Bayer Leverkusen recovered from a two-goal deficit to defeat FC Nurnberg 5-2 and reach the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal.
The hosts were in serious danger of suffering a shock exit at BayArena after second-tier FC Nurnberg, coached by Germany and Bayern Munich great Miroslav Klose, took a 2-0 lead inside the opening 30 minutes.
Rafael Lubach put Nurnberg ahead with an excellent finish in the 13th minute, before Sigurd Haugen doubled their advantage from close range at the end of a fast counter-attack.
Leverkusen captain Edmond Tapsoba gave the hosts a route back into the match shortly before half-time, heading in from Aleix Garcia’s corner.
The centre-back levelled his personal tally four minutes into the second half, scoring at the second attempt after Nurnberg failed to clear another corner.
Patrik Schick, introduced at half-time, then completed Leverkusen’s turnaround from the penalty spot. He had won the penalty after being brought down by Alexis Kalogeropoulos.
Jonas Hofmann extended the home side’s lead in the 78th minute, finding the bottom-right corner brilliantly from the edge of the penalty area.
Former Real Madrid player Lucas Vazquez completed the scoring in the 89th minute with an excellent volley, turning what had threatened to be an upset into a convincing Leverkusen victory.
Tapsoba leads Leverkusen response
Tapsoba has been a regular for Bayer Leverkusen since joining the club as a youngster in 2020. Given the captaincy this season, the 27-year-old centre-back made a significant contribution at both ends of the pitch.
He recorded four attempts, with three on target. Only Hofmann, who had five shots, registered more for either side.
Tapsoba was not required to make a large number of defensive interventions as Leverkusen controlled much of the match, but he still led the hosts for clearances with two.
Aleix Garcia was also influential in midfield. He created four chances, more than any other player, and had 132 touches. That was 42 more than any other player in the game, with Tapsoba next on 90.
Leverkusen created chances worth 3.07 expected goals (xG) and finished the match with 25 attempts, compared with five from Nurnberg.
The result ended an unusual sequence for Nurnberg. It was their first DFB-Pokal defeat in a match in which they had been ahead at half-time since January 2011, when they lost to Schalke. That ended a run of seven games in the competition in which they had led at the interval without losing.
