Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are set to meet in the DFB-Pokal final for the first time after they emerged victorious in their respective semi-final ties.
The manner of their victories could not have been more different, though. Leipzig needed a dramatic injury-time winner to get past Werder Bremen 2-1 in extra-time. Meanwhile, Dortmund smashed giant-killers Holstein Kiel 5-0, with all five goals coming in a 25-minute span in the first half.
Before looking ahead to a fantastic final between BVB and the Red Bulls, here are SBOTOP’s key takeaways from the two DFB-Pokal semi-finals.
Nagelsmann’s Red Bulls still fighting till the end
Just days before Leipzig’s big semi-final clash with Werder Bremen, the news many had anticipated was finally confirmed: Julian Nagelsmann was going to become Bayern Munich’s next manager.
After two seasons of helping RB Leipzig become one of Bayern’s main competitors in the league, Nagelsmann will now take over from Hansi Flick and look to extend Bayern’s Bundesliga title streak to 10 years and beyond.
While this sort of news could lead to disastrous consequences (see: Marco Rose at Gladbach), RB Leipzig showed in their cup semi-final against Werder Bremen that they were still very much locked in and ready to fight till the end for Nagelsmann.
Leipzig were a little unlucky that they even needed the late winner; they were clearly the superior side against Werder and struck the woodwork twice through Willi Orban and Christopher Nkunku.
But Nagelsmann persisted, and his move to bring on Emil Forsberg was an inspired one as the Swede popped up with the winning goal with mere seconds left in extra-time.
Nagelsmann will now have a chance to deliver quite a special parting gift to Leipzig: the first piece of major silverware in the club’s history.
BVB’s future stars fire them into the final
This season has been quite a disappointing one for Borussia Dortmund. Instead of challenging Bayern Munich for the title, they have fallen off the pace – which led to Lucien Favre’s sacking – and are now fighting desperately to finish in the top four.
Missing out on the Champions League would be incredibly costly for Dortmund and could force them to sell prized youngsters Erling Haaland and/or Jadon Sancho this summer.
But despite this season’s disappointment, the future remains quite bright for BVB. They now have a chance to pick up their first piece of silverware in four years after thumping Holstein Kiel 5-0, thanks in large part to their next crop of up-and-coming stars.
With Haaland out due to injury, 17-year-olds Gio Reyna and Jude Bellingham took centre stage against Holstein Kiel as they scored three of their five goals. Bellingham has come on strong late in the season, scoring three goals in his last six games.
With the potential they’ve shown this season, Reyna and Bellingham are likely to figure heavily in incoming manager Marco Rose’s plans at Dortmund next season. Those two, along with 16-year-old prodigy Youssoufa Moukoko, will form an exciting young core at Dortmund for years to come.
Holstein Kiel’s cup luck finally runs out
Holstein Kiel’s fairytale cup run has finally come to an end. The DFB-Pokal 2021 betting odds were heavily against the second-tier club away to Dortmund, and so it proved. The visitors had a disastrous half-hour spell which led to five Dortmund goals, and that was all she wrote.
It was a disappointing end to what was an incredible cup run for the Storks, who produced the biggest of DFB-Pokal 2021 results when they upset German champions Bayern Munich in the second round.
Holstein Kiel will be the first to admit they rode their luck a fair bit to beat Bayern on penalties. And they needed another shootout to make it through to the next round.
Their cup magic finally ran out against Dortmund, though. They made their own problems by turning the ball over in dangerous areas, which led to a couple of Dortmund goals. But they also hit the post with their best chance of the match.
But despite their heavy defeat, Holstein Kiel have a lot to be proud of. And they could very well face Dortmund in the Bundesliga next season if they can successfully complete their promotion push.
Holstein Kiel are currently in fourth in Bundesliga 2, two points behind third-placed Hamburg for the qualifying play-off with three games still in hand.
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