Leverkusen: Florian Wirtz scored every goal as Bayer Leverkusen beat Fortuna Duesseldorf 4-0 at home on Wednesday to reach their fifth German Cup final.
Leverkusen have a reputation for stealing wins late this season but were in complete control from start to finish against their second-division opponents.
Jeremy Frimpong opened the scoring in seven minutes before Amine Adli added one more at the 20-minute mark. Wirtz added a third 10 minutes before half-time and doubled the lead on the hour mark to seal a comfortable victory for Xabi Alonso’s side.
The win extended Leverkusen’s incredible unbeaten run to 40 games this season and kept alive the treble dream of a team that has won just two major trophies in the club’s history.
“It’s a great result and we’ve made it to the finals. It’s fun to celebrate with the fans and enjoy the look on their faces,” said Wirtz.
“We’re glad we can make them happy now.”
“I’m not going to talk about those topics tonight – it’s important to pay attention,” Wirtz, the center of transfer speculation at the club, who has promised to stay with Leverkusen next year, told ZDF.
“We are delighted to capture that beautiful thing in the final,” said Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah, standing next to the German Cup.
When asked if he wanted to touch her, Tah said, “We’re waiting.”
Kaiserslautern beat third-division Saarbruecken on Tuesday to make their first second-division final since 2011.
Duesseldorf’s hopes of joining Kaiserslautern in the second division final suffered an early blow when Frimpong struck from close range after seven minutes.
Wirtz, despite being just 20, drew the line for Leverkusen and found the confident Adlin to blast home to double the lead.
After Leverkusen won the ball back, he made quick work of Wirtz, who took out the defender and passed Florian Kastenmeier.
After 60 minutes, Patrick Schick’s header connected with Dusseldorf’s Matthias Zimmerman’s arm, and the referee pointed to the spot after a VAR review.
Kastenmeier guessed right, but Wirtz’s shot hit just inside the left post and the home fans chanted “Berlin, we’re going to Berlin” for the May Cup final.
