The Daily Bee (February 3rd, 2021): Bayer Leverkusen Lose to Fourth-Tier Rot Weiss Essen

Good morning everyone!

Yesterday, Borussia Dortmund narrowly avoided an embarrassing defeat to SC Paderborn in the DFB Pokal, almost blowing an early 2-0 lead, and needing extra time to get by the second-tier side. However, if you think that’s embarrassing, boy do I have a story for you:

Bayer Leverkusen have become the second Bundesliga giant to fall to a club from the lower tiers of German football. Unlike Bayern Munich, who fell to second-tier Holstein Kiel, Leverkusen fell to a fourth-tier side Rot-Weiss Essen. They did it in shocking fashion too. After reaching extra time with neither side scoring, Bayer Leverkusen actually took the lead in the 105th minute off a goal from Leon Bailey. But not only did Essen roar back with a goal three minutes later, but they even snatched a second goal to take the lead in the 117th minute off a top-corner snipe by Simon Engelmann, who is apparently the most prolific fourth-tier goalscorer of all time.

Generally speaking, I don’t like the “Neverkusen” moniker, as it reduced a club with a pretty decent history to a single year that didn’t go their way, but they definitely don’t help their own image with performances like this. With Bayern out of the competition, the DFB Cup is wide open, and Leverkusen have lost a significant chance to win a trophy.

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