Leipzig’s German Cup title defense ends in 1-0 loss at Wolfsburg

By: The Associated Press Posted: 3:49 PM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023 Last Modified: 5:37 PM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023

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WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Leipzig coach Marco Rose mourned the end of a “great journey” as the team's two-year reign as holder of the German Cup ended in the second round Tuesday in a 1-0 loss at Wolfsburg.

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This article was published 31/10/2023 (1069 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Leipzig coach Marco Rose mourned the end of a “great journey” as the team’s two-year reign as holder of the German Cup ended in the second round Tuesday in a 1-0 loss at Wolfsburg.

Václav Černý scored off a pass from Tiago Tomas in the 14th minute. A red card for Leipzig forward Yussuf Poulsen for a second booking in the 56th minute set Leipzig on course for its first German Cup loss after 13 wins since defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the 2021 final.

“A great journey for us has come to an end,” Rose said. “We’ve had some great results in the (German Cup) recently and won the title twice. This year, sadly that won’t be the case.”

Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling, left, in action against Union Berlin's Sheraldo Becker during the German Soccer Cup second round match between VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Union Berlin in Stuttgart, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Leipzig has reached the cup final in four of the last five seasons, winning the last two, and last exited the competition this early in a second-round loss on penalties to Bayern Munich in the 2017-18 season.

Union Berlin’s miserable season continued as it was beaten 1-0 by Stuttgart for an 11th straight loss in all competitions, and its fourth game in a row without scoring. Stuttgart’s goal came when Union goalkeeper Frederik Rønnow parried Jamie Leweling’s shot straight to the feet of Deniz Undav to score.

The German Cup was arguably Union’s last chance of success this season, as it has lost all three of its group-stage games so far in its first Champions League campaign and is 15th in the Bundesliga. The slump follows Union’s most successful season ever with a fourth-place finish in the league.

For Cologne too, an already troubled season got even worse in a 3-2 loss to second-division Kaiserslautern. Cologne is second-to-last in the Bundesliga and was coming off a 6-0 loss to Leipzig on Saturday.

Borussia Moenchengladbach beat Heidenheim at home for the second time in three days as American forward Jordan Pefok scored twice in a 3-1 win. Gladbach was coming off a 2-1 win over the same opponent in the league on Saturday.

The lowest-ranked team still in the competition won again as fourth-tier Homburg upset second-division Greuther Fuerth 2-1 to reach the third round for the first time in 28 years.

Cologne's Eric Martel, left, and Kaiserslautern's Terrence Boyd fight for the ball during the German Soccer Cup second round match between 1. FC Cologne and 1 FC Kaiserslautern in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Tuesday Oct. 31, 2023. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)

Bayern, Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen all have second-round games scheduled Wednesday, though Bayern’s game is in doubt. Its third-tier opponent Saarbruecken has been working to get its field ready after its last league game Sunday had to be canceled because the playing surface was waterlogged.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer