Chelsea's ugly duckling transforms into Leipzig's swan - Werner sinks BVB to reach the cup semis

Holders RB Leipzig kept their hopes of a second straight German Cup title alive, winning 2-0 against Borussia Dortmund to reach the semi-finals on Wednesday.

The home side burst out of the blocks against a poor Dortmund, taking the lead midway through the first half when a rampaging Mohamed Simakan found Timo Werner on the break to tap home from close range.

Defender Willi Orban scored on the counter deep into injury time to send Leipzig through to the semis for the fourth time in five seasons.

The two most recent Cup winners faced off in what has become an increasingly bitter rivalry between the sides most likely to challenge Bayern Munich for major trophies in Germany.

With Bayern eliminated at the hands of Freiburg on Tuesday, both sides knew a win would place them in pole position for the Cup.

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Leipzig came into the match having lost four of their past five matches but showed fluency and aggression in attack, peppering a shellshocked Dortmund defence.

Visiting goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, after a howler which led to his side's collapse on Saturday against Bayern, held firm, pulling off several acrobatic saves in the early stages.

Leipzig eventually claimed a deserved lead on 22 minutes, Simakan running 50 metres to set up Werner for the former Chelsea striker's fifth goal this Cup campaign.

Despite a raft of attacking changes from coach Edin Terzic, Dortmund were ineffective up front, missing the link-up play of injured striker Sebastien Haller.

Dortmund dominated possession late on and went close to scoring deep into injury time, but with Kobel pushed up, Leipzig scored a second through Orban on the break to seal the victory.

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Dortmund, who opened 2023 with ten straight wins in all competitions, have now lost three of their past five.

Sitting two points behind Bayern in the league, Dortmund will need to arrest the slide at home against third-placed Union Berlin on Saturday.

© Agence France-Presse

German Cup - DFB Pokal

Quarterfinals

Tuesday

Eintracht Frankfurt - Union Berlin 2-0 (2-0)

/Kolo Muani 11,13/

Bayern Munchen - Freiburg 1-2 (1-1)

/Upamecano 19 - Hofler 27, Holer 90+5 pen/

Wednesday

Nurnberg - Stuttgart 0-1 (0-0)

/Millot 83/

RB Leipzig - Borussia Dortmund 2-0 (1-0)

/Werner 22, Orban 90+8/