On Wednesday, Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen beat second-tier Fortuna Düsseldorf 4-0 to reach the DFB Pokal final and extend their unbeaten run to 40 games in all competitions this season.
First-half goals from Jérémie Frimpong, Amine Adli and Florian Wirtz put the game to bed as Düsseldorf struggled to keep up the pace against the hosts.
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Germany’s foreign German Wirtz added a fourth with a penalty on the hour mark to give Xabi Alonso’s side a chance to win a first trophy for the first time in 31 years.
Leverkusen will face Kaiserslautern, who defeated third-tier Saarbrücken 2-0 on Tuesday, in the final on May 25.
“It’s very important that the last game of the season is a final,” said Alonso, who remains at Leverkusen despite interest from Europe’s more sensible clubs. “Now we have a wonderful chance and we are happy.
“It’s been a long road. We arrived in July with new players. But they did well. We’ve shown that on the pitch and that’s important,” said the Spaniard.
“Now we’ve reached the point where we deserved the chance to be in the final. “
However, Leverkusen can clinch the Bundesliga name for the first time before, with a 13-point lead over second-placed Bayern Munich with seven games remaining.
They have qualified for the round of 16 of the Europa League, where they will face West Ham United.
The hosts got off to a good start with a shot from Frimpong in the 7th minute. Düsseldorf briefly tried to recover but got stuck at half-time when Wirtz set up Adli for his second goal in the 20th minute.
Wirtz, who scored after Leverkusen, took advantage of a mistake by Düsseldorf before the break and added his moment with a penalty after the break.
There is more good news for Leverkusen as striker Victor Boniface made a second-half appearance after the Nigerian underwent adductor muscle surgery in January and was out for 3 months.