News

Leipzig claim second consecutive DFB-Pokal title

RB Leipzig have defended their DFB-Pokal title, winning 2-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt at Berlin’s Olympiastadion to claim the second major trophy in the club’s history. Christopher Nkunku’s deflected shot finally broke the deadlock after 71 minutes, with Dominik Szoboszlai wrapping up victory five minutes from time.

The game started at a lightning pace and Leipzig raced towards the Frankfurt goal in numbers just four minutes in, although Timo Werner’s shot to round off the move was too central and easy for Kevin Trapp to gather. Down the other end, a free-kick from Philipp Max was heading into a very dangerous territory until Willi Orban was able to make a last-ditch clearance (8’).

Kolo Muani and Nkunku fire narrowly wide

A hard-fought battle ensued, with both sides pressing intensively and looking to get forward. Randal Kolo Muani found a little space behind the RBL backline after 16 minutes, but could only find the side netting with his low strike.

The action on the was eye-catching, with the game being played at a very high pace, although clear-cut chances were lacking. Nkunku came the closest before the break after being slotted in by Dani Olmo, but he too was unable to hit the target (42’).

RBL strike first

The second half continued in the same vein – plenty of hard running and tackling, but a lack of goal threat from both teams. That was primarily down to the excellent work from the two sets of defenders. Willi Orban demonstrated his brilliant awareness to cut out Kolo Muani’s pull-back to the edge of the box, with Frankfurt players lurking (59’).

Mario Götze produced Frankfurt’s first shot on target soon after, although his effort was too close to Janis Blaswich to really test him. Leipzig made a change, introducing Yussuf Poulsen for Werner, and his physical presence up front opened up more space for Nkunku to operate within. The opening goal soon followed, with the Frenchman cutting inside from the left of the box, and his shot took a deflection of Evan N’dicka to leave Trapp with no chance (71’).

Leipzig now had momentum on their side and a shocked Frankfurt were unable to offer a response. The second goal followed with just three minutes of normal time remaining. Nkunku bypassed the entire Eintracht defence with his pass to Szoboszlai, who hit a composed finish into the far post to wrap up a 2-0 win.

created by mmc/mh

###more###

RB Leipzig have defended their DFB-Pokal title, winning 2-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt at Berlin’s Olympiastadion to claim the second major trophy in the club’s history. Christopher Nkunku’s deflected shot finally broke the deadlock after 71 minutes, with Dominik Szoboszlai wrapping up victory five minutes from time.

The game started at a lightning pace and Leipzig raced towards the Frankfurt goal in numbers just four minutes in, although Timo Werner’s shot to round off the move was too central and easy for Kevin Trapp to gather. Down the other end, a free-kick from Philipp Max was heading into a very dangerous territory until Willi Orban was able to make a last-ditch clearance (8’).

Kolo Muani and Nkunku fire narrowly wide

A hard-fought battle ensued, with both sides pressing intensively and looking to get forward. Randal Kolo Muani found a little space behind the RBL backline after 16 minutes, but could only find the side netting with his low strike.

The action on the was eye-catching, with the game being played at a very high pace, although clear-cut chances were lacking. Nkunku came the closest before the break after being slotted in by Dani Olmo, but he too was unable to hit the target (42’).

RBL strike first

The second half continued in the same vein – plenty of hard running and tackling, but a lack of goal threat from both teams. That was primarily down to the excellent work from the two sets of defenders. Willi Orban demonstrated his brilliant awareness to cut out Kolo Muani’s pull-back to the edge of the box, with Frankfurt players lurking (59’).

Mario Götze produced Frankfurt’s first shot on target soon after, although his effort was too close to Janis Blaswich to really test him. Leipzig made a change, introducing Yussuf Poulsen for Werner, and his physical presence up front opened up more space for Nkunku to operate within. The opening goal soon followed, with the Frenchman cutting inside from the left of the box, and his shot took a deflection of Evan N’dicka to leave Trapp with no chance (71’).

Leipzig now had momentum on their side and a shocked Frankfurt were unable to offer a response. The second goal followed with just three minutes of normal time remaining. Nkunku bypassed the entire Eintracht defence with his pass to Szoboszlai, who hit a composed finish into the far post to wrap up a 2-0 win.

###more###