Beaten Leverkusen hope to 'find themselves' in German Cup final
BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen face second-division Kaiserslautern in Saturday's (May 25) German Cup final licking their wounds after a first loss in almost a year.
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BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen face second-division Kaiserslautern in Saturday's (May 25) German Cup final licking their wounds after a first loss in almost a year.
Bayer Leverkusen face second-division Kaiserslautern in Saturday's German Cup final licking their wounds after a first loss in almost a year. Xabi Alonso's side were thoroughly outclassed in a 3-0 loss to Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday, their first defeat in any competition since May 2023 -- a run of 51 games. Energetic and dynamic this season with a taste for late goals, Leverkusen looked a shadow of the team which thundered past Bayern Munich to win their first ever Bundesliga title this season.
Florian Wirtz scored a goal in each half as Bayer Leverkusen thrashed Fortuna Duesseldorf 4-0 at home on Wednesday to reach the German Cup final for the fifth time. Leverkusen have gained a reputation for stealing last-gasp wins this season but were in total control from start to finish against their second-division opponents. Jeremie Frimpong opened the scoring seven minutes in, with Amine Adli adding another on the 20-minute mark. With five goals, Adli is the top scorer in the cup this season.
Kaiserslautern became the first side from outside the Bundesliga to reach the German Cup final since 2011 on Tuesday, ending third-tier Saarbruecken's run with a 2-0 victory. Hosts Saarbruecken were bidding to become the first third-division club to lift the trophy in the competition's history, but came up short after goalkeeper Tim Schreiber's costly error. Saarbruecken had already knocked Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Moenchengladbach out of the cup, but came unstuck against fallen giants Kaiserslautern.
LEVERKUSEN, Germany : Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen overwhelmed second division club Fortuna Dusseldorf 4-0 on Wednesday to reach the German Cup final and stretch their unbeaten run to 40 matches across all competitions this season.
BERLIN : Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface will be back in the squad for Wednesday's German Cup semi-final against Fortuna Dusseldorf following a three-month injury absence, coach Xabi Alonso said on Tuesday.
SAARBRUECKEN, Germany: Third-division Saarbruecken scored a stoppage-time winner to stun Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 on Tuesday (Mar 12) and reach the German Cup semi-finals.
BERLIN : Kaiserslautern eased past hosts and fellow second-tier club Hertha Berlin 3-1 on Wednesday to book a spot in the German Cup last four, a decade after their last semi-final appearance.