Freiburg captain Christian Günter and Ermedin Demirović missed from the point in the decision. Minutes after the final whistle, the SC pros stood in front of the curve with their fans, and coach Christian Streich also applauded and bowed. “Christian Streich, you’re the best man,” sang the Freiburg supporters loudly.
Maximilian Eggestein (19th) initially gave SC the lead in front of 74,322 spectators, but Christopher Nkunku (76th) saved the extra time for Leipzig, who then celebrated victory in the final at the third attempt. RB coach Domenico Tedesco won the golden pot at the age of 36 years and 251 days as the youngest winning coach since Hans-Dieter Tipphauer in 1979. The red card against Marcel Halstenberg after an emergency brake (57th) had no effect on the final result.
Best cup atmosphere in the capital
Both groups of fans ensured the best cup atmosphere. Thousands of Freiburg supporters marched to the stadium together in the afternoon and opened the game with a large banner: “Unique club, the way football should be like you!” was written in large letters on the east curve of Freiburg. The history of the Leipzig origins with sponsor Red Bull had again led to a lot of criticism from the active fan scene, especially this week.
Then there was a disorganized initial phase. A week after the last Bundesliga matchday, both teams were clearly nervous about the final. Emil Forsberg and star player Nkunku tested Freiburg goalkeeper Mark Flekken for the first time in the 14th minute. Streich, who coached on the sidelines as usual, countered Leipzig’s offensive strength with a back three.
According to the game statistics, Streich experienced his 396th competitive game as an SC coach – for RB it was the 396th game as a club in professional football. Two of them were the finals in 2019 and 2021, first Bayern Munich was too strong, then Borussia Dortmund.
The SC got off to a much better start: After a long shot by Vincenzo Grifo, the ball came through Günter and Roland Sallai to Eggestein, who scored 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.
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).