December 06, (THEWILL) – Bayer Leverkusen continued their strong form under manager Xabi Alonso by defeating SC Paderborn 3-1 to progress to the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday evening. Despite a spirited performance that included a late goal, second-division side Paderborn were outclassed by the in-form Bundesliga outfit.
The first half belonged to the home side, as goals from Nigerian forward, Victor Boniface, and Exequiel Palacios gave Leverkusen a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break. Boniface smashed in the opener in the 12th minute after good work from Jeremie Frimpong, before Palacios doubled the lead with a long-range strike in 28 minutes.
Paderborn attempted to get back into the match in the second half but saw a goal from Jonas Hofmann ruled out for offside shortly after the restart. Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso took the chance to rest some key players as the match wore on, including bringing on striker Patrik Schick.
Despite a late wonder strike from Sebastian Klaas in the 83rd minute giving the visitors a glimmer of hope, Leverkusen sealed their passage with a stoppage-time goal from Schick to make it 3-1 after an assist from Granit Xhaka.
The win sees Leverkusen into the last eight of the cup competition as they continue an impressive run of form so far in 2023. Paderborn can take pride in their performance despite the defeat to top-flight opposition.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
