"Another level to the rest of the team" - Yussuf Poulsen names his toughest opponent and best teammate

Yussuf Poulsen is one of the most important players in RB Leipzig's history

RB Leipzig striker Yussuf Poulsen named former Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng as the toughest defender he has faced in his career, while Christian Eriksen and Naby Keita were both mentioned when he was asked to choose his best-ever teammate.

The Danish striker has been with Die Rotten Bullen since 2013 and has played a big role in cementing the club's status as one of the most exciting teams in world football. Having joined Leipzig when they were in the third tier of German football, Poulsen led the line to devastating effect and produced the goods consistently in front of goal, as they made their way to the Bundesliga in 2016.

Since then, both Poulsen and Leipzig have developed consistently, with the club reaching the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2020 under Julian Nagelsmann. When asked by Sportskeeda to name his toughest opponent and his best teammate, the 28-year-old admitted that it was a difficult question but eventually narrowed down on his choices after much deliberation.

"Jerome Boateng was one of the most difficult guys to play against when he was at Bayern Munich."

"As for my best team-mate, I have to say Christian Eriksen, as he is one of the best players I've played with technically. Maybe Naby Keita as well - he was at another level to the rest of the team when he was here. You could pass him the ball and he would dribble all eleven players, turn back, dribble all of them again and score a goal."

After looking back on Leipzig's journey to the top, Poulsen admitted that the club's best achievement was reaching the UEFA Champions League semi-final two years ago.

"Our biggest achievement is going into the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League [in 2020]. Eight years ago, we were in the third division, so being amongst the four best clubs in Europe was a big achievement. We've had a lot of achievements over the years but if I had to pick one out, it would have to be that one."

Yussuf Poulsen optimistic about RB Leipzig's prospects under Domenico Tedesco

RB Leipzig have endured a tough 2021-22 Bundesliga campaign due to a handful of issues. Jesse Marsch, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann as head coach at the start of the season, was fired before the turn of the year, with former Schalke manager Domenico Tedesco taking over the reins.

While Poulsen acknowledged that Leipzig haven't quite met expectations so far this season, he affirmed that they are on the right path under their new manager.

"We've had a lot of changes this season. We changed coaches and lost a couple of top-performing players in the summer transfer window, so I think it's normal to have a few bumps along the way, especially for a club that's developing as fast as us. We're on the right track again under the new coach and we're fast getting used to his new, good ideas."

Leipzig are currently seventh in the Bundesliga standings but are just three points behind fourth-placed Hoffenheim. With 15 games to go between now and the end of the season, Die Rotten Bullen are more than capable of putting together a run of wins to secure a top-four finish.

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Edited by Vishal Subramanian