17-year-old Artem made it onto the first team roster for the first time
Bayer won a narrow away victory over Carl Zeiss from Jena to the 1/32 finals German Cup — 1:0.
The representative of the fourth division – Regional League North-East – resisted the champion as best they could. The hosts had the ball for less than a quarter of the time, did not shoot at the goal until the 75th minute, but held on for more than a half and conceded only once – from Jonas Hofmann.
Towards the end, the underdog grew bolder – he went forward, earned several corners. In the 90+3 minute, Hamza Mukaya had what might have been the moment of his life, but he was unable to send the ball from the goal line into the goal.
The match was notable for the fact that for the first time in his career, 17-year-old Ukrainian forward Artem Stepanov appeared in the Pharmaceuticals’ first team roster. He sat on the bench for the entire game, so we’ll have to wait a while for the Ukrainian’s debut for Bayer.
Stepanov is a Shakhtar youth product who joined the Leverkusen club in the summer of 2022. In January 2024, his contract was extended until the summer of 2027. Last season, Artem played for Bayer U-17. Since this summer, the Ukrainian has already been tearing up his division as part of the U-19 team – five matches, five goals, one assist.
Since last autumn, Stepanov has been a player for the Ukrainian U-17 national team – eight matches (including two at the 2024 European Championship), six goals scored.
- German Cup. 1/32 finals
Carl Zeiss – Bayer — 0:1 (0:0)
Goal: Hoffmann, 52
Source: Sportarena
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