Christian Kofane proud after pushing Arsenal to the limit

Christian Kofane reflected with pride and optimism after Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie.

The 19-year-old forward was encouraged by how Leverkusen stood up to one of Europe’s top sides and believes the performance can fuel their belief for the return leg.

“Anything is possible in football, we saw that today. We played against one of the best teams in the world and pushed them to the brink of defeat. This should give us hope for next week’s match, although, of course, it won’t be easy,” Kofane said.

Leverkusen now head to the Emirates Stadium for the decisive second leg on March 17 at 22:00, knowing even a narrow win would send them through.

Kofane’s display and confident words underline the growing maturity in Kasper Hjulmand’s young squad as they continue to test themselves against elite opposition. For Arsenal, the draw keeps the tie finely balanced, while Leverkusen leave Germany feeling they have already shown they can trouble the Premier League title contenders.
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