There will be a new DFB Cup winner, RB Leipzig’s title hat-trick mission is over: VfL Wolfsburg knocked Leipzig, who had previously won 13 cup games in a row, out of the competition 1-0 (1-0). and thus thwarted Leipzig’s third cup victory in a row.
Wolfsburg, cup winners in 2015, who had recently been weak in the league, won with a goal from Vaclav Cerny in the 14th minute. Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen had to leave the field 150 days after the triumph in Berlin – the second in a row – because of repeated foul play (56th).
The mood between the teams could hardly have been more different before kick-off. While the Wolfsburg team stumbled into the game with the burden of three defeats in a row, the guests had to stay “in the flow” and “take the momentum” with them after three wins in a row, as coach Rose had demanded.
Sparse backdrop in Wolfsburg
But his team didn’t do him this favor at the beginning. After just a few seconds, VfL attacker Tiago Tomas tested Leipzig’s cup goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi with a low shot, and a little later the fans in the sparsely attended Wolfsburg Arena – only 16,000 spectators came – were allowed to cheer for the first time. The busy Tomas could not be separated from the ball in midfield, Cerny refined his strong pass to make it 1-0.
“Wolves” coach Niko Kovac made eight changes to the starting line-up after the 2-3 defeat against FC Augsburg and his newly formed team remained the more dangerous even without top striker Jonas Wind. After a misunderstanding between Gulacsi and Castello Lukeba, Cerny had the chance to make it 2-0, but put the ball too far forward (24′).
Lame Leipzig offensive
The Leipzig team, who had already had big problems in the 3-2 win over second division promoted Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round, initially seemed shocked. Without the unlucky Dani Olmo, who seriously injured his shoulder in the 6-0 win against 1. FC Köln and was out again for a long time, the offensive was lame.
That changed at the start of the second half: David Raum’s deflected cross hit the crossbar (47′), Timo Werner’s low shot just missed the goal (54′). But Leipzig decimated itself shortly afterwards when Poulsen, who had already been warned, came too late against Aster Vranckx and was rightly sent off with a yellow-red card.
In an increasingly heated game, VfL took control again, but Leipzig remained dangerous and pushed for an equalizer despite being outnumbered. Shortly before the end, Wind missed a shot at the post to make it 2-0 (90+6).