Leipzig's Konrad Laimer (L) breaks through the defense from Hamburg's Josha Vagnoman during a semifinal match of German Cup between Hamburger SV and RB Leipzig in Hamburg, Germany, on April 23, 2019. Leipzig won 3-1 and advanced into the final. (Xinhua/Kevin Voigt)
BERLIN, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Goals from Yussuf Poulsen and Emil Forsberg ensured RB Leipzig made it to their first ever German Cup final, after beating Hamburg 3-1 in their semifinal on Tuesday.
Leipzig took control from the start and pressed home side Hamburg onto the defense.
It took Leipzig only 12 minutes to break the deadlock as Poulsen had all the time in the world to head home following a corner from Marcel Halstenberg.
Leipzig should have extended their lead moments later but neither Poulsen, who rattled the inside of the left post, nor Marcel Sabizter, who hit the right post, were able to double the lead.
Hamburg punished the visitors' wastefulness in the 24th minute when Bakery Jatta shrugged off a defender to chip the ball over Leipzig keeper Peter Gulacsi to make it 1-1.
After the restart, Hamburg tried to keep their momentum but it was Leipzig who grabbed the lead once again, as Hamburg defender Vasilije Janjicic turned Poulsen's cross into his own net in the 53rd minute.
Ralf Rangnick's men piled on the pressure and wasted another chance to extend their advantage as Forsberg hit the bar with 70 minutes played.
The Sweden international remained in the thick of things as he doubled the lead and put the result beyond doubt only two minutes later after drilling the ball low into the bottom right corner of the net.
"We should have established a 3-0 lead within 20 minutes but we didn't. We allowed Hamburg to level the scores and had to reap a hard-earned win," Leipzig's head coach Ralf Rangnick said.
The victory takes Leipzig into the German Cup final for the first time in the club's history. They will encounter either Werder Bremen or Bayern Munich, who will battle for the other berth on Wednesday.
