Thanks to an energetic performance, Bayer Leverkusen moved into the semi-finals of the DFB Cup with a 3-2 win after falling behind twice against VfB Stuttgart, who always played on equal terms.
Celebrations after the winning goal in the quarter-finals: Jonathan Tah after his 3-2 in the 90th minute. IMAGO/Team 2
Leverkusen’s head coach Xabi Alonso rotated to five positions after the 2-0 win at newly promoted Darmstadt: Kovar started in goal in the cup again instead of Hradecky (bench). In addition, Tapsoba, Frimpong, Hofmann and Schick played in place of Stanisic, Tella, Hlozek and Borja Iglesias (all bench).
VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß only made one change after the 3-1 derby win at SC Freiburg. Ito (after Japan’s exit from the Asian Cup) replaced Stergiou. Goal scorer Guirassy returned from the Africa Cup of Nations (with Guinea out) on Monday, but was still missing from the squad.
Millot clever, Anton says thank you against Tapsoba
Player of the game
Waldemar Anton defense
1,5
Game grade
A game with great drama, high tension, many chances and goals, but in which Bayer only showed off his playing qualities to a limited extent.
1,5
Goals and cards
0:1
Anton (11′)
1:1 Andrich (50′)
Game dates Leverkusen
Kovar3,5 – Tapsoba4,5, Tah2 , Hincapie3 – Frimpong3 , Andrich3,5 , G. Xhaka3,5, Grimaldo3 – Hofmann5 , Schick4,5 , Wirtz2
Stuttgart
Nübel4 – Rouault3, Anton1.5, H. Ito5 – Vagnoman3, Karazor3, Stiller2.5, Mittelstädt3, Millot3.5, Führich2.5 – Undav4.5
Referee team
Daniel Schlager Hügelsheim
4
Match info Stadium BayArena Spectators 30,210 (sold out)
From the start, VfB consistently put the Werkself under pressure during the build-up, causing major problems for the Bundesliga leaders. On top of that, the Swabians took the lead early on: Millot first cleverly followed up in the opponent’s penalty area and won a corner against Grimaldo. After this, Tapsoba wasn’t close enough to Anton, who headed it in to make it 1-0 for Stuttgart (11th).
As a result, Leverkusen also had a difficult time. In the middle of the first half, Frimpong went down in the penalty area after contact with Ito (23rd), and even after a VAR check, the referee team’s decision was: no penalty. In the 36th minute, Andrich, who had already received a yellow card, came too late against Millot, who was hit in the back and foot. The game continued here too – luck for the Bayer player.
Send Nübel twice if he was offside
It was only in the final phase that Bayer gradually increased the pressure – and now came to clear conclusions. An offside goal by Schick rightly received no recognition (40th). And so a free kick from Grimaldo, which Nübel just managed to defuse (42nd), was the first clear chance for Xabi Alonso’s team (42nd). Shortly afterwards, the keeper was also on hand to counter Schick’s shot attempt from close range (44′), so that Stuttgart’s defensively strong team remained in the narrow lead at half-time.
After the game restarts, the intensity of the game continues to increase. After Nübel initially won one-on-one with Schick (47′), just a few minutes later the score was 1-1. A too short attempt to clear the ball after a cross from Wirtz ended up in front of the penalty area at Andrich, who hit the corner with a dream-like shot from a distance (50′).
Joker Adli stabs, Tah decides
Now it was a game that was played with a lot of speed and open sights by both sides. VfB were by no means shocked by the equalizer – and promptly took the lead again after a setup error by the home team: Millot fed Führich, who shot centrally into the corner from 14 meters (58th). But Leverkusen countered quickly. Wirtz played a pass from the center line into the path of Joker Adli, who had just arrived before, who easily beat Nübel with his shot from a somewhat acute angle (66th).
After an extremely intense first 30 minutes of the second half, the game calmed down in the final phase of regular time. But Leverkusen still had a decisive attack in store at the end: Following a corner, Wirtz found Tah in the penalty area with a high cross, who made the final score 3-2 with a header from close range (90th).
For Bayer Leverkusen, the top game in the Bundesliga on Saturday (6:30 p.m.) against FC Bayern is about top of the table. One day later (Sunday, 3:30 p.m.) Stuttgart welcomes Mainz, who are in danger of relegation, for their home game. The semi-finals in the cup will take place on April 2nd and 3rd.
2024-02-06 08:00:00
#Tah #golden #goal #Werkself #semifinals
