Kovac: “We witnessed a classic tonight” | OneFootball

Niko Kovac (on ARD1): "We witnessed a classic tonight: a cup battle played in a great atmosphere. At the end of the day, it's all about getting through to the next round, and we did that. We did well in the first 20 minutes, but then it got wild. And that played into Essen's hands. In the second half, Essen didn't create any chances on our goal. But we didn't create much either. At the end of the day, you need players who can make the difference. After very little preseason preparations, it's good that we've progressed. We still have some work to do now to get to where other teams are."

Julian Brandt (on ARD1): "It was a frantic game that we didn't have under control at times. There was a lot of back and forth. Ultimately, we got the job done. The most important thing was to win the game. That's what makes me happy at the end of the day. We benefited a lot from him (Serhou Guirassy, ed.) and his goals last year. He's an important player. He does everything right in that situation. It speaks volumes of him to land a winning punch like that." (br)

Further reactions to follow.