HANNOVER, March 3: Christopher Nkunku continued his free-scoring start to 2022 as Leipzig cruised into the semifinals of the German Cup with a 4-0 win over second-division club Hannover on Wednesday.
That gives Leipzig another chance to win its first major trophy after twice finishing runner-up in the German Cup and in the Bundesliga.
Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen – the league’s top three – were all knocked out in the early rounds, leaving the path wide open for a new winner.
Nkunku scored twice in the space of five first-half minutes on incisive counterattacks to move to 25 goals in all competitions this season and 10 from 11 games in 2022. Konrad Laimer and Andre Silva extended Leipzig’s lead in the second half.
Of the four semifinalists – Leipzig, Freiburg, Union Berlin and Hamburg – only second-division Hamburg has won the cup before, but not since 1987. (AP)
