In the top quarter-final game, VfB Stuttgart had to play against Bayer Leverkusen. In an entertaining game, a last minute goal brought the decision.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen won a top-class DFB Cup quarter-final and continues to dream of the “small” treble. The Bundesliga leaders narrowly beat VfB Stuttgart 3-2 (0-1) and are in the semi-finals.
The guests from Stuttgart took the lead twice through Waldemar Anton (11th) and Chris Führich (58th). Robert Andrich (50th) and Amine Adli (66th) equalized both times. The match winner was national player Jonathan Tah, who scored the winning goal in the 90th minute.
With the semi-finals, Leverkusen can continue to dream of all three titles in the Bundesliga, the Cup and the Europa League. Stuttgart, however, has to bury its cup hopes.
This is how the game went:
The initial phase was dominated by Leverkusen’s possession of the ball, but the Bundesliga leaders were unable to create a clear chance to score. Quite the opposite for Stuttgart: With their first offensive action, the Swabians won a corner in the eleventh minute. When Angelo Stiller’s long cross was passed, VfB captain Waldemar Anton evaded his guard Edmond Tapsoba and headed in for a 1-0 lead.
Leverkusen quickly shook off the shock and continued to dominate the game. A header from Patrick Schick in the 16th minute did not find its way onto the goal. Stuttgart then retreated further and only managed a long-range shot from Deniz Undav in the 22nd minute, but it went well over the goal.
The first exciting scene occurred in the 24th minute. Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong broke through on the right side towards the baseline and was brought down by Hiroki Ito in the penalty area. Referee Daniel Schlager decided that the ball had been played, much to Leverkusen’s incomprehension, but this was confirmed by the VAR. Almost in direct response, Atakan Karazor missed a good shot opportunity from 16 meters. His shot rolled into the arms of Leverkusen goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
The closest approach to the goal came in the 30th minute with a long-range shot from Leverkusen’s Alejandro Grimaldo, which also went over the goal. Bayer continued to try, but Stuttgart defended passionately and stood stable.
It wasn’t until the 39th minute that the hosts managed to score again. Florian Wirtz also aimed clearly too high. In the 40th minute the ball suddenly found its way into the net. A blocked shot from Grimaldo rolled to the feet of Patrick Schick. He pushed in, but was clearly offside.
Now things happened quickly: just two minutes later, Leverkusen received a free kick in a half-right position, which Grimaldo sent towards the right corner. Stuttgart keeper Alexander Nübel prevented the ball from hitting the ball by flying. A minute later, Nübel saved the lead with a foot save against a shot from close range from Schick.
Shortly before the break, Stuttgart became dangerous again. Ito fired a shot from a relatively tight angle into the side netting in the third minute of stoppage time. A dangerous cross from Atakan Karazor a minute later was narrowly missed by Undav in the middle. Then there was a break.
In the second half, Leverkusen took control again. In the 48th minute, Wirtz put a strong pass on Schick, whose shot was once again parried superbly by Nübel. Two minutes later he couldn’t do anything when Robert Andrich put the ball perfectly into the top right corner from 20 meters to equalize.