Bayern Munich‘s German Cup title hopes ended on Tuesday as they were eliminated in the third round at home by defending champion Bayer Leverkusen after a controversial red card was shown to legendary goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
The 38-year-old Neuer had never before been sent off over a long career including 124 games for Germany, but the Bayern captain was shown a straight red card in the 17th minute for taking out Jeremie Frimpong with a body check.
Despite protests from Bayern players, the decision stood, leaving the Bavarian giants a man down for the majority of the match.
Leverkusen, led by former Bayern midfielder Xabi Alonso, capitalized on Bayern’s numerical disadvantage. Nathan Tella scored the decisive goal in the 69th minute, heading home a cross from Álex Grimaldo, to send his team to the quarterfinals with the 1-0 win.
Bayern, who played without injured Harry Kane, suffered their first season defeat in the league and domestic cup.
“Fact is we lost and we won’t win the Cup this season. But with experience we know this was also a special performance from us,” Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said.
Kompany, in his debut season as Bayern manager, saw his side suffer their first defeat of the season outside of the Champions League.
“It is bitter for us. We won’t have a good evening,” Kompany added. “But if this energy remains then we will win many more games. This team can grow further and we will get our moments.”
Alonso has never lost in five games against his former club since taking over Leverkusen’s coaching role.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
