Dortmund beat Frankfurt to clinch their fourth German Cup title

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's penalty ensured Dortmund's 2-1 victory over Frankfurt in the German Cup final at outsold Berlin Olympia stadium here.

After three straight final defeats, Borussia Dortmund on Saturday lifted the German Cup for the fourth time in the club's history as Thomas Tuchel's men overpowered resilient "Eagles" in a fast paced encounter.

The "BVB" grabbed a fairy tale start in front of 74,322 spectators as Ousmane Dembele shrugged off one defender to slot home into the roof of the net following a through ball from Lukasz Piszczek with eight minutes played.

Eintracht Frankfurt recovered from the early setback and worked out a couple of opportunities but neither Timothy Chandler nor Ante Rebic were able to level the scores.

The "Eagles" efforts paid off eventually with 30 minutes into the encounter as Rebic curled home, a pass into path from Mijat Gacinovic, into the top left corner from the edge of the box to restore parity.

Niko Kovac's men gained momentum and should have snatched the lead before the break but the left post denied Haris Sefeovic's dangerous shot on target.

Dortmund caught a good start into the second half as Aubameyang's overhead kick had to be scratched off the goal line by Marco Fabian in the 63rd minute.

Aubameyang remained in the thick of the things when goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky brought down Christian Pulisic inside the area, allowing the Gabon international to chip the ball into the centre of the goal to make it 2-1 on the scoreboards in the 67th minute.

The "Eagles" pressed for the equaliser but Dortmund were able to protect the lead to the end to round off the season with the German Cup title.

--IANS

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