BIELEFELD: German Cup holders Bayer Leverkusen suffered a shock 2-1 elimination at Arminia Bielefeld in the semi-finals of the competition on Tuesday.
Xabi Alonso’s side were heavily favoured to reach their second successive final but were outclassed from start to finish by their underdog opponents.
Jonathan Tah’s 17th-minute goal was cancelled out by a Marius Woerl strike for the hosts three minutes later.
Maximilian Grosser’s goal in first-half stoppage time would prove the difference for Bielefeld, who have now beaten four top-division opponents on their way to the final.
Everything seemed to go according to plan for Leverkusen when they took the lead after 17 minutes, Tah tapping in unmarked at the far post.
The hosts hit back almost immediately however, Woerl taking advantage of a sloppy clearance attempt by Piero Hincapie to curl the ball home.
The hosts once again caught Leverkusen napping to take the lead moments before half-time, Grosser hammering in a Louis Oppie free kick from close range.
DORTMUND KEEP CL HOPES ALIVE
On Sunday, Maximilian Beier scored twice as Borussia Dortmund won 3-1 at home to Mainz in the Bundesliga, keeping their slim hopes of European qualification alive.
Champions League finalists last season, Dortmund had lost four of their past six games to sink to 12th before the match.
Dortmund were without injured striker Serhou Guirassy but Beier filled the void as he gave the hosts the lead after 32 minutes, finishing off a goal he initiated.
The 22-year-old Germany forward gathered the ball in midfield, shed a defender and found Julian Brandt who whipped in a cross and Beier threaded the ball to Karim Adeyemi, who returned the favour, giving him a simple tap-in.
Emre Can doubled Dortmund’s lead just four minutes later, heading in a Nico Schlotterbeck corner.
Schlotterbeck supplied Dortmund’s third as well in the 72nd minute, floating in a superb ball which allowed Beier to head home, before Mainz pulled one back through Paul Nebel.
In another match, Union Berlin won 2-1 at Freiburg, denting their opponents’ Champions League hopes while taking a major step towards maintaining their own status as a top-flight team next season.
Freiburg took the lead with 29 minutes played when Lucas Hoeler hammered in a Vincenzo Grifo cross. The visitors hit back just one minute later, captain Rani Khedira firing in following an Andrej Ilic assist.
Ilic then got on the scoresheet three minutes into the second half, heading a Tim Skarke cross into the top corner.
Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2025
