Bayer Leverkusen advanced to the DFB-Pokal semi-finals with a 3-0 home win over St. Pauli on Tuesday, with Martin Terrier, Patrik Schick and Jonas Hofmann on target.
Despite sitting second from bottom in the Bundesliga table, St. Pauli made a positive start and went close through Joel Chima Fujita in the 23rd minute, while Louis Oppie also had a threatening effort blocked in front of Janis Blaswich.
And Leverkusen made the most of that reprieve as they struck eight minutes later, with Terrier drilling into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the area.
Schick then doubled Leverkusen's lead just after the hour mark, stroking into the bottom-right corner after being picked out expertly by Aleix Garcia.
Jonas Hofmann also struck the woodwork for the hosts, though he would get his goal following an Alejandro Grimaldo assist in the 92nd minute as St. Pauli withered.
Kasper Hjulmand's men are the first team to book their spot in the last four, with Stuttgart, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig among the remaining quarter-finalists yet to play their games – the latter duo face each other at the Allianz Arena on February 11.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen break new ground with third straight semi-final run
DFB-Pokal champions under Xabi Alonso in 2023-24, Leverkusen have now won each of their last four quarter-finals in this competition, last exiting at that stage in 2015-16 (versus Werder Bremen).
This is the first time they have ever reached the semi-finals in three consecutive editions of the competition, and they have now scored in 41 straight DFB-Pokal matches.
The all-time competition record of 43 is held jointly by Werder Bremen and Koln, so Hjulmand's team could match that figure by the end of the season.
Leverkusen had to work hard for this victory, only narrowly edging the expected goals (xG) battle by 1.28 to 1.03, while St. Pauli actually outshot their hosts by 10 to eight.