Bayer Leverkusen beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0 in the German Cup last 16, with Ibrahim Maza’s goal securing quarter-final berth and revenge for recent league defeat
BAYER Leverkusen knocked Borussia Dortmund out of the German Cup with a 1-0 away win in the last 16 on Tuesday.
Ibrahim Maza’s 34th-minute strike secured victory and instant revenge for a 2-1 Bundesliga defeat to Dortmund just three days earlier.
Maza described the goal to Sky Germany as “a bit of instinct and a bit of luck too, but that’s part of it — that’s normal in football.”
The win sends the 2024 cup winners into the quarter-finals alongside RB Leipzig, Hertha Berlin, and St Pauli.
Dortmund defender Waldemar Anton called the defeat “incredibly brutal” and said his team would “need a day or two to process” the loss.
The match was the 110th meeting between the Bundesliga heavyweights but their first ever in the German Cup.
Dortmund had an early penalty appeal waved away when Jarell Quansah held Carney Chukwuemeka inside the box.
Maza, who scored in Leverkusen’s recent Champions League win at Manchester City, then danced through the defence to blast his side ahead.
Leverkusen had a second goal from Martin Terrier ruled out for a narrow offside early in the second half.
Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi missed a late chance to equalise, heading inches wide deep into stoppage time.
Elsewhere, RB Leipzig came from behind to beat second-division side Magdeburg 3-1 at home.
Christoph Baumgartner scored twice, with Antonio Nusa also on target after Magdeburg had taken an early lead from the penalty spot.
St Pauli ended a nine-match Bundesliga losing streak with a 2-1 away win at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Hertha Berlin thumped 2024 finalists Kaiserslautern 6-1, with 16-year-old Kennet Eichhorn becoming the competition’s youngest ever scorer.
Bayern Munich play at Union Berlin on Wednesday, while holders Stuttgart are away at Bochum. – AFP
