Stuttgart beats Leipzig 3-1 to reach German Cup final as Low loses on debut

By Canadian Press on April 2, 2025.

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Zsolt Low lost his first game as Leipzig coach as Stuttgart held on for a 3-1 win in the semifinals of the German Cup on Wednesday.

Leipzig dominated in Low’s debut — he replaced Marco Rose on Sunday — but Stuttgart scored when it mattered and goalkeeper Alexander Nübel had a standout game to help send the team to its first cup final in 12 years.

Angelo Stiller gave Stuttgart the lead in the sixth minute with a volley from outside the penalty area. Nick Woltemade made it 2-0 when he finished off a passing move in the 57th but Leipzig hit back almost immediately with a goal for Benjamin Sesko.

Jamie Leweling bundled the ball over the line at a corner to seal it in the 73rd.

Nübel earlier kept Stuttgart in the lead with save after save, keeping out three shots by Loïs Openda in the first half alone and leaping to catch a Xavi Simons shot that took a deceptive deflection.

Jürgen Klopp, who oversees Leipzig in his role as head of Red Bull’s global soccer, was in attendance to see Leipzig’s first game under Low, a former assistant to Thomas Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Stuttgart will play third-division Arminia Bielefeld in the final in Berlin next month following Bielefeld’s upset of last season’s cup winner Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press

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