Holders Bayer Leverkusen stunned by third division Arminia Bielefeld in German Cup semis

BIELEFELD – Third-tier Arminia Bielefeld stunned holders Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 on April 1, coming from a goal down to reach the German Cup final for the first time in the club’s history.

Bielefeld, who eliminated four Bundesliga teams in consecutive rounds, became the fourth third-tier side to reach the competition’s decider.

“I am so proud of the team,” Bielefeld coach Michel Kniat said. “The whole region is feeling this. No one will be sleeping tonight.

“We defended with a lot of passion and that was the key. We worked extremely hard. It was great to go into the break with the lead and in the second half we kept up the pressure for what was a deserved win,” he added.

Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso came into the game having never lost in 10 matches in the competition as they looked to win back-to-back trophies.

Everything seemed to go according to plan when Leverkusen took the lead after 17 minutes, with Jonathan Tah tapping in unmarked at the far post at Bielefelder Alm. The hosts hit back almost immediately, as Marius Worl took advantage of a sloppy clearance attempt by Piero Hincapie to curl the ball home.

As the half wore on, Leverkusen were unable to make their possession count, with Bielefeld fast and threatening on the counter.

The hosts once again caught Leverkusen napping to take the lead moments before half-time, Maximilian Grosser hammering in a Louis Oppie free kick from close range.

Bielefeld continued to take the game to their opponents, fighting in the duels and giving Leverkusen few chances to drag themselves back into the game.

Patrik Schick, so often Leverkusen’s late hero over the past two seasons, had a chance to level the scores while unmarked after 81 minutes but his header hit the post.

This season’s German Cup is one of the more open in recent memory, with Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt all suffering early elimination from the competition.

Leverkusen, who won the league and cup double without defeat last season, are in second place in the Bundesliga, six points behind leaders Bayern, with seven league games remaining.

“It is hard to say what went wrong so shortly after the game, but when we say that Bielefeld deserved to reach the final then that means we did a lot of things wrong,” said Leverkusen midfielder Robert Andrich.

“We were missing all our usual strengths,” he added. “We could not have an impact up front and we made far too many mistakes at the back. It was clearly our worst game this season. We have to accept that we messed it up.”

VfB Stuttgart face RB Leipzig on April 2 in the other semi-final, which took place after press time. REUTERS, AFP