May 22, (THEWILL) – Leipzig overcame Freiburg 4-2 on penalties in the DBF Pokal final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, after fighting resiliently to keep the the score tied at 1-1 after 120 minutes with a 10-man squad for half the time.
Midway through the first half, Freiburg’s Maximilian Eggestein scored a contentious goal when the ball was steered into his path by teammate Roland Sallai. It remained 1-0 until the interval.
In the second half, Freiburg’s Lucas Holer was cynically hauled down by Marcel Halstenberg, who received a straight red card, but Leipzig still managed to claw their way back into the game thanks to talisman Christopher Nkunku’s 35th goal of the season, which forced the game to extra time.
In extra time, Freiburg were unfortunate to hit the crossbar three times, while Leipzig had a strong claim for a penalty waved away by the referee shortly before the final whistle. Dani Olmo had been hauled down in the box by Nicolas Hofler.
In the penalty shootout that followed, Christian Gunter and Ermedin Demirovic missed their individual spot attempts for Freiburg, allowing Leipzig to win 4-2 on penalties and secure their first trophy in their 13-year history.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
