Ibrahim Maza scores match winner for first Leverkusen goal

Ibrahim Maza’s late match winner in extra time helped Bayer Leverkusen avoid an upset in Germany’s DFB-Pokal on Wednesday in a 4-2 victory at Paderborn.

It was the Algeria national team attacker’s first goal for Die Werkself since joining from Hertha Berlin ahead of the 2025-26 season. Receiving a pass from fellow substitute, Cameroonian forward Christian Kofane, the 19-year-old opened his account on his eleventh appearance.

The former German youth international’s career is fully blossoming as he breaks into both the Leverkusen team as well as the Algeria senior national team. Maza earned his first start for Algeria in the October FIFA window during a 2-1 victory over Uganda in 2026 World Cup qualifying.

With Leverkusen, the minutes are increasing for the highly regarded young player and Wednesday’s goal marked an emotional moment. “I owed the team the goal,” Maza said in post-match comments as he expressed his joy.

There remains plenty to do for the young talent in order to fully break into a team that is competing at the top of German football. However, the positive signs are there and next up is the biggest stage in the Bundesliga, the Allianz Arena where leaders Bayern Munich await on Saturday.