Arminia Bielefeld 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Minnows stun holders to reach DFB-Pokal final

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Arminia Bielefeld pulled off an extraordinary shock as they beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 to reach the DFB-Pokal final.

Bielefeld, who have now eliminated four Bundesliga teams in consecutive rounds in the competition, became the fourth third-tier side to reach the competition’s showpiece match.

Holders Leverkusen, who had never lost a DFB-Pokal match under coach Xabi Alonso, took the lead in the 17th minute through Jonathan Tah’s tap-in from a corner.

Their joy only lasted three minutes, though, with Marius Woerl beating Lukas Hradecky with a low drive to draw the hosts level.

Hradecky pulled off a spectacular save in the 26th minute when he blocked Sarenren Bazee’s point-blank effort but Bielefeld’s comeback was complete on the stroke of half-time, through a close-range volley from Maximilian Grosser.

Bielefeld could have added to their lead after the break, though Patrick Schick hit the woodwork late on.

However, the minnows held firm to reach the final for the first time in their history. They will take on either Stuttgart or RB Leipzig in the final next month.

4 & 1 – Arminia Bielefeld is the first team to knock out four Bundesliga teams in one DFB-Pokal season without being a first or second division team and thus advance to their first ever final in the competition. Sensation. pic.twitter.com/7yuPsy7ey4

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) April 1, 2025

Data Debrief: History makers

Bielefeld is the first team to knock out four Bundesliga teams in one DFB-Pokal season without being a first or second division team.

They are also the first team to knock out three Bundesliga sides as a third-tier club on two occasions, having also done so in 2014-15.

At the fourth time of asking, they progressed from the DFB-Pokal semi-finals, having fallen short in 2014-16, 2005-06 and 2004-05.

And Leverkusen can hardly say they were unfortunate. They had 13 shots but only accumulated 0.95 expected goals, while Bielefeld generated 1.43 xG from only eight attempts.