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. The match was originally scheduled for Saturday, 22 May 2021, 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.
The match featured RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund won the final 4–1 for their fifth DFB-Pokal title.
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.
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.
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.
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 (H) VfL Wolfsburg 2–0 (H) Quarter-finals Borussia Mönchengladbach 1–0 (A) Werder Bremen 2–1 (A) Semi-finals Holstein Kiel 5–0 (H)
Match
Details
GK 1 Péter GulácsiCB 16 Lukas KlostermannCB 5 Dayot Upamecano CB 23 Marcel HalstenbergDM 44 Kevin Kampl RM 22 Nordi Mukiele CM 25 Dani Olmo CM 7 Marcel Sabitzer (c)LM 8 Amadou Haidara CF 19 Alexander Sørloth CF 11 Hwang Hee-chan Substitutes:GK 33 Josep MartínezDF 4 Willi OrbánDF 6 Ibrahima KonatéDF 39 Benjamin Henrichs MF 10 Emil Forsberg MF 18 Christopher Nkunku MF 27 Konrad Laimer FW 9 Yussuf Poulsen FW 21 Justin KluivertManager: Julian Nagelsmann GK 1 Roman BürkiRB 26 Łukasz PiszczekCB 16 Manuel AkanjiCB 15 Mats Hummels LB 13 Raphaël GuerreiroDM 23 Emre CanCM 22 Jude Bellingham CM 8 Mahmoud Dahoud RW 7 Jadon Sancho CF 9 Erling Haaland LW 11 Marco Reus (c) Substitutes:GK 40 Stefan DrljačaDF 14 Nico SchulzDF 24 Thomas Meunier MF 6 Thomas Delaney MF 19 Julian Brandt MF 20 ReinierMF 32 Giovanni Reyna MF 36 Ansgar KnauffFW 10 Thorgan Hazard Manager: Edin Terzić
Man of the Match: Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)
Assistant referees: Mark Borsch (Mönchengladbach) Stefan Lupp (Zossen) Fourth official: Sascha Stegemann (Niederkassel) Video assistant referee: Günter Perl (Pullach) Assistant video assistant referee: Markus Häcker (Waren)Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Nine named substitutes. Maximum of five substitutions.
See also 2021 DFL-Supercup Football in Berlin
Notes
References
External links
Match report at kicker.de Match report at WorldFootball.net Match report at Fussballdaten.de