Dhe Bulls hat-trick is perfect: Led by the outstanding quadruple scorer Dani Olmo, RB Leipzig almost rolled over SC Freiburg in the semifinals and stormed into the final of the DFB Cup for the third time in a row. Despite being outnumbered for a long time, the defending champion won 5-1 (4-0) against the Breisgauers in the repeat of last year’s final. On June 3, Leipzig meets the winner of Wednesday’s match between VfB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt in Berlin.
The Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol, who saw the red card after an emergency brake (58th), will not be in the final. The Spaniard Olmo (13th), Benjamin Henrichs (14th), Dominik Szoboszlai (37th/90th + 7, penalty kick) and Christopher Nkunku (45th + 1) scored for Leipzig. Michael Gregoritsch was successful for the SC (75th).
On Saturday Leipzig has to compete again in the Breisgau in the Bundesliga. Then it is up to the table fourth from Freiburg and the fifth from Saxony for important points in the fight for the Champions League.
“When you see Leipzig’s line-up, it’s a spectacular quality,” said SC coach Christian Streich shortly before kick-off on Sky and ZDF: “But one thing is for sure: this season won’t be bad anymore.”
Streich’s opposite number Marco Rose had similar respect for his opponent. “I’m expecting a big fight,” said the RB coach, whose club had won the 2022 final on penalties under Rose’s predecessor Domenico Tedesco: “We want to take an offensive approach.”
Clear superiority: Leipzig cheers after a splendid first half
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Image: EPA
In fact, Leipzig had their first big chance (5th) through striker Nkunku in front of 33,300 spectators – including national team coach Hansi Flick, national team sports director Rudi Völler and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf.
Freiburg, who initially had Vincenzo Grifo on the substitutes’ bench for tactical reasons, didn’t let it sit for long. In the 9th minute, the Japanese Ritsu Doan missed a similarly good opportunity on the other side.
Basically, the guests, who were missing Kevin Kampl and the long-term injured Peter Gulacsi and Xaver Schlager, were the more dangerous team in the early stages. The double strike by Olmo and Henrichs (after Olmo’s preliminary work) within 89 seconds shocked the SC. As a reaction, the offensive Grifo came in the 20th minute for right-back Kiliann Sildillia.
After that, the game calmed down. Leipzig initially managed the lead, then Szoboszlai screwed up after repeated preliminary work from the outstanding Olmo. Olmo, who also prepared Nkunku to make it 4-0, couldn’t get the SC under control at all.
At the beginning of the second round, Streich brought on Roland Sallai and Yannik Keitel. Sallai got Gvardiol sent off, which referee Sven Jablonski (Bremen) rightly imposed after studying the video. Shortly thereafter, however, Rose took Olmo and Nkunku off the field to rest his offensive stars for Saturday.
After almost 70 minutes, some SC supporters blew their fuses. A handful of fans wanted to storm out of the curve in the direction of the pitch, and projectiles were thrown at the RB substitutes who were warming up. It took a few minutes for the scene to calm down. Shortly thereafter, Gregoritsch met. Szoboszlai (90+7) made the final score with a penalty kick.
