Freiburg reached the DFB-Pokal final for the first time in their history with a 3-1 semi-final win at second-tier Hamburg.
Goals from Nils Petersen, Nicolas Hofler, and Vincenzo Grifo fired Freiburg into a commanding half-time lead as the visitors produced a scintillating counter-attacking display.
The Bundesliga's third-best defensive outfit then held on comfortably after the break, despite Robert Glatzel providing a late consolation for the hosts, and Freiburg will meet either RB Leipzig or Union Berlin in next month's final.
11 years after first joining the visitors, head coach Christian Streich continues to make history, with Freiburg's dreams of cup glory and a top-four Bundesliga finish remaining in their sights.
Hamburg fell behind after just 11 minutes when Petersen headed home after a goalmouth scramble, with a quick VAR check ascertaining Roland Sallai was not interfering with play.
That goal gave Freiburg a huge boost, and they doubled their lead within five minutes when Hofler's long-range strike cannoned off Sebastien Schonlau and into the roof of the net.
Hamburg almost responded when Anssi Suhonen forced a save from Mark Flekken, but were out of the contest after 35 minutes when the VAR awarded Freiburg a bizarre penalty, with Vincenzo Grifo smashing home from the spot after Moritz Heyer clumsily kicked Nico Schlotterbeck in the neck.
Suhonen had a cool finish ruled out in a marginal offside call as Hamburg's nightmare half drew to a close, before Sallai rippled the side netting with a fierce strike shortly after the break.
The 2.Bundesliga team took the game to Freiburg in the second half, with Sonny Kittel's deflected volley drawing a decent save from Flekken after 67 minutes.
Hamburg were finally rewarded for their improvement when Glatzel nodded a consolation goal after 87 minutes, and Freiburg's Ermedin Demirovic struck a post from range as the visitors claimed a historic win.
What does it mean? Fantastic Freiburg reach new heights
Freiburg had never previously reached the German domestic cup final, losing to Stuttgart on their only previous semi-final appearance in 2013.
Streich's men, however, will compete for their first major trophy in May's final, and could beat their highest-ever Bundesliga finish of fifth (in 2012-13) as they continue to chase a top-four spot.
Cup hero Petersen sets the tone
With a packed Volksparkstadion producing a boisterous atmosphere, Freiburg needed an early goal to quell any nerves, and got one through Petersen's header. The 33-year-old has now scored 12 in the competition, with no other player scoring more (Alexander Iashvilli also has 12).
Visitors make fast start count
After putting their hosts to the sword before the break, Freiburg have now scored six first-half goals in their four DFB-Pokal games this season, with only RB Leipzig scoring as many in the competition.
Streich's team also became just the second to hit three first-half goals in an away DFB-Pokal semi-final. Bayern Munich are the other team to do so at Schalke in 1984.
What's next?
Hamburg will look to revive their slim hopes of promotion from the 2.Bundesliga at Jahn Regensburg on Saturday, while Freiburg host Borussia Monchengladbach on the same day.
Dundee consider appeal against six-figure fine for postponements over poor pitch
Dundee are considering an appeal after being handed a six-figure fine – most of which is suspended – following a disciplinary hearing over their troublesome pitch.
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) announced that a fine of £186,000 had been handed down.
However, £120,000 of the punishment is suspended until the end of next season and will only be triggered by a further breach of rules.
Dundee disagreed with the wording of the SPFL press release, claiming they had been fined £150,000 in total with an additional £36,429.60 fee payable as compensation to the SPFL for television and pitch specialist costs.
The cinch Premiership club say the additional £120,000 fine would be “automatically triggered in the event of a single waterlogged pitch postponement next season”.
A statement added: “Dundee Football Club are deeply disappointed with the severity of the punishment and are currently seeking legal advice with regards to an appeal.
“The club will be making no further comment on the outcome while we seek legal advice.”
The league said that Dundee had admitted five separate breaches of SPFL rules relating to their Dens Park pitch following five postponements of league matches this season.
An SPFL spokesman said: “SPFL rules on pitch condition are an integral part of maintaining a fair league competition.”
Two of the postponements – against Rangers and Aberdeen – came within 90 minutes of kick-off and a recent game against Motherwell only went ahead following a late pitch inspection, with visiting manager Stuart Kettlewell subsequently arguing that areas were unplayable.
The rearranged match against Rangers was postponed again last week and a contingency plan was made to play the game at St Johnstone’s McDiarmid Park before the game finally went ahead at Dundee’s home ground on Wednesday, with the match ending goalless.
Massimiliano Allegri taking nothing for granted at resurgent strugglers Cagliari
Cagliari’s record at home means Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri is not taking the trip to the Sardinian capital lightly.
Juventus are well positioned to secure Champions League qualification for next season, while Cagliari are just four points above the drop zone ahead of Thursday’s contest at the Unipol Domus.
The Bianconeri next take on Lazio in the Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday, holding a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
But Allegri is wary of Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari, who scored twice in the last quarter of an hour to secure a 2-2 draw at runaway league leaders Inter Milan last time out.
“Of their eight wins this season, six have come at home and 23 of the 31 points they’ve got have been picked up at home,” Allegri told a press conference.
“They’re a team who score a lot of goals in the last 15 minutes of games and particularly with players who come off the bench, they have scored more goals with substitutes than anybody else.
“We know it will be a tough game, so our very best version will have to show up. We won’t be rotating ahead of the Italian Cup, the most important game is Cagliari, then we’ll focus on the cup.
“It would be a mistake to not focus on Cagliari, and a win in Sardinia would allow us to take a big step towards our goals.”
Juventus still have clashes against top-four rivals AC Milan, Roma and Bologna ahead of them in the next few weeks.
“It’s important to stay focused on the next month or so,” Allegri added. “We have a lot of difficult games to come. A win at this stage is almost worth double.”
Cagliari have lost just once in their last eight matches to ease relegation fears and twice hit back from a goal down to claim a surprise point at Inter Milan on Sunday.
“I told the guys that they are doing well, but we have new pitfalls ahead of us,” Ranieri told a press conference.
“The team is focused, we have to keep the right balance. We have to keep pushing without fear, the salvation fight is very tight. There are no foregone conclusions, you go out there and fight.”
EFL to seek compensation for clubs after FA Cup replays abolished
The EFL will seek compensation for its clubs over the “frustrating and disappointing” decision to scrap all FA Cup replays from next season.
League sources say it was sidelined from the decision, which was announced by the Football Association on Thursday.
EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: “Whilst the league had previously been involved in discussions over the future of the calendar, these were predicated on the agreement of a new financial deal with the Premier League for EFL clubs which has not progressed.
“This is frustrating and disappointing given the calendar is a shared asset across football, and as we have consistently said a whole game approach is required to find solutions to complex fixture scheduling challenges.
“Our domestic calendar has been put under extreme pressure by the expansion of UEFA competitions and ultimately this represents another lost traditional revenue stream for EFL clubs at a time when the financial gap between the biggest clubs and those further down the pyramid is growing bigger than ever.
“We will now be discussing the implications for EFL clubs and seeking appropriate compensation arrangements.”
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