Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen both came from behind to book their ticket to the DFB Cup quarterfinals Werder came from 1-0 down to beat Bundesliga opponents Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-3, while Leverkusen beat Bavarian Regionalliga side SpVgg Unterhaching 3-1 despite the home side taking an early lead.
Werder carved out the first chance early on what turned into a thrilling encounter, Gladbach’s keeper Yann Sommer pulling off a double save against Claudio Pizarro and Theodor Gebre Selassie. A moment later Clemens Fritz had the Swiss keeper beat, but his shot flew inches wide of the far post. Raffael had Broussia’s first chance in the 14th minute, but Felix Wiedwald came out on top in the one-on-one duel. The breakthrough came just after the half-hour mark after a great piece of link-up between Mahmoud Dahoud, Thorgan Hazard and then goalscorer Lars Stindl.
Werder were resilient and refused to be rolled over, before grabbing a deserved equaliser in the 52nd minute when Janek Sternberg beat Sommer with a low-driven shot from distance. The Green Whites turned the game on its head six minutes later when Florian Grillitsch curled a free kick towards the near post and Jannik Vestergaard forced the rebound over the line. Just before Thorgan Hazard had hit the post rather unluckily. Borussia pulled themselves level through Branimir Hrgota in the 73rd minute, before Öztunali set-up Pizarro almost immediately after to fire Bremen into a lead once again. Anthony Ujah put the Fohlenelf out of sight after a quick counter to just a few minutes later, though Hrgota pulled a consolation goal back in injury time.
Bayer unfazed after going behind
At the Hachinger Sportpark Leverkusen put on a dominant display from the start. Admir Mehmedi caused Stefan Marinovic problems after just five minutes, before Stefan Kießling rattled the crossbar not long after. Despite that, the four division hosts proved difficult to break down and grew into the game and found the opening goal after Bernd Leno parried Thomas Steinherr’s strike into the path of Maximilian Bauer, who forced the ball over the line from ten yards out.
Bayer reacted in clinical fashion, finding an equaliser just four minutes later. Christoph Kramer delivered a looping cross, which Kießling knocked down for Chicharito to smash it in from close range. Kießling turned scorer in the second half when he beat Marinovic at the near post. It went from bad to worse for Unterhaching when Ulrich Tafferthofer saw red for a second bookable offence. Karim Bellarabi wrapped it up for Leverkusen late on.
Bayern through thanks to Alonso, Heidenheim quarter final debutants
In the later kick-offs, record cup winners Bayern Munich and second division Heidenheim progressed to the quarter finals. Bayern beat fellow Bundesliga outfit Darmstadt 1-0, while Heidenheim defeated Erzgebirge Aue 2-0.
Against a very defensive side, Bayern found Darmstadt difficult to break down. Bayern controlled the possession and just sat and waited for their chance. They tried many times to get into the opposition’s box, but the Lilies remained diligent and compact. Lewandowski had a good chance early on to put his team into the lead, but they would have to wait until the 40th minute for a moment of magic from Alonso. The ball fell to him after a corner and on the semi-volley, the midfield-maestro battered the ball into the top corner from around 30 yards.
A few more good Bayern chances followed, but they unable to capitalise on any of them. Müller and Coman both came close with acrobatic attempts, but were both just wide of the target.
Heidenheim win despite early problems
Heidenheim progressed to the quarter finals for the first time tonight after winning 2-0 in Aue. The first half was fairly uneventful, with few chances for either side, but in the second, the chance presented itself to Feick to put his team into the lead, and he did so. Shortly after, the captain doubled the lead and secured the victory for his team.
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Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen both came from behind to book their ticket to the DFB Cup quarterfinals Werder came from 1-0 down to beat Bundesliga opponents Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-3, while Leverkusen beat Bavarian Regionalliga side SpVgg Unterhaching 3-1 despite the home side taking an early lead.
Werder carved out the first chance early on what turned into a thrilling encounter, Gladbach’s keeper Yann Sommer pulling off a double save against Claudio Pizarro and Theodor Gebre Selassie. A moment later Clemens Fritz had the Swiss keeper beat, but his shot flew inches wide of the far post. Raffael had Broussia’s first chance in the 14th minute, but Felix Wiedwald came out on top in the one-on-one duel. The breakthrough came just after the half-hour mark after a great piece of link-up between Mahmoud Dahoud, Thorgan Hazard and then goalscorer Lars Stindl.
Werder were resilient and refused to be rolled over, before grabbing a deserved equaliser in the 52nd minute when Janek Sternberg beat Sommer with a low-driven shot from distance. The Green Whites turned the game on its head six minutes later when Florian Grillitsch curled a free kick towards the near post and Jannik Vestergaard forced the rebound over the line. Just before Thorgan Hazard had hit the post rather unluckily. Borussia pulled themselves level through Branimir Hrgota in the 73rd minute, before Öztunali set-up Pizarro almost immediately after to fire Bremen into a lead once again. Anthony Ujah put the Fohlenelf out of sight after a quick counter to just a few minutes later, though Hrgota pulled a consolation goal back in injury time.
Bayer unfazed after going behind
At the Hachinger Sportpark Leverkusen put on a dominant display from the start. Admir Mehmedi caused Stefan Marinovic problems after just five minutes, before Stefan Kießling rattled the crossbar not long after. Despite that, the four division hosts proved difficult to break down and grew into the game and found the opening goal after Bernd Leno parried Thomas Steinherr’s strike into the path of Maximilian Bauer, who forced the ball over the line from ten yards out.
Bayer reacted in clinical fashion, finding an equaliser just four minutes later. Christoph Kramer delivered a looping cross, which Kießling knocked down for Chicharito to smash it in from close range. Kießling turned scorer in the second half when he beat Marinovic at the near post. It went from bad to worse for Unterhaching when Ulrich Tafferthofer saw red for a second bookable offence. Karim Bellarabi wrapped it up for Leverkusen late on.
Bayern through thanks to Alonso, Heidenheim quarter final debutants
In the later kick-offs, record cup winners Bayern Munich and second division Heidenheim progressed to the quarter finals. Bayern beat fellow Bundesliga outfit Darmstadt 1-0, while Heidenheim defeated Erzgebirge Aue 2-0.
Against a very defensive side, Bayern found Darmstadt difficult to break down. Bayern controlled the possession and just sat and waited for their chance. They tried many times to get into the opposition’s box, but the Lilies remained diligent and compact. Lewandowski had a good chance early on to put his team into the lead, but they would have to wait until the 40th minute for a moment of magic from Alonso. The ball fell to him after a corner and on the semi-volley, the midfield-maestro battered the ball into the top corner from around 30 yards.
A few more good Bayern chances followed, but they unable to capitalise on any of them. Müller and Coman both came close with acrobatic attempts, but were both just wide of the target.
Heidenheim win despite early problems
Heidenheim progressed to the quarter finals for the first time tonight after winning 2-0 in Aue. The first half was fairly uneventful, with few chances for either side, but in the second, the chance presented itself to Feick to put his team into the lead, and he did so. Shortly after, the captain doubled the lead and secured the victory for his team.
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