2021 DFB-Pokal final

The 2021 DFB-Pokal Final decided the winner of the 2020–21 DFB-Pokal, the 78th season of the annual German football cup competition. The match was played on Thursday, 13 May 2021 (on the Feast of the Ascension, a German public holiday) at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.^[4][5] The match was originally scheduled for Saturday, 22 May 2021,^[6] but was moved to an earlier date prior to the completion of the league season in Germany. This was due to fixture density caused by the late start of the season, originating from the postponement of the end of the previous season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As with other competitions, the match was played behind closed doors without any spectators.^[3]

2021 DFB-Pokal Final

Match programme cover
Event	2020–21 DFB-Pokal
RB Leipzig Borussia Dortmund 1 4
Date	13 May 2021 (2021-05-13)
Venue	Olympiastadion, Berlin
Man of the Match	Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)[1]
Referee	Felix Brych (Munich)[2]
Attendance	0[note 1]
← 2020 2022 →

The match featured RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund won the final 4–1 for their fifth DFB-Pokal title.^[7]

Due to the scheduling change, the match was the first DFB-Pokal final since 2008 to be played prior to the end of the league season, and the first final since 1985 to not be played on a Saturday. Additionally, it was the first final not played on a weekend since 1984, which was also the only prior final played on a Thursday.^[4]

As winners, Borussia Dortmund featured in the 2021 edition of the DFL-Supercup at the start of the following season, and facing the champion of the 2020–21 edition of the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich. The winner of the DFB-Pokal also earns automatic qualification for the group stage of the 2021–22 edition of the UEFA Europa League. However, as Dortmund already qualified for the 2021–22 edition of the UEFA Champions League through their position in the Bundesliga, the spot went to the team in sixth, and the league's UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round spot went to the team in seventh.^[8]

Teams

In the following table, finals until 1943 were in the Tschammerpokal era, since 1953 were in the DFB-Pokal era.

Team	Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners)
RB Leipzig	1 (2019)
Borussia Dortmund	9 (1963, 1965, 1989, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)

Background

Route to the final

The DFB-Pokal began with 64 teams in a single-elimination knockout cup competition. There were a total of five rounds leading up to the final. Teams were drawn against each other, and the winner after 90 minutes would advance. If still tied, 30 minutes of extra time was played. If the score was still level, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner.^[9]

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

RB Leipzig		Round	Borussia Dortmund
Opponent	Result	2020–21 DFB-Pokal	Opponent	Result
1. FC Nürnberg	3–0 (A)	First round	MSV Duisburg	5–0 (A)
FC Augsburg	3–0 (A)	Second round	Eintracht Braunschweig	2–0 (A)
VfL Bochum	4–0 (H)	Round of 16	SC Paderborn	3–2 (a.e.t.) (H)
VfL Wolfsburg	2–0 (H)	Quarter-finals	Borussia Mönchengladbach	1–0 (A)
Werder Bremen	2–1 (a.e.t.) (A)	Semi-finals	Holstein Kiel	5–0 (H)

Match

Details

RB Leipzig	1–4	Borussia Dortmund
Olmo 71'	Report	Sancho 5', 45+1' Haaland 28', 87'

13 May 2021 (2021-05-13)

20:45 CEST

Olympiastadion, Berlin

Attendance: 0^{[note 1]}

Referee: Felix Brych (Munich)

RB Leipzig

Borussia Dortmund

GK 1 Péter Gulácsi CB 16 Lukas Klostermann CB 5 Dayot Upamecano  45+1' CB 23 Marcel Halstenberg DM 44 Kevin Kampl  62' RM 22 Nordi Mukiele  62' CM 25 Dani Olmo  81' CM 7 Marcel Sabitzer (c) LM 8 Amadou Haidara  70' CF 19 Alexander Sørloth  46' CF 11 Hwang Hee-chan  46' Substitutes: GK 33 Josep Martínez DF 4 Willi Orbán DF 6 Ibrahima Konaté DF 39 Benjamin Henrichs  70' MF 10 Emil Forsberg  62' MF 18 Christopher Nkunku  46' MF 27 Konrad Laimer  62' FW 9 Yussuf Poulsen  46' FW 21 Justin Kluivert Manager: Julian Nagelsmann

GK 1 Roman Bürki RB 26 Łukasz Piszczek CB 16 Manuel Akanji CB 15 Mats Hummels  90' LB 13 Raphaël Guerreiro DM 23 Emre Can CM 22 Jude Bellingham  25'  46' CM 8 Mahmoud Dahoud  50'  74' RW 7 Jadon Sancho  81'  89' CF 9 Erling Haaland  90+2' LW 11 Marco Reus (c)  90+2' Substitutes: GK 40 Stefan Drljača DF 14 Nico Schulz DF 24 Thomas Meunier  89' MF 6 Thomas Delaney  74' MF 19 Julian Brandt  90+2' MF 20 Reinier MF 32 Giovanni Reyna  90+2' MF 36 Ansgar Knauff FW 10 Thorgan Hazard  46' Manager: Edin Terzić

Man of the Match: Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)[1] Assistant referees:[2] Mark Borsch (Mönchengladbach) Stefan Lupp (Zossen) Fourth official:[2] Sascha Stegemann (Niederkassel) Video assistant referee:[2] Günter Perl (Pullach) Assistant video assistant referee:[2] Markus Häcker (Waren)

Match rules[10][11] 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Nine named substitutes. Maximum of five substitutions.[note 2]

See also

• 2021 DFL-Supercup
• Football in Berlin

Notes

1. The final was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.^[3]
2. Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.