Leverkusen Beats Dortmund 1-0 in DFB-Pokal Round of 16

DORTMUND, Germany (Reuters) - Bayer Leverkusen snapped Borussia Dortmund's impressive unbeaten run at home with a 1-0 victory in the DFB-Pokal round of 16 on Tuesday, advancing to the quarterfinals on a first-half goal from Ibrahim Maza.

The 20-year-old forward struck in the 34th minute at Signal Iduna Park, capitalizing on hesitant defending from the hosts to fire past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. Dortmund, who had not lost on their own turf since early March across all competitions, pushed for an equalizer but could not break through Leverkusen's defense. A potential second goal for the visitors in the 62nd minute was disallowed after a VAR review ruled Martin Terrier offside.

The match marked the first-ever DFB-Pokal encounter between the two clubs, coming just three days after Dortmund's 2-1 Bundesliga win over Leverkusen at BayArena. In that league clash, headers from Aaron Anselmino and Karim Adeyemi secured the points for Niko Kovac's side, despite a late reply from Christian Kofane. Leverkusen's coach, Kasper Hjulmand, had anticipated another tight affair, noting afterward that small details proved decisive. "It was close and tight, but we deserved to win on Saturday," Kovac...