Borussia Mönchengladbach made a fool of themselves at Hannover 96 and were kicked out of the DFB Cup after a disastrous performance. The completely indisposed team of coach Adi Hütter lost the second division soccer team in the round of 16 deservedly 0: 3 (0: 2). While Gladbach squandered the great opportunity to at least achieve something in the cup in what had been a weak season so far, Lower Saxony made it into the quarter-finals for the first time in 15 years. In the second round, Borussia had spectacularly defeated FC Bayern Munich 5-0. The goals for Hannover were scored by Maximilian Beier (4th/51st minute) and Sebastian Kerk (36th/hand penalty).
“It’s difficult to put that into words. We had such a great opportunity to create something special. I just don’t understand it,” said captain Lars Stindl on Sky. After the defeat of champions Bayern and last year’s winners Borussia Dortmund, winning the cup this year seems easier than ever. Hannover are the next second division side to reach the last eight after Karlsruher SC, Hamburger SV and FC St. Pauli.
In the repeat of the 1992 final, when Hannover won the DFB Cup as a second division team, Matthias Ginter returned to the Gladbach starting line-up. The international, whose contract expires at the end of the season, was surprisingly only on the bench last weekend in the Bundesliga against Bayer Leverkusen (1-2). On his 28th birthday, Ginter played against Hannover from the start together with Marvin Friedrich, who was signed as his successor from 1. FC Union Berlin.
Access Friedrich again owes a penalty
After just under four minutes, the defensive trio of Ginter, Friedrich and Nico Elvedi were overwhelmed by the second division team. After a precise pass from Hendrik Weydandt, Beier was completely free on the right side of the penalty area and fired powerfully past goalkeeper Yann Sommer into the Gladbach goal. After that, Hannover acted in a disciplined and committed manner. The guests also made it easy for the second division club to be the better team with an uninspired and listless appearance.
Winter entry Friedrich involuntarily paved the way for Hannover to make it 2-0. According to video evidence, referee Florian Badstübner punished a handball by the defender with a penalty, which Kerk converted. Friedrich had already caused a penalty kick against Leverkusen, but Sommer was able to parry it. This time the Swiss was also on the ball, but couldn’t prevent the goal.
After the break, the picture remained the same: the Gladbachers pomadig, the hosts engaged. And the second division team used that consistently. Beier again countered with a technically fine shot from the outside of the foot to make it 3-0. In the 62nd minute, the midfielder hit the post again. The few chances for Mönchengladbach, including Denis Zakaria and Florian Neuhaus, were thwarted by Hanover’s keeper Ron-Robert Zieler.
Freiburg shines in Hoffenheim
Artistic shooter Vincenzo Grifo knocked TSG 1899 Hoffenheim out of the DFB Cup and made SC Freiburg dream of winning their first national title. The 28-year-old Italian scored two goals in the 4-1 (2-0) round of 16 on Wednesday evening (10th minute/36th/hand penalty) and thus decided the Baden-Württemberg duel in favor of the Breisgauer early on.
In front of only 500 allowed spectators, TSG only briefly hoped for an own goal by returnee Nico Schlotterbeck (53rd). Kevin Schade (55th) and Ermedin Demirovic (67th) scored the final score. A late second goal by Hoffenheim by Ihlas Bebou was disallowed for offside.
Premiere for Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco
The obligatory task fulfilled, already thinking about the final: RB Leipzig prevailed 2-0 (1-0) against the second division club FC Hansa Rostock. After the elimination of the top clubs from Munich, Dortmund and Leverkusen, the only thing that counts for last year’s finalists is getting into the final again. Yussuf Poulsen (6th minute) paved the way for this with his first goal since the beginning of November, a few minutes before the end Dani Olmo (82nd), who had just been substituted, increased – the few spectators allowed already chanted “Berlin, Berlin, we’re going to Berlin”.
Coach Domenico Tedesco experienced a premiere even before kick-off. For the first time in his RB career, which has been running since mid-December, the 36-year-old was welcomed by his own fans in the stadium. 1000 spectators had been approved, Leipzig’s first home game in front of fans since November.
