Leon Bailey wins it in Gladbach
Bayer Leverkusen are in the quarterfinals of the DFB Pokal for the fourth time in five years thanks to a Leon Bailey goal in the 70th minute. Heiko Herrlich’s Werkself were under constant pressure from a dominant Gladbach side, who lived to rue a string of missed chances. Herrmann and Stindl met their match in the shape of Bernd Leno, whose first-half heroics laid the foundations of his team’s victory.
The change of ends after half time did not change anything about the balance of the game, the Foals continued to pile on the pressure and the chances piled up as a result, but, crucially, the score remained 0-0. It was indeed to be one of those days for Gladbach, who, after one lapse of concentration in the midfield could only watch as Leon Bailey countered towards their goal finished well to put the visitors in front. The Gladbach siege did not stop here, but time and time again they fell short in front of goal, and Leverkusen booked their place among the last eight of the competition.
Werder outscore Freiburg
Werder Bremen seemed completely unfazed by the absence of Max Kruse and captain Zlatko Junuzovic, kept Freibrug pegged back in their own half for the opening 20 minutes and scored two goals through Belfodil and Kainz in the process. An unwelcomed feeling of déjà vu swept across the Weser Stadion when Nils Petersen converted from the spot to reduce deficit, but there was no repeat of Werder’s complacency in the Bundesliga on Saturday: Kohlfeldt’s men stood strong, kept Freiburg at bay and eventually restored their two-goal cushion through Bargfrede.
Freiburg’s reward for an improved second-half performance came too late and counted for nothing – Ravet’s goal in the 86th minute may have given the hosts a scare, but they soaked up the late pressure well and kept the club’s 29-year unbeaten run at home in the cup very much intact.
Bayern München knock out the holders
The tie of the round saw current holders Borussia Dortmund take on high-flying Bundesliga leaders Bayern München at the Allianz Arena, where the hosts flew out of the traps, forcing Dortmund keeper Roman Bürki into some top saves straight away. Upon the third time of asking however, Bürki was helpless as James Rodriguez’s header deflected out off the crossbar into the path of an alert Jerome Boateng, who saw his header land in the back of the net. Bayern kept up the tempo, continued to dominate and, in the 41st minute scored what looked like the decider: a delicious chip from Thomas Müller secured a 2-0 lead at half time.
Seemingly content with the two-goal lead, Heynckes’ men took the sting out of the game, giving the neutrals little to talk about for the most part. That was until the 77th minute, when Andriy Yarmolenko popped up at the back post to head Dortmund back into the game. Suddenly, it looked as though Bayern may yet pay the price for their complacency after the break. Dortmund looked alive and determined to find the equaliser, but when the golden opportunity fell to substitute Isak in stoppage time, the ball rolled agonisingly past Ulreich’s right post, and it was the Bavarians who booked their place in the quarterfinals.
Eintracht edge past Heidenheim
Elsewhere in the south of Germany, 1. FC Heidenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt, who had both cruised into the Last 16, battled it out for 90 goalless minutes, with both sides close to a winner on several occasions. Despite the attacking football on display, the game looked destined for extra time.
Four minutes into extra time, Frankfurt opened the scoring through Gacinovic, but the game’s long-awaited opener was instantly cancelled out by Heidenheim’s Schnatterer, and suddenly there were two goals on the scoreboard, but no closer to finding a winner. In the second half of extra time, the competitions joint top goalscorer at the time, Sebastian Haller pulled away at the top of the charts with his fourth DFB Pokal goal, sending Frankfurt and their jubilant travelling supporters into the last eight.