BERLIN, May 22: Ten-man Leipzig came from a goal down in the German Cup final to beat Freiburg 4-2 on penalties for the club’s first trophy in its short history.
Christopher Nkunku equalized in the 76th minute for 1-1 in normal time, sending the game to extra time, then penalties, where Freiburg captain Christian Günter and Ermedin Demirovic both missed. Demirovic, who struck the post in extra time, crashed his effort off the crossbar.
“It fit with the way the game went,” Freiburg coach Christian Streich said.
Maximilian Eggestein fired Freiburg ahead in the 18th minute and Leipzig’s chances of a comeback were dented when Marcel Halstenberg was sent off for pulling back Lucas Höler when the Freiburg forward would have been through on goal.
Nkunku popped up with Leipzig’s vital equalizer, squeezing the ball in at the near post after Freiburg failed to properly clear a free kick.
It’s Leipzig’s first title since its formation in 2009. The club lost the final last year to Borussia Dortmund and in 2019 to Bayern Munich. Freiburg fans responded with a giant banner saying “(expletive) Red Bull,” referring to the company behind Leipzig.
It was also the first German Cup final to be played with fans present since 2019. The coronavirus pandemic meant German football’s end-of-season showpiece was played in an empty stadium the previous two years. More than 74,000 attended Saturday’s final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
It was the first final in 11 years without either Bayern or Dortmund. Bayern was knocked out in the second round with an embarrassing 5-0 loss at Borussia Mönchengladbach and defending champion Dortmund lost in the third round at second-division St. Pauli 2-1. (AP)
