Leipzig beat Frankfurt to retain DFB Pokal title
RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on Saturday evening to retain their DFB Pokal title.
Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai scored in the space of 14 minutes deep into the second half to give Red Bulls bragging rights on the day.
Leipzig start strongest
Leipzig started the game better of the two sides and should have been in front within the first four minutes.
However, Timo Werner missed a golden opportunity to give his side the lead when he shot straight to Kevin Trapp from a great shooting position.
Frankfurt then had an opportunity when the French striker made a darting run behind the Leipzig defense but could only find the side setting with his well-executed effort.
Both sides played direct football but neither could carve up a goalscoring opportunity as it was an even contest between two well-marshalled defenses.
Nkunku should have put his side ahead just two minutes before the half-time whistle after being put through on goal by Konrad Lamier, but the French winger squandered the chance as the two teams headed even going into the interval.
RB Leipzig score against run of play
It was Frankfurt who came the better of the two sides after the restart as they started to assert their authority on the game. However, they couldn’t make their dominance count as Nkunku opened the scoring in the 71st minute.
The 25-year-old received the ball from Szoboszlai in acres of space in the left wing and dribbled his way to open up a shooting position from the inside the box.
The winger’s shot deflected past two defenders, wrongfooting Trapp to roll into the back of next to give Leipzig the lead.
Szoboszlai then made it 2-0 five minutes before the end to put the game beyond Frankfurt who looked shellshocked after conceding the opener. Frankfurt hardly offered anything after falling back as Leipzig ran out comfortable winners to win the DFB Pokal for the second season in a row.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Schüler