SOCCER: Holders Stuttgart reach German Cup final with dramatic extra time win over Freiburg

STUTTGART, Germany – VfB Stuttgart are back in the German Cup final after a dramatic late extra-time goal from Tiago Tomas earned the hosts a 2-1 victory over Freiburg on Thursday. The win sets up a highly anticipated final against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

Stuttgart fought back from behind to force extra time, and with penalties looming, two substitutes combined as Tomas latched onto a cross from Badredine Bouanani. Tomas beat his marker to score the decisive goal with just one minute remaining.

Four-time German Cup winners Stuttgart, who defeated Arminia Bielefeld in last year’s final, will face Bayern in the Berlin final on May 23. Bayern secured their place in the final after defeating Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in Wednesday’s semi-final.

The visitors took the lead in the 28th minute, with Maximilian Eggestein connecting with Matthias Ginter’s header to poke the ball past Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel. The goal came after a poor corner kick was conceded by Stuttgart, with defender Angelo Stiller misplacing a long pass back to Nuebel.

Stuttgart had chances to equalize before halftime. Ermedin Demirovic sent a half-volley over the bar from a promising position inside the box, while Jamie Leweling’s low shot narrowly missed the far post.

Early in the second half, Stuttgart came close when Stiller’s close-range effort, following a scramble in the box, was stopped on the line by Freiburg goalkeeper Florian Mueller. Minutes later, the home crowd thought Stuttgart had equalized when Stiller scored, but the goal was ruled offside in the build-up.

The equalizer came in the 70th minute. A quick counterattack saw Bilal El Khannouss drive forward before passing to Deniz Undav, who fired a first-time shot into the far bottom corner.

Undav later hit the post with a deflected shot, and Mueller made two crucial saves to deny Chris Fuehrich and Undav, keeping Freiburg’s hopes alive. In extra time, Fuehrich struck the post before Tomas scored the game-winning goal.

Freiburg’s hopes of claiming a first-ever major trophy now rest on their Europa League campaign, where they will face Portuguese club Braga in the semifinals.

-Reporting by Trevor Stynes, Editing by Christian Radnedge/Reuters