With the Bundesliga title secured and a massive Champions League semi-final with Barcelona on the horizon, Bayern hosted Wolfsburg on Tuesday evening still in the hunt for an historic treble. Despite resting the likes of Franck Ribery, there was no let-up from the Bavarians as they went straight on the offensive, hungry for victory in the semi-final.
With just a handful of minutes on the clock, Die Roten almost opened the scoring. An intelligent pass from Arjen Robben opened the right flank for Phillipp Lahm, and the Bayern captain fired low into the box. Bastian Schweinsteiger was on hand to meet the ball, and his first-time effort slipped agonisingly past the near post. It would not be long, however, before the hosts were on target.
Despite matching the champions across the field, Wolfsburg always looked vulnerable when their rivals countered; and it was a swift break that yielded the first goal. Xerdan Shaqiri held on to the ball just long enough to release Robben on the overlap, and the Dutchman's pass was met by Mario Mandzukic who smashed into the roof of the net to give his side the perfect start. Shaqiri was on form; with 35 minutes gone, the Switzerland international capped another break to play in Robben, and the provider turned scorer as he deftly chipped past Diego Benaglio to double the lead.
Wolfsburg did not despair after falling two behind, and stepped up their efforts to come back into the game. Naldo saw a header fly just wide of the post, before Vierinha broke through and was only thwarted by a strong save from Manuel Neuer. On the stroke of half time, the visitors got what they were looking for. Taking the ball on the edge of the area, Diego chose to go alone and hit a wonderful strike that gave Neuer no chance, cutting Bayern's advantage and giving Wolfsburg a lifeline for the second 45 minutes.