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Bayern Munich's treble hope dashed after German Cup exit

Xinhua, April 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

Bayern Munich will not be able to win the treble after they lost to 10-men Dortmund 2-0 (1-1) in a dramatic penalty shootout at outsold Allianz Arena in the German Cup first semifinal on Tuesday.

Bayern won't defend their domestic double this season as Dortmund eliminated the cup holders to advance into the German Cup final in Berlin on May 30.

Having been crowned German league champions on Sunday, Bayern still have hopes of winning the Champions League, facing Barcelona in the semifinals.

Bayern grabbed the lead and had a number of promising chances but it was the visitors from Dortmund who levelled the scores out of the blue to flabbergast the host. After the equalizer, Dortmund turned up but wasted also several opportunities.

After 120 minutes and a 1-1 draw the penalties had to bring the decision. The "Bavarians" wasted four kicks while Dortmund scored twice to seal the final.

From the kick-off, German record champions Bayern took the reins to work out opportunities through Thomas Mueller and Philipp Lahm while Dortmund defended deep to keep them on the distance.

With 29 minutes into the game, Bayern were rewarded for their efforts against harmless Dortmund by breaking the deadlock. Defender Medhi Benatia intercepted a Dortmund attack to initiate a counter attack with a long ball to Robert Lewandowski, who lobbed the ball to the bar before he netted the follow up shot from sharp angle between two defenders.

After the restart, Bayern started where they left off while Dortmund's offence continued to pose no threat for the hosts. Pep Guardiola's men reaped another two chances to double their advantage but Dortmund goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak denied Mueller from very close range before Lewandowski rattled the bar for the second time.

Bayern dictated the pace and pressed the "BVB" into the defence yet the hosts remained wasteful in front of the danger zone. Thus, Juergen Klopp's men punished Bayern at the 64th minute when Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tapped in Henrikh Mkhitaryan's square pass at the far post to restore parity.

The leveller gave Dortmund more confidence whereas Bayern wobbled allowing the visitors to produce goal-scoring chances through Mkhitaryan and Reus, who tested Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer in the closing period.

During the extra time Bayern's Bastian Schweinsteiger had the chance to put the game beyond doubt but the German international headed wide of the target from inside the box.

Dortmund's substitute Kevin Kampel decimated his side after booking his second yellow card for repeated foul play yet Dortmund were able to reach the penalty shootout despite another golden chance by Schweinsteiger in the dying minutes of the extra time.

Bayern squandered surprisingly all four of their attempts from the spot while Dortmund's Ilkay Guendogan and Sebastian Kehl converted their penalties to seal the deal against the cup holders on the road. Endi