Expulsion for Neuer
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Bayer Leverkusen eliminated FC Bayern in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup. Manuel Neuer experienced a bitter first: the Bayern goalkeeper received a red card after a foul outside the penalty area – for the first time in his career. SV Werder also qualified for the quarter-finals with a last-minute victory over Darmstadt 98.
Schick injured: Joker Tella scores to win
The Munich team, which dominated a venomous round of 16 despite being outnumbered for a long time, suffered the most serious defeat of coach Vincent Kompany’s young tenure with a 0-1 (0-0). For the fifth time in a row, the record winner failed prematurely in the cup competition.
Leverkusen’s joker, Nathan Tella, silenced most of the 75,000 spectators with his headed goal a few minutes after his entry (69th minute). In his third professional match with Bayern, Israeli national goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, who replaced Neuer, had no chance to defend against the uncontested header of the Bayer professional, who is only 1.73 meters tall.
Goalscorer Patrik Schick, who has been in impressive form in recent weeks, was expected to be the difference in the second half for German soccer champions Bayer Leverkusen in their cup clash against FC Bayern. But coach Xabi Alonso’s plan backfired after just a few minutes. The Czech, who came on at half-time, had to leave the field a quarter of an hour later. Schick grabbed his left calf and was substituted when the score was 0-0. And yet Alonso had a stroke of luck: Schick was replaced by match-winner Tella, who scored shortly after Leverkusen’s opening goal.
Jung takes Werder Bremen to Cup quarter-finals
Upon the return of former coach Florian Kohfeldt, Werder Bremen reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup with a lot of effort and thanks to a late, last-minute goal from Anthony Jung. The Bundesliga side won 1-0 (0-0) against lower-class SV Darmstadt 98 at home at the Weserstadion. Anthony Jung made the decision after a Marvin Ducksch free kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time in front of 40,000 spectators.
For Darmstadt coach Kohfeldt, it was an emotional trip down memory lane: he was associated with Bremen as a player and coach for 20 years. He trained the professionals between 2017 and 2021 before having to leave shortly before the end of the season – and Werder were relegated to the 2nd league shortly after. Now he returns to his former workplace on the opposing side for the first time.