RB Leipzig are through to their first DFB-Pokal final in club history after defeating Hamburger SV 3-1. Yussuf Poulsen was a key player for Leipzig and featured heavily in two of Leipzig’s goals. The 24-year-old Danish striker spoke with DFB.de about the move into the final.
Question: Yussuf, congratulations on making it to the final. Did you score twice, or was the second one an own goal?
Yussuf Poulsen: I scored one goal. The 2-1 was a cross from me that was redirected by a HSV player (Ed. Note: Vasilije Janjičić) . But if he hadn’t done that then Emil Forsberg was there to put it in.
Question: Did you feel like the 2-1 turned the game in your favour?
Poulsen: A game like that is never over until the final whistle goes. But even when it was 1-1 I always had the feeling that we would win in the end. We started the game well and kept creating good chances for ourselves. We should have put the game away much earlier. We missed a lot of good chances in the first half, myself included. We were also a little bit unlucky at times. Overall though, we deserve to be in the final.
Question: What happened after HSV equalized? Your team was in danger of letting the game slip through their hands after a strong start...
Poulsen: Getting scored on like that is a wake-up call for the team. That’s what happened to us. We kept pushing at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second and starting playing our game again. Like I said, we should have scored more goals before they equalized, but in the end the most important thing is that we won.
Question: What does being in the final mean to RB Leipzig and for you personally?
Poulsen: It’s equally important for both the club and myself. (laughs) We’re unbelievably happy to have finally made it into a final. It’s a big accomplishment. Getting to play in Berlin on 25th May will be a big deal. Hopefully we’ll be able to win that game as well to cap off a spectacular season. But even without that it will still have been a really great season.
Question: What defines RB Leipzig this season?
Poulsen: The fact that we have this feeling that we can’t lose. Also, that everyone is fully committed and fighting for the same goal, which is to win.
Question: So if you were to face Bayern München in the final, you feel like you would win?
Poulsen: Exactly (laughs). We feel like no one can beat us. Obviously, the final will be a different story. I think it’s the first DFB-Pokal final for all of us who are on the team. But first, let’s wait and see if Bayern will even be in the final. That’s still to be decided.
Question: You’ve been at RB Leipzig since summer 2013, and have seen the team make its way up from the third division. Is being in the Pokal final the highlight for you?
Poulsen: It’s clearly one of the biggest moments. You could also mention getting promoted into the second division, and then into the Bundesliga, or even qualifying for the Champions League for the first time. There have been a lot of great moments—this is just one of them.
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RB Leipzig are through to their first DFB-Pokal final in club history after defeating Hamburger SV 3-1. Yussuf Poulsen was a key player for Leipzig and featured heavily in two of Leipzig’s goals. The 24-year-old Danish striker spoke with DFB.de about the move into the final.
Question: Yussuf, congratulations on making it to the final. Did you score twice, or was the second one an own goal?
Yussuf Poulsen: I scored one goal. The 2-1 was a cross from me that was redirected by a HSV player (Ed. Note: Vasilije Janjičić) . But if he hadn’t done that then Emil Forsberg was there to put it in.
Question: Did you feel like the 2-1 turned the game in your favour?
Poulsen: A game like that is never over until the final whistle goes. But even when it was 1-1 I always had the feeling that we would win in the end. We started the game well and kept creating good chances for ourselves. We should have put the game away much earlier. We missed a lot of good chances in the first half, myself included. We were also a little bit unlucky at times. Overall though, we deserve to be in the final.
Question: What happened after HSV equalized? Your team was in danger of letting the game slip through their hands after a strong start...
Poulsen: Getting scored on like that is a wake-up call for the team. That’s what happened to us. We kept pushing at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second and starting playing our game again. Like I said, we should have scored more goals before they equalized, but in the end the most important thing is that we won.
Question: What does being in the final mean to RB Leipzig and for you personally?
Poulsen: It’s equally important for both the club and myself. (laughs) We’re unbelievably happy to have finally made it into a final. It’s a big accomplishment. Getting to play in Berlin on 25th May will be a big deal. Hopefully we’ll be able to win that game as well to cap off a spectacular season. But even without that it will still have been a really great season.
Question: What defines RB Leipzig this season?
Poulsen: The fact that we have this feeling that we can’t lose. Also, that everyone is fully committed and fighting for the same goal, which is to win.
Question: So if you were to face Bayern München in the final, you feel like you would win?
Poulsen: Exactly (laughs). We feel like no one can beat us. Obviously, the final will be a different story. I think it’s the first DFB-Pokal final for all of us who are on the team. But first, let’s wait and see if Bayern will even be in the final. That’s still to be decided.
Question: You’ve been at RB Leipzig since summer 2013, and have seen the team make its way up from the third division. Is being in the Pokal final the highlight for you?
Poulsen: It’s clearly one of the biggest moments. You could also mention getting promoted into the second division, and then into the Bundesliga, or even qualifying for the Champions League for the first time. There have been a lot of great moments—this is just one of them.
