RB Leipzig 2-0 Borussia Dortmund: Timo Werner scores as defending champions march into DFB-Pokal semi-finals

Reigning DFB Pokal champions RB Leipzig kept their hopes of retaining the cup alive with a 1-0 quarter-final win over Borussia Dortmund.

Leipzig set the tone from the outset and blitzed Dortmund’s goal but to no avail, with goalkeeper Gregor Kobel forced to make a number of crucial stops early on.

The home side found the opener after 22 minutes. Former Chelsea man Timo Werner converted Mohamed Simakan’s low cross into the bottom corner.

Leipzig – who should have had more goals in the first half – finally added a second when Willi Orban slotted into an empty net, eight minutes into additional time in the second half, after Kobel had come up for a corner to try and salvage an equaliser.

Leipzig will fancy their chances going into the last four, with Bayern Munich suffering elimination to Frieberg on Tuesday night.

Frankfurt and Stuttgart are the other two semi-finalists.

Much like they did in the damaging 4-2 loss to Bayern Munich on Saturday, Dortmund endured a sloppy start to the match.

It didn’t help that Leipzig came out of the blocks at 100mph, and Marco Rose’s side had eight shots on target in the first 12 minutes of the game, six of which were on target.

Kobel was forced into a number of crucial stops to deny Leipzig taking the lead as best he could, but the home side were so relentless it was only a matter of time before they found the back of the net.

And it came through Werner, who neatly steered Simakan’s cross beyond Kobel to give the reigning DFB Pokal champions a deserved lead.

Dortmund were very fortunate to go into the interval only one goal behind, and the second half was fairly even until a dramatic last ten minutes, where the game could have gone either way.

Konrad Laimer had a huge chance to put the game to bed in the 78th minute when Kobel saved his powerful strike, and then Josko Gvardiol made a crucial sliding challenge down the other end minutes later to deny Julian Ryerson a clear path at goal.

Deep into injury time, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens had a last-minute shot spectacularly saved by Janis Blaswich to earn Dortmund a corner.

Kobel came up for it, but Leipzig managed to get the ball clear which allowed Kevin Kampl to break, carry the ball the length of the pitch before he squared it to Orban, who only had to slot the ball past two Dortmund defenders and into an unguarded net to confirm the win.

TALKING POINT – LEIPZIG’S CUP DREAM IS ON

Dortmund claimed the cup for the fifth time in 2021/2, but Leipzig won the competition for the first time in their history last season. The cup spirit clearly hasn’t left them, because they’re well on their way to defending their silverware, and they did it in style tonight. Not only are they the likeliest looking side to go on and win the competition again, but they’ll be delighted to finally get a win after their 7-0 trouncing to Manchester City, losing every game since, until tonight.

As for Dortmund, their season is slipping away. They suffered a bad 4-2 loss to Munich on the weekend to give Thomas Tuchel’s side control in the league, and they’re now out of the cup. It’s been a terrible week, but there’s still a lot of Bundesliga football to play.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – DANI OLMO (RB LEIPZIG)

Dani Olmo made his first start for Leipzig since January and he was excellent on his return, lasting 70 minutes before being replaced. He spurred on the Leipzig attack and was a key part of their early domination that earned them the opener.

He created a couple of great chances for Werner, had a few shots of his own, and enjoyed an all-round solid return to action. A welcoming sight for Leipzig as they push for back-to-back DFB Pokal cups.

PLAYER RATINGS

RB LEIPZIG: Blaswich 7, Simakan 8, Orban 8, Gvardiol 8, Raum 7, Laimer 8, Haidara 8, Henrichs 7, Olmo 8, Szoboszlai 7, Werner 8

Subs: Klostermann 6, Halstenberg N/A, Forsberg 7, Kampl N/A, Silva 6

BORUSSIA DORTMUND: Kobel 7, Wolf 6, Sule 6, Hummels 6, Ryerson 6, Can 7, Brandt 6, Ozcan 6, Guerreiro 6, Reus 6, Malen 6

Subs: Bellingham 6, Moukoko 6, Modeste N/A, Bynoe-Gittens 6

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

3’ – BIG CHANCE FOR LEIPZIG! Olmo and Timo Werner combine well with a neat one-two inside the penalty box before Olmo manages to get a shot away, but it deflects behind for a corner.

6’ – DOUBLE KOBEL SAVE! Olmo strikes from distance which Kobel saves, but he spills the ball into the path of Szoboszlai, who tries to poke the ball beyond the goalkeeper but Kobel reacts well and makes himself big to keep the Hungarian’s shot out.

10’ – LEIPZIG COME CLOSE AGAIN! Dortmund are rattled by this Leipzig start! Simakan’s effort is blocked by Hummels but the ball is still travelling towards goal as the deflection takes it beyond Kobel, but Marius Wolf is able to hook it clear on the line.

12’ – ANOTHER BIG KOBEL SAVE! Leipzig’s relentless start continues as Haidara slips the ball left to Olmo, who opens his body onto his right foot and looks for the far bottom corner, but Kobel gets his legs to the ball and manages to see it behind for a corner.

22’ – GOAL! LEIPZIG 1-0 DORTMUND (WERNER): Unsurprisingly, Leipzig take the lead! Simakan bursts down the right flank and squares the ball to Werner, who pokes the cross beyond Kobel who is finally beaten. A very well-deserved Leipzig goal.

78’ – HUGE CHANCE, HUGE SAVE! Laimer is one-on-one with the goalkeeper, swerves a last-ditch sliding challenge and strikes the ball straight at Kobel who beats it away! What an opportunity that was.

82’ – WHAT A TACKLE! Ryerson is almost through on goal but Josko Gvardiol makes a crucial sliding challenge to win the ball back!

90’+6 – WHAT A SAVE! Bynoe-Gittens finds space in the box and gets a shot away, but Blaswich pulls off a superb save!

90’+8 – GOAL! LEIPZIG 2-0 DORTMUND (ORBAN): Game, set, match Leipzig! Kobel comes up for the subsequent corner following Blaswich’s brilliant save, and Leipzig break. Kampl carries the ball the entire length of the pitch, before squaring to Orban who only has to slot the ball past two Dortmund defenders, which he does as he doubles Leipzig’s lead!

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