Bayer Leverkusen advanced to the quarter-finals of the German Cup yesterday after eliminating Borussia Dortmund with a 1-0 win in their Round of 16 clash, courtesy of a first-half strike from Ibrahim Maza.
Maza, who also scored in Leverkusen’s shock Champions League win at Manchester City last week, broke the deadlock in the 34th minute, weaving through a static Dortmund defence before firing home. The victory handed Leverkusen swift revenge after Dortmund edged them 2-1 in the Bundesliga at the weekend.
Leverkusen thought they had doubled their lead on the hour mark through Martin Terrier, finishing off a move initiated by Maza, but the effort was ruled out for offside. Dortmund pushed late, with Karim Adeyemi going close in stoppage time, but his header drifted inches wide.
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The match was the first-ever German Cup meeting between the two Bundesliga heavyweights, despite 109 previous encounters in other competitions since the 1950s.
Elsewhere, RB Leipzig came from behind to beat second-division strugglers Magdeburg 3-1, with Christoph Baumgartner scoring twice. Antonio Nusa levelled with a long-range strike after Magdeburg took an early lead via a Silas Gnaka penalty. Baumgartner added goals either side of halftime to send the two-time winners through.
St Pauli ended a nine-match Bundesliga losing streak with a 2-1 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach, while in Berlin, Hertha thrashed last season’s finalists Kaiserslautern 6-1. Sixteen-year-old Kennet Eichhorn became the youngest goalscorer in the tournament’s history.
German Cup action continues today, with record 20-time winners Bayern Munich travelling to Union Berlin, while defending champions Stuttgart visit Bochum.
