RB Leipzig forward Yussef oozes confidence after holding English giants to 1-1 draw in Round-of-16 first leg; insists Germans can win return leg next week
Manchester City’s Jack Grealish (left) is tackled by Yussuf Poulsen of RB Leipzig. Pic/Getty Images
RasenBallsport (RB) Leipzig forward Yussef Poulsen sounded confident of his team’s prospects of defeating Manchester City FC in their UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 return leg next week after an encouraging 1-1 draw against Pep Guardiola’s men at home on Wednesday. Riyad Mahrez’s 27th minute opener was cancelled out by Leipzig’s Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol in the 70th minute. Poulsen came on as a substitute after Gvardiol’s strike as Leipzig looked to secure the draw heading into the all-important second leg at the Etihad Stadium next week.
Game of two halves
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“Yesterday’s game was of two different halves—one half for [Manchester] City and the other half was for us. We played a very good second half and should now be confident going into the [return leg] game,” Poulsen said during a virtual media interaction organised by the Sony Sports Network.
“We were the better team and probably, in the end, with a bit of luck, we could have won the game. So, we definitely have the confidence of being able to go there [Manchester] and secure the win,” he added.
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RB Leipzig steered into the knockouts from a pretty challenging Group F, coming second to only Real Madrid at the end of the six games. They even defeated the Los Galacticos 3-2 at home in October and their recent form has set off suggestions that they can do the unthinkable and lift the Champions League trophy this season.
“There’s a lot to talk about the Champions League title and that we don’t have one. We have a tough opponent at the moment in the Round-of-16 in Manchester City. We did well in the first half of the two games. So, we are confident that we can create opportunities there and then see how far we can take it. We have been in the semi-final once and I can’t see why it cannot be possible again to go far,” added Poulsen.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola also admitted that Leipzig’s pace was too hot to handle.
Guardiola praises Leipzig
“We don’t have the team to compete with them with a lot of transitions, they are better than us and they are faster than us, except Kyle [Walker] and Erling [Haaland]. The pace they have, we don’t have it,” said Guardiola before adding, “The game will have to be more open in Manchester.”
With inputs from agencies
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