Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday pulled off a major upset in the DFB-Pokal by defeating defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 in their semi-final.
The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead.
Marius Worl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Groser scored Bielefeld’s second goal just before the break.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded.
“I’m just proud of this team,” Bielefeld coach Mitch Kniat said as most of the fans the small stadium sang around him. “No one will sleep in the city tonight.”
Patrik Schick went closest for the visitors in the 81st minute when his header struck the post.
“That was by far our worst game of the season,” said Leverkusen midfielder Robert Andrich, who added that the absence of injured star Florian Wirtz was no excuse. “With all due respect to Bielefeld, we should be able to beat them with the squad we have.”
Leverkusen won the title last year as part of an unprecedented domestic league-cup double without losing a game.
Bielefeld are fourth in Germany’s third division with eight rounds remaining. Only the top three have a chance of promotion, with the top two going straight up to the second division.
To reach the semi-final, Bielefeld each time defeated teams playing in higher divisions, starting with second-division Hannover 96 in the first round, then Bundesliga sides Union Berlin, SC Freiburg and Werder Bremen.
It is the first time that Bielefeld have reached the DFB-Pokal final after failing in four previous semi-finals.
It is the first time since Union Berlin in 2001 that a third-division team is to play in the final.
VfB Stuttgart were to host RB Leipzig in the other semi-final after press time last night.
The final is scheduled for next month.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
RSS