The China Mail - Leverkusen back from brink to reach German Cup semi-finals

Leverkusen were expected to cruise against their second-division opponents, but found themselves two down early in the second half as Damion Downs and Linton Maina scored either side of half-time.

Staring at a first loss in the competition since July 2022, Florian Wirtz assisted Patrik Schick to kick start a comeback effort with 30 minutes remaining.

Schick then sent the game to extra-time with a header in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Boniface, playing alongside fellow striker Schick for the first time this season, latched onto an Alex Grimaldo cross to put his side on track for victory.

Cologne looked to have sent the match to penalties when Imad Rondic scored in the 113th minute, but his goal was overturned on VAR review for a narrow offside.

Cologne were relegated from the top division last campaign but have rebounded in the Bundesliga 2 and sit top with more than half of the season played.

With a pyrotechnics display from the visiting fans resulting in 10 minutes of first-half stoppage time, Downs took advantage of some sloppy Leverkusen defence to blast into the bottom left corner seconds before the break.

Early in the second half, Downs found Maina in acres of space and the winger rounded goalkeeper Matej Kovar to double Cologne's lead.

On the 61st-minute mark, Wirtz found Schick who nutmegged the goalkeeper to cut Cologne's lead, the ninth time the German has assisted the Czech in all competitions this season.

Leverkusen's remarkable run in the 2023-24 season featured 18 goals after the 90th-minute mark in all competitions and the German champions again left it late, Schick heading in a cross in the final minute of stoppage time.

With Cologne reeling, Boniface, who was cleared for a move to Saudi Arabia in January before a last-minute U-turn, was first to a Grimaldo cross to put Leverkusen in the lead.

Cologne rallied but a late equaliser was ruled out by VAR for the narrowest of offsides.

The win means Leverkusen, who put out Bayern Munich in the last round, join Stuttgart, who beat Augsburg 1-0 on Tuesday, in the semi-finals.

Later in February, two-time winners RB Leipzig host 2015 winners Wolfsburg while Werder Bremen, who have lifted the trophy on six occasions, play at home against third-division Arminia Bielefeld.

L.Kwan--ThChM