German Cup: RB Leipzig wins 2-0, knocks Borussia Dortmund out

Leipzig joined Freiburg, Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart in the semifinals thanks to a first-half strike from Werner and injury-time goal on a counterattack from Orban.

RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner celebrates after scoring during his team’s 1-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup quarterfinal at the Red Bull Arena on April 5, 2023.  | Photo Credit: AP

Defending champion RB Leipzig knocked Borussia Dortmund out of the German Cup with a 2-0 win in their quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Leipzig joined Freiburg, Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart in the semifinals thanks to a first-half strike from Timo Werner and injury-time goal on a counterattack from Willi Orban. Leipzig defeated Freiburg in last year’s final for its first major trophy.

Led by former Dortmund coach Marco Rose, Leipzig dominated from start to finish after losing its previous three games across all competitions.

“We didn’t deserve to win the game today,” Dortmund midfielder Julian Brandt said. ”We were very lucky we survived even the first 10 minutes without conceding a goal.”

The visitors only had Gregor Kobel to thank for keeping Leipzig at bay early on, but the goalkeeper was finally beaten in the 22nd minute when Mohamed Simakan raced past Mats Hummels and crossed for Werner to guide the ball inside the left post. Simakan’s speed made all the difference against the lethargic Dortmund defense.

Werner should have made it 2-0 later when he only had Kobel to beat, but the Leipzig forward crossed for Konrad Laimer instead of shooting and the chance was gone. It was one of several missed opportunities for Leipzig, which had 14 efforts at goal compared to the visitors’ one in the first half alone.

Dortmund coach Edin Terzić brought on Youssoufa Moukoko for the second half – when the visitors improved – but ultimately it was Leipzig that had the better chances to seal the result. Kobel denied Laimer in the 78th.

Dortmund’s only shot on target came in injury time when Janis Blaswich stretched for a fine save to deny substitute Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.

Kobel went forward for a free kick as the visitors desperately sought an equalizer, but Orbán sealed the win on a counterattack to finish the game.

Dortmund, which defeated Leipzig in the 2021 final, was without Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck and Ivory Coast forward Sébastien Haller, both injured. Jude Bellingham started on the substitutes’ bench and Karim Adeyemi was suspended.

Earlier, Stuttgart defeated second-division team Nuremberg 1-0 away in Sebastian Hoeness’ debut as Stuttgart coach.

Freiburg knocked Bayern Munich out on Tuesday. The semifinal draw takes place Sunday.