Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Freeeuropean round-up Third-tier Bielefeld shock holders Leverkusen to reach cup final; Parrott scores again for AZ Elsewhere, Bologna put one foot in their first cup final since 1974, while PSG survived a scare against Dunkerque. 11.03pm, 1 Apr 2025 Share options German Cup semi-final: Arminia Bielefeld 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen Bielefeld's Maximilian Gro'er, center, celebrates scoring his side's second goal.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo GERMAN CUP HOLDERS Bayer Leverkusen suffered a shock 2-1 elimination at Arminia Bielefeld in the semi-finals of the competition on Tuesday. Xabi Alonso’s side were heavily favoured to reach their second successive final but were outclassed from start to finish by their underdog opponents. Jonathan Tah’s 17th-minute goal was cancelled out by a Marius Woerl strike for the hosts three minutes later. Maximilian Grosser’s goal in first-half stoppage time would prove the difference for Bielefeld, who have now beaten four top-division opponents on their way to the final. Bielefeld, who have never made a German Cup final, became just the fourth third-division team to reach the showpiece event. Should Bielefeld win in Berlin in May — they will face either RB Leipzig or Stuttgart — the club will be rewarded with a Europa League spot next season. Home coach Michel Kniat said: “We didn’t need luck at all because we were on the front foot the whole time.” The coach said he “normally wouldn’t have a drink with the players, but tonight I’ll make an exception”, adding that “nobody will go to sleep in this city tonight”. Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich said it was “by far our worst game of the season” and added that “Bielefeld deserved the win tonight, which means we did plenty of things wrong”. Leverkusen coach Alonso came into the game having never lost in 10 matches in the competition and needed just one more victory to beat Louis van Gaal’s all-time record set as Bayern Munich manager. Everything seemed to go according to plan when Leverkusen took the lead after 17 minutes, Tah tapping in unmarked at the far post. The hosts hit back almost immediately however, Woerl taking advantage of a sloppy clearance attempt by Piero Hincapie to curl the ball home. As the half wore on, Leverkusen were unable to make their possession count, with Bielefeld fast and threatening on the counter. The hosts once again caught Leverkusen napping to take the lead moments before halftime, Grosser hammering in a Louis Oppie free kick from close range. Bielefeld continued to out-energise their opponents, fighting in the duels and giving Leverkusen few chances to drag themselves back into the game. Advertisement Patrick Schick, so often Leverkusen’s late hero over the past two seasons, had a chance to level the scores while unmarked after 81 minutes but hit a header against the post. This year’s German Cup is one of the more open in recent memory, with recent champions Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt all suffering early eliminations from the competition. On Wednesday, RB Leipzig play away at Stuttgart in the other semi-final. Leipzig, who have won two of the past three German Cups, will be managed by interim coach Zsolt Low, who took over after Marco Rose was sacked on Sunday. Eredivisie: AZ Alkmaar 2-2 RKC Waalwijk Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Republic of Ireland striker Troy Parrott opened the scoring with his 19th goal of the season but AZ Alkmaar were forced to salvage a point late on in a 2-2 draw with RKC Waalwijk at Afas Stadium. After a mix-up at the back by RKC, Parrott collected a through ball by Ibrahim Sadiq in acres of space and slotted calmly past goalkeeper Jereon Houwen to give the hosts a 1-0 lead on 13 minutes. However, RKC turned the game on its head through a 62nd-minute equaliser by Michiel Kramer and an 82nd-minute lead goal by Chris Lokesa before Mexx Meerdink levelled for AZ, who currently sit in fifth place in the Eredivisie table. Italian Cup semi-final, first leg: Empoli 0-3 Bologna Bologna's Thijs Dallinga, second left, celebrates their third goal.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo High-flying Bologna have one foot in the Italian Cup final after strolling to a 3-0 win at Empoli on Tuesday and giving joyous fans hope of a first major trophy in over half a century. In-form Riccardo Orsolini opened the scoring with a smart first-time finish in the 23rd minute, after which further goals in each half from Thijs Dallinga secured a big first-leg advantage for Bologna in the last four tie. Bologna haven’t been in a major tournament final since last winning the Italian Cup in 1974, the second of their two domestic cup triumphs. But the seven-time Italian champions are almost certain to play one of the two Milan giants, who face off in their first leg on Wednesday, in next month’s final in Rome after a sixth straight win in all competitions. Vincenzo Italiano’s side are one of Italy’s form teams and made light work of Empoli who are contesting their first ever Italian Cup semi-final. Bologna sit fourth in Serie A and look a good bet to return to the Champions League after their disappointing debut appearance in the competition this season. Italiano has been helped by Orsolini, whose opening strike was his fifth in as many games and will increase calls for the 28-year-old to be brought into the Italy set-up. Orsolini rattled in his 13th goal of the season in front of Luciano Spalletti and the winger then did the “knock-knock” gesture into a pitchside TV camera in a clear message to the Azzurri coach. Italiano is also hunting his first major honour as a coach as he lost three finals with his previous club Fiorentina, including the Italian Cup final in 2023. Empoli beat Fiorentina and Juventus on their way to their first cup semi-final but their dream looks over after yet another defeat. Roberto D’Aversa’s team sit in the relegation zone in Serie A after failing to win since early December, racking up 11 defeats and four draws in that time. French Cup semi-final: Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 Dunkerque PSG celebrate (file pic).Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Holders Paris Saint-Germain survived a major scare by coming from two goals down to beat second-tier outsiders Dunkerque 4-2 in the semi-finals of the French Cup on Tuesday, sealing their place in next month’s final. Ousmane Dembele scored twice on the night for PSG to take his tally for the season to 32 goals in all competitions, while captain Marquinhos and Desire Doue also found the net for the capital side in a game played in Lille. In the final at the Stade de France on 24 May, PSG will face the winners of Wednesday’s second last-four tie between Reims and fourth-division Cannes. Dunkerque, who are fifth in Ligue 2 and were playing in their first French Cup semi-final in 96 years, had been dreaming of pulling off one of the competition’s all-time great shocks as they found themselves 2-0 up against PSG after 27 minutes. Having already eliminated three top-flight teams on their run to the last four, Dunkerque went ahead in the seventh minute when a free-kick from the left was headed on by Alec Georgen for Vincent Sasso to score via the underside of the crossbar. They doubled their advantage before the half-hour mark as PSG were undone by a route-one approach, Gaetan Courtet heading on a long kick by the goalkeeper for Saudi Arabian winger Muhanad Al-Saad to run through and finish. The Dunkerque fans, who had made the trip to Lille from the North Sea port city to watch the game because the club’s own stadium was not deemed suitable for the occasion, could probably not believe what they were witnessing. However, PSG launched their comeback bid as Achraf Hakimi cut the ball back for Dembele to lash in on the stroke of half-time. They equalised three minutes after the restart when Marquinhos headed in a Dembele cross following a short corner, although Dunkerque were left furious as they felt the officials were wrong to award a corner in the first place. Naatan Skytta almost headed the second-tier side back in front moments later, but instead new France international Doue played a one-two with Bradley Barcola before scoring with a deflected shot just past the hour mark. With Dunkerque committing players forward, Dembele then burst clear to make it 4-2 deep in injury time. Luis Enrique’s PSG side will be confirmed as Ligue 1 champions on Saturday if they avoid defeat at home to Angers. The Parisians then face Aston Villa next Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. – © AFP 2025 Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Third-tier Bielefeld shock holders Leverkusen to reach cup final; Parrott scores again for AZ”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Third-tier Bielefeld shock holders Leverkusen to reach cup final; Parrott scores again for AZ”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. 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