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Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, Robert Andrich from Bayer Leverkusen
Photo: Lars Baron / Getty Images
The first Bundesliga team in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup is Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The Bundesliga table leaders won their quarter-finals against VfB Stuttgart 3-2 (0-1) and overturned a deficit twice.
First, Waldemar Anton scored with a header (11th minute), Robert Andrich equalized with a long-range shot (50th) - and then, with an unsuccessful ball reception, Stuttgart took the lead again when Chris Führich hit the corner (58th). Amine Adli equalized seconds after coming on as a substitute (66'), Jonathan Tah scored late to win (90').
Leverkusen will therefore go into the last four as favorites. The previous week, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Fortuna Düsseldorf had already advanced to the semi-finals, and on Wednesday (8:45 p.m.) the final participant will be decided between 1. FC Saarbrücken and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
In the top game of the cup quarter-finals, neither Xabi Alonso nor Sebastian Hoeneß chose surprising starting lineups. Bayer was missing the injured Victor Boniface as was Odilon Kossounou, who is with Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations. In goal, cup goalkeeper Matěj Kovář was preferred to regular number one Lukáš Hrádecký. At VfB, top scorer Serhou Guirassy was not yet ready for the squad; winter signing Mahmoud Dahoud initially took a seat on the bench.
The rhythm of the first half was set by an early standard: Enzo Millot won a corner kick by going after Alejandro Grimaldo. Angelo Stiller hit it wide to the far post, where Anton prevailed in a header duel against Edmond Tapsoba, who was half-heartedly defending, and placed the ball in the goal (11th).
Shortly before the break, Leverkusen got better
From then on, Stuttgart could leave the ball to Leverkusen with a clear conscience and only had to make sure not to give Bayer winger Jeremie Frimpong too much space. That was successful, the Dutchman could hardly really pick up speed. If he did, either Hiroki Ito intervened at the right moment, so that the VAR had nothing to complain about (24') - or VfB's offside trap snapped, which made Frimpong so annoyed that he was shown a yellow card for complaining (34'). ).
Shortly before the break, Leverkusen found their own combination game better, but Patrik Schick was clearly offside after Grimaldo's preparatory work for the supposed equalizer (40th). Alexander Nübel in the VfB goal was on hand for a Grimaldo free kick (42') as well as for the next Schick chance (44').
After the break, Leverkusen's pressure phase continued seamlessly: Schick tested Nübel again (47'), then Andrich's fantastic finish from the edge of the penalty area went into the top right corner (50'). Now VfB was challenged again - and turned the game into a humorous exchange of blows: Andrich missed Kovář's risky pass in the build-up, Millot set up Führich, whose shot found the top corner of the goal (58th).
But Leverkusen had answers - especially thanks to playmaker Wirtz: He first sent Adli straight, then the newly substituted attacker kept his nerve from a tight angle. A cross with a lot of spin was then used by Tah, who had moved up from a standard, to make it 3-2 (90th).
The draw for the next round will be broadcast late on Saturday evening (from 11 p.m.) in ZDF's "current sports studio", the semi-final games will take place on April 2nd and 3rd.
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