Continue in the cup, continue with coach Marco Rose: RB Leipzig have reached the semi-finals of the DFB Cup with their criticized coach and kept their chance of a title-winning season alive. The Saxons won 1:0 (0:0) against VfL Wolfsburg, who in turn missed out on their first semi-final appearance since winning the cup in 2015.
In front of 40,478 fans, Benjamin Sesko (69th minute) redeemed the Leipzig crowd with a converted penalty and ensured RB's fourth semi-final in the last five years. This should quieten discussions about Rose's future, at least until the Bundesliga clash with FSV Mainz 05 next Saturday.
In addition to Leipzig, VfB Stuttgart, defending champions Bayer Leverkusen and third-division side Arminia Bielefeld are in the final round. The ties will be drawn on Sunday (18:45/ARD) at the Football Museum in Dortmund and will be played on April 1 and 2.
Leipzig and Wolfsburg have already faced each other in the cup for the seventh time since 2011. Prior to kick-off, the Saxons had a clear record of four wins, although the visitors had won the most recent clash in the second round in the autumn of 2023. VfL had also inflicted Leipzig's heaviest home defeat in the Bundesliga at the end of November with a 5-1 win.
Schäfer strengthens Rose
With just one win in the second half of the Bundesliga season, Leipzig were anything but confident. Sporting director Marcel Schäfer tried to take the heat out of the discussion surrounding coach Rose before kick-off. "We are convinced that we will achieve our goals for the season in this constellation. We know that we are not in a good phase," said the 40-year-old on Sky.
Neither team seemed inhibited, the match was intense but also featured some technical finesse. Neither team was outstanding at first, but it looked like soccer.
The only thing that remained in the small print was the chances, with the fans not seeing anything top-class at first. Loïs Openda (4th) shot over, as did Tiago Tomás (5th). Konstantinos Koulierakis (14) stopped a Leipzig counter-attack at the highest level.
Wimmer with the moment of surprise
Patrick Wimmer provided the most dangerous finish in the first half. The winger, who has been playing in the center for several weeks, tried to surprise RB keeper Maarten Vandevoordt with a hard shot into the short corner shortly before half-time. But the replacement for regular goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi made a brilliant save.
Shortly after the changeover, however, the young Belgian would have been powerless. Mohamed Amoura (48) won the header duel with Ridle Baku, who only moved to Leipzig from Wolfsburg in January, but the ball smacked the crossbar. A minute later, Andreas Skov Olsen tested Vandevoordt with a shot that was deflected out for a corner.
Leipzig then regained a little more of the play - and almost celebrated. But Sesko (64) did not get the header perfectly from close range and the ball whizzed past the far post. Shortly afterwards, Sesko crossed in the penalty area and caught the arm of Wolfsburg's Kilian Fischer with the ball. Referee Tobias Reichel immediately pointed to the penalty spot and the video assistant confirmed the decision. Sesko stepped up and converted safely.
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