European football: Bielefeld stun Leverkusen to reach DFB-Pokal final
Third-tier Arminia Bielefeld stunned the DFB-Pokal holders, Bayer Leverkusen, 2-1 on Tuesday, coming from a goal down to reach the final. Bielefeld, who have eliminated four Bundesliga teams in consecutive rounds in the competition, became the fourth third-tier side to reach the final.
'I am so proud of the team,' said the Bielefeld coach, Michél Kniat. 'The whole region is feeling this. No one will be sleeping tonight. We defended with a lot of passion and that was the key. We worked extremely hard.'
Leverkusen, who had never lost a DFB-Pokal match under Xabi Alonso, were made to work hard before taking the lead in the 17th minute with Jonathan Tah's tap-in at the far post from a corner. Their joy only lasted three minutes with Marius Wörl beating goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky with a low drive to draw the home side level.
Hradecky pulled off a spectacular save when he blocked Sarenren Bazee's point-blank effort but Bielefeld's comeback was complete on the stroke of half-time with a close-range volley from Maximilian Grosser. The hosts were relentless, keeping up the pressure and carving out several chances after the break before Leverkusen's Patrik Schick hit the post with an 81st-minute header.
'We were missing all our usual strengths,' said the Leverkusen midfielder Robert Andrich. 'We could not have an impact up front and we made far too many mistakes at the back. It was clearly our worst game this season. We have to accept that we messed it up.' Stuttgart face RB Leipzig on Wednesday in the other semi-final.
Paris Saint-Germain recovered from a two-goal deficit to beat second-tier Dunkerque 4-2 and secure their place in the Coupe de France final as they chase a record-extending 16th title. Dunkerque, making their first ever semi-final appearance, took the lead when Vincent Sasso tapped home a flicked ball from Alec Georgen. Muhannad Yahya al-Saad then fired home a low volley, catching the PSG backline off guard, to extend the hosts' advantage.
PSG's top scorer, Ousmane Dembélé, pulled one back just before half-time, with a powerful shot after Achraf Hakimi's pass, while Marquinhos equalised three minutes after the restart by heading home Dembélé's cross at the far post. Désiré Doué put the visitors ahead when his shot took a deflection before finding the net, before Dembélé sealed PSG's comeback in stoppage time by scoring his 32nd goal in all competitions this season.
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A Thijs Dallinga double helped Bologna to a 3-0 win at Empoli in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final. The visitors took the lead when the ball fell kindly to the unmarked Riccardo Orsolini who drove his first-time shot into the net. Bologna doubled their advantage with Dallinga tucking away a perfect through-ball from Dan Ndoye and six minutes after the interval the pair combined again, Dallinga sliding in to finish off Ndoye's pass across goal.
Bologna, twice winners, last lifted the Coppa Italia in 1974, and after this emphatic win their fans will already be booking their trips to Rome for the final in May. The winner of the tie will meet either Milan or Inter, who play their semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
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