Borussia Dortmund have missed out on a place in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals. BVB lost the clash of the 2022 and 2021 cup winners 2-0 (1-0) away to title-holders Leipzig.

Boris Rupert reporting from Leipzig

Leipzig were clearly in the ascendancy in the first half and took a deserved lead via Werner in the 22nd minute. BVB were more in the game in the second period, but lacked penetration going forward until stoppage time. Then Bynoe-Gittens came close to levelling at 1-1, only for Leipzig keeper Blaswich to make a strong save. Orban then slotted into an empty BVB net on the counter to make it 2-0 (90+8).

The scenario:   
The team in fifth place in the Bundesliga table were facing the side in second, who had suffered their first domestic defeat of 2023 in Munich on Saturday (4-2). That brought an end to a run of 11 matches unbeaten (10 victories). Leipzig had lost their previous three competitive matches (7-0 in Manchester, 1-0 in Bochum and 3-0 against Mainz).

Personnel matters:   
Borussia Dortmund lined up without forwards Haller (knock) and Adeyemi (suspension from the second-round tie in Hanover). Defenders Schlotterbeck (fibre tear) and Meunier (back complaints) were also unavailable. Hummels, Özcan and Malen came into the starting XI compared to the match in Munich, with Bellingham starting on the bench.

Tactics:
Leipzig lined up in a 3-4-3 formation and looked from the outset to get forward, press high and give the Black & Yellows no breathing space when building the play. Can would then drop back between the two centre-backs. The full-backs were positioned high up but Leipzig played such an intense pressing game that they could scarcely be integrated into the build-up play. Özcan and Guerreiro occupied the wider midfield positions in the 4-3-3 system, with Malen leading the line.

The match & analysis:
In this repeat of the 2021 DFB-Pokal final, BVB were shaken to the core by Leipzig in the opening 25 minutes, could not establish any control over the match and the opposition, looked chaotic in possession of the ball and also put themselves in dangerous situations with misplaced passes. Leipzig, meanwhile, always found the free man and, above all, the free space. It was solely down to Kobel that Borussia only found themselves 1-0 behind at the break, with Timo Werner having slotted home in the 22nd minute after Simakan had broken through down the right flank and cut the ball back to the unmarked Werner, who was left with a simple tap-in from around 10 metres out. Kobel had earlier made strong saves to keep out Laimer (3), Henrichs (4) and Olmo twice (6/13).

The home side took their foot off the gas a little around the half-hour mark but continued to pose an overall danger and created another good opportunity in the form of Gvardiol’s header (33). Aside from a shot by Ryerson (21), BVB did not register an effort in the first 45 minutes.

BVB switched things up at the break, bringing on Moukoko for Wolf and changing their tactical approach by switching to a 3-4-3 system – the same formation as Leipzig. Can played in a central role between Süle und Hummels in the back three. In front of them were Ryerson (right), Özcan, Brandt and Guerreiro. Reus mostly occupied the central position, flanked by Moukoko (centre-right) and Malen (centre-left). Leipzig were now significantly more passive but continued to show a strong presence in the challenges. BVB looked to be faring much better but were still giving the ball away easily on too many occasions. Bellingham came on to replace Brandt after the hour mark, with Reus then making way for Bynoe-Gittens a quarter of an hour before the end of normal time. Directly after this substitution, Laimer went through on Kobel but the goalkeeper managed to stop BVB from falling 2-0 behind (78).

Borussia Dortmund, who had scored at least one goal in each of their previous 29 away ties in the DFB-Pokal, only registered their second shot on goal in the 91st minute when Malen failed to get the better of Blaswich from a tight angle. And then came the big opportunity to restore parity and force extra-time – but Blaswich made the save after Bynoe-Gittens had been teed up by Ryerson (90+7). From the ensuing corner, Leipzig launched another counter with Forsberg finding Orban, who made it 2-0 in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Outlook:   
BVB will continue their season with a Bundesliga home game against Union Berlin on Saturday. Kick-off is at 15:30 CET. 

Teams & goals

DFB-Pokal Quarter-Final
RASENBALLSPORT LEIPZIG 2-0 (1-0) BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Leipzig: Blaswich – Simakan (Klostermann, 78), Orban, Gvardiol – Henrichs, Laimer, Haidara (Kampl, 87), Raum (Halstenberg, 87) – Szoboszlai, Dani Olmo (Forsberg, 70) – Werner (Silva, 78)
Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Wolf (Moukoko, 46), Hummels (Modeste, 85), Süle, Ryerson – Can – Özcan, Guerreiro – Brandt (Bellingham, 63), Malen, Reus (Bynoe-Gittens, 76)
Substitutes: Nyland, Ba, Clark – Meyer, Coulibaly, Rothe, Dahoud, Reyna
Goals: 1-0 Werner (Simakan, 22), 2-0 Orban (Forsberg, 90+8)
Corners: 9-1 (6-0 at half-time), chance ratio: 8-1 (6-0)
Referee: Dr. Brych (Munich), yellow cards: Raum, Szoboszlai – Ryerson, Bellingham, Malen, Hummels
Attendance: 47,069 (sold-out), weather: dry, 3 degrees