Staff Reporter.
Emil Forsberg headed RB Leipzig into their third German Cup final in four years when he struck the last-gasp winner to seal a 2-1 home victory over Union Berlin on Wednesday.
After an Andre Silva penalty had cancelled out Sheraldo Becker’s first-half header for Union, Forsberg headed in a cross in the second minute of stoppage time to seal the semifinal win.
Leipzig are through to the German Cup final on May 21 at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium where they face Freiburg, who beat Hamburg 3-1 in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
In a typically tense cup atmosphere, visitors Union took the lead with 25 minutes gone when Becker tucked a cross inside the far post to the delight of the travelling fans.
This was the first goal Leipzig have conceded in their run to the cup final.
It was 1-0 at the break, but Leipzig drew level when their top-scorer Christopher Nkunku was brought down in the area.
Portugal striker Silva converted the resulting penalty with clinical accuracy on 61 minutes.
Having failed to score three penalties this season against Paris Saint-Germain, Real Sociedad and Atalanta in Europe, Silva roared in celebration when his spot kick sailed past Union’s Danish goalkeeper Frederik Roennow.
Extra time was beckoning when Swedish playmaker Forsberg rose above his marker and guided his header into the corner.
It extended Leipzig’s unbeaten run to 15 games in all competitions.
By a freak of the fixture list, Leipzig host Union this Saturday in the Bundesliga ahead of their Europa League semifinal at home to Rangers on April 28.
Meanwhile second-from-bottom Arminia Bielefeld sacked their head coach Frank Kramer on Wednesday in a last-gasp bid to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga.
With four games left, Bielefeld are three points from a guaranteed place in Germany’s top flight next season.
Last Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at home by Bayern Munich was their seventh straight loss, which sparked Kramer’s sudden departure.
“We want to give the team a boost in order to stay in the Bundesliga,” said sports director Samir Arabi.
Bielefeld’s goalkeeping coach Marco Kostmann will be in charge for Saturday’s game at Cologne.
The weekend after Bielefeld host Hertha Berlin, a key match in the relegation battle with just three points separating the clubs.