German Cup Tournament - Xhaka leads Leverkusen to triumph in cup tournament, scoring two goals.
Bayer Leverkusen sealed the best season in the club's history with a close win in the DFB Cup final, achieving the coveted double. They defeated underdogs 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1-0 (1-0) on Saturday, thanks to an impressive goal from Granit Xhaka in the 16th minute. In front of a sold-out Olympiastadion with 74,322 spectators, the second division team led by veteran coach Friedhelm Funkel put up a strong defense for a long time.
Following their previous disappointing 3-0 loss in the Europa League final against Atalanta Bergamo and their sole defeat of the season, Xabi Alonso's team celebrated their victory as favorites. It was Bayer's second cup win since 1993. In their 81st cup final, Kaiserslautern missed out on the dream upset they hoped for against Leverkusen, who were dominated for a while by Nagelsmann. Odilon Kossounou received a yellow card in the 44th minute.
Funkel said that the second division team from the Palatinate entered the final as the "most significant underdogs" in history. The 70-year-old coach experienced his fifth cup final overall after a successful relegation battle with Kaiserslautern. Upon leaving FCK, he missed out on the trophy for the third time as a coach.
After bitter defeat in Dublin, Bayer coach Xhaka called his teammates to task. "Now, we must see what kind of character this team really has," said the Swiss. Alonso made five substitutions. As promised, captain Lukas Hradecky replaced Matej Kovar in goal, making his fourth cup final appearance. Kossounou, Robert Andrich, Jonas Hofmann, and Patrik Schick also came into the team.
Funkel brought top scorer Ragnar Ache (scored 17 goals in competitive matches) on for the second half at Kaiserslautern. The coach had lost the cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 on this exact day 43 years prior as a Lauter player. In a Sky interview before kick-off, he promised a "knife-edge battle."
In light of Leverkusen's probable supremacy, Funkel even jokingly stated that he'd park the team bus in front of his own goal. It didn't come to that. The underdogs' fans wowed with a choreography before kick-off, featuring a giant Red Devil under the stadium roof. However, the fans from the Palatinate proceeded to burn banned fireworks constantly.
FCK's first dangerous shot on target came from Daniel Hanslik, as the Bayer team engaged in their typical possession game in the cauldron. After approximately a quarter of an hour, Florian Wirtz reached the far side for the first time and shot at Julian Krahl. A short while later, Krahl attempted to secure possession of a cross from Alejandro Grimaldo, but Schick missed the opportunity.
After a rough foul by Kossounou on Tomiak, there was commotion - referee Bastian Dankert showed the already-cautioned defender a yellow card. Tobias Raschl had a possible equalizer from close range but missed the target. As a former Bayer Uerdingen player, Funkel managed a surprising 2-1 final victory against Bayern Munich in 1985 - 39 years later, he energetically cheered on his team into the latter part of the game.
Shortly after the break, Dankert temporarily halted play because flares were hurled from the FCK section and firecrackers were ignited. Bayer fans also lit fireworks. With the smoke cleared, Leverkusen searched for the decisive goal but struggled to display their usual ball wizardry. In the end, Leverkusen became the sixth team to achieve the double. Hannover 96 won the cup in 1992, marking the only second division team to do so thus far.
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Source: www.stern.de
