Christopher Nkunku scored one and made another as RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt to win the DFB Cup for the second season in a row.

RB Leipzig 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Goals: 1-0 Nkunku 71' (assist: Olmo), 2-0 Szoboszlai 85' (assist: Nkunku)

Holders Leipzig started on the front foot as Dominik Szoboszlai fed Timo Werner, who could only roll his first-time strike from inside the Frankfurt area straight at Kevin Trapp. A Philipp Max free-kick caused problems for the Leipzig rearguard as Eintracht threatened for the first time, but Tuta could not direct his effort on target. Willi Orban intervened to stop Randal Kolo Muani tearing away on the break moments later, with Frankfurt's talisman firing into the side netting soon after. Nkunku fired wide via a deflection towards the end of a competitive first half short of clear-cut opportunities.

Orban was in the right place at the right time once more after the restart, this time getting in the way of Kolo Muani's attempted cut-back and the unmarked Daichi Kamada in the Leipzig penalty box. Janis Blaswich then had to be alert to beat away a fierce Mario Götze volley. That sparked a response from Leipzig, who forged ahead with 71 minutes on the clock. Szoboszlai and Dani Olmo combined to work the ball into the area for Nkunku to unleash a curling strike that took two deflections before nestling into the back of the net past the wrong-footed Trapp. Nkunku then turned provider for Szoboszlai to stick away a composed finish and put the seal on Leipzig's successful title defence.

Match stats

• Nkunku has struck 23 times in all competitions in 2022/23, breaking the 20-goal barrier for the second season in a row.
• Leipzig are the seventh different team to win back-to-back DFB Cups. They have not lost in the competition in 12 matches since losing the 2020/21 final.
• Marco Rose oversaw his 28th win in 41 competitive matches since replacing Dominico Tedesco as Leipzig head coach on 8 September 2022.
• Kolo Muani finished as the 2022/23 DFB Cup top scorer on six goals, one more than Werner.
• Oliver Glasner coached Eintracht for the last time (P49: W21, D12, L16).
• Kamada played his 179th and final game for Frankfurt.

Teams

Leipzig: Blaswich - Henrichs, Klostermann, Orban (c), Halstenberg - Olmo, Laimer, Haidara (Schlager 77'), Szoboszlai - Nkunku, Werner (Poulsen 61')
Unused subs: Nyland, Simakan, Forsberg, Raum, Ba, Diallo, Kampl
Out: Gulacsi (knee), Gvardiol (suspended), Silva (thigh)
Coach: Marco Rose

Frankfurt: Trapp (c) - Tuta, Hasebe (Borre 78'), N’Dicka - Buta, Rode (Lindstrom 70'), Sow, Max (Lenz 78') - Kamada, Götze - Kolo Muani
Unused subs: Ramaj, Jakic, Toure, Chandler, Dina Ebimbe, Aaronson
Out: Alario (knee), Smolcic (knee)
Coach: Oliver Glasner

As it happened!

2 - 0

(0 - 0)

Leipzig

FINAL

Frankfurt

DFB Pokal
Final Final Olympiastadion, Berlin

RBL celebrations begin

It's one more DFB Cup for the Leipzig trophy cabinet and the RBL celebrations are well underway after Marco Rose led his hometown club to the title in what was the 80th DFB Pokal final.

© Imago

Euro positions

Leipzig's win here means that Bayer Leverkusen will compete in next season's UEFA Europa League group stage along with Freiburg while Eintracht Frankfurt will prepare for a Europa Conference League play-off. Die Roten Bullen - who finished third in the recently concluded Bundesliga - will join Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin in the Champions League next term.

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Two in a row

That was a closely-fought and highly-entertaining final. Leipzig edged ahead through a deflected Nkunku effort in the 71st minute. The opener appeared to crush Frankfurt spirits and Oliver Glasner's team were largely chasing shadows from that moment. The cherry on top of Leipzig's Pokal came with a fine Szoboszlai goal from an Nkunku assist. RBL are Cup champions for a second successive year.

© Imago

90'

+ 2

RB LEIPZIG WINNERS!

There goes the final whistle! RB Leipzig have retained the DFB Cup with a 2-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt.

90'

+ 2

Frankfurt frustration

Kolo Muani goes in late on Henrichs and that's a booking for the Eintracht striker.

90'

+ 2

Yellow card

Randal Kolo Muani

90'

Time added on

We'll have four added minutes in Berlin.

90'

Substitution

Kevin Kampl

Dominik Szoboszlai

87'

Frankfurt rally

Here comes Kolo Muani. The striker thumps one at the target from the right but Blaswich is there to parry that one wide.

85'

Game, set and match?

Eintracht give the ball away very cheaply. Henrichs is there to take advantage. The ball is confidently pinged about before Nkunku takes possession and angles one low into Szoboszlai who finds the far corner with a very poised finish.

85'

Dominik Szoboszlai

GOAL!

2:0

83'

More Leipzig

More Leipzig pressure. Frankfurt clear but the ball only lands on the right peg of Henrichs. The shot heads towards the corner flag.

81'

Laimer booked

Götze is hacked down by Szoboszlai. Laimer then adds his weight to the situation as the Eintracht midfielder looks to get to his feet. Yellow card for Laimer.

81'

Yellow card

Konrad Laimer

79'

Poulsen leaps

Poulsen rises to meet a corner from the right. His header angles not too far off the target.

78'

Substitution

Rafael Borré

Makoto Hasebe

78'

Substitution

Christopher Lenz

Philipp Max

77'

Substitution

Xaver Schlager

Amadou Haidara

75'

Rode change felt?

Interesting to note that Eintracht's problems began immediately after Rode was replaced by Lindström. Just seconds after that change, Leipzig went ahead. Marco Rose's men are in the clear ascendency now.

73'

Eintracht stunned

Again Leipzig come. Olmo's shot is deflected wide. The corner is then cleared. Eintracht are in a spot of bother here as RBL look to turn the screw.

71'

Leipzig lead

RBL intercept and switch the direction of play in quick time. Olmo snaps a pass to Nkunku, who comes outside and fires low at the target. The France forward's shot takes a huge deflection off Ndicka and hits the back of the net. No chance for Trapp.

71'

Christopher Nkunku

GOAL!

1:0

70'

Substitution

Jesper Lindström

Sebastian Rode

66'

Chances coming

The game is starting to open up now. Nkunku and Szoboszlai menace inside the Eintracht area but ultimately just fail to find the right pass and Die Adler hack clear.

Up for grabs

The DFB Cup sits in pride of place but it's impossible to say who might lift it here, such is the close nature of this contest.

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64'

Götze batters one

Frankfurt work their way into the Leipzig area. Kolo Muani dinks one up for Götze, who smashes a volley at the target from close range. Blaswich gets his fists right behind that and the ball flies wide.

62'

Nkunku down

Nkunku chases a long ball over the top and feels Tuta's hand on his shoulder. Down goes Nkunku inside the area. There was never enough in that for the referee to consider a foul.

61'

Werner hobbles out

Big disappointment for Werner, who took a clip to his heel earlier and hasn't fully recovered. The Leipzig forward is replaced by Poulsen.

61'

Substitution

Yussuf Poulsen

Timo Werner

58'

Orban rescues Leipzig

Eintracht are away and the roars go up. Götze slides in Kolo Muani who takes a look to his left and tries to pick out his teammate Kamada. Orban makes a crucial interception. It looked on for Frankfurt there.

54'

Brave Blaswich

Looping ball into the Leipzig box and up goes Blaswich, who is wearing a bandage on his forehead following an earlier knock, to punch clear under pressure from Buta.

51'

Over-enthusiastic Kamada

Now, here's a chance. Götze's in the area and has options. He picks out Kamada, who is a tad over enthusiastic and commits a foul. Chance gone.

49'

Rode warrior

Rode ducks and plants his head straight onto Olmo's swinging boot. No fear from the Eintracht captain, who is back on his feet after a quick rub of his noggin. Wasn't he bandaged up in the Europa League final last year?

RBL probing

A touch of slow-slow-quick-quick-slow from Leipzig as they start the half a touch brighter than their opponents.

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47'

Werner sore

Timo Werner's taken a kick to his heel from Hasebe. That's a free kick. Werner's feeling the effects of that as he hobbles around. Nkunku's delivery into the area from the subsequent free kick only finds a Frankfurt head.

46'

Peeeeep!

We're off and running in the second half ...

45'

Teams back out

We're all set for the start of the second half.

45'

Half time

The referee brings an entertaining first half to a close. The DFB Cup final 2022/23 awaits its first goal.

42'

Nkunku has a go

A quick forward thrust from Leipzig and suddenly Laimer has forward runners either side. He picks out Nkunku, whose low drive takes a slight nick to carry it wide. A couple of subsequent RBL corners come to nothing.

38'

Captain Rode

Nkunku with a delicate, pacey pass to Laimer on the flank. In slides Eintracht captain Rode to not only make a superb tackle, but also win a throw in! Now that the Frankfurt fans liked plenty.

RBL in control

Leipzig have been enjoying long spells of possession in the past few minutes . The Eintracht fans don't like this at all and are making their feelings known. Plenty of boos and whistles from the Frankfurt end.

© Getty

32'

Blaswich comfortable

Max wallops a centre from the left into the Leipzig area. The ball pops up into the hands of the leaping Blaswich. It may need a moment of individual class to unlock this one. Let's see.

30'

Kolo Muani claim

Buta powers his way up the touchline. The cut-back is aimed at Kolo Muani, who goes down a little theatrically under the close attention of Laimer. Nothing doing, says the ref, and on we go.

No breakthrough

It's been a fascinating watch thus far as we await the game's first goal. Nothing to separate these teams.

© Imago

25'

Coaching instructions

Both Glasner and Rose are at the edge of their respective technical areas shouting, pointing, applauding and occasionally catching a glimpse of one another.

22'

Götze set-piece

Kolo-Muani tries to race away down the left and is bundled over by Klostermann: free kick Eintracht. Götze stands over the ball and looks to pick out a teammate. His pass heads low towards the near post and Leipzig can clear that handily enough.

19'

Tension rising

Marco Rose's side content to knock it around at the back at the moment as Eintracht wait patiently. This is tense.

16'

Muani!

Kolo Muani drives a shot into the side netting from a tight angle at the end of a promising few minutes for Frankfurt. Blaswich had it covered, mind.

15'

Werner OK

Leipzig's physio team has done its job, for now at least...

14'

Werner concern

The Leipzig forward hobbles off, after pulling something with nobody near him...

11'

Frankfurt pace

Buta tries to send Kolo Muani on his way after Frankfurt win back possession in midfield. He's got the pace, but Orban comes across to avert the danger.

10'

Denied!

Leipzig build really well with Laimer and Szoboszlai. It pops up in the box for Olmo after Werner miscontrols, but Buta gets in the way to block the shot.

7'

Chance!

Max floats in a free-kick that causes mass panic in the Leipzig box. Blaswich tries to get something on it as two or three Frankfurt players throw themselves towards the ball, and is grateful to see it go behind for a goal-kick.

4'

Werner!

What a chance for Leipzig! Szoboszlai drives forward and drops a cute pass off for Werner in the box. He only has Trapp to beat, but sends his first-time effort straight at the keeper. The Leipzig forward just didn't get any power on it!

1'

Under way!

The ball's rolling in the 80th DFB Cup final. Leipzig are head to toe in red, Frankfurt in white shirts with black shorts and white socks.

Kick-off!

Minute's silence

There's a minute's silence prior kick-off, in memory of the 15-year-old German boy killed as a result of an altercation with an opposition player at a youth tournament in Frankfurt earlier this week.

All set

It's almost time. Eintracht, then, are aiming for a sixth DFB Cup success while Leipzig are looking to defend the title they won here last year. Will it be the Eagles of the Red Bulls who prevail in Berlin. We're soon to find out!

© Imago

Glasner chilled

Eintracht boss Oliver Glasner is feeling just as relaxed as his counterpart. "I'll enjoy this evening amid a great atmosphere," the tactician said, ahead of his last game in charge of the Eagles.

Rose clear

Not much messing about from Leipzig coach Marco Rose in his pre-match comments just now: "We're here to win this thing." Music to Leipzig fans' ears .

© Imago

Atmosphere building

The outcome of this evening's final is uncertain, but what is absolutely clear is that the atmosphere inside Berlin's magnificent Olympiastadion will be spectacular. The Eintracht end is already bouncing with 40 minutes to go until kick off while Leipzig's fans are continuing to stream in as the sun shines down on the German capital.

Frankfurt team news

Oliver Glasner has made two changes to the Eintracht team that began last weekend's 2-1 win against Freiburg with Philipp Max and and captain Sebastian Rode in for Christopher Lenz and Jesper Lindström, who drop to the bench. Daichi Kamada, meanwhile, reverts to his attacking midfield position.

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Frankfurt starting XI

Trapp (c) - Tuta, Hasebe, N’Dicka - Buta, Rode, Sow, Max - Kamada, Götze - Kolo Muani

Frankfurt subs

Ramaj, Jakic, Toure, Borre, Chandler, Lenz, Dina Ebimbe, Lindstrom, Aaronson

Leipzig team news

Die Roten Bullen are without the suspended Josko Gvardiol while Andre Silva is missing having picked up an injury during training. Marco Rose's side will have Dani Olmo - who recently signed a contract extension with the Cup holders - probing in attack while Nkunku and Werner will look to menace up top.

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Leipzig starting XI

Blaswich - Henrichs, Klostermann, Orban (c), Halstenberg - Olmo, Laimer, Haidara, Szoboszlai - Nkunku, Werner

Leipzig subs

Nyland, Simakan, Poulsen, Forsberg, Raum, Schlager, Ba, Diallo, Kampl

Leipzig experience

Reaching four finals in the past five years is quite the record for RB Leipzig in the DFB Cup, and defender Willi Orban reckons Die Roten Bullen's previous Pokal experience is sure to stand to the Saxony-based side. "It is good if you have experienced a few games at this level," the 30-year-old said. "That gives you a bit more calmness in certain pressure situations on the pitch to make the right decision. Basically, it is important to have played in games like this before.”

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Kolo-Muani eases fears

Eintracht's formidable forward - who boasts 26 Bundesliga goal involvements this term - has calmed Frankfurt fan fears that he may have been touch and go for this evening's game. “I was struggling with minor groin problems because of the high workload," the French striker said. "I’ve been working on it with our physiotherapists and things have turned out very well. I’m going to be 100 per cent fit,” Kolo-Muani concluded.

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Blaswich excited

Hats off to Leipzig's back-up goalkeeper Janis Blaswich, who has had a solid season since taking over from the injured Peter Gulacsi last October. The 32-year-old has conceded just once while keeping three clean sheets en route to the Cup showpiece, his first senior career final. “I’m feeling extremely excited; it’s definitely the biggest game of my career," Blaswich said. "I’ve not won a major title yet and I would love to do so now," he added.

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French flair

The final has been billed as a showdown between two of the Bundesliga's brightest French talents, Nkunku and Kolo Muani. In today's French sports daily, L'Equipe, Germany's all-time record scorer Miroslav Klose shared his thoughts on the duo: "I think 'Kolo' is slightly more complete because he's so good in the air. But Nkunku is more unpredictable, and makes hardly any technical errors."

Götze extends

Ahead of tonight's final - which falls on his 31st birthday - Mario Götze has signed a one-year contract extension with Frankfurt, meaning he is now linked to the club until 30 June 2026. "I've felt very comfortable at Eintracht since day one," he explained. "The club and the city now have a place in my heart. I see myself here in the future and wanted to provide clarity by signing this contract extension ahead of schedule. I'm still firmly convinced of Eintracht's huge potential, and I'm looking forward to many more games for the club."

© Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images

Glasner's last stand

"We've studied Leipzig thoroughly," explained Glasner in his final pre-match press conference as Frankfurt head coach. "We believe we're well-equipped for the job and have an idea for how we can control Leipzig's play, but the crucial thing will be how we execute it out on the pitch. There's going to be a huge number of Eintracht fans in the stadium again. We want to bring the cup back to Frankfurt."

© Imago

More from Rose...

A local boy himself, Rose has added motivation in his first DFB Cup final to help his hometown club retain the trophy. "In this final we all stand together," he said. "The fact is that it is my city - I was born here, I love Leipzig... To have the opportunity to bring the title to Leipzig for the second time in a row is special."

© Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images

Rose on "blessing" of near fully-fit squad

Leipzig boss Marco Rose has given an interview to the club's website on the eve of the cup final, saying life's a lot easier for having a near fully-fit squad to pick from this weekend. "[It's] a total blessing. We will definitely have a top team on the field and guys who are on fire out there," said the RBL coach. "Of course it's always good for a coach when he has a lot of players available and has to make decisions, even if it's not always easy."

© DFL/Getty Images/Reinaldo Coddou/Bundesliga Collection via Getty

0:59

Watch: Leipzig's route to the final

Leipzig have arguably had the tougher path to Berlin. After thrashing minnows Teutonia Ottensen 8-0, the holders were pitted against Bundesliga 2 outfit Hamburg (4-0), followed by a trio of Bundesliga clubs. They made light work of the lot, ousting Hoffenheim (3-1), Borussia Dortmund (2-0 ) and Freiburg (5-1).

1:00

Watch: Frankfurt's route to the final

Frankfurt beat Bundesliga 2's Magdeburg 4-0, fourth-tier Stuttgarter Kickers 2-0 and recently promoted local rivals Darmstadt 4-2, before facing Bundesliga opposition in the latter stages. The Eagles ran out 2-0 winners in their quarter-final tie with Union Berlin and edged VfB Stuttgart 3-2 in the last four.

4:02

Watch: Kolo Muani tactical analysis

Leipzig may be regarded as favourites prior to kick-off seeing as they finished the Bundesliga season 16 points ahead of Frankfurt, but the Eagles should never be underestimated, particularly given the presence of a certain Randal Kolo Muani up front. Check out the video above for an analysis of what makes him so good.

Familiar foes

Marco Rose and Oliver Glasner (l-r.) know each other well, having previously crossed paths in the Austrian Bundesliga while respectively in charge of Red Bull Salzburg and LASK. In fact, they have faced one another more often than they have any other coach during their careers on the touchline. Of those 15 times, Rose has won eight, drawn five and lost just twice. Only one of those defeats was in the Bundesliga: a 2-1 triumph for Glasner's Wolfsburg over Gladbach in December 2019.

© IMAGO/Sven Sonntag/IMAGO/Picture Point

Last hurrah?

Frankfurt have confirmed that head coach Oliver Glasner and attacking midfielder Daichi Kamada will be leaving the club in the summer. Can they go out with a bang here?

2:03

Watch: Leipzig 2-1 Frankfurt - previous meeting

Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg scored first-half goals to propel Leipzig to victory on Matchday 22 back in late February, with Djibril Sow replying for Frankfurt in the second half.

Head-to-head

These teams have only met once previously in the DFB Cup, with Frankfurt earning a 3-1 victory in the last 16 in February 2020. They have faced each other 14 times in the Bundesliga over the years, producing four wins for Leipzig, three for Eintracht and seven draws. Each side won their respective home game in the Bundesliga in 2022/23.

History

Leipzig won the competition for the first time last year after overcoming Freiburg on penalties to enjoy their first major title triumph. Frankfurt are five-time DFB Cup winners, most recently lifting the trophy in 2017/18, when they beat Bayern Munich in the final.

Hello and welcome!

Thanks for joining us for build-up and live match coverage of the DFB Cup final between RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt.

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