RB Leipzig lift first ever DFB-Pokal

RB Leipzig lifted their first ever DFB-Pokal in an incident-filled final in Berlin. 

It was Freiburg, the Bundesliga’s surprise package this season, who took the lead in the final after 19 minutes through Maximilian Eggestein’s effort from outside the box. However, Leipzig weren’t happy about it, with a potential Roland Sallai handball in the build-up – although with the new rules the goal still stands regardless.

Christopher Nkunku had a great chance to level five minutes later but Nico Schlotterbeck was able to make a goal-saving clearance

Thinks looked to have gone from bad to worse for Leipzig after the break when Marcel Halstenberg was given a straight red card after he brought down Lucas Höler.

But Domenico Tedesco’s team didn’t give up and their main man Nkunku managed to scramble home an equaliser with just 14 minutes left to play.

The writing was on the wall for Freiburg in extra time when they hit the woodwork twice as the Breisgau-Brasilianer simply couldn’t put a resolute Leipzig away despite superior numbers.

Freiburg did survive a late penalty scare in the 118th minute when it looked like Dani Olmo was brought down in the box. However, the referee checked VAR and the defender just managed to get a toe on the ball first. 

So it went to a penalty shootout. RB Leipzig buried all of their spot-kicks expertly but Christian Gunter skied Freiburg’s second penalty and Ermedin Demirovic hit the bar with his effort to ensure that the trophy would go to Leipzig – heartbreak for Christian Streich’s team.

DFB-POKAL WINNERS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/WDor8Rb531

— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) May 21, 2022