RB Leipzig win first German Cup trophy

BERLIN: Ten-man RB Leipzig lifted the German Cup at the third attempt on Saturday winning 4-2 on penalties having fought back to draw 1-1 against Freiburg after extra-time.

“To win with ten men says a lot about our mentality and I’m really proud. It’s great to finally get a first title,” said Leipzig midfielder Emil Forsberg.

Maximilian Eggestein gave Freiburg an early lead at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium before Christopher Nkunku equalised inside 90 minutes after Leipzig had Marcel Halstenberg sent off.

Leipzig’s triumph comes having lost their previous German Cup final appearances to Bayern Munich in 2019, then Dortmund last season.

“That’s crazy, we played 60 minutes with ten men,” Leipzig managing director Oliver Mintzlaff told ARD. “We’re going to party hard, this is an historic evening for us.”