Sesko penalty sees Leipzig book semi-final spot | OneFootball

The encounter began at a frantic pace on a crucial evening in Saxony, with chances at both ends.

In just the fourth minute, Lois Openda found himself in acres of space inside the Wolfsburg box. However, his sidefooted shot flashed wide after an exquisite outside-of-the-foot cross from partner-in-crime Benjamin Sesko.

Up the other end less than a minute later, Wolfsburg's Tiago Tomas got a powerful shot away from the left-hand side of the box that flew into the side netting of Maarten Vandevoort's goal.

Both Openda and Leipzig let rip with efforts from distance in the opening ten minutes before the match began to settle into a rhythm of Leipzig possession.

Looking to pick their moments, Wolfsburg began to grow back into the match, forcing Vandevoort into two saves within a minute via shots Mohamed Amoura and Andreas Skov Olsen, raising the decibels emerging from the travelling Wolfsburg contingent of 4,000.

Moments before halftime, Patrick Wimmer forced Vandevoort into action again after a snapshot from the right looked to be flashing into the bottom corner.

Despite having less of the ball, the visitors led the hosts in shots on target before the sides went into the break with the scores level.

And it was the visitors who started the second in red hot fashion, with Amoura and Skov Olsen seeing their efforts stopped by both the bar and Leipzig's Vandevoort respectively.

Lois Openda found himself with a huge opportunity in the 58th minute after a beautifully floated cross from Sesko, after seeing his first effort blocked after a fantastic touch to bring the ball down, the rebound from the Belgian flashed well-wide of Marius Müller's goal.

Strike partner Sesko, however, spurned the biggest chance of the game so far for Leipzig five minutes later when his free header rolled wide after meeting a delicious David Raum free kick. After starting the half on the back foot, it was the hosts who continued to grasp control of the side.

Four minutes later, Leipzig would be rewarded for their pressure when the Slovenian confidently netted from the spot after winning a penalty via the arm of Kilian Fischer.

Ralph Hasenhüttl and Wolfsburg naturally felt aggrieved, with the decision itself being somewhat controversial, with the fullback doing all he could to move his right arm out of the way.

The onus now was on Wolfsburg to put their frustrations aside, and die Wölfe immediately looked to pile pressure on, with Bence Dardai letting rip from distance.

Leipzig, though, as they had done all match long, were able to quickly wrestle back control at the first sight of a Wolfsburg flurry. As the closing period continues, it began to look likely that if there was going to be another goal, it would be one for the hosts.

Xavi Simons, Amadou Haidara and Lois Openda all let rip with efforts, but for now, the scores remained at a goal to nil as Ralph Hasenhüttl's men saw the clock keep ticking.

After Sesko saw a shot saved at one end, Wolfsburg came agonisingly close to finding an equaliser in the 87th minute when Vandevoort rushed out of his goal to deny Kevin Behrens from close range.

Despite throwing bodies upon bodies forward, Wolfsburg just weren't able to force an opportunity big enough to drag themselves level, with Leipzig's Openda going up the other end to unleash a fantastic shot, well saved by Müller.

RB Leipzig saw out the closing stages on home soil to book their place in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal where they look to win back the trophy snatched out of their hands in May of 2024.