RB Leipzig advanced to the second round of the DFB-Pokal with a thrilling 3-2 win against second-division SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Emil Forsberg opened the scoring early on (7’) and Benjamin Šeško scored Leipzig’s second and third goal (18’, 70’). Ivan Prtajin also scored a brace, getting the hosts back into the game on two separate occasions (40’, 73’). Leipzig clung on at the end of the game to book themselves a spot in the second round.
Marco Rose’s side took the lead with their first chance of the night, as Christopher Lenz’s cross was met by a powerful header from Poulsen forcing Wiesbaden keeper Florian Stritzel into a good save, but the ball dropped directly at Emil Forsberg's feet and the Swede finished with composure (7’).
Wehen Wiesbaden show promise
The second-tier side posed a threat to Gulácsi’s goal when Lee’s shot from the left of the penalty area forced the Hungarian into a good save after 14 minutes. Benjamin Šeško then doubled Leipzig’s lead shortly after, capitalising on a poor attempted clearance from Marcus Mathiesen (18’).
Wehen Wiesbaden then managed to get a goal back when Ivan Prtajin got on the end of a long ball over the top of the Leipzig back line, beat Nicolas Seiwald and lobbed the ball over Péter Gulácsi into the back of the net (41’). Fabio Carvalho almost made it 3-1 just before the break, after being put through on goal by Castello Junior Lukeba, but his effort on goal was just wide of the right post (45’).
Prtajin and Šeško with goals in the second half
The hosts were the superior side at the start of the second half, but RB Leipzig slowly got going again after head coach Marco Rose introduced fresh legs. However, Prtajin had a big chance to equalise in the 61st minute, but Gulácsi made a good reflex save.
Šeško then gave Leipzig a two-goal cushion after 70 minutes, firing the ball into the top left corner of the goal, after the ball fell to him following Forsberg’s blocked shot. But the game was by no means over; while Gulácsi managed to make the initial save from Prtajin’s header, the Croat scored on the follow-up (73’). Šeško could have doubled Leipzig’s lead again, but the crossbar denied him his hat-trick (80’). The match was tense right up until the final whistle, with Julius Kade’s long range effort forcing Gulácsi into another save (88’) and Castello Lukeba clearing off the line (89’).
With the win, RB Leipzig are through to the second round of the DFB-Pokal and the draw for the next round of matches will take place on Sunday 1st October (19:10 CEST).