayern.com) Leverkusen was not facing Bayern at full strength in a routine spot. Bayern’s own match report listed a back line with Josip Stanišić, Dayot Upamecano, Jonathan Tah and Konrad Laimer, with Manuel Neuer in goal and Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise and Díaz behind Kane. (fcbayern.com) The final opponent was still unsettled after the first semifinal. Bayern will face either Stuttgart or Freiburg, who were scheduled to play the second semifinal on Thursday. (sports.yahoo.com) For Kane, the latest goal extended a season that has turned into a weekly numbers update. For Bayern, it turned one controlled night in Leverkusen into a return trip to Berlin. (washingtonpost.com)