Borussia Mönchengladbach Women met Bayern Munich in the Round of 32 of the German Cup on Saturday evening, and the visitors took their spot in the next stage with a 2:1 victory. To be fair, the result followed a pattern both sides had been building through their recent fixtures. Gladbach had picked up wins against Bochum and Ingolstadt in their last five, while Bayern were stringing results together with victories over Köln, Leverkusen and Freiburg.
And here's the thing about this kind of cup tie — you don't need twenty minutes to see where it was going. Bayern came through with two goals, Gladbach found the net once. The visitors had been building momentum with that 5:2 over Köln and a 3:2 win against Leverkusen before stepping onto the pitch at Gladbach. The home side had kept things tight, drawing with Victoria Berlin and then picking up a 2:1 win over Ingolstadt.
By then the match had settled into something familiar. Bayern controlled the tempo, Gladbach looked to hit on the break. One goal came early enough to keep the hosts in it, but the second piece things apart. The away end never stopped, and by the time the whistle blew they had moved forward in the competition with a result they would have predicted before kickoff.
The numbers don't tell the whole story, but they tell part of it. Bayern finished with more shots and more expected goals, which is what you would expect when one side is chasing a result. Gladbach had their moments and took one when it came, but the chances went begging elsewhere. It is not uncommon in cup football for the better side to win, and this was one of those days.
Bayern advance to the next round, and the run they have been building continues. Gladbach's campaign ends here, though the 2:1 win over Bochum earlier in the season showed they can compete. The German Cup has always been a competition where form matters less than a single moment, but on this occasion Bayern had the moments and the consistency to see it through.
