Werkself Review #SCPB04: Taking the positive feeling of a last-minute win

Summary: Last-minute Maza strikes for Leverkusen

It turned into a classic cup thriller in Paderborn as the high-flying Bundesliga 2 side forced the Werkself to be patient. Kasper Hjulmand’s team tried to break through the hosts’ compact defence, but it took an Alejandro Grimaldo free-kick in the 60th minute to finally breach them, after Felix Götze had been sent off for a challenge as last man on Christian Kofane. Leverkusen controlled matters with a man advantage but would concede themselves in the 90th minute when Stefano Marino grabbed an equaliser for Paderborn after an all-action finish to force extra-time. The 10-man hosts would even take the lead through Sven Michel, but Jarell Quansah popped up with a response at the end of the first additional period before Maza struck even later in the second half of extra-time to win it in the 122nd minute. Aleix Garcia made doubly sure of progress to the last 16 when he finished into an empty net with goalkeeper Makus Schubert up the other end looking to snatch another equaliser.

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Reaction: “The joys of football”

Speaking afterwards, Jonas Hofmann wasn’t entirely pleased with how his side played out of possession, “but the cup has its own rules. The positive feeling is still the overwhelming one, and we now want to take that into our next game against Bayern Munich.” Maza, meanwhile, was pleased about his maiden goal in black and red: “I’m delighted to score my first goal for Leverkusen at such a moment. I can only thank the team and obviously hope that’s just the start.”

It was also a special night for Belocian as he made his first start in over a year following a lengthy injury. “I was so happy to be starting again. I had a tough time, but now to be back, that’s one of the joys of football,” the defender said. The Frenchman also wants to learn from the difficult cup tie: “There are a few things we need to work on, which is why these games are important to show where you’re at.”

Coach Hjulmand also reserved praise for Maza: “I’m delighted for Ibo. He’s really making progress, working well and with focus. He’s got great quality and always wants to learn.” The Dane was just as pleased by the efforts of Ernest Poku and Kofane, while also believing that the extra 30 minutes won’t be detrimental to this coming weekend. “Obviously extra-time meant more energy, but we just need to recover and regain our strength. We’ll be ready for Bayern.”

What the papers say: “Same as always – Last-minute Leverkusen”

“Werkself beat valiant Paderborn” was the description by kicker, who said that the “Werkself’s pressure was simply too great”. According to the Rheinische Post, that was down to the introductions of Kofane and Poku, who “added life to Bayer’s attack”. The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger spoke of the “strength of desire” in Hjulmand’s team to “win a spectacular cup tie”, while Bild believed that Maza’s dramatic winner evoked memories of the 2023/24 double-winning season with their headline “Same as always – Last-minute Leverkusen”.

Personnel: Maza’s maiden goal, Grimaldo’s free-kick record

Maza’s decisive goal was the youngster’s first for Bayer 04, while Quansah got his first in Germany’s cup competition. Loic Badé, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Martin Terrier all made their DFB Pokal debuts.

Grimaldo once again showed his skills over a dead ball, putting away his eighth goal from a direct free-kick since his Leverkusen debut in August 2023. No other player in Europe’s top five leagues can match that total over the same period.

Stats: Bayer 04’s away scoring record

The result maintains the Werkself’s unbeaten record against Paderborn, winning six out of seven competitive meetings, and also sees the 2024 winners into the round of 16 for the seventh time in the last eight years. In addition, Leverkusen have prevailed in their last six Pokal ties against Bundesliga 2 clubs.

Alongside the club’s current Bundesliga record run of 37 away games without defeat, the Werkself have now managed to score in each of their last 38 away cup ties – a club-best streak spanning over 18 years.

Despite Paderborn’s efforts, the stats very much favour Leverkusen over the 120 minutes. They finished with 64 percent possession and a pass completion of 89 percent, also winning 52 percent of duels. Hjulmand’s men had 28 attempts on goal, which is the club’s highest tally in a DFB Pokal game over the past two seasons.

Coming up: Munich then Lisbon

Bayer 04 have two more big games coming up over the next week, first facing Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Saturday (18:30 CET) before a trip to Portugal to take on Benfica in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday (21:00 CET).