Yussuf Poulsen scored twice as DFB Cup holders RB Leipzig booked their place in the last 16 with a comfortable 4-0 win over Bundesliga 2's Hamburg.

RB Leipzig 4-0 Hamburg
Goals: 1-0 Poulsen 34' (assist: Simakan 34'), 2-0 Poulsen 37' (assist: Silva), 3-0 Simakan 69' (assist: Forsberg), 4-0 Henrichs 82' (assist: Schlager)

Without respective talismen Christopher Nkunku and Robert Glatzel, Leipzig and Hamburg had their feelers out until the 19th minute, when Miro Muheim smashed a fierce volley against the woodwork. That sparked Leipzig into life as Benjamin Henrichs tested Daniel Heuer Fernandes, shortly before Mohamed Simakan crossed from the right for Poulsen to tap in the opening goal from close range. The Denmark international needed just three minutes to add a second in a near carbon copy of his first, albeit with Andre Silva the provider.

Leipzig attempted to press home their advantage after the restart as Emil Forsberg curled in a shot that Heuer Fernandes did well to keep out. The HSV No.1 then pulled off a miraculous point-blank save to prevent Poulsen completing his hat-trick following good work by substitute Hugo Novoa. Die Roten Bullen shifted up a gear in the closing stages, with Simakan glancing in a Forsberg corner for 3-0. The coup de grâce came by way of a breakaway goal involving substitute Xaver Schlager, who set up Henrichs for an arrowed finish into the bottom corner.

Match stats

• Poulsen scored in a competitive game for the first time since 23 April 2022.
• Forsberg has scored or assisted in three straight matches in all competitions.
• Leipzig have won six of eight home matches this season (D1, L1).
• The holders have reached the final three times in the last four years, but have also gone out at this stage three times in their 10 previous DFB Cup campaigns.
• HSV won the last of their three DFB Cup titles back in 1986/87, with semi-final exits to Freiburg last year and Leipzig in 2018/19 their best runs in the last decade.
• The home team has never won in five renditions of this fixture (four Leipzig victories, one for HSV, and one draw).

Teams

Leipzig: Blaswich - Simakan (Schlager 71') Orban (c) (Gvardiol 46'), Diallo - Henrichs, Kampl, Raum -  Szoboszlai (Novoa 60'), Forsberg (Ba 83') - Poulsen, Silva
Unused subs: Nyland, Haidara
Out: Gulacsi (knee), Halstenberg (suspended), Klostermann (ankle), Laimer (ankle), Nkunku (wrist), Olmo (knee), Werner (illness)
Coach: Marco Rose

Hamburg: Heuer Fernandes - Heyer (Mikelbrencis 74'), Vuskovic, David, Muheim - Reis (Krahn 74'), Meffert (c), Suhonen - Jatta (Amaechi 68'), Königsdörffer (Bilbija 74'), Dompe (Kittel 60')
Unused subs: Raab, Andresen, Schonlau, Zumberi
Out: Glatzel (knock), Heil (foot), Leibold (muscular), Megeed (metatarsal)
Coach: Tim Walter

As it happened

4 - 0

(2 - 0)

Leipzig

FINAL

Hamburg

DFB Pokal
Round 2 Round 2 Red Bull Arena

HOLDERS MARCH ON

HSV gave it a good go in the first half and were mighty close to scoring the opener with Meffert's thundering long-range shot that hit the underside of the crossbar, but Poulsen's quick-fire double shortly afterwards seemed to break their spirit. The visitors were clearly missing main striker Glatzel, allowing Leipzig to keep them at arm's length for most of the game, as well as grabbing another couple of second-half goals to deservedly take their place in the draw for the last 16.

© IMAGO/opokupix/IMAGO/opokupix

Full-time

87'

LEIPZIG WANT MORE

The youngsters who have come off the bench, Ba and Novoa, are keen to show what they can do and are harrying the HSV defenders high up the pitch, even though the outcome of this game has long been decided.

83'

Substitution

Sanoussy Ba

Emil Forsberg

83'

ICING ON THE CAKE

This is a lovely counter-attack from Leipzig. Poulsen wins the ball in midfield and finds Forsberg, who in turn releases Schlager. The Austrian is allowed to run at the HSV back line before drawing a defender towards him and sliding a pass into the run of Henrichs to his left. The Germany international smacks a low drive into the far corner. Textbook stuff.

82'

Benjamin Henrichs

GOAL!

4:0

POULSEN OFF THE MARK

It's been a tough season for Poulsen, who has fallen down the pecking order since Timo Werner's arrival in the summer. He was without a goal in his seven competitive matches this season prior to today, spanning the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Cup, so his double here are his first goals of the campaign.

© Oliver Hardt/Getty Images

77'

FOOT OFF THE GAS

It's a matter of finding the balance now for Leipzig. They raced to a 3-0 lead against Hertha Berlin at the weekend before easing off too much and allowing Hertha to score twice and get a foothold in the game. They've gone down a couple of gears since making it 3-0 here, happy to run the clock down and sit deeper, letting HSV come at them. Will history repeat itself today or have Leipzig learned their lessons from Saturday?

74'

Substitution

Filip Bilbija

Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer

74'

Substitution

Elijah Krahn

Ludovit Reis

74'

Substitution

William Mikelbrencis

Moritz Heyer

71'

Substitution

Xaver Schlager

Mohamed Simakan

70'

SIMAKAN MAKES IT THREE!

That's game over, surely. Forsberg whips in a devilish corner from the left, which is met at the near corner six-yard box by Simakan, who sends a looping header in at the back post!

69'

Mohamed Simakan

GOAL!

3:0

68'

BAD NEWS FOR HSV

Jatta limps off grimacing in pain with an injury. On comes Amaechi in his place.

68'

Substitution

Xavier Amaechi

Bakery Jatta

65'

UNREAL SAVE FROM HEUER FERNANDES!

How did he keep this out? Poulsen looks certain to score his hat-trick after Novoa whips a ball across the face of goal, teeing up the Danish forward for another close-range finish. Only this time, Heuer Fernandes gets a hand to it to make a brilliant point-blank stop.

61'

COUPLE OF CHANGES

Leipzig take of Szoboszlai, and HSV will be relieved to see the back of him. Youngster Novoa is given a chance to show what he can do. For HSV, playmaker in chief Kittel comes off the bench for Dompe, who is still working his way back to full fitness following injury.

60'

Substitution

Hugo Novoa

Dominik Szoboszlai

60'

Substitution

Sonny Kittel

Jean-Luc Dompé

57'

FORSBERG HAS A GO

Forsberg draws a fine save from Heuer Fernandes at the other end, jinking inside from the left and curling an effort towards the far post that the goalkeeper does well to keep out.

55'

PROMISING AGAIN FROM HSV

Dompe glides forward down the left and slots a pass into the feet of Meffert. He in turn finds Königsdörffer in the box, but the attacker's attempted cushioned pass to the onrushing Dompe lacks the necessary cushion, and the chance goes begging.

50'

JATTA IN BEHIND

HSV make a run behind the Leipzig defence for what feels like the first time in this game. Jatta is on the right-hand side of the box, shepherded by Gvardiol, but as he shapes to shoot he inadvertently taps the ball with his left foot first, leaving him to swing his right foot into empty space!

47'

UNDER WAY AGAIN

We're back for the second 45 minutes. HSV are unchanged but Leipzig have made one substitution, bringing on Gvardiol for Orban in central defence.

46'

Substitution

Joško Gvardiol

Willi Orban

Kick-off!

LEIPZIG CLINICAL

It was a fairly even half but two quickfire goals from Poulsen have put Leipzig in charge of this tie. HSV have been brave going forward, but without star man Glatzel up front they're lacking the necessary cutting edge to hurt their hosts.

© Oliver Hardt/Getty Images

45'

TWO ADDED MINUTES

With the interval fast approaching, we're into the first of two minutes of stoppage time.

42'

INTO THE WALL

Raum takes the free-kick this time, but his left-footed curler strikes the wall.

41'

HENRICHS DOWN

He receives treatment after a hefty challenge, and Leipzig have a free-kick 30 yards from goal...

37'

POULSEN DOUBLE!

It's a similar goal to the first one as Leipzig break down the right. This time Silva gets the assist, sprinting into the box and squaring for Poulsen for another tap-in!

37'

Yussuf Poulsen

GOAL!

2:0

34'

LEIPZIG IN FRONT!

Lovely from Szoboszlai, who waits for Simakan on the overlap down the right and then frees him into space. He then plays a low cross into the middle for Poulsen to tap into an empty net!

33'

Yussuf Poulsen

GOAL!

1:0

28'

FIRST CHANCE FOR LEIPZIG!

It's take almost half an hour for Leipzig to create their first real opening and it's for Henrichs, who cuts in from the right and thumps a left-footed effort at goal. It's got some power behind it, but not the accuracy needed to beat Heuer Fernandes.

23'

POULSEN ACTIVE

The Leipzig forward powers into the HSV box and tries to square the ball to the unmarked Silva, but a defender's foot just gets there first.

19'

OFF THE BAR!

What a hit! Leipzig struggle to clear a ball into the box and it eventually falls kindly for HSV left-back Muheim, lurking just outside the area. He smashes a fearsome volley at goal that arrows towards the top corner - with Blaswich well beaten - but it hits the underside of the crossbar, bounces down and is then hooked away!

16'

HSV HOLDING FIRM

The Bundesliga 2 side is far from overawed here and are not only defending well, but also boldly trying to get forward whenever they can. Their attacks invariably end up breaking down before they can cause much trouble though.

12'

... INTO THE WALL

Forsberg takes the free-kick but smashes it straight into Jatta in the HSV wall.

11'

SZOBOSZLAI TERRITORY

Heyer trips up Szoboszlai as he skips past him, about 30 yards from goal, left of centre. It's a prime location for a free-kick...

9'

SILVA PROBING

Silva peels off his marker and darts behind the HSV defence. Kampl spies his run and plays a nice ball over the top, but Heuer Fernandes comes off his line to collect before the Portuguese forward can get there.

4'

LEIPZIG HAVING A GO

It's been a fast-paced start to the game so far, with Leipzig applying plenty of pressure despite all their big-name absences.

1'

HERE WE GO!

The second round of the cup is under way!

Kick-off!

TEAM NEWS - LEIPZIG

Leipzig boss Marco Rose has made three changes to his side following the win over Hertha Berlin at the weekend. Christopher Nkunku is out after undergoing surgery on his wrist, so Youssef Poulsen is handed a rare start up top. Benjamin Henrichs and Kevin Kampl also come into the team, with Xaver Schlager and Amadou Haidara dropping to the bench.

TEAM NEWS - HAMBURG

The big news for the visitors is that star striker Robert Glatzel is absent. How much that will affect their game remains to be seen, but as a big target man he is the focal point for their attacks, getting on the end of crosses into the box and holding up the ball well. He's replaced by Jean-Luc Dompe, an exciting and jet-heeled winger, so HSV will likely have to have a different approach today. Sebastian Schonlau is on the bench; he was sent off in the derby defeat by St. Pauli at the weekend and given a two-game suspension, so Jonas David starts here to get up to speed ahead of a run in Bundesliga 2.

LEIPZIG STARTING XI

Blaswich - Simakan, Orban (c), Diallo - Henrichs, Kampl, Raum -  Szoboszlai, Forsberg - Poulsen, Silva

LEIPZIG SUBS

Nyland, Haidara, Schlager, Ba, Gvardiol, Novoa

HSV STARTING XI

Heuer Fernandes - Heyer, Vuskovic, David, Muheim - Reis, Meffert (c), Suhonen - Jatta, Königsdörffer, Dompe

HSV SUBS

Raab, Andresen, Mikelbrencis, Schonlau, Zumberi, Amaechi, Bilbija, Kittel, Krahn

THE STORY SO FAR

Leipzig booked their ticket for this second-round tie with a comprehensive 8-0 victory over fourth-tier outfit Teutonia Ottensen in the first round at the end of August in a match in which Timo Werner hit a hat-trick following his return to the club. HSV, meanwhile, needed extra time to overcome third-division opponents Bayreuth, eventually winning 3-1 after the match had ended 1-1 after 90 minutes.

2:03

WATCH: PREVIOUS MEETING: LEIPZIG 1-1 HSV

The teams shared the points in a 1-1 draw when they met on 27 January 2018 in the Bundesliga - the season HSV ended up getting relegated.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING - LEIPZIG

"We know what we are up against and what to expect," said Leipzig boss Marco Rose. "We will try to set ourselves up accordingly. Above all, we will look to play our game. It's a game of knockout football and we want to progress into the next round. We will need to be compact and put pressure on the ball so we don't let them get into their flow. They have pace on the wings, they like to get crosses into the box and they have a target man through the middle in Robert Glatzel."

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING - HSV

"This match gives us the opportunity to showcase ourselves as a club and a team," said head coach Tim Walter at his pre-match press conference. "We are the absolute underdogs. Leipzig play in the Champions League and are the reigning cup holders. We know the quality they have. That said, we will look for our chance and not deviate from our DNA. We want to show what we can do. We want to show what HSV stands for: courage, will and unity. That's why we're looking forward to this game."

HEAD-TO-HEAD

These teams have met five times previously, most recently in the 2018/19 semi-finals when Leipzig earned a 3-1 victory in Hamburg to reach the final, which they eventually lost to Bayern Munich. Before then there were four Bundesliga encounters across 2016/17 and 2017/18, resulting in two Leipzig wins, one for HSV and one draw. Incidentally, Leipzig have never won this fixture on home turf (L1, D1)...

HELLO AND WELCOME!

Thanks for joining us for live build-up and match coverage of the DFB Cup second round, as current holders Leipzig take on Bundesliga 2 high-fliers Hamburg. It's set to be a cracker as two attack-minded teams lock horns, so stay tuned!

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