Bayern Dominate But Bremen Edge Into Final

Bayern dominated possession in Saturday's second LIGA total! Cup semi-final in Hamburg, but were held 2-2 by a spirited Werder Bremen in the allotted 60 minutes and then fell 4-2 in the penalty shootout decider. With Dortmund having overcome Hamburg 1-0 in the afternoon's first semi, FCB now face HSV for third place on Sunday, with Werder and BVB contesting the final.

The 42,000 crowd at the Imtech Arena in Hamburg saw Nils Petersen mark the start of his season-long loan from Munich to Werder with the opening goal on 12 minutes, but Xherdan Shaqiri deservedly levelled the scores before the first 30-minute period was up. Petersen's replacement Niclas Füllkrug restored the men in green's lead after 43 minutes, but Toni Kroos made it 2-2 with just seconds remaining. In the shootout, Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger saw their penalties saved by Sebastian Mielitz, but Bremen's first four takers all scored to seal the victory.

The long-standing rivals, who meet again in the sixth round of Bundesliga fixtures in the early autumn, approached the first real test of pre-season from very different going-in positions. Whereas the foundations of the Bayern team have remained ...