Freiburg draws the short straw
The winner of the 2021/22 DFB Cup was only decided after penalties. In the end, after a 1-1 draw after regular time and extra time, RB Leipzig finally had luck on his side against SC Freiburg and won 5: 3. Maximilian Eggestein gave the Sport-Club the lead early in the game. Despite RB full-back Marcel Halstenberg being sent off, the “Red Bulls” came back and equalized thanks to Christopher Nkunku. In the penalty shootout, SC captain Christian Günter and Ermedin Demirovic became the tragic figures.
RB coach Domenico Tedesco won the trophy at the age of 36 years and 251 days as the youngest winning coach since Hans-Dieter Tipphauer in 1979. At first sight, however, there was a disorganized initial phase. A week after the last Bundesliga matchday, both teams were clearly nervous about the final. And SC got off to a much better start: After a long shot by Vincenzo Grifo, the ball came through Christian Günter and Roland Sallai to Eggestein, who hit from the edge of the penalty area. Referee Sascha Stegemann did not rate the fact that Sallai got the ball as punishable after using the video evidence.
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Leipzig reacted angrily to the deficit. Freiburg’s Nico Schlotterbeck made up for a chain of errors in the SC defense and saved in dire need in front of the line after Nkunku’s shot (24th). The national player, praised by national coach Hansi Flick before the game, was one of the most conspicuous Freiburgers. Again and again, the 22-year-old animated the fans of the sports club.
Up until the half-time break, Leipzig were no longer able to put pressure on their Bundesliga rivals. For a long time there was little to see of the highly acclaimed power play. The Saxons gained more game shares at the beginning of the second half. Flekken had no problems with Nkunku’s next shot (50′). And Halstenberg also made the emergency brake against Lucas Höler, which Stegemann had to punish with red. The following free kick from Grifo went just wide (59th).
Hardly anything was going on for RB, Tedesco reacted with a double change. Dominik Szoboszlai and Nordi Mukiele came on for Forsberg and André Silva. The prank team skillfully calmed the game again and again, but missed to add the even more calming second goal early on.
That punished Nkunku, whose goal made for an exciting final phase. It went into exhausting extra time, in which Ermedin Demirovic hit the post (92′). Both teams had chances: Leipzig through Nkunku (102′), Freiburg through a shot at the post by substitute Janik Haberer (104′), who also hit the crossbar (115′). Leipzig’s Kevin Kampl, who has already been substituted, saw yellow-red on the bench (118th). In the penalty shootout, the game was ultimately decided by missed shots by SC captain Günter and Ermedin Demirovic.
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