Leipzig's German Cup title defense ends in 1-0 loss at Wolfsburg

WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Leipzig's two-year reign as holder of the German Cup ended in the second round Tuesday in a 1-0 loss at Wolfsburg.

Václav Černý scored off a pass from Tiago Tomas in the 14th minute. A red card for Leipzig forward Yussuf Poulsen for a second booking in the 56th minute set Leipzig on course for its first German Cup loss after 13 wins since defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the 2021 final.

Leipzig has reached the cup final in four of the last five seasons, winning the last two, and last exited the competition this early in a second-round loss on penalties to Bayern Munich in the 2017-18 season.

Union Berlin's miserable season continued as it was beaten 1-0 by Stuttgart for an 11th straight loss in all competitions, and its fourth game in a row without scoring. Stuttgart's goal came when Union goalkeeper Frederik Rønnow parried Jamie Leweling's shot straight to the feet of Deniz Undav to score.

The German Cup was arguably Union's last chance of success this season, as it has lost all three of its group-stage games so far in its first Champions League campaign and is 15th in the Bundesliga. The slump follows Union's most successful season ever with a fourth-place finish in the league.

Fourth-tier Homburg upset second-division Greuther Fuerth 2-1 to reach the third round for the first time in 28 years.

Bayern, Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen all have second-round games scheduled Wednesday, though Bayern's game is in doubt. Its third-tier opponent Saarbruecken has been working to get its field ready after its last league game Sunday had to be canceled because the playing surface was waterlogged.

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