Tobias Sippel: “We played a bit smarter”

Tobias Sippel spoke to the media following the 2-1 win over VfB Stuttgart in the round of 16 in the DFB-Pokal. Here's what the goalkeeper had to say about…

...the game: There were moments during the game against Stuttgart where we lost possession, or where we played the ball forward too quickly. We didn’t win as many challenges in these phases. We did, however, defend better than we did when we faced Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. In the end, we played a bit smarter, kept an eye on the clock and saw the game out. However, there was that one moment in the box towards the end where things could have gone wrong. 

...conceding early on: The early goal we conceded threw all our plans into disarray. It wasn’t a good start for us. We knew that Stuttgart would look to counter quickly, and that’s exactly what they did after a set piece for us in their half. We shouldn’t have let that happen. 

...his performance in Stuttgart: It’s my job to be ready when I play. I’ve been at Borussia for five years now, and always have to be ready when the time comes. I really like playing with these guys. We train as if it were a game, which is the same approach that I take to it. 

...potentially reaching the DFB-Pokal final in Berlin: We’re not thinking that far ahead just yet. First, we’ll wait to see who we’re drawn against in the quarterfinals and then we’ll go from there.