Bayern Munich needed a disputed penalty to secure a 2-0 win over Werder Bremen and reach their 21st DFB Pokal final on Tuesday.
Thomas Mueller scored both goals in the semi-final, the second coming from a 71st-minute contested penalty.
Substitute Arturo Vidal fell after a careless challenge by Janek Sternberg, but video replays appeared to show that the Chile midfielder had taken a dive.
Photo: EPA
“From my point of view, it was not a penalty, it was a dive,” Mueller said after watching the replays.
Bremen surprised Bayern with aggressive pressing and were unfortunate not to score from several chances. However, the penalty took the fight out of Viktor Skripnik’s team.
The win kept Bayern on course for a second treble in its history in Pep Guardiola’s final season as coach. Bayern are close to clinching the Bundesliga title and are in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Bayern have won the DFB Pokal title a record 17 times, losing only three finals.
Mueller scored the opening goal in the 30th minute, with a header from Xabi Alonso’s corner, as Bremen’s Clemens Fritz slipped to leave Mueller unchallenged.
“We made many mistakes … but we made the final and that is no small achievement,” Mueller said.
Bremen forced Bayern’s defense into many mistakes and the visiting team nearly equalized when Manuel Neuer’s clearance far away from his line landed at the feet of Sambou Yatabare.
He attempted a lob, but it was short and the scrambling Neuer caught it before the line.
Bremen did find the net in the second half, but Fin Bartels was called for a foul on David Alaba before hitting the net.
“We can play football and we showed courage,” Skripnik said.
Speaking of the penalty, Skripnik said: “It looked like a foul in the match. It is the referee’s call and that is how he ruled.”
Bremen’s striker Claudio Pizarro had a quiet night and also spoke about the penalty.
“It was a dive, it can happen, but the referee has to be more careful,” he said.
Guardiola, who is to take over at Manchester City next season, said he expected a tough match.
“They played with a lot of courage,” he said.
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