Leipzig beat Wolfsburg 2-0 to reach German Cup semis

LEIPZIG, Germany (Reuters) - RB Leipzig reached the German Cup semi-finals after battling past in-form VfL Wolfsburg 2-0 on Wednesday, scoring twice in the second half to snap their opponents' run of eight consecutive clean sheets.

Yussuf Poulsen scored their first goal in the 63rd minute, combining with Alexander Sorloth, and Hwang Hee-chan added another two minutes from the end to keep Leipzig on track for their first major trophy.

The Wolves had not conceded a goal in their previous eight games in all competitions -- seven in the league and one in the German Cup.

Leipzig, losing German Cup finalists in 2019, travel to Liverpool for their Champions League last-16 second leg next week.

Wolfsburg keeper Koen Casteels made the save of the day when he punched a point-blank header from Christopher Nkunku wide as Leipzig made a strong start.

Nkunku then conceded a 26th-minute penalty but had a lucky escape when Wout Weghorst slipped and sent his spot kick metres over the bar.

Leipzig responded with a chance of their own and Justin Kluivert slotted in but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Poulsen then broke the deadlock just past the hour and substitute Hwang stabbed the ball in on the rebound to finish the game off.

Earlier second division Holstein Kiel scored twice in three minutes to beat fourth tier Rot-Weiss Essen 3-0 and reach the last four for the first time in their history.

Borussia Dortmund also booked a semi-final spot with a 1-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday.

The quarter-final between Jahn Regensburg and Werder Bremen that was scheduled for Tuesday was postponed after a number of Regensburg players tested positive for the coronavirus.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Toby Davis)