Bayer 04 Leverkusen has reached the third round of the DFB Cup. At SC Paderborn they managed a trembling victory that only came at the last second.
The SC Paderborn players were completely exhausted and left the field with hanging heads. They first had to cope with the 2:4 (2:2, 1:1, 0:0) defeat after extra time that they suffered against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the second round of the DFB Cup.
Coach Ralf Kettemann’s team challenged the Werkself until the last minute and met them on equal terms, although Kasper Hjulmand’s team had the advantage since the 60th minute.
Free kick specialist Alejandro Grimaldo (60th) took the lead (60th) for Leverkusen. Stefano Marino equalized with a header to make it 1-1 (90th). In extra time, Sven Michel scored for SCP to make it 2-1 (96th). Jarell Quansah (105 +1), Ibrahim Maza (120 +2) and Aleix Garcia (120 +4) scored for the Werkself to make it 4-2.
The game stagnated at times
As expected, Leverkusen had more possession of the ball from the start. But the Hjulmand team struggled to find gaps against the committed hosts. The Paderborn team tried to take the speed out of the game and thus suppress the Werkself’s strengths. Coach Kettemann’s team managed this extremely well; at times the game stagnated around the center line.
The forced ball wins even gave SCP smaller opportunities in the early stages, but neither Felix Götze’s header nor Mika Baur’s long-range shot found the target. After 30 minutes, the Rhinelanders had only managed one harmless shot on goal.
Sportschau DFB Cup, Sportschau, October 29th, 2025 8:51 p.m
Only scoring chances for Paderborn
The spectators in the Paderborn stadium had to be patient and there were almost no highlights in the first half. The Paderborn team set at least two small highlights. First, Raphael Obermaier was played free on the left side, but he finished too hastily and inaccurately from 14 meters (39′).
Five minutes later, Luis Engelns had an opportunity with a header from ten meters, but his touchdown narrowly missed the Bayer goal (44′). Meanwhile, Leverkusen continued to show an uninspired and uncommitted performance.
In the second half, Leverkusen tried to generate a little more pressure and target the opponent’s goal more seriously. First Robert Andrich failed with a shot from 18 meters (51′), with the following corner kick Christian Kofane tried from the turn, but he shot steeply over the Paderborn goal.
Red for idol
The Leverkusen team continued to apply pressure, which increasingly overwhelmed the SCP defense. After 58 minutes, Felix Götze only knew how to help himself with a jersey tug at Kofane, with which he prevented the lightning-fast Bayer attacker from running alone towards Paderborn goalkeeper Markus Schubert.
Kofane fell, and referee Patrick Ittrich then drew a red card against Götze, even though another SCP player was running alongside Kofane. A tough decision by the referee.
Grimaldo converted the free kick to make it 1-0 with ease and precision, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Leverkusen manages the victory
The Paderborn team didn’t give up and, despite being outnumbered, tried their best to somehow equalize. However, the Leverkusen team managed to keep the SCP players quite far away from their own goal for a long time. And shortly before the end, events came to a head.
Tapsoba first had to clear on the goal line after a corner and a header from Marino. The corner kick that followed led to the equalizer. Marino rose again to head the ball and converted it from close range to make it 1-1 (90′). On the other hand, Bayer 04 even had twice the chance of winning.
However, Ibrahim Maza managed the feat of not heading the ball past goalkeeper Schubert from two meters. Captain Robert Andrich shot the rebounded ball just centimeters past the SCP goal. Then it went into extra time.
Meet Michel and Quansah
Leverkusen once again carefully let the ball run through their own ranks while the Paderborn team played with full force. And this effort was rewarded. After a committed attack, Sven Michel initially failed alone in front of goalkeeper Mark Flekken, but the blocked ball came back to him. The attacker converted from eight meters to make it 2-1.
The Werkself then recognized the seriousness of the situation and turned things around. Defender Quansah made it 2-2 from close range after goalkeeper Schubert had thrown himself into Leverkusen’s shots twice.
The SCP slowly ran out of strength in the second half of extra time. They wanted to somehow save themselves in a penalty shootout, while Leverkusen were looking for a decision. And the Werkself struck through Maza, who made the decision from six meters just before the final whistle. Garcia scored the final point with a long shot against the completely advanced Paderborn defense.
Leverkusen now against Bayern
SC Paderborn will face Greuther Fürth in the 2nd Bundesliga on Sunday (1:30 p.m.). The day before, Bayer Leverkusen has their top Bundesliga game against record champions Bayern Munich at 6:30 p.m.
Our sources:
- DFB Cup game SC Paderborn – Bayer Leverkusen
