Saarbrucken 0-3 Bayer Leverkusen: Bundesliga side end minnows’ cup dream

Bayer Leverkusen scored twice in the opening 19 minutes but Saarbrucken improved after that

Fourth-tier Saarbrucken’s German Cup fairy tale came to an end as they were well beaten by Bayer Leverkusen in an empty stadium in the semi-final.

The hosts, who had not played in three months, looked off the pace and trailed to Moussa Diaby’s volley.

Lucas Alario doubled the lead in the 19th minute after a defensive mix-up.

Saarbrucken may have feared a thrashing then but Leverkusen only scored once more, as Karim Bellarabi blasted the ball into the roof of the net.

Leverkusen will face Bayern Munich or Eintracht Frankfurt – who meet on Wednesday – in the Berlin final on 4 July.

Saarbrucken had beaten two Bundesliga and two second-tier sides on their way to becoming the first fourth-tier side to ever reach the German Cup semi-finals.

But the Regionalliga Sudwest was curtailed because of the coronavirus pandemic, with Saarbrucken, who last played on 7 March, being named champions and promoted to 3 Liga.

Champions League chasers Leverkusen were much fitter, having played five times since the Bundesliga restarted last month, and it showed.

Saarbrucken may have fared better if they had been match fit or had a partisan home crowd of 6,800. But they can have no complaints at being well beaten in the game, with Daniel Batz – who saved six penalties in their cup run – frustrating Leverkusen on several occasions.