DFB Cup round of 16
Cup dream shattered: BVB despairs of Leverkusen
Updated 12/2/2025 – 11:01 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The top game against the “Werkself” is unfortunate for Dortmund – BVB also benefits from a decision. A top talent becomes a match winner
The dream of the next DFB Cup victory after 2021 has suddenly shattered for Borussia Dortmund. In the round of 16 top game against Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen, BVB narrowly lost 0-1 (0-1) in their own stadium and were eliminated three rounds before the final. The only realistic title hope for the “Black and Yellows” is therefore lost.
Ibrahim Maza (34th) scored the goal of the day for the guests on Tuesday evening, who were able to take revenge for the 2-1 defeat last weekend in the Bundesliga. Dortmund remained cautious offensively throughout the game and were also lucky that another Leverkusen goal from Martin Terrier was conceded by VAR due to a narrow offside position (60′).
At the general meeting nine days earlier, BVB sports director Lars Ricken had called for the DFB Cup victory as a farewell gift for long-time club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke. Coach Niko Kovač’s team apparently didn’t want to do that. It’s hard to explain the strangely anemic performance for a long time in any other way. Initially without striker Guirassy, who sat on the bench for a long time after refusing to shake hands with the coach on Saturday, Dortmund’s attacking game seemed awkward and unfortunate.
This time, new signing Fábio Silva played for Guirassy from the start, but didn’t take advantage of his chance. After another poor performance and his early substitution in Leverkusen, Guirassy, who had seemed like a foreign body in the BVB game for weeks, walked past Kovač without a word and threw away his gloves.
“There will be a lot of speculation, but I want to take the wind out of my sails,” said Kovač before the game on Sky about the explosive personnel. “That has nothing to do with the previous story, he didn’t play from the start in the cup in Frankfurt. That has nothing to do with the last game. We want to bring in a bit of freshness.”
In fact, the 81,365 spectators mainly saw sluggishness and bad passes en masse. As in the Bundesliga on Saturday, the first half was boring and at a manageable level. The only well-played attack ended in the opening goal for the guests. Shooting star Maza skillfully completed a Leverkusen combination while under pressure in their own penalty area. Only then did Dortmund get their chances. Karim Adeyemi alone missed two opportunities (40th and 42nd).