“I am happy with my performance and with my goal in the last minute that gave the team the opportunity to go on and win the match”, said Axel Witsel, who was making his debut. In the fifth minute of injury time he forced the game to extra time, during which Marco Reus would go on to score in the dying moments: “It is fortunate that things then unfolded as they did.”
Axel Witsel: “Ultimately we are all really happy with the win. It’s always difficult if you don’t get a goal straight away in this kind of match. It wasn’t simple. We stayed cool. I’m happy with my first game and my goal in the last minute which gave the team the chance to go on and win the match. The ball came to the back post and I was in the right place at the right time. Right now I’m looking forward to our fans in our stadium and the incredible atmosphere there.”
Manuel Akanji: “Pure joy and a bit of a relief! Before Fürth’s goal we had five or six 100 percent chances but didn’t get the goal. They got a chance and immediately found the back of the net. We never lost our belief, showed strength of character and scored last-minute goals twice. It is not easy to play 120 minutes straight away in your first match. We can be happy with the performance, but we must improve our finishing.”
Marco Reus: “We were the team the dictated the tempo of the match, but didn’t have any more real chances on goal in extra time. We lacked energy all over the pitch. That’s normal. It was fortunate that things unfolded as they did. On the other hand, Jadon made his way past two or three players really well. We already knew before the game that we still have a lot to do. We are happy that we have made it through to the next round. Now we need to recover well, and analyse the match and the mistakes we made. Leipzig are a completely different calibre of team.”
