DFB-Pokal: Leipzig wins 2:1 in Essen, Bochum knocks out Mainz, Frankfurt beats HSV 3:1

Leipzig comes back in Essen

RB Leipzig reached the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal with a 2:1 win at third-division Rot-Weiss Essen, but only after falling behind and spending a long spell with ten men. Lucas Brumme gave the hosts the lead in the 9th minute in front of 17,467 spectators at the Hafenstrasse. Nicolas Seiwald was sent off with a yellow-red card in the 44th minute, shortly before halftime. Substitute Christoph Baumgartner scored in the 78th and 82nd minutes to turn the game around. According to Der Tagesspiegel, Leipzig had not registered a single shot on target in the first half. The visitors arrived after five consecutive away defeats, and their previous away win in the cup had come in the first round, a 6:0 at Trier.

Frankfurt and Augsburg also through

Eintracht Frankfurt beat Hamburger SV 3:1 at the Volksparkstadion in front of 57,000 spectators. Robin Koch headed the first goal in the 56th minute, Jonathan Burkardt scored in the 71st and Younes Ebnoutalib in the 75th. Terem Moffi pulled one back for HSV in the 79th minute, too late to change the outcome. HSV were missing seven professionals through injury, including Fábio Vieira, Bilal Nadir and Yussuf Poulsen, and had lost their league match at Paderborn the weekend before. Coach Merlin Polzin spoke to RTL before kick-off.

“With the lads who are here, we have maximum motivation for the competition. They enjoy our full trust.”

In the first half HSV protested that referee Tobias Stieler and the VAR had not intervened when Zakaria El Ouahdi went down in the box after a challenge by Koch in the 35th minute. Augsburg also progressed, beating SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach 4:2 after leading 2:0. Rodrigo Ribeiro scored twice for the Bundesliga side, and two substitutes also found the net.

Bochum knocks out Mainz

VfL Bochum beat Mainz 2:0, with Christian Rasmussen scoring in the 46th minute and Philipp Hofmann in the 75th. Mainz failed to reach the last 16 for the fourth time in a row, and coach Urs Fischer had to watch his side lose at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion before a crowd of 20,432. Bochum had won both of their earlier cup meetings with Mainz and reached the last 16 for the second year running. Mainz remain in the competition only as a league side that has been knocked out early, and no article in the set describes a next opponent.

Hamburger SV v Eintracht Frankfurt57,000

VfL Bochum v Mainz20,432

Rot-Weiss Essen v RB Leipzig17,467

Hamburger SV v Eintracht Frankfurt

57000 spectators

VfL Bochum v Mainz

20432 spectators

Rot-Weiss Essen v RB Leipzig

17467 spectators

Data from the article text

Concrete at the Essen gate

Overnight, unknown people poured concrete into a wooden frame that joined two entrances to the Leipzig away section, making them impossible to open. Staff from the stadium operator and the club cleared the blockage within about two hours on the morning of the match, using pickaxes. The identity of the perpetrators is not known. Essen press spokesman Henrik Lerch described the episode as a short-lived nuisance.

“It was an annoyance of short duration.”

Der Tagesspiegel also reported that the home end whistled at RB throughout and displayed a banner aimed at the club.