3️⃣ points as Bayer Leverkusen brush aside fourth-tier FC Saarbrücken | OneFootball

It was a comfortable night for Bayer Leverkusen after they beat FC Saarbrücken 3-0 in their DFB Pokal semi-final.

Goals from Moussa Diaby, Lucas Alario and Karim Bellarabi put the game beyond doubt.

Here are three points we took from the game …

Dynamite Demirbay

Bayer Leverkusen enjoyed some consistent performers across the board, but Kerem Demirbay stole the show without even breaking sweat.

The 26-year-old was everywhere in midfield, collecting the ball in deep areas, linking play smartly in advanced areas and even ended the night with three assists.

Statistically speaking, Demirbay also completed 92% of his passes, six long balls, four key passes and seven tackles, proving his creativity is matched by industry.

He personified the sizeable gap in quality between both sides.

Strength in depth

It goes under the radar but away from Kai Havertz, Leverkusen are building an extremely exciting young squad under Petr Bosz.

They made five outfield changes from their 4-2 weekend defeat to Bayern Munich and were still able to start Paulinho, Lucas Alario and Moussa Diaby, with Kevin Volland, Exequiel Palacios and Nadiem Amiri on bench.

Edmond Tapsoba looks an inspired January signing, 17-year-old Florian Wirtz continues to impress yet experience still filters through the side in Charles Aranguíz and Julian Baumgartlinger.

If they can prevent some poor defensive lapses … this side could be a force to be reckoned with.

Celebrate the fairytale

They may have fallen in the semi-final, but FC Saarbrücken and their journey should still be celebrated despite defeat.

The Saarland-based club beat Karlsruher SC and two Bundesliga opponents – FC Köln and Fortuna Düsseldorf – on the way to this stage, which is an incredible achievement in itself.

Not only that, but they were the first fourth-tier side in history to reach a DFB Pokal semi-final, playing against a side 52 places above them in the German football pyramid.

One major regret was that no fans were present but we’re sure this run will be remembered for years to come.