In the German Cup this season, Wolfsburg caused the first surprise by eliminating holders RB Leipzig with a thrilling 1-0 victory, while fourth-tier Homburg upset Greuther Fuerth and Kaiserslautern sank Cologne.

Vaclav Cerny gave Wolfsburg, coached by Niko Kovac, who won this competition with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018, an early lead that Leipzig was never able to match. The Red Bull team has a strong recent history in the competition; they have advanced to three finals and have won two of them against Freiburg and Frankfurt after losing the first one to Borussia Dortmund in 2021.

Putting their Bundesliga troubles behind, Kovac's team achieved their greatest triumph of the year at home.

Despite going into this game having lost four of their last five league games, Wolfsburg flew out of the blocks.

Leipzig struggled to find their rhythm and when Yussuf Poulsen saw red nine minutes into the second half for a clumsy second yellow, the reigning champions' chances disappeared.

In another surprise result, Greuther Fuerth of Germany's second division were beaten 2-1 at home by fourth tier Homburg with Phil Harres scoring a late winner.