Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Maza's strike enough for DFB-Pokal victory
In a battle between two Bundesliga giants, Bayer Leverkusen came out on top and dumped Borussia Dortmund out of the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday.
Ibrahim Maza scored the only goal as Bayer Leverkusen booked their place in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal with a narrow 1-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund.
Just three days after being beaten in the Bundesliga by Dortmund, Kasper Hjulmand's side got their revenge at Westfalenstadion in their last 16 clash on Tuesday.
Having seen Waldemar Anton, Karim Adeyemi and Felix Nmecha fire wide early on, Dortmund found themselves behind in the 34th minute after some hesitant defending.
Maza was able to create space inside the penalty area and ride Nico Schlotterbeck's flimsy challenge before picking out the top-right corner with a curling finish.
The 20-year-old's goal was the only shot on target either side managed in the first half, though Nmecha was able to test visiting goalkeeper Mark Flekken just before the hour.
Leverkusen then had the ball in the net in the 62nd minute when Martin Terrier finished past Gregor Kobel, but his left-footed effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
From there, Niko Kovac's team huffed and puffed but were unable to blow Leverkusen's defence down, with Jobe Bellingham squandering a golden chance late in the game.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen edge closer to DFB-Pokal history
After winning the DFB-Pokal under Xabi Alonso in 2023-24, Leverkusen were dumped out of the semi-finals last season by beaten finalists Arminia Bielefeld, but they showed here why they are among the favourites to challenge for the title.
Indeed, Leverkusen reached the quarter-finals of the competition for the third consecutive season, matching the club's record, which the Werkself previously only managed from 1992-1994 and from 2014-2016.
They have also now scored in each of their last 40 DFB-Pokal matches, another record for the club and the longest current run of any team. Only three teams have enjoyed longer scoring streaks in the history of the competition, with Werder Bremen and Koln holding the outright record (43 matches).
But they were made to work for their victory here, having registered an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.33 from six shots compared to Dortmund's 1.33 from 20 attempts, though only four of those were on target.
